Effects of Expatriate Demographic Characteristics on Adjustment: A Social Identity Approach 1

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1 Effects of Expatriate Demographic Characteristics on Adjustment: A Social Identity Approach 1 Jesse E. Olsen Doctoral Candidate Georgia Institute of Technology College of Management 800 West Peachtree Street NW Atlanta, GA Luis L. Martins Associate Professor Georgia Institute of Technology College of Management 800 West Peachtree Street NW Atlanta, GA ABSTRACT: Expatriates are receiving growing emphasis by both scholars and practitioners as organizations are increasingly going global and need expatriates to manage their operations in various parts of the world. A key factor affecting an expatriate s success in an international assignment is the support that the expatriate receives from host country nationals (HCNs) with whom he/she works. However, researchers interested in understanding expatriate success have not examined the phenomenon much from an HCN perspective. At the same time, although we have gained a significant understanding of the roles of psychological, organizational, and contextual variables in the international assignment, there is still much to be understood about how expatriates demographic characteristics affect their experiences in international assignments. Current findings regarding effects of demographic characteristics are often inconsistent, highlighting the need for more complex theorizing. This paper reviews recent research on the effects of expatriate demographic characteristics and proposes a social identity approach to understanding how these characteristics affect HCN support for the expatriate. It seeks to develop theory that addresses discrepancies in extant empirical findings, and provides propositions to guide future research in the study of expatriates. The paper also discusses implications of the framework proposed for both researchers and practitioners. Keywords: expatriates, host country nationals, demographics, diversity, Social Identity Theory, international HRM, global careers Organizations that wish to succeed in this era of globalization are realizing that they must turn to international markets in order to remain competitive. An integral part of setting up a subsidiary overseas, acquiring a foreign organization, or participating in an international joint venture is a successful expatriate or international assignment program. However, many assignments end in the premature return of the expatriate or in expatriate attrition (GMAC, 2007), while some expatriates may experience psychological withdrawal even as they remain in their international assignment (Black & Gregersen, 1991; Shaffer & Harrison, 1998; Tung, 1981). A recent study reveals that the expatriate s inability to adjust to the new environment is a key factor leading to unsuccessful expatriate assignments, with 57 percent of human resource managers surveyed citing this as a problem; only partner dissatisfaction was mentioned more frequently (GMAC, 2007). 1 This is a preprint of an article published in Human Resource Management, 48(2), , March/April 2009, available at (Please cite the publisher s version.) 1

2 Research to date has made considerable advances in defining and describing expatriate adjustment (e.g., Black, 1988; Black & Stephens, 1989), as well as understanding many of the antecedents and consequences of the phenomenon (see Harrison, Shaffer, & Bhaskar-Shrinivas, 2004 for a recent review). The current dominant model of expatriate adjustment suggests, among other things, that those who surround an expatriate while on assignment the host country nationals (HCNs) may play a role in expatriate adjustment through the support that they provide to the expatriate (Black, Mendenhall, & Oddou, 1991). However, few researchers (Toh & DeNisi, 2003, 2005; Varma, Toh, & Budhwar, 2006) have examined how HCNs might contribute to adjustment, or the factors that determine HCN support for an expatriate. Additionally, a review of the literature reveals that research on expatriates has tended to focus primarily on psychological, organizational, and contextual variables as predictors of an expatriate s experience on an international assignment. One set of variables that has not been explored in much detail is expatriate demographics. Furthermore, the little empirical research that does exist on the effects of expatriate demographics has been inconclusive. Understanding the effects of these characteristics on the expatriate experience is important as the pool of expatriate managers grows increasingly diverse, reflecting the changing nature of the workforce and increased global mobility of employees (Inkson, Arthur, Pringle, & Barry, 1997). For one, such an understanding is likely to contribute to organizations abilities to develop their diverse pool of employees. There is evidence that a lack of understanding of the effects of expatriate demographic characteristics could lead to poor decision making based on weak assumptions, and in the process deprive certain individuals the opportunity to pursue global careers. For example, as is discussed in further detail in a later section, erroneous assumptions about how women will adjust to international assignments have in the past caused some organizations to maintain low percentages of female expatriates (Adler, 1984, 1987, 1993, 1994, 2002). Secondly, researchers have noted the importance of the international assignment in contributing to an expatriate s career development (e.g., Feldman & Thomas, 1992; Selmer, Ebrahimi, & Mingtao, 2002; Stahl, Miller, & Tung, 2002). At the same time, successful multinational corporations are noting the importance of training employees to function across cultures (Metcalfe & Rees, 2005). A better understanding of the effects of expatriate demographic characteristics could contribute not only to the personal and professional 2

