J. Stewart Black

The Influence of the Spouse on American Expatriate Adjustment and Intent to Stay in Pacific Rim Overseas Assignments

Past international human resource management literature has suggested that most American multinationalfirms that employ expatriate managers have difficulty successfully retaining these managers in overseas assignments. Although some scholars have suggested that the inability of the spouse to adjust is one of the major reasons expatriate managers return early from their overseas assignments, few researchers have attempted to verify empirically a relationship between the spouses adjustment and the adjustment and intentions to stay or leave of the expatriate manager. This study found that a favorable opinion about the overseas assignment by the spouse is positively related to the spouses adjustment and the novelty of the foreign culture has a negative relationship with the spouses adjustment. Additionally, the adjustment of the spouse is highly correlated to the adjustment of the expatriate manager and the adjustment of the spouse and the expatriate are positively related to the expatriates intention to stay in the overseas assignment.

Antecedents to Cross-Cultural Adjustment for Expatriates in Pacific Rim Assignments

Although past studies of expatriate adjustment have asked human resource executives their opinions about important antecedents of cross-cultural adjustment (e.g., Tung, 1981, 1988), very few studies have attempted to empirically determine which factors significantly affect cross-cultural adjustment based on data collected from actual expatriate managers. This paper examines the impact of job, personal, and general factors on three facets of cross-cultural adjustment based on data collected from American expatriate managers in Pacific Rim assignments (Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, and Taiwan). The results of the study indicate that different antecedents were related to different facets of cross cultural adjustment. Both research and practical implications of these findings are explored.

You can take it with you: individual differences and expatriate effectiveness.

The authors report the collaborative efforts of 2 research teams that independently investigated the effects of stable personality traits (the Big Five) and specific behavioral competencies (cultural flexibility, task and people orientations, and ethnocentrism) on key dimensions of expatriate effectiveness: psychological adjustment, assignment withdrawal cognitions, and job performance. Analyses of multiple-source and longitudinal data from 3 studies, including a diverse sample of expatriates in Hong Kong and separate samples of Korean and Japanese expatriates posted around the world, indicate several direct effects of individual differences. Further data show reliable distinctions between the traits and competencies as well as incremental prediction by either set of predictors in the presence of the others.

A Multifaceted Approach to Expatriate Retention in International Assignments

Building on the commitment and adjustment literature, this article examines the degree to which dual organizational commitments and multiple facets of cross-cultural adjustment relate to expatriate retention in international assignments. In this study of 321 American expatriates assigned to four countries in the Pacific Rim and four countries in Western Europe, multiple regression analysis found that commitment to the parent company was a positive correlate of intent to stay the full duration of international assignments, whereas commitment to the local company was not related to intent to stay. Additionally, cross-cultural adjustment to interaction with host-country nationals and adjustment to the general culture were both positive correlates of intent to stay; however, adjustment to work was not associated with intent to stay. Implications of these findings for management researchers and practitioners are discussed.

Participative Decision-Making: An Integration of Multiple Dimensions

Few topics have resulted in as much theory, empirical study, controversy, and practical application as participative decision-making (PDM). Although most past empirical research has assumed that the decision-making process in PDM was unidimensional, this paper explores a multidimensional view and examines the integration of degree of participation and decision-making processes and their relationship with satisfaction and performance. The results suggest that the degree of involvement in generating alternatives, planning, and evaluating results are related significantly to satisfaction and that degree of involvement in generating alternatives and planning are related significantly to performance.

Expectations, satisfaction, and intention to leave of American expatriate managers in Japan

Abstract Many multinational corporations experience high and costly rates of expatriates returning prematurely from overseas assignments. Extending the general turnover literature, we test the specific relationships between expectations, satisfaction, and intent to leave for a sample of American expatriates in Japan. In a path analysis, work role clarity and overmet expectations about the general environment were positive predictors of general satisfaction. For job satisfaction, work role clarity and overmet expectations about job discretion were positive predictors. Finally, general satisfaction was the strongest predictor of intent to leave the assignment early. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are explored.

Multiple Commitments Upon Repatriation: The Japanese Experience

Building on the domestic multiple commitment literature, recent international research found that upon repatriation, U.S. expatriates exhibited dual commitments to the parent corporation and local work unit. These results, however, may have been a function of specific cultural values of American managers and may not be generalizable to other samples. Thus, this study examines theoretically and empirically the degree to which Japanese expatriates returning home from international assignments exhibit single or dual commitments; it also analyzes the antecedents of such commitments upon repatriation. Initially, factor analysis indicated that in contrast to U.S. repatriates, Japanese repatriates in this study exhibited a single, global commitment to the organization. Next, multiple regression analysis found that a firm’s valuing international experience was the primary correlate of organizational commitment for Japanese repatriates. Finally, this study’s results raise important questions about the generalizabi...

Locus of control, social support, stress, and adjustment in international transfers

This study examined the direct effects of locus of control and social support on stressors and adjustment, as well as the moderating effects of these variables on the relationship between stressors and adjustment, for a sample of American managers transferred to overseas positions in four Pacific Rim countries — Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Locus of control and social support had stronger direct effects on stressors than on adjustment. Mixed results were obtained concerning the moderating effects of locus of control and social support on the relationship between stressors and adjustment. Future theoretical and research implications are explored.

Socializing American Expatriate Managers Overseas Tactics, Tenure, and Role Innovation

This study examined the impact of organizational socialization tactics and the moderating effect of organizational tenure on role innovation or the extent to which expatriate managers changed the procedures and objectives of their jobs. The results suggested that collective, serial, and rixed tactics had a significant relationship with role innovation. In addition, organizational tenure moderated the relationship between collective and serial tactics with role innovation.

O Kaerinasai: Factors Related to Japanese Repatriation Adjustment

This study examined anticipatory and in-country individual, job, organizational, and non-job variables and their relationship with work, interaction, and general repatriation adjustment for Japanese managers. The study also directly tested the generalizability of measures and findings of recent theoretical and empirical work on repatriating American managers. Age, total time overseas, role discretion, role clarity, and social status were generally related to repatriation adjustment. Practical and research implications are explored.