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Global relocation: an examination of the corporate influence on expatriate adjustment
Author(s) -
Li Nan,
Jackson Michele H
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
asia pacific journal of human resources
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.825
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1744-7941
pISSN - 1038-4111
DOI - 10.1111/1744-7941.12063
Subject(s) - expatriate , relocation , business , corporation , relevance (law) , outsourcing , outcome (game theory) , public relations , psychology , marketing , political science , economics , finance , mathematical economics , computer science , law , programming language
This paper examines the important yet often overlooked corporate influence on expatriates' intercultural adjustment. Using four months of ethnographic data collected in C hina, we aim to understand how expatriates' transnational corporation employers and their outsourcing global relocation agencies work together to manage and influence expatriates' adjustment process. Our findings reveal the different impact organizational support can have on expatriate general and interaction adjustment, the mediating effect of organizational management of expatriate uncertainty and anxiety on adjustment outcome, and the relevance of organizational concern for efficiency. These findings suggest that the success of expatriate relocation programs hinges on their ability to help expatriates manage uncertainty and anxiety in ways that both provide them with the comfort of home and offer rich and authentic cultural experiences.