dc.description.abstract |
The purpose of this study was to present and test an organized framework for
understanding international experience and to identify the developmental aspects of
international experience that facilitate performance and adjustment abroad. The
framework consisted of quantitative and qualitative elements to provide a
multidimensional examination of international experience that went beyond traditional
uni-dimensional measures of international experience to more effectively capture the
construct. A key differentiator of this model is the addition of several key qualitative
elements including cultural challenge, complexity, variety, cultural involvement, social
involvement, and work involvement. The elements of involvement—cultural, social, and
work—each related to different aspects of adjustment. Behavioral aspects of cultural
complexity were negatively related to performance, contrary to what was hypothesized.
This study also examined the role of a key factor, individual flexibility, as a direct
predictor of performance abroad and as a moderator to the international experience—
performance/adjustment relationship. Flexibility was positively and directly related to
performance and also moderated the relationships between cultural challenge and
performance, such that flexible individuals who engaged in culturally challenging
experiences while abroad on their current assignment were associated with higher levels
of performance than less flexible individuals. Flexibility also moderated the relationship
between variety of experiences and performance abroad. Overall, this paper contributes
to the increased knowledge and understanding of international work assignments and
how they can be strategically shaped to benefit both the individual expatriate working
abroad and their employing organization. |
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