Networking Abroad: A Process Model of How Expatriates Form Support Ties to Facilitate Adjustment

Farh, Crystal I. C.; Bartol, Kathryn M.; Shapiro, Debra L.; Shin, Jinho

doi:10.5465/amr.35.3.zok434

Cited by 88 publications

(191 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…This results in expatriate managers experiencing stress, anxiety and uncertainty when working in an environment that is distinct from their home country (Tungli & Peiperl, 2009). Failure to deal with the uncertainties may have a negative influence on the expatriates' performance and effectiveness, and can be costly for MNEs who commit resources for the expatriates' relocation and training programs (Farh, Bartol, Shapiro, & Shin, 2010). To decrease the level of uncertainty that expatriates experience in the host country, extant study suggests improving expatriates' cross-cultural competence, and highlights the importance of relationship building in helping expatriates engage with the local environment (Shin, Morgeson, & Campion, 2007;Wang, Feng, Freeman, Fan, & Zhu, 2014).…”

Section: Expatriate Relational Abilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpersonal relations in China: Expatriates’ perspective on the development and use of guanxi

Guo

Rammal

Benson

et al. 2018

International Business Review

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The literature on social networks identifies relationship building through guanxi as an effective way for Western organizations to reduce their liability of foreignness in China. Even though it is individuals rather than organizations who build these relationships, the focus in previous literature has been on organizational outcomes, and only a handful of studies have attempted to explain how expatriates perceive guanxi-relations are built and maintained. To help address this issue, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 36 Western expatriates working in China. Our findings suggest that guanxi is perceived to be an informal process that is used to build trust between individuals, which in turn can reduce the uncertainty around contract enforcement in China. We also find that the process for building guanxi between parties is initiated by the individual whose organization has less market-power. Finally, the findings suggest that firms should be cautious if they elect to use agents as intermediaries to help connect to, and build relations with buyers and sellers.

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Section: Expatriate Relational Abilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpersonal relations in China: Expatriates’ perspective on the development and use of guanxi

Guo

Rammal

Benson

et al. 2018

International Business Review

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“…Together, these unique challenges suggest that it is especially important for inpatriates to develop links to colleagues within, and shared values with, the HQ (i.e., to be embedded in the organization) in order for inpatriates to serve the boundary-spanning role discussed earlier (Kostova & Roth, 2003;Reiche et al, 2009). Initial conceptual (Farh, Bartol, Shapiro, & Shin, 2010;Toh & DeNisi, 2007) and empirical (Liu & Shaffer, 2005;Wang & Kanungo, 2004) research indeed suggests that international assignees need to develop social relationships at the host unit to succeed on their assignments. For example, Wang and Kanungo (2004) found that assignees' social ties influenced their psychological well-being in the host unit.…”

Section: The Role Of Inpatriate Assignments In Mncsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why do international assignees stay? An organizational embeddedness perspective

2011

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We apply an organizational embeddedness perspective to examine international assignees' retention with the organization. Specifically, we hypothesize that assignees' social ties within and their perceived fit with the host unit positively relate to two sacrifices with leaving the organization: their firmspecific learning during the assignment and their perceived career prospects in the organization. Perceived career prospects is expected to predict subsequent retention, moderated by firm-specific learning. These hypotheses are tested using a sample of 143 inpatriates in ten German multinationals with retention measured two and four years later. We show that inpatriates' trusting ties with HQ staff and their fit with the HQ positively relates to their firm-specific learning and their perceived career prospects, and that the latter predicts their retention two and four years later. Perceived career prospects mediates the direct relationship between inpatriates' fit with the HQ and inpatriate retention, and the indirect relationship between inpatriates' trusting ties with HQ staff and their retention. Furthermore, inpatriates' firm-specific learning mitigates the effect of perceived career prospects on retention decisions two years later. We contribute to the organizational embeddedness, careers, and international business literatures by explaining when and how facets of organizational embeddedness relate to assignee retention.

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“…Moving to a new country can be quite stressful for the expatriates -from wondering about the right neighborhoods to live in, to identifying schools for their children, there is a long, unending, list of activities that any person moving to a new city/country must perform. As Farh, Bartol, Shapiro, and Shin (2010) have noted, expatriates are often forced to form "network ties" to gain critical information and receive emotional support. Once again, this is where HCNs come in -they can help the expatriates' adjustment and socialization by sharing information and providing support.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interpersonal affect and host country national support of expatriates

Varma

Budhwar

Katou

et al. 2016

JGM

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role played by host country nationals’ (HCNs) collectivism and the interpersonal affect they develop toward expatriate colleagues, in determining the degree to which Chinese HCNs would be willing to offer role information and social support to expatriates from India and the USA. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a between-subjects simulation (n=402) with front-line, junior-level professionals in four global organizations operating in China, measuring their interpersonal affect toward a hypothetical expatriate colleague, and their willingness to offer role information and social support to the expatriate. Findings Results indicated the interpersonal affect felt by Chinese HCNs mediates the relationship between the collectivism levels of Chinese HCNs, and their willingness to offer role information and social support to expatriates. Research limitations/implications It should be acknowledged that the authors used hypothetical “paper-people” to test the hypotheses. Future studies should investigate the impact of collectivism and interpersonal affect on HCN willingness to offer role information and social support by examining HCNs’ attitudes toward real-life expatriate colleagues. Originality/value While empirical studies examining HCN willingness to offer role information and social support have begun to emerge in the expatriate literature, only a couple of studies have included interpersonal affect as a key determinant. Given that interpersonal affect is a key determinant of individuals’ reactions to others, but also a complex construct, the findings confirm the need for organizations to examine how this impacts performance and co-worker interactions in the workplace.

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Networking Abroad: A Process Model of How Expatriates Form Support Ties to Facilitate Adjustment

Cited by 88 publications

References 78 publications

Interpersonal relations in China: Expatriates’ perspective on the development and use of guanxi

Interpersonal relations in China: Expatriates’ perspective on the development and use of guanxi

Why do international assignees stay? An organizational embeddedness perspective

Interpersonal affect and host country national support of expatriates

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