Social support for expatriates through virtual platforms: exploring the role of online and offline participation

Social Support and Well-being among Relocating Women: The Mediating Roles of Resilience and Optimism

“…Specifically, a complex pattern of relationships was documented in the current study between various types of virtual support and well-being. In accordance with previous studies pointing to the significant role of virtual support in adjustment (e.g., Canhilal et al, 2020;Chen, 2013), "informational" online support (times 1 and 2) and "instrumental" online support (time 2) were the primary types of virtual support that had significant positive relations with the outcome variables. Notably, however, the emotional and social components of virtual support were not found linked to well-being during the relocation experience.…”

“…Social support has a significant impact on well-being (for a review, see Taylor, 2011) and is especially important in times of difficulty and distress, such as during the migration process or relocation to another country (e.g., Caligiuri & Lazarova, 2002). Not that much is known about the specific contribution of various sources of support (e.g., Canhilal et al, 2020), nor about the underlying mechanisms linking higher levels of support to better adjustment and thriving in the face of adversity (Feeney & Collins, 2015). Given the many challenges faced through a relocation experience, the role of social support for women relocating overseas -often leaving behind an extended family and workplace, and required to adapt to a new environment and culture -is of critical importance.…”

Combining lifelines to thrive: a stage-based need fulfilment network of international assignees

“…The kind of support that the expatriates require affects the kind of communication they make with their network. For instance, the results of our study and that of Canhilal et al (2020) illustrate that expatriates gain a great amount of support from their fellow expatriates. Canhilal et al (2020) discuss that the assignees who keep taking up employment in different countries mostly maintain interaction over online and offline media.…”

“…For instance, the results of our study and that of Canhilal et al (2020) illustrate that expatriates gain a great amount of support from their fellow expatriates. Canhilal et al (2020) discuss that the assignees who keep taking up employment in different countries mostly maintain interaction over online and offline media. While the expatriates form their networks and receive developmental functions from various developers in the network, it is also essential to assess the network's effectiveness.…”

“…The expatriates could thereby modify their level of closeness with the developers accordingly. For instance, the kind of assignment that the assignees take up changes the types of support sought after (Canhilal et al , 2020). Thus, as the type of the assignment changes, as the individual's prior experience increases, the HR practitioners need to aid the expatriates to modify the support systems to vary the support provided.…”