Social capital and cultural adjustment of international assignees in NGOs: do support networks really matter?

Claus, Lisbeth; Maletz, Sophia; Casoinic, D.A.; Pierson, Kawika

doi:10.1080/09585192.2014.1003083

Cited by 24 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Expatriate literature on social adjustment focuses almost exclusively on host country social networks (Bruning et al , 2012; Claus et al , 2015; Mao and Shen, 2015; Scott and Carrington, 2011), which may include personal friends as well as contacts at schools and churches. Social network theory can also help us understand the repatriation experience and the role of home social networks in repatriate cultural adjustment.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Repatriation: a qualitative study of repatriates after returning from China assignments

Kimber

2019

JGM

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Purpose Companies expend significant resources on global assignees’ success during deployment. However, the broader repatriation experience of organizational expatriates and their families, beyond securing employment, is still largely unexplored. Thus, the purpose of this paper, an exploratory study, is to describe the repatriation experience of five US Christian repatriates who returned to the USA after long-term expatriate assignments in China. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative approach was employed, and data were collected through five open-ended interviews with US Christian repatriates, focusing on their social networks and family repatriation experiences. Findings Upon repatriation, most global assignees received assistance with relocation and securing stateside employment but no assistance with readjustment issues for themselves or their accompanying family members. Most found repatriation the most difficult part of the assignment, and home churches were of little assistance. The findings support the deterioration of home social networks during longer assignments and extend the literature’s findings to the expatriate spouse and families. Originality/value This exploratory study addresses the experiences of Christian US repatriates and their social support through work and non-work home social networks. The findings highlight the importance of intentional efforts by repatriates and their families to strengthen their home social connections in order to minimize repatriation difficulties.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Repatriation: a qualitative study of repatriates after returning from China assignments

Kimber

2019

JGM

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“…Pitt-Catsouphes et al [7] argue that since women form the majority of NPO employees, work–family conflict is especially prevalent in the non-profit sector. Compared with enterprises or other profit-making organizations, NPOs provide fewer benefits and supports to employees [8]. Due to resource constraints, it is often difficult for NPOs to meet employees’ needs for balancing work–family relationships.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In particular, where expatriate work involves extensive cross-cultural communication and interaction, cultural intelligence is especially important. Claus et al [8] argue that NPOs tend to provide fewer benefits and organizational support to expatriates than multinational corporations; consequently, expatriates in NPOs must rely on their own resources and other support mechanisms to meet both work and life challenges. Cultural intelligence, as a personal resource, may in fact be more significant and bring advantages in work and life for expatriates working for cross-cultural NPOs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cultural Intelligence and Work–Family Conflict: A Moderated Mediation Model Based on Conservation of Resources Theory

Zhang

2019

IJERPH

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This study aims to explore the influence mechanism of cultural intelligence on work–family conflict for Chinese expatriates in cross-cultural non-profit organizations. Drawing on conservation of resources theory, this longitudinal study (six-month time lag) is the first to examine cultural intelligence as an antecedent of work–family conflict. The study also examines the mediating role of work engagement and the moderating role of leader–member exchange (LMX) in the cultural intelligence and work–family conflict relationship. The sample comprises 206 expatriate Chinese language teachers working at 45 Confucius Institutes in the US, Canada, and Russia. Results show that cultural intelligence not only reduces work–family conflict but also promotes expatriates’ work engagement. The higher the work engagement, the higher the work–family conflict experienced by expatriates. LMX moderates not only the positive relationship between work engagement and work–family conflict but also the indirect effect of cultural intelligence on work–family conflict through work engagement. Thus, the indirect effect of cultural intelligence on work–family conflict through work engagement is stronger with low (compared to high) LMX. This study’s findings provide implications for managers of cross-cultural non-profit organizations to better understand and solve expatriates’ work–family conflict problem.

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“…Finally, as spillover theory (Westman, 2001) suggests that attitudes, behaviors, and cognitions of an individual in one domain could spill over to another domain, the informational and relational benefits of becoming socially integrated at work are also likely to contribute to SIEs' adjustment to the foreign culture in general (Zedeck, 1992). It has been found that when expatriates make frequent contact with their support network, they are likely to have better cultural and interaction adjustment due to the fact that expatriates can discuss host country issues on a regular basis with their support network (Claus et al, 2015).…”

Section: Social Integration and Sie Adjustment And Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

A longitudinal investigation of self-initiated expatriate organizational socialization

Hsu

Shaffer

et al. 2017

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the process of self-initiated expatriate (SIE) organizational socialization. Design/methodology/approach To assess the socialization process, data were collected at three points in time. SIE English teachers were surveyed at three points in time. At Time 3, data from the principals of those teachers who completed surveys at Time 2 were also collected. Findings Organizational socialization tactics facilitate social integration and learning speed, which, in turn, are positively related to SIE adjustment. Moreover, SIEs who climbed the learning curve more quickly were only able to capitalize on their learning ability to promote performance when their calculative commitment was low. Originality/value First, in contrast with the majority of expatriate socialization studies that tend to focus on the proactive behaviors of expatriates, the authors examine the organizational socialization tactics of a local host organization. Second, they consider the role of calculative commitment, which is especially germane to the SIE context, on SIE performance. Third, this study contributes to the organizational socialization literature by recognizing that socialization is an on-going process that continues to influence employees even after they are no longer “newcomers.” Fourth, the authors assess adjustment directly rather than through proxy measures.

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Social capital and cultural adjustment of international assignees in NGOs: do support networks really matter?

Cited by 24 publications

References 51 publications

Repatriation: a qualitative study of repatriates after returning from China assignments

Repatriation: a qualitative study of repatriates after returning from China assignments

Cultural Intelligence and Work–Family Conflict: A Moderated Mediation Model Based on Conservation of Resources Theory

A longitudinal investigation of self-initiated expatriate organizational socialization

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