Expatriate adjustment in the digital age: The co-creation of online social support resources through blogging

Demographic Correlates of Acculturation and Sociocultural Adaptation

“…They can share their experiences and help others to deal with uncertainty and anxiety. According to Nardon, Aten, and Gulanowski (2015), expatriates gain knowledge, new perspectives, and new understanding through blogging, and they feel comforted. Moreover, they suggest that blogging could be an alternative to face-to-face communication to provide social support for adjustment.…”

The Role of Online Discussion Forums in Newcomers' Labour Market Integration in Canada

“…This study advances international business research by contributing to global migration and international careers research, which have been identified as key areas for investigation by international business scholars (Caligiuri and Bonache, 2016;Doh, 2015aDoh, , 2015bDoh, , 2017. In particular, this study contributes to literatures on newcomers' adjustment and labour market integration (e.g., Farh et al, 2010;Guo and Al Ariss, 2015;Sidani and Al Ariss, 2014;Sambasivan et al, 2017;Tung, 2016), newcomers' adjustment and online technology use (e.g., Mikal et al, 2013Mikal et al, , 2015Nardon et al, 2015), and newcomers and social support (e.g., Podsiadlowski et al, 2013;Stroppa and Spieß, 2011;Van Bakel et al, 2017) by showing that online discussion forums facilitate exchange of social support online, which can help newcomers with adjustment and integration in the new country's labour market.…”

“…Furthermore, research has shown that the Internet plays a vital role in facilitating newcomers' adjustment to a foreign environment, access to social support, job search, and creation of social network (Chen and Choi, 2011;Chu et al, 2012;Cox, 2004;Kuhn and Mansour, 2014;Mikal et al, 2013Mikal et al, , 2015Nardon et al, 2015;Stroppa and Spieß, 2011). It also allows newcomers to maintain contact with relatives and friends back home (Hertlein, 2012;Yoon, 2017), participate in the political and civic events of their homeland (Guarnizo et al, 2003), and develop social networks and share information with others (Chien, 2005, Hiller andFranz, 2004;Khoir et al, 2015).…”

“…The main challenge for newcomers in getting jobs is a lack of relevant knowledge of local labour market, information practices (e.g., how and where to find jobs), and information sources (e.g., local social networks) (Caidi et al, , 2010Khoir et al, 2015Khoir et al, , 2017Savolainen, 2016;Zikic, 2015). Newcomers generally lack essential information about the destination country's culture, customs, and work environment among other things, and hence they have to manage higher levels of uncertainty, stress, and ambiguity about their economic wellbeing (Adelman, 1988;Nardon et al, 2015;Reitz, 2007aReitz, , 2007bReitz et al, 2014;Turchick Hakak and Al Ariss, 2013;Wang and Sangalang, 2005). To function in the new environment, they need to find and access needed knowledge.…”

“…This study draws on extant literature on newcomers' adjustment and labour market integration (e.g., Adelman 1988; Black et al, 1991;Farh et al, 2010;Guo and Al Ariss, 2015;Sidani and Al Ariss, 2014;Tung, 2016), information practices of newcomers (e.g., Caidi et al, , 2010Savolainen, 2007Savolainen, , 2008Savolainen, , 2016, online knowledge exchange, sharing and construction (e.g., Chalkiti and Sigala, 2008;Griesbaum et al, 2015;Nonaka, 1994;Nor et al, 2010), social support (e.g., Cutrona, 1990;Cutrona and Russell, 1990;Farh et al, 2010;Podsiadlowski et al, 2013;Stroppa and Spieß, 2011;Van Bakel et al, 2017), and online technology affordances (e.g., Majchrzak et al, 2013;Treem and Leonardi, 2012) to contribute to an emerging literature concerned with online technology use and newcomers' adjustment (e.g., Mikal et al, 2013Mikal et al, , 2015Nardon et al, 2015) and international careers (e.g., Al Ariss et al, 2013Ariss et al, , 2014Al Ariss and Syed, 2011;Cascio and Boudreau, 2016;Fang et al, 2013;Farh et al, 2010;Kuhn and Mansour, 2014).…”