3 development of the expatriate, but also to organizations abilities to develop effective training and international human resource development programs. This paper seeks to explore how expatriates demographic characteristics may play a role in their experience in international assignments. Specifically, we use Social Identity Theory as the basis of a theoretical framework of the relationship between expatriate demographic characteristics and HCN support. In the process, we also attempt to explain inconsistent results in the literature on the effects of expatriates demographic characteristics, and seek to address the need to explore the role of HCNs. In the section below, we first discuss expatriate adjustment and extant research on HCN support, and then provide a brief overview of the relevant research on social identity that forms the basis of the framework proposed. Next, we use social identity theory to examine prior research and form new propositions on the effects of demographic characteristics on HCN support. Finally, we discuss the implications of our framework for both research and practice. DEFINITIONS AND KEY CONCEPTS Expatriates are defined as employees of business organizations, who are sent [to another country] on a temporary basis to complete a time-based task or accomplish an organizational goal (Harrison et al., 2004). Human resource practitioners note the high turnover rate among expatriates, as well as the prominence of premature returns (GMAC, 2007). In addition, researchers in this field have pointed out that some expatriates may experience psychological withdrawal (Black & Gregersen, 1991; Shaffer & Harrison, 1998; Tung, 1981), which may be even more costly to the organization than physical withdrawal (Harzing, 1995). In any event, assignment failure may take various forms. Low performance, attrition, and psychological withdrawal are all undesirable outcomes, potentially leading to high costs to the organization. According to human resource practitioners, expatriates inability to adjust is one of the biggest reasons for failure (GMAC, 2007). Expatriate adjustment has been commonly defined as the degree of comfort or absence of stress associated with being an expatriate (Bhaskar- Shrinivas, Harrison, Shaffer, & Luk, 2005). Prior research has found that expatriate adjustment is related to critical organizational variables (Harrison et al., 2004). For example, it is negatively related to withdrawal cognitions, i.e., an expatriate s intentions to leave an assignment (e.g., Black & Stephens, 1989; Gregersen & Black, 1990; Takeuchi, Tesluk, Yun, & Lepak, 2005; Takeuchi, Yun, & Russell, 2002) and positively related to satisfaction (both work- and non- 3

4 work-related) (e.g., Nicholson & Imaizumi, 1993; Shaffer & Harrison, 1998). Expatriate adjustment has also been found to be positively related to performance (e.g., Kraimer, Wayne, & Jaworski, 2001; Parker & McEvoy, 1993), though recently some have challenged the extent to which researchers have claimed these constructs to be related (Thomas & Lazarova, 2006). Relatively little expatriate research focuses on host country nationals (HCNs), or the natives of the host country, with whom the expatriate may have contact on assignment. The little research that does exist on this subject finds that expatriates with large and diverse networks experience greater adjustment (Johnson, Kristof-Brown, van Vianen, & de Pater, 2003; Wang & Kanungo, 2004) and that HCN coworker support is positively related to expatriate adjustment (Aryee & Stone, 1996; Shaffer, Harrison, & Gilley, 1999; Toh, 2003). Scholars taking the HCN into consideration primarily refer to HCN co-workers of the expatriate (e.g., Toh & DeNisi, 2003; Varma et al., 2006), rather than to HCNs in general both within and outside of the organizational setting (see Johnson et al., 2003 for an exception). Because of the work-oriented goals of the expatriate s assignment abroad, this paper will also focus on HCN co-workers, though much of the discussion to follow may also be applicable with modification to the expatriate s HCN acquaintances outside of the organization. We should note that expatriates may have different modes of adjustment, one of which may be to regress into an environmental bubble of the home country, i.e., an enclave which shelter[s] them off from the environment of the host society (Cohen, 1977: 16). This would essentially isolate the expatriate from the host country and allow for an existence somewhat similar to that he or she had at home. However, we posit that the primary objectives of many modern organizations (e.g., transferring technology, knowledge, and organizational culture to the host country, or building local business relationships; see GMAC, 2007) require expatriates to interact with HCN co-workers. Although environmental bubbles undoubtedly exist, most business expatriates in this era must be able to adjust to the host country and interactions with its natives. Our paper applies to these expatriates, rather than to those who are able to confine themselves to environmental bubbles. Social Identity Theory Social Identity Theory or SIT (e.g., Tajfel & Turner, 1979; Turner, 1985) provides a sound theoretical basis for understanding HCN support, and in particular, how it is affected by the expatriate s demographic characteristics. SIT proposes that individuals derive their sense of 4

