List of definitions 2

Introduction............................................................................................................................ 2

1. Theoretical framework background of organisational support through social platforms

in expatriates’ adjustment process......................................................................................2

1.1. Theoretical insights of expatriates’ adjustment process........................................2

1.1.1. The importance of expatriates’ adjustment process.......................................2

1.1.2. Stages of expatriates’ adjustment process....................................................2

1.1.3. Factors influencing expatriates’ adjustment...................................................5

1.1.3.1. Individual factors........................................................................................5

1.1.3.2. Job-related factors.....................................................................................5

1.1.3.3. Organisational factors................................................................................5

1.1.3.4. Non-work factors........................................................................................6

1.2. Organisational role in expatriates’ adjustment process.........................................6

1.2.1. Support of receiving organisations in expatriates’ adjustment process..........6

1.2.2. Support of sending organisation in expatriates’ adjustment process.............6

1.3.1. Meaning of social platforms in management studies and in expatriates’

adjustment process......................................................................................................7

1.3.2. Virtual communities and their connection with expatriates’ adjustment

process 7

1.4. Theoretical aspects of organisational support through social platforms in

expatriates’ adjustment process......................................................................................8

1.4.2. Theory of embeddedness..............................................................................8

1.4.3. Institutional theory.........................................................................................8

References........................................................................................................................... 12
List of definitions

Introduction

1. Theoretical framework background of organisational support

through social platforms in expatriates’ adjustment process

1.1. Theoretical insights of expatriates’ adjustment process

1.1.1. The importance of expatriates’ adjustment process

Edstrom and Galbraith (1977) define expatriates as workers who are relocated to another
country, different from their home country, for professional purposes. Expatriate adjustment
is the process where a worker leaves their familiar environments and relocates to a foreign
one and it is seen as the psychological comfort that the expatriate has in the new country
(Black et al., 1991). The inability of the expatriates of adjusting to the new host country is
one of the most common reasons for failed international assignments (Shaffer et al., 1999;
Okpara and Kabongo, 2010).

Starting with late 1970s, many researchers shifted their focus towards expatriate adjustment
processes (Black et al., 1991). However, most of them failed to account for the social,
psychological and behavioural aspects that play a crucial role in the expatriates’ adjustment
process. In order to understand the expatriate adjustment process and failed international
assignments, it is important to conduct additional research in this field.

1.1.2. Stages of expatriates’ adjustment process

The expatriate adjustment process is defined by Torbiorn (1988) as having four stages that
are seen as a U-curve. The process is sequential and includes honeymoon, culture shock,
adjustment and mastery (figure 1). The adjustment rises during honeymoon phase,
decreases as the cultural shock settles in, and starts rising again as the adjusting takes
place; finally, it culminates with mastery.

According to Torbiorn (1988), the first phase takes places in the first few weeks of the
expatriate’s arrival in the host country. This is a relatively stable phase because the expat
finds the new culture fascinating. Once they start to understand the characteristics of the
new country, the expats go through cultural shock, often categorised by negative feelings
towards the host country; this happens because the expats learn that their behaviours and
attitudes are not appropriate for the new country, but, in this stage, they do now know how to
replace them. In adjustment stage, the expats start to develop their adaptability skills, they
start to learn new appropriate behaviours; lastly, in the mastery phase, the expats are
proficient in performing the appropriate activities, their negative feelings of hostility and
anxiety towards the new country disappear and they can function appropriately in the host
country (Black, 1988; Bhaskar-Shrinivas et al. 2005).

Figure 1 - Stages of expatriates' adjustment process (Torbiorn, 1988)

Source: Adapted from Torbiorn (1988)

A more complex framework is developed by Black et al. (1991), depicted in Figure 2 below.
They suggest two dimensions that consist of seven components of the expatriates’
adjustment process. The anticipatory adjustment dimension include factors that exist before
the expats leave their home countries. The second dimension, in-country adjustment,
encompasses issues that arise in the host country.

