Communicational antecedents obtain a supporting function for cross-cultural adjustment. Hence, this Master Thesis empirically seeks to find a divergence of language proficiency and willingness to communicate towards the adjustment dimensions and additionally investigates adjustment in the beginning of the international assignment and the current point-in-time. Furthermore, these relationships are examined on a potential interaction of the expatriates’ hierarchical position, since it has been argued that language is more important for supervisory personnel and willingness to communicate more denoted to upper management levels. The moderating effect of the assignees’ assignment vector is scrutinized in order to confirm whether the comprehensive model of international adjustment (Black et al, 1991) applies equally well to all 97 participating expatriates. Quantitative analysis revealed a positive relationship of both communication skills towards interaction and work adjustment dimension with a higher significance level at the current point-in-time and a slightly higher importance of willingness to communicate to explain the relationship. Hierarchy level and assignment vector, contrariwise, do not indicate any significant relevance on the adjustment progress.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
1.1 Problem Statement
1.2 Research Gap and Agenda
1.3 Methodology
2. Literature Review
2.1 Basic Definitions
2.1.1 International Assignments
2.1.2 Expatriates
2.1.3 Culture
2.2 Cross-Cultural Adjustment
2.2.1 Definition of a Multi-Dimensional Adjustment Concept
2.2.2 The Model of International Adjustment
2.3 Theoretical Framework and Hypothesis Development
2.3.1 Mutual Dependencies
2.3.2 Language Proficiency
2.3.3 Willingness to Communicate
2.3.4 Influence of Moderators
2.3.5 Dynamic Approach of two Points-in-Time
2.4 Research Model
3. Methods
3.1 Sample
3.1.1 Participation and Research Relevancy
3.1.2 Demographic Data
3.1.3 Countries of Origin
3.1.4 Countries of Assignment
3.2 Measures
3.2.1 Independent Variables
3.2.2 Dependent Variables
3.2.3 Moderating Variables
3.2.4 Control Variables
3.3 Quantitative Analysis and Procedure
3.3.1 Factor Analysis
3.3.2 Descriptive Statistics
3.3. Regression Analysis and Hypothesis Testing
4. Results
5. Discussion
5.1 Key Findings
5.2 Limitations
6. Conclusion and Implications
Objectives & Core Topics
This master thesis aims to empirically examine the influence of communication skills—specifically language proficiency and willingness to communicate—on the cross-cultural adjustment of expatriates. Furthermore, it investigates whether hierarchical level and assignment vector moderate these relationships, while adopting a dynamic perspective by observing adjustment at two different points in time.
- Impact of language proficiency and willingness to communicate on adjustment dimensions.
- Examination of the moderation effects of hierarchical position and assignment vector.
- Dynamic assessment of adjustment progress over time.
- Validation of the Black et al. (1991) international adjustment model.
- Quantitative analysis based on a survey of 97 international assignees.
Excerpt from the Book
1.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT
In terms of incremental global interdependencies of economies and business activities in general, it is vital to be aware of the increased mobility of human resources and the variables concerning a proper assessment of international assignments in regards to host countries. Precisely, ‘global business strategies require global human resource systems and globally competent people’. In fact, the thought and practice of using expatriate managers is very old, nevertheless, multinational companies often fail to introduce international human resource management as a strategic asset, due to lack of labor capacity (Selmer, 1995: 9).
There are different approaches to international human resource management (IHRM), whereas the focus on aspects of HRM in multinational firms with a behavioral component is of interest. According to Dowling (1999: 29), the difference between common HRM and international human resource management derives from the complexity of three distinct groups of employees joining together in the host country (Dowling and Welch, 2005):
Host country nationals (HCNs)
Parent country nationals (PCNs)
Third country nationals (TCNs)
Hence, ‘expatriates and their new groups play a critical role in the strategy development and implementation of the firms’ plans to engage in oversees ventures’ (Ramsey, 2005: 378).
With regard to first-year costs of international assignments, besides the critical groups executing these tasks abroad, Shaffer, Harrison and Gilley (1999: 558) estimate that there is three times higher initial spending in comparison to the former domestic base salary. Not only the lost revenue spent by companies on inefficient employees, but also early returning expatriates, along with the essence of a certain convergence of corporate cultures in multinational companies, have drawn attention to the adjustment process of individuals since the nineteen seventies (Black, Mendenhall and Oddou, 1991: 291).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Presents the problem statement regarding international human resource management and identifies the research gap concerning communication skills and adjustment dynamics.
2. Literature Review: Provides definitions of key terms like expatriates and culture, and synthesizes existing research on cross-cultural adjustment to build a theoretical framework and set of hypotheses.
3. Methods: Details the quantitative research design, including sample selection, variable definition, and the statistical procedure used to test the hypotheses.
4. Results: Reports the statistical findings of the regression analyses regarding the communication factors and their impact on different adjustment dimensions at two points in time.
5. Discussion: Interprets the key findings in the context of existing literature and acknowledges the limitations of the empirical study.
6. Conclusion and Implications: Summarizes the study’s contribution to the international adjustment model and offers practical implications for expatriate selection and future research.
Keywords
language proficiency, willingness to communicate, hierarchy level, assignment vector, expatriates, cross-cultural adjustment, international human resource management, socio-cultural adaptation, communication skills, adjustment dimensions, longitudinal study, global mobility, organizational behavior, expatriate selection, empirical analysis
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this thesis?
The thesis focuses on the dynamic cross-cultural adjustment process of expatriates, specifically analyzing how communication skills (language proficiency and willingness to communicate) influence this process and how this is moderated by hierarchical position and assignment vector.
Which key topics are covered?
The main topics include the definition of expatriation, cross-cultural adjustment facets (work, general, and interaction adjustment), the impact of communication-related variables, and the dynamic progression of adjustment over the duration of an assignment.
What is the primary objective or research question?
The objective is to empirically verify if language proficiency and willingness to communicate are significantly related to various facets of adjustment and to determine if these relationships vary based on the expatriate's hierarchical level and assignment vector at different stages of the international assignment.
What methodology is utilized?
The research employs a quantitative method based on a survey of 97 expatriates. The data is analyzed using factor analysis and multiple regression analyses via SPSS.
What does the main body address?
The main body reviews existing literature, develops four specific hypotheses, describes the survey methodology, presents empirical regression results, and discusses the findings relative to the existing Black et al. (1991) model.
Which keywords characterize this work?
Key terms include language proficiency, willingness to communicate, hierarchy level, assignment vector, expatriates, and cross-cultural adjustment.
Does the study confirm that communication skills are always the most critical factor for adjustment?
While the study finds strong effects on interaction adjustment, it suggests that willingness to communicate may be a more noteworthy component for adjustment than language proficiency alone, though it notes potential limitations due to item sets.
What is the conclusion regarding the role of hierarchy and assignment vector?
The study found no significant moderating effect of hierarchical position or assignment vector on the underlying communicational adjustment process in the provided sample.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Michael Eichinger (Autor:in), 2010, A Dynamic Approach to the Language Adjustment of Expatriates and the Interaction of their Hierarchy Level and Assignment Vector, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.hausarbeiten.de/document/184597