5 self through membership in social groups (e.g., Tajfel & Turner, 1979; Turner, 1985). At a basic level, the theory addresses individual behavior within the context of groups and both actual and perceived group membership. In its original formulation, SIT seeks to explain inter-group behavior and is based on the assumptions that 1) individuals seek a positive self-concept, 2) group memberships tend to carry with them socially-defined positive or negative evaluations, and 3) individuals evaluate their own groups via comparisons with other groups (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). Tajfel and Turner (1979) note that through the process of ingroup-outgroup differentiation, one shows favoritism toward his/her own group and acts discriminatorily against the relevant outgroup(s). Such biases have important implications in organizations, as they can facilitate or inhibit cooperative and supportive behavior (Ashforth & Mael, 1989). A major advance in the SIT literature is Turner s (1985) introduction of selfcategorization theory (SCT), which seeks to further explain the cognitive processes behind social identification as the basis of inter-group dynamics. Turner (1985) posits that an individual s overall self-concept is composed of a number of situation-specific identities (both personal and social) that are activated as appropriate. At the social level, one categorizes oneself and others into groups, and through this process of social categorization, individuals are depersonalized, or viewed in terms of their group prototypicality, rather than as unique individuals. (Hogg & Terry, 2000; Turner, 1985). This line of research has also pointed out that the salience of a social category is important in determining whether that aspect of one s identity or that of others, is activated in interpersonal interactions (e.g., Brewer & Brown, 1998; Fiske & Taylor, 1991; Oakes, 1987). Social Identity Theory and Expatriate Research Despite the potential for SIT to inform the fundamental bases of HCN support for expatriates, it is only very recently that researchers have begun utilizing it as the theoretical underpinning for understanding the expatriate experience (e.g., Carr, Rugimbana, Walkom, & Bolitho, 2001; Toh & DeNisi, 2003, 2005; Varma et al., 2006). A review of the literature revealed a dissertation (Toh, 2003) and subsequent theoretical publication (Toh & DeNisi, 2003) largely utilizing Turner s (1985) SCT as the framework for a model that attempts to explain HCNs organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) toward facilitating expatriates adjustment. This research suggests that HCNs classification of the expatriate as a member of their ingroup is positively related to their adjustment-facilitating OCBs (Toh, 2003). This suggestion is in 5