Figure 2 - Expatriates adjustment process (Black et al. 1991)

Source: Adapted from Black et al. (1991)

 1.1.3. Factors influencing expatriates’ adjustment

This thesis will discuss the factors influencing expatriates’ adjustment according to Black et
al.’s (1991) model of expatriates’ adjustment process because, according to Bhaskar-
Shrinivas et al. (2005) who conducted a study on 8474 expatriates, Black et al.’s (1991)
model is the most significant and the most commonly used theoretical model in researching
expatriates’ adjustment processes.

1.1.3.1. Individual factors

Individual factors that influence expatriates’ adjustment in the host country reported by Black
(1988) include technical and managerial competence, social relations skills, expats’ desire to
adjust to the host country, open-mindedness of expats. More recently, studies such as Mol
et al. (2005) consider that the Big Five personality traits were as predictive for the
adjustment process (openness, neuroticism, agreeableness, extraversion and
conscientiousness, according to Goldberg (1993)). Tan et al. (2005) contribute by adding
that the emotional intelligence should be taken into consideration because expats’ emotional
well-being has a strong impact on their international experience. Despite such additions,
Okpara and Kabongo (2010) state that Black et al.’s (1991) model allows researchers to
include more factors on each level.

1.1.3.2. Job-related factors

According to Black (1988), the job-related factors that might ease or constrain expatriates’
adjustment processes are role novelty, defined as the difference between previous job role
and current job role, role ambiguity, role conflict and role overload. He also proposed the
addition of three more job-related factors that might facilitate the adjustment process: role
discretion, previous work experience and previous knowledge.

1.1.3.3. Organisational factors

Black et al. (1991) state that the organisational factors are central to the adjustment process
because the better the expatriates match the organisational needs, the easier they will adapt
in the new environment. Organisations also have a crucial impact on expatriates’ adjustment
process. For instance, Black et al. (1991) claim that the organisations have a duty to offer
logistical support for day-to-day living (such as schooling, housing, and others); this support
is expected to ease the process by meeting expatriates’ demands that arise in the foreign
environment and supply them with necessary resources when they need them. In other
words, organisational support might be seen as a stress buffer for expatriates and increase
job satisfaction by offering resources and high-quality help when expatriates require them.
 1.1.3.4. Non-work factors

Expatriates’ family’s adjustment was found to be extremely relevant by Tung (1982), who
conducted a study on American expats and concluded that the primary cause for expats’
failure was the fact that the spouse was unable to adapt to the host country. Several other
studies such as Black (1988), Black and Stephens (1989) and Bhaskar-Shrinivas et al.
(2005) found strong evidence on the positive relationship between spouses’ adjustment and
the expatriates’ adjustment.

Culture novelty proposes that some countries are harder to adjust to than other. In other
terms, the more similar the new country is to the domestic country, the easier it might be for
the expatriates to adapt in the new environment (Torbiorn, 1988).

1.2. Organisational role in expatriates’ adjustment process

1.2.1. Support of receiving organisations in expatriates’ adjustment process

Organisational support plays a crucial role in expatriates’ adjustment process. On one hand,
the organisational support of receiving organisations relates the perceived commitment to
the employees’ well-being, but also to the quality of the relationships developed in the
workplace.

According to the social exchange theory, there needs to be a reciprocal change between
employees and their employers (March and Simon, 1958). For expatriates, this means that
the receiving organisations should offer their employees rewards and recognition (i.e.
language training) (Guzzo et al., 1994). In return, expatriates might improve their job
performance and facilitate their adjustment process. Research shows that expatriates that
receive support from their receiving organisation improve their mental well-being, increase
their positive feelings and reduce the turnover rate (March and Simion, 1958; Mathieu and
Zajac, 1990). Van Der Heijden, Van Engen and Paauwe (2009) proved that the lack of
organisational support from receiving organisations is positively correlated with the
assignment failures.

1.2.2. Support of sending organisation in expatriates’ adjustment process

The main challenges of expatriate management could be avoided or at least minimised

through the support of sending organisations in expatriates’ adjustment process. More
specifically, sending organisations need to plan their strategy prior to sending expatriates
abroad. Chew and Horwitz (2004) proposes a three-step strategy that will achieve this task:
selection, training and repatriation policies.

