Jennifer Feitosa

Expatriate adjustment: considerations for selection and training

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to first, synthesize employee characteristics that have been shown to help expatriate adjustment into best practices that can aid in expatriate selection. Second, the authors aim to identify training design variables that can be implemented to not only increase learning and expatriate adjustment, but also to maximize the benefits of employee characteristics. Finally, the authors point out environmental factors that are often overlooked, but yet important influencing forces of expatriate adjustment. Design/methodology/approach - – PsychINFO was searched using variations of the following terms: expatriate selection and expatriate training. For the selection criteria, the authors selected articles in which cross-cultural adjustment, expatriate performance, or learning was the dependent variable. Reference sections of these articles were then cross-referenced for additional support. Authors then double-coded every article independently to record variables, study methodology, and research results. Findings - – The authors have identified cultural intelligence, learning orientation, technical KSAOs, and language skills to be the most significant antecedents of expatriate adjustment. Furthermore, the authors have found environmental factors (i.e. organizational, family, and interpersonal support) to play a crucial role in the adjustment process. The authors have also identified training factors (i.e. content, process, and elements) to be crucial, and the authors propose how these design variables further facilitate learning and adjustment. Originality/value - – This manuscript contributes to the extant expatriate adjustment literature by providing a new, integrative framework. While the individual variables explored within the paper have been examined in past research, this manuscript is the first to offer a framework which integrates them to shape future research.

Debunking key assumptions about teams: The role of culture.

Scholars have argued that if psychologists are to gain a true understanding of human behavior, culture should be central to research and theory. The research on teams is an area where better integration between the mainstream and cross-cultural literatures is critically needed, given the increasing prevalence of multicultural teams. The purpose of this article is therefore to demonstrate how research focused on culture’s influence on teams advances current mainstream theoretical understanding of team effectiveness. Guided by widely accepted frameworks of team effectiveness (Ilgen, Hollenbeck, Johnson, & Jundt, 2005) and culture (Giorgi, Lockwood, & Glynn, 2015), we extract several key assumptions from the mainstream literature that have also been examined within the cross-cultural literature. Through a process of comparing and contrasting, we determined which components of current models are upheld and debunked when seeking to generalize these models to other cultural contexts outside of North America. Although we found some consistent results across the two literatures, most of our analyses reveal there are important boundary conditions surrounding common team effectiveness assumptions when culture is considered. By anchoring our analyses around fundamental aspects of teams, including how they form, function, and finish, we then revised these assumptions according to the integration of the teams and cross-cultural literatures. Taken together, we provide a rich foundation for future research, and facilitate a more nuanced understanding of human behavior within the team context.

Ethnic identity: Factor structure and measurement invariance across ethnic groups.

Considering a historically diversified (and growing) population in the United States, one’s ethnic identification is often an important psychological—as well as social and political—construct because it can serve as a hindrance to interpersonal interaction. Despite the importance of ethnic identity in psychological research, the most widely developed ethnic identity measurement tool, the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM; Phinney, 1992), lacks consensus regarding its psychometric properties. The purpose of this article is to identify the factor structure of this measure and identify whether it exhibits measurement equivalence/invariance (ME/I) across ethnicities. The current findings offer several contributions to the state of the literature. First, our data suggests a two-factor model, including affirmation/commitment and exploration factors, is the most appropriate structure when considering fit and parsimony indices via confirmatory factor analysis. Second, configural and metric measurement equivalence was found across Caucasian and non-Caucasian participants. Interestingly, partial scalar invariance was established when comparing Caucasians with the minority groups with the exception of the Hispanic subgroup, which exhibited no scalar invariance. Third, differences in ethnic identity factor means were found, especially across Caucasians and African Americans. In conclusion, the use of the two-factor model of the MEIM is recommended, and results suggest that the MEIM is an appropriate measure of ethnic identity in most ethnic groups. Limitations and future research are also discussed.

Measuring Collaboration in Cross-Cultural Contexts

The use of team-based organizing has become the norm in many organizations, especially those characterized by complexity. However, research has shown that teams are not always effective, despite their popularity (Sims & Salas, 2007). The complex endeavor of creating and maintaining the enabling conditions for team performance is further compounded when teams are culturally diverse. While cultural diversity can provide synergies, research has shown that it can also lead to process loss as members attempt to navigate differences in attitudes, beliefs, and values that often remain hidden under the surface and impact team interaction. Therefore, the purpose of this chapter is twofold. First, to highlight some of the areas that may prove challenging for culturally diverse teams to navigate; and, in turn, provide insight into what constructs to measure. Second, to identify a set of measurement considerations that must be navigated when assessing collaboration within culturally diverse teams.

The Influence of Culture on Team Dynamics

Originality/value Albeit research has started to accumulate regarding how culture influences teams through conflict, communication, trust, cohesion, and creativity, this chapter goes beyond current development to address when different cultural elements influence team dynamics.

Decision Making on the Labor and Delivery Unit: An Investigation of Influencing Factors:

Objective The aim of this study was to describe the relationship between negative affect (NA), decision-making style, time stress, and decision quality in health care. Background Health care providers must often make swift, high-stakes decisions. Influencing factors of the decision-making process in this context have been understudied. Method Within a sample of labor and delivery nurses, physicians, and allied personnel, we used self-report measures to examine the impact of trait factors, including NA, decision-making style, and perceived time stress, on decision quality in a situational judgment test (Study 1). In Study 2, we observed the influence of state NA, state decision-making style, state time stress, and their relationship with decision quality on real clinical decisions. Results In Study 1, we found that trait NA significantly predicted avoidant decision-making style. Furthermore, those who were higher on trait time stress and trait avoidant decision-making style exhibited poorer decisions. In Study 2, we observed associations between state NA with state avoidant and analytical decision-making styles. We also observed that these decision-making styles, when considered in tandem with time stress, were influential in predicting clinical decision quality. Conclusion NA predicts some decision-making styles, and decision-making style can affect decision quality under time stress. This is particularly true for state factors. Application Individual differences, such as affect and decision-making style, should be considered during selection. Training to reduce time stress perceptions should be provided.

Diversity and team creativity: Exploring underlying mechanisms.

Past research demonstrates that the relationship between distinct subgroups within teams can be improved using interventions that emphasize commonalities, such as a superordinate team identity. By comparing the creative outcomes of 51 racio-ethnically diverse teams, comprised of both majority and minority racio-ethnic subgroups, this study shows when a common ingroup identity will lead to higher creativity. We hypothesize that there is a combined effect of racio-ethnic identity and superordinate team identity salience on the usefulness as well as the novelty of team’s ideas. Accordingly, we found that superordinate team identity salience had a positive effect on novelty, but only when differences between subgroups were also made salient. There was no joint influence on the usefulness of ideas. Furthermore, our results showed that the relationship between the simultaneous salience of the superordinate team and racio-ethnic identities on the novelty of ideas generated was mediated by team member’s perception of the team as unified and inclusive. Collectively, racio-ethnic subgroup and superordinate identity salience foster a feeling of a common “we,” which in turn support the generation of novel ideas. Limitations and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure: An Investigation of Its Psychometric Properties

Despite the importance of ethnic identity to current organizations, the most widely developed measurement tool – Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM; Phinney, 1992) – lacks consensus regarding...