6 agreement with Ashforth and Mael s (1989) discussion of cooperation with coworkers and support for the organization as outcomes of organizational identification. Another study, by Carr and colleagues (2001), suggests that a prestige factor plays a role in expatriate-hcn relations. The researchers asked Tanzanian business undergraduate students about how they feel human resource managers would select job candidates from different countries. All else being equal, the respondents indicated that fellow Tanzanians would first be preferred for the job, followed by Western expatriates, and lastly East Africans. The authors suggest that the ingroup is preferred over both outgroups, as would be predicted by the notion put forth in SIT that individuals show favoritism toward their own groups (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). Furthermore, the study supports the proposition of SIT that given two outgroups, the one that is more subject to comparison would be more subject to social competition (Tajfel & Turner, 1979). Carr et al. (2001) explain that Tanzanians would view Westerners, who generally come from countries that differ considerably from Tanzania, as less comparable to themselves than nationals from nearby countries which they may see as more similar to Tanzania. This application of SIT, though related to expatriate selection rather than to HCN support, lends empirical support to the idea that HCNs tend to categorize expatriates based on the processes identified by SIT. Overall, whereas SIT has the potential to inform understanding of the mechanisms underlying expatriates experiences in international assignments, we have barely scratched the surface in terms of applying the theory, especially when it comes to understanding HCN support. In the remainder of this section, we propose some core propositions about the social identity dynamics underlying international assignments, and then use those as the foundation for the framework connecting expatriate demographics to HCN support in the following section. By definition, the expatriate is a foreigner in the host country, so his/her membership in a foreigner outgroup will likely be salient to the HCNs initially (Toh, 2003; Toh & DeNisi, 2003, 2005). SIT research has found that salient demographic characteristics are likely to be used as bases for social categorization, as they are more readily cognitively available (Brewer & Brown, 1998; Tsui, Egan, & O'Reilly, 1992). Thus, a starting proposition may be stated as follows: Proposition 1: HCNs will initially categorize an expatriate as a member of a foreigner outgroup. 6

7 Additionally, the expatriate is likely to be viewed by the HCNs as a member of another department or organizational unit within the same super-ordinate organization. According to Ashforth and Mael (1989), unless members of separate organizational units share a strong organizational identity, the identities of their respective units are likely to be salient, possibly leading each party to view the other negatively. Applying this principle to the international assignment, we propose that Proposition 2: The stronger the super-ordinate organizational identity, the more likely the expatriate and HCNs will share a common identity in the organizational group. However, the weaker the super-ordinate organizational identity, the more likely the expatriate and HCNs will be to view one another as a member of an outgroup in terms of their subordinate organizational unit membership. Consistent with an approach using SIT and related research (like that of Toh & DeNisi, 2003; Varma et al., 2006), it may be posited that if HCNs and expatriates identify with the same social group, HCNs will be more willing to support the group through cooperation with expatriate members at work and possibly even outside of work. Additionally, interactions should occur more easily between expatriates and HCNs if they identify with the same social group. These arguments are consistent with the propositions of SIT that individuals will be more likely to have positive attitudes and behavior toward those that they classify as belonging to one of their ingroups (Ashforth & Mael, 1989). Therefore, in general, and forming a basic proposition in this paper, Proposition 3: As the salience (from the perspective of the HCNs) of a social identity common to the expatriate and HCNs increases, HCN support of the expatriate will also increase. A common social identity may take any of a number of forms, such as that of a cultural, racial, or organizational group. However, SIT posits that the categorization processes described above will be based on the most salient characteristics at a given time. Thus, it is likely that demographic characteristics will be used, at least initially, as the expatriate and HCNs interact with each other, since such characteristics are observable or readily detectable attributes (Milliken & Martins, 1996: 403). It is important to note that membership in a foreigner outgroup is normally based on such salient and fixed characteristics that a foreign individual has little to no social mobility (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) on this dimension. In other words, an expatriate who 7