Empirical research also supports the idea that sending organisations play an important role
in expatriates’ adjustment process. For instance, appropriate training prior to the departure
was demonstrated to ease the adjustment process for expatriates, especially when the
expats need to interact with host nationals, according to Black (1988), Tung (1998) and
Shaffer et al. (1999). Hofstede (1980) and Dunbar and Bird (1990) also suggest that the
support provided by sending organisation will help the expatriates to avoid many challenges
that they might otherwise face in the host country.

1.3. Social platforms and their implementation in expatriates’ adjustment process

1.3.1. Meaning of social platforms in management studies and in expatriates’

adjustment process

Social platforms in management studies refers to social media that includes, but is not
limited to content creation, sharing and exchange information, such as forums, blogs and
microblogs, networking sites, virtual communities, review sites. This thesis investigates the
social platforms and their role in expatriates’ adjustment process, referring to those virtual
communities that are assisted through CMC (computer-mediated communication). CMC is
based on the human interaction and communication through computers and other handheld
devices that enable users to interact with each other (Simpson, 2002). This may include
online chats, audio and video conferencing, email, discussion forums and others (Simpson,
2002, p.414).

1.3.2. Virtual communities and their connection with expatriates’ adjustment process

The social platforms that gather individuals who share mutual interests, experiences and
even mutual emotional structure are known as virtual communities. In the context of
expatriates’ adjustment process, the virtual communities are composed of expatriates living
in the same host country, having the same national background or even global virtual
communities for expats living all over the world. They provide support and can strongly
impact the expatriates’ adjustment process and integration in the host country’s cultural and
societal landscape. Feldman and Bolino (1999), Caligiuri and Lazarova (2002) state that the
virtual communities for expats improve the information exchange which can help expats
adjust their attitudes and learn accepted behaviours in the host country, reducing anxiety
and uncertainty. Caligiuri and Lazarova (2002, p.762) state that social support via virtual
communities help expats mobilise their emotional and psychological resources and improve
their self-esteem through reinforcement, recognition and affirmation which enhances the
expatriates’ adjustment process.

There is limited research on the topic of virtual communities and expatriates’ adjustment
process. For instance, Pruetipibultham and McLean (2011) conducted a study in Thailand
and they examined the influence of social platforms who moved to Lao PDR and Indonesia.
Their results stated that the key player in expatriates’ adjustment process was the feeling of
closeness to social actors developed through social platforms (p.10). Hattingh (2014) studied
the expatriates living in Saudi Arabia applying the Sense of Community theory and
concluded that the virtual communities they were part of enhanced their adjustment process
through helping the expatriates bond with other expats that had the same nationality and
even those who worked within the same company.

1.4. Theoretical aspects of organisational support through social platforms in

expatriates’ adjustment process

1.4.1. Sense of Community theory

The Sense of Community (SOC) theory iterates that affiliation with any community is defined
in terms of membership, fulfilment of needs, influence and integration (McMillan and Chavis,
1986). Expatriates do not only need to feel that they belong to the community in the host
country (membership), but they also require reassurance that they make a difference
through their presence and they exert a certain degree of influence over the other members
(influence). Moreover, the community need to integrate the expatriates and grant access to
any required resources that will satisfy their needs (integration and fulfilment of needs).

Additionally, McMillan (1996) altered his initial components and transformed them into spirit,
trust, trade and art. The rationale for his change is that the components now have more
depth For instance, spirit does not refer only to feelings of relatedness anymore; rather, he
speaks about friendship and cohesion among members (Rovai, 2002). His new components
follow a sequential process: trust precedes trade, which precedes art. More specifically, the
members need to build credibility in the new community in order to trade information. Lastly,
art comes to define the new bonds formed among the members, replacing the initial loose
ones.

