Barbara Dastoor

Expatriate motivation in religious and humanitarian non‐profit‐organizations

Purpose - The purpose of this exploratory, empirical study is to identify motivations for expatriation among religious and humanitarian (RH economics; international experience; escapism; altruism; outsider support; family life; and location. Workers in the not-for-profit sector are primarily motivated by altruism, and thus integrate organizational mission with personal purpose in their decision to work abroad. Using cluster analysis, four groups of humanitarian and religious workers in the Christian sub-sector were identified: Caring Missionary; Focused Worker; Self-Directed Careerist; and International Family Custodian. Workers from developed versus developing countries exhibit different motivators. Practical implications - The findings provide insight into differences between developed versus developing country workers and between R&H workers. Recognizing the differences in motivation can assist international human resource managers in the effective recruitment, selection, training and development, career management, and support and encouragement of non-profit organizations (NPO) expatriates. The authors provide propositions to be tested based on the application of self-determination theory to expatriate motivation. Originality/value - This exploratory, empirical study of Christian R&H workers extends the organizational and country context and builds on motivation for expatriation research to include this sub-sector of workers from both developed and developing countries operating in global organizations. The findings provide new insights into motivation for expatriation and lead to propositions for future research.

Ethno-Psychological Characteristics and Terror-Producing Countries: Linking Uncertainty Avoidance to Terrorist Acts in the 1970s

Most of the worlds terrorism occurs in but a few of the worlds countries. This study examines why. The extent to which Hofstedes cultural values relate to terrorism in the 1970s in 51 countries is analyzed. Uncertainty avoidance emerges as the single cultural value that is related to terrorism. Uncertainty avoidance, related to stress, may provide important prerequisites for group-induced aberrant behavior when formerly alienated group members find comfort in adhering to a collective belief system where dissent is discouraged, a sense of group purpose is reinforced, and rules are strictly imposed—apparently confirming the writings of terrorism psychologists.