8 has been categorized by HCNs as a foreigner based on dimensions such as national origin, race, or ethnicity will often be hard-pressed to remove him- or herself from the foreigner outgroup in the eyes of the HCNs (Toh & DeNisi, 2003; Varma et al., 2006). As will be discussed, this may work to the expatriate s advantage or disadvantage, and expatriates will have varying rates of success in moving into HCN ingroups, depending on their demographic characteristics and the characteristics of the host country. Foreign outgroup membership may be so salient to HCNs that an expatriate is unable to benefit from his/her membership in a prestigious group (such as the dominant sex in that particular culture, or as an elder to be respected in a culture emphasizing Confucian values). On the other hand, the expatriate may be able to benefit from his/her foreignness if there is risk of being categorized on some less favorable dimension (for example, if he/she is a member of the non-dominant sex in that country). These phenomena will be further discussed in the sections on expatriate sex and age. The remainder of this paper will thus use a social identity approach to explore how the demographic characteristics of both expatriates and HCNs may come into play in explaining HCN support for expatriates. DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS AND HCN SUPPORT: A SOCIAL IDENTITY APPROACH Whereas SIT is one of the most commonly used theories in research on the effects of demographic characteristics in the literature on workforce diversity (see Milliken & Martins, 1996; van Knippenberg & Schippers, 2007; and Williams & O'Reilly, 1998 for reviews), it has not been applied similarly in research on expatriates. In this section we use SIT to propose relationships between demographic characteristics and HCNs adjustment-facilitating support for expatriates. In the process, we also suggest potential explanations for prior inconsistencies in findings regarding the effects of demographic characteristics on expatriate adjustment. Our arguments and propositions focus on the following demographic characteristics that have been central in research on expatriates and on diversity in organizations: national origin, race/ethnicity, sex, and age. National Origin A review of the literature reveals that research on expatriate national origin has approached the topic from the standpoint of the expatriate, without much regard for how it may affect the behaviors and attitudes of HCNs. In the 1980s, research on expatriate national origin 8

9 largely explored American expatriates in comparison to expatriates from other countries. Researchers suggested that due in part to insufficient training programs, Americans had a more difficult time adjusting in the host country than did expatriates of other nationalities (Kobrin, 1988; Tung, 1981; Tung, 1982, 1987). However, this effect was not seen in later research (Parker & McEvoy, 1993; Tung, 1998). Tung, who had in the 1980s noted Americans difficulties with adjustment, later observed that the Americans in her 1998 sample seemed to be more cosmopolitan, with more previous experience abroad and a greater knowledge of other languages and cultures (Tung, 1998). This research mainly reflects differences in the preparation and training of expatriates across countries, rather than how national origin is perceived and evaluated by individuals in the host country. More recent work that investigates the effect of an expatriate s national origin on international assignment outcomes has essentially focused on the expatriate s cultural distance (discussed below) from the country of assignment. However, there has been little recent research that investigates the effect of national origin itself (for exceptions, see Selmer, Ebrahimi, & Mingtao, 2000a, b; Selmer, Ling, Shiu, & de Leon, 2003). Whereas an expatriate s national origin is a determinant of the cultural distance between the home country and the host country, SIT suggests that national origin itself may have effects that are separate from cultural distance. Individuals are as likely to have positive or negative social evaluations of other nations as they are of any other social group, creating an effect that is triggered by national origin rather than cultural distance. The self-enhancement motive proposed by SIT (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) suggests that if the expatriate comes from a country that is seen as prestigious by the HCNs, the HCNs may be more likely to adopt him/her as a member of some common group or strive to belong to a common group with the prestigious expatriate. As a result, the expatriate may experience increased HCN support. On the other hand, an expatriate from a country that is seen as less prestigious than the host country will be less likely to be included in a common social group categorization by the HCNs. The HCNs may exhibit less interest in including such an expatriate in informal groups, may demonstrate competitive behavior or may simply avoid the expatriate, thus providing less adjustment-facilitating support than they would to an expatriate whom they perceive as being from a higher-prestige country. Indeed, although Carr et al. s (2001) study deals with selection as an outcome, it suggests that a country s prestige plays a role in HCNs attitudes and behaviors toward an expatriate. Therefore, 9