1.4.2. Theory of embeddedness

The theory of embeddedness posits that there are three levels of ties among actors in
organisations: job, organisational, and occupational (Lee et al. 2004, Ng and Feldman,
2007). Essentially, the theory can be divided into two dimensions. On one hand, from a
structural point of view, the theory describes the network configuration of the ties between
actors. On the other hand, from a relational point of view, the theory aims to examine the
quality of the ties among actors. The theory of embeddedness, therefore, defines the links
between actors. The stronger (embedded) the link, the smaller the employees’ intention to
terminate their contracts and vice versa (Granovetter, 1973).
 1.4.3. Institutional theory

Institutional theory is based on the premise that institutions in a society have the power of
influencing human behaviour, which leads to a correlation of business activities over time.
Because institutions differ from one country to another, institutional theory purports to
enclose these disparities between societies, considering the processes where structures (i.e.
regulations, routines, norms and others ) are transformed into guidelines for appropriate
behaviour in the society (Scott, 1995). DiMaggio and Powell (1983) explain that institutions
which are highly organised help individuals to deal with uncertainty, which leads to
homogenous culture and outcomes.

Analysing the work of DiMaggio and Powell (1983) and Scott (1995, 2008), one might
differentiate among normative, cultural-cognitive and regulative institutional order. Normative
elements are those who address the social life of an individual; regulative elements are
concerned with monitoring activities and sanctioning those which do not abide by the rules;
lastly, cultural-cognitive aspects stress the shared conceptions in the society and the overall
guidelines that establish the social reality (Scott, 2008).

1.5. Theoretical model of organisational support through social platforms in

expatriates’ adjustment process
Additional notes regarding the reviewed proposal

In the proposal, I have mentioned I was planning to collect the data through online surveys.
You have kindly mentioned that interviews might be a better option. My idea was that, since
it is a PHD thesis, quite a large sample of data should be gathered and I was planning to
contact as many expats as possible online. The interviews might imply face-to-face
meetings, which is possible, but I was thinking that it’s more likely that online surveys will
gather a larger sample. So, my refreshed proposition would be two gather data through both,
online surveys and also face-to-face interviews with expats, for a greater sample and for an
insight from different points of view. What do you think about this?

Additional notes regarding the introduction chapter:

As mentioned above, I have explained two models for expatriate adjustment. I am not sure if
you would like me to go with the traditional Black et al. one; alternatively, I have managed to
put together the following one, which is a collection of other people’s work, rather than just
one model and I was planning to integrate it at 1.5 (theoretical model for the thesis – what do
you think?). However, using this one will imply a thorough and quite bulky discussion about
each and every factor written below, and I am not sure where you would like me to
concentrate my attention: the literature review or the methodology/empirical analysis part?
Or should they both be equally discussed in the paper? Should I use the extended version
below, but only briefly going over all factors?

I was planning to design the interviews and/or online survey to address the points in the
models (i.e. how organisations act through social platforms to address the following issues in
expatriates’ adjustment process; are they all addressed? How do organisations actually
address those issues? Can they all be addressed or are there any limitations to social
platforms? How do expats feel about organisational role in their adjustment? – these might
be preliminary research questions, as I am sure they will evolve throughout the evolution of
the paper). I am looking forward to hearing your opinion and I am extremely grateful for all
your help.

This is the model I mentioned (I will make a list for now, I can create an appropriate graph if
you advise me to use this one instead):

Job

 Perceived organisational support

 Technical skills and job knowledge
 Job uncertainty
 Frequent international travel
  Role ambiguity
 International communication (different time zones)
 Underutilisation of vacation entitlement
 Longer hours/ more work days

Expatriates’ characteristics

 Demographic: length of assignment in host country, life cycle stage, gender,

nationality
 Psychographic: language skills, relationships, self-esteem, cultural openness, self-
efficacy, work pressure (i.e. to perform), expat’s personality

Family

 Familial problems
 Spouse: adjustment, job offers for the spouse
 Social network
 Challenges for children
 Family unity

Culture and society

 Language barriers
 Religious background
 Cultural shocks
 Ethnic background

Career

 Underuse of skills developed in home country

 Career path confusion or loss of direction
 Lack of advancement in career
 New skills that cannot be used back in home country

Other:

 Difference between previous living conditions and actual living conditions

 Housing
 Preparation for international assignment
 Foreign experience
 Climate in the host country
 Cuisine in the host country
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