Mila B. Lazarova

A model for the influence of social interaction and social support on female expatriates' cross-cultural adjustment

This paper offers a model to describe the way in which female expatriates develop relationships and utilize those relationships to become cross-culturally adjusted. This model includes three predictive components affecting cross-cultural adjustment. The first includes the factors affecting whether a woman is able to form relationships on the expatriate assignment. These antecedents can include the female expatriates personality, the cultural norms towards women, her language skills and the availability of possible opportunities for interaction. The second component includes the various sources of social interaction and social support (e.g. family members, and host national colleagues). The third component describes the nature of a female expatriates social interaction and social support (e.g. emotional, informational and instrumental). Practical considerations for multinational organizations sending female expatriates are offered.

Brain drain versus brain gain: an exploratory study of ex-host country nationals in Central and East Europe

To fuel further growth and development, many countries in Central and East Europe that have made the transition from socialist to market economies are anxious to reverse the brain drain by attracting their nationals who have studied and/or worked abroad to return. This study seeks to examine the experiences and challenges encountered by nationals upon their return home, after having lived abroad for an extensive period of time. These people are referred to as ‘ex-host country nationals’ (EHCNs). The findings of this exploratory study of 86 EHCNs, all recipients of prestigious scholarships to study abroad, have important implications, both theoretical and practical, for international human resource management, including governmental attempts to curb or reverse brain drain from their respective countries.

International comparative studies in HRM and performance – the Cranet data

Research in the field of international and comparative HRM is becoming ever more available. The International Journal of Human Resource Management now usually publishes 12 issues per year, and the enormous range of the field is apparent from the scope of the topics covered. The papers published in this special issue are all drawn from the Cranet project. Cranet is a network of scholars from universities across the world, representing over 40 countries. Cranet conducts a survey of HRM in member countries approximately every four years, enquiring into policies and practices in people management through a set of common questions. In this introduction, we locate Cranet within this research field, and say how Cranet seeks to contribute to this growing body of knowledge.

Do “Global” Teams Need “Global” Leaders? Identifying Leadership Competencies in Multinational Teams

In this chapter we question whether current conceptualizations of global leadership competencies adequately address the dynamic and complex nature of the multinational team (MNT) context. We report findings from a study that incorporated the perspectives of MNT leaders as well as members on MNT leadership. We asked MNT leaders and their team members to identify the competencies that they believe are needed for effectively managing MNTs. The findings from this study promise to enhance our understanding about the specific nature of the MNT context, as viewed by the two parties that are at the frontline of multinational teamwork: team members and leaders. We use this dual perspective to clarify global competencies that MNT leaders may need to develop in themselves, and to propose a framework that may assist multinational organizations in identifying, rewarding, and developing MNT leaders.

Development of the cultural intelligence assessment

The construct of cultural intelligence has recently been introduced to the management literature as an individual difference that may predict effectiveness and a variety of interpersonal behavior in the global business environment. This construct has enormous potential in helping to explain effectiveness in cross-cultural interactions. However, progress has been limited by the adequacy of existing measures. In this chapter, we describe the development and preliminary validation of a web-based assessment of cultural intelligence based on our conceptualization of cultural intelligence.

The internationalism career anchor: : A validation study

International mobility, the volatile individual career trajectories it produces, and its implication for human resource management in organizations are not well understood. This article addresses this deficiency and introduces empirical evidence for an internationalism career anchor, a construct that can enhance our understanding of individual predisposition to undertake international mobility. We present a conceptualization and a measurement scale based on Scheins (1990) original career-anchors framework and Suutari and Takas (2004) extension that suggested the presence of an internationalism career anchor. Our analyses, conducted using two samples, one of students and one of business professionals in France, provide evidence for construct validity and reliability of the proposed construct.

Expatriate Family Narratives on International Mobility: Key Characteristics of the Successful Moveable Family

While the body of research that confirms the importance of family as a factor in expatriate success is growing steadily, organizations with expatriate employees do not appear to have utilized much of the knowledge generated by researchers. Expatriates still face just as many, if not more, family-related challenges as they did several decades ago. According to industry reports, organizations provide a wide variety of support services to address and hopefully ease many of the expatriation challenges. However, it is less than clear whether data provided by human resource (HR) managers and global mobility divisions is truly reflective of the experiences of expatriate families and whether the support that is offered is actually helpful. Further, despite increased attention to expatriate support issues, one thing has not changed: organizations and families generally underestimate, by a wide margin, the challenges of international assignments. Based on qualitative data from a sample of 656 respondents (primarily trailing spouses) in this chapter we explore family narratives on international mobility. We unpack issues such as key challenges and opportunities presented by international mobility as a family, the organizational support families receive – and the support they wish they could receive – during international relocations, the key characteristics of the successful “moveable family”, and the importance of family dynamics to successful assignments. We conclude by discussing emerging themes and ideas for future research on international mobility.

Cultural humility and low ethnocentrism as facilitators of expatriate performance

Purpose – For decades, expatriate scholars have understood that the individual factors of cultural humility and ethnocentrism and the contextual factors of feedback and support affect expatriates’ outcomes. The study, rooted in the observation that great advice and support are often ignored by expatriates, seeks to uncover why. Based in the humility literature, the authors test whether individual differences interact with support to affect expatriate performance. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The authors surveyed a matched sample of 62 expatriates and their supervisors from one multinational organization. Findings – The study found that expatriates higher in cultural humility benefit more from the support and feedback offered in the host national work environment which, in turn, facilitates better supervisor ratings of performance. The authors also found that expatriates’ ethnocentrism has a direct negative influence on their ratings of performance. Research limitat...

The Role of Repatriation in and for Global Careers

Repatriation encompasses the phase in which individuals return from an international work experience. Regardless of whether the transition takes place within one organization or across organizations, returning home after working abroad constitutes a critical step for an individual’s future career. In this chapter, we review individuals’ experiences from the expatriation-repatriation transition period with regard to their longer-term career decisions. We take into account the challenges and opportunities that repatriation entails as well as the implications of repatriation for individuals’ global careers, and we suggest areas for further research.

The Influence of Motivation, Opportunity, Ability, and Tacitness on Repatriate Knowledge Transfer

This paper examines the dyadic aspect of repatriate knowledge transfer using time-lagged multi-source data from 101 knowledge transfer dyads comprised of repatriates as knowledge senders and domest...