10 Proposition 4: The more prestigious an expatriate s country of origin as viewed by the HCNs, the more support the expatriate will receive. As noted above, rather than examine an expatriate s nationality itself, much of the research in this area has examined cultural distance instead. Researchers have referred to cultural distance as cultural toughness (e.g., Mendenhall & Oddou, 1985) and culture novelty (e.g., Black et al., 1991), and have measured this construct in various ways (Selmer et al., 2003). However, most researchers have generally defined cultural distance as the distance between native and host cultures (Harrison et al., 2004), or the degree of difference between the expatriate s home culture and the culture of the host country. Much of this research has focused on how cultural distance directly impacts the experience of the individual expatriate. For instance, researchers have suggested that high cultural distance, or large differences between the host and home countries, will negatively affect expatriate adjustment (Harrison et al., 2004; Parker & McEvoy, 1993). This proposition has indeed received support in a recent meta-analysis (Bhaskar-Shrinivas et al., 2005). Such research often concludes with recommendations as to what the individual and/or his organization can do to overcome any negative effects of cultural distance. However, this expatriate-focused approach has produced fairly inconsistent findings across and within studies. For example, although Parker & McEvoy (1993) found a negative relationship between cultural distance and interaction adjustment (the degree to which the expatriate is able to adjust to interactions with the HCNs), they found a surprising positive relationship between cultural distance and general adjustment (the degree to which the expatriate is able to adjust to the general culture and environment). Some research has found that the directionality of the differences may be an important consideration. For example, if an expatriate is assigned to a culturally distant country in which conditions are perceived as superior in some way to the expatriate s native country (better economic/political conditions, higher standards of living, etc.), expatriate outcomes such as adjustment could be facilitated (Harrison et al., 2004). In fact, results from a recent qualitative study of Chinese expatriates in Hong Kong and Hong Kong expatriates in China support this argument. Although cultural distance is the same for each group, Chinese expatriates seemed to adjust more easily in Hong Kong than did Hong Kong expatriates in China (Selmer et al., 2003). One potential explanation for the inconsistent findings as well as the directional findings noted above, is that the perceptions of HCNs and their effects on their support for the expatriate 10

11 need to be taken into account. Differences between cultures essentially equate to differences between cultural group prototypes. Greater cultural difference, or cultural distance, therefore produces a greater sense of differentiation for members in each group. Although research to date has used objective measures of cultural distance or differences from the point of view of the expatriate, we posit that the perceptions of the HCNs are an important consideration. Because HCNs choose whether or not to accept the expatriate into their ingroup, their categorization of the expatriate is likely to have a big impact on their interactions with the expatriate. SIT suggests that the more salient a demographic characteristic, the more likely it is to be used as the basis for social categorization (e.g., Brewer & Brown, 1998; Fiske & Taylor, 1991; Oakes, 1987). Since a larger perceived cultural distance will be more salient, we propose that: Proposition 5: From the point of view of the HCN, cultural distance between the expatriate s culture and the host culture will be positively related to the salience of the expatriate as an outgroup member. According to Tajfel and Turner (1979), the salience of an outgroup can lead an individual to attempt to positively differentiate his/her ingroup from the outgroup, leading to social competition. The above proposition suggests that high cultural distance between an expatriate and HCNs leads to greater salience of their respective group memberships. The increased group salience may lead to social competition, inhibiting support and cooperation between the expatriate and HCNs. This is likely an underlying mechanism for the negative relationship between cultural distance and outcomes such as expatriate adjustment generally found in research to date. We therefore propose the following: Proposition 6: The greater the cultural distance between the expatriate s culture and the host culture from the point of view of the HCNs, the less supportive will be the HCNs attitudes and behaviors toward the expatriate. Race and Ethnicity Consistent with research on cultural anthropology, we use the term race to refer to a classification of people on the basis of selected biological traits such as skin color and facial features, (Miller, 2002, 389) and the term ethnicity to refer to group affiliation based on features such as a distinct history, language, or religion (Miller, 2002, 393). In the diversity literature, researchers have combined the two into racioethnicity (e.g., Cox, 1993; Elsass & Graves, 1997; Martins, Milliken, Wiesenfeld, & Salgado, 2003). Although most expatriate 11

12 researchers report the nationalities of their research participants, we were unable to find studies that noted expatriates racial or ethnic backgrounds. However, this dimension is important as the pool of expatriates is likely to become increasingly more diverse in race and ethnicity with the continuing globalization of business and the use of third country nationals (Adler, 2002). Race and ethnicity capture important elements of demographic difference beyond national origin, and are likely to be subject to the prestige effects noted in the arguments above. Researchers have found that individuals have an implicit perception of the hierarchical ordering of certain races, and may have positive or negative stereotypes of particular races and ethnicities (Song, 2004). Thus, it may be expected that two expatriates from the same country of origin may be perceived and categorized differently in the same host country. Expatriates whose racioethnicities are categorized as prestigious may enjoy more support from HCNs based on the HCNs desire for self-enhancement through categorization of themselves in the same ingroup as the expatriate. Conversely, expatriates whose racioethnicities are categorized negatively by HCNs may be considered to be part of the outgroup, and may not receive adjustment-facilitating support from the HCN. Thus, Proposition 7: The more prestigious an expatriate s racial or ethnic group as viewed by the HCNs, the more support the expatriate will receive from the HCNs. This proposition may be modified in the case of expatriates whose racioethnicity is similar to those of the HCNs. Expatriates who are of the same or similar race as the HCNs will share physical similarities, which the diversity literature (e.g., Tsui et al., 1992; van Knippenberg & Schippers, 2007) suggests will lead to categorization of one another into a common social group. However, HCNs will likely initially expect a racially similar expatriate to be skilled in their language and cultural practices, and may categorize the expatriate as a foreigner if the expatriate is not knowledgeable in these areas. A social identity approach suggests that racial or ethnic similarities of an expatriate to HCNs will cause him or her to be subject to more relevant comparison and thus possibly greater social competition (Tajfel & Turner, 1979; Turner, 1985). This argument is supported by the findings of Carr et al. s (2001) study of Tanzanians preferences between fellow Tanzanians and other Africans. In this situation, it is likely that outgroup categorization is a result of differences in language and ethnicity, rather than race. Thus, we expect that cultural and linguistic knowledge will moderate the relationship between an expatriate s racioethnic similarity to HCNs and the support provided by HCNs. 12

13 Expatriates who are racioethnically similar to HCNs and are also adept at the host country culture and language will be more likely to be categorized by HCNs into their ingroups and are consequently more likely to receive adjustment-facilitating support from them, than will expatriates who are racioethnically similar to HCNs but are not adept at the host country culture and language. In other words, 13

14 Proposition 8: An expatriate s knowledge of the culture/language of the host country will moderate the relationship between the expatriate s racioethnic similarity to HCNs and HCN support, such that when knowledge of the culture/language is higher, the relationship between racioethnic similarity and HCN support will be stronger than when knowledge of the culture/language is lower. Selmer et al s (2000a) study of Western and Chinese expatriates in Hong Kong seems to support this proposition, though the results of the study were contrary to the authors hypotheses. The researchers expected the Chinese expatriates to adjust more easily than the Western expatriates, but they found the opposite in their study. The authors note that the Western expatriates were generally fluent in English, which is the language of business in Hong Kong, while the primarily Mandarin-speaking Chinese were not generally very skilled in either English or the Hong Kong Cantonese dialect. Further support for our proposition is seen in Selmer et al s (2000b) investigation of Chinese expatriates in Hong Kong. This study revealed that Cantonesespeaking Chinese from the neighboring Guangdong province were better adjusted than other Chinese, though cultural distance may also be playing a role here. Clearly, the above proposition would be difficult to apply to an expatriate in a racially or ethnically diverse host country. For example, a Chinese or a French expatriate in a major city in the US is similar in race and ethnicity to many Americans. The HCNs expectations of each expatriate s abilities should not differ, since one looks or acts no more or less foreign than the other. The race or ethnicity of an expatriate would therefore be a poor predictor of HCN support in a major city in the US or in many racially and ethnically diverse countries. This argument is consistent with a finding in the diversity literature, that the racioethnic diversity of teams within an organization did not affect group functioning in an organizational context that was racioethnically diverse, but had strong effects on group functioning in the less racioethnically diverse organizational context (Martins et al., 2003). Thus, we expect that, Proposition 9: As the racial and ethnic diversity of the host country increases, the salience of the expatriate s race and ethnicity to HCNs will decrease, weakening the effect of his/her race and/or ethnicity on HCN support. Sex In the samples used in empirical research on international assignments, males far outnumber females. In fact, it has been estimated that only 20% of expatriate assignments are 14

15 filled by females (GMAC, 2007), though this is quite an increase from 12-15% in the late 1990s (Selmer & Leung, 2003a, b; Windham, 1997, 1998). Notably, research shows that women are not any less willing than men to go on overseas assignments (Adler, 1984, 1987, 1993, 1994; Hill & Tillery, 1992; Tung, 1998). Perhaps more importantly, there is empirical support for the notion that female expatriates do not experience significantly lower levels of adjustment (Morley & Flynn, 2003; Selmer, 2001; Selmer & Leung, 2003b for sociocultural adjustment, but not psychological adjustment), lower levels of performance (Caligiuri & Tung, 1999), or higher levels of prejudice (Varma et al., 2006; Westwood & Leung, 1994) than their male counterparts. Adler (1993; 1994; 2002) attempts to dispel certain misconceptions that managers may have about sending female employees overseas. In particular, she suggests that even in maledominated cultures, female expatriates are typically viewed in the host country as foreigners who happen to be women, rather than as women who happen to be foreigners (Adler, 1993, 1994, 2002). Adler s suggestion has important implications for social identity processes related to the sex of an expatriate. The findings described above imply that to HCNs, the salience of a female expatriate s membership in the foreigner outgroup is generally greater than the salience of her membership in the female sex group, thus negating or minimizing any negative impacts on HCN support that may be due to a country s level of male domination. In other words, identification as a member of a socially inferior group (i.e., as a female in a male-dominated society) could lead to less adjustment-facilitating support from HCNs, but Adler (1993; 1994; 2002) suggests that female expatriates are first identified as members of cultural or national groups that may not necessarily be evaluated as socially inferior. It may be useful to approach this subject with a concrete example. In a relatively maledominated country like Japan, for instance, a Western female expatriate would be identified by Japanese nationals primarily as a Westerner, rather than as a female. The Japanese would likely treat her in the same manner that they would treat a Western male, and her likelihood of receiving HCN support should be no different than that of her male counterpart. Drawing upon the discussion above for race and ethnicity, a social identity approach would suggest that in the same environment, a non-native Japanese female expatriate of Japanese ethnicity (a Japanese- American, for example) would not have a foreigner identity that was salient to Japanese HCNs and will likely be identified first as a female. This expatriate would thus be expected by the HCNs to behave like a female HCN and would also be treated as such by the HCNs, reducing the 15

16 amount of adjustment-facilitating support she would otherwise receive. Although the HCNs are likely to recognize that the expatriate is a foreigner when she speaks (or does not speak) their language, we posit that ethnic similarities will prevent HCNs from categorizing her in the same way that they are likely to categorize ethnically dissimilar expatriates. As per proposition 8, we posit that she will not easily be categorized as an ingroup member because of the salience of cultural/linguistic differences, but it will also be difficult for HCNs to see beyond her ethnic similarity to exclude her from categorization into the (non-dominant) female group. Proposition 10: In a country in which males (or females) dominate females (or males), a female (or male) expatriate will receive more HCN support as salience (as perceived by HCNs) of the expatriate s foreigner outgroup membership increases, because the relative salience of her (or his) non-dominant sex will decrease. Age Although age is commonly measured as a means to detect differences or similarities between samples, it is not often explored as a predictor of international assignment outcomes. The work of Selmer (2001) and Morley and Flynn (2003), however, are examples of research investigating expatriate age in such a way. In Selmer s (2001) study, the adjustment of expatriates in Hong Kong was found to correlate positively with age, due to Asian/Confucian values which place importance on respecting those of older age. Morley and Flynn s (2003) study in Ireland shows no such relationship, but this inconsistency with Selmer s (2001) findings may be due to differences between Celtic and Confucian values. SIT suggests a potential explanation for their results. The relatively large number of foreigners in Hong Kong today has likely caused the distinction of the foreigner outgroup to fade in such a manner that foreignness is not as salient as age. If age is valued by HCNs and is salient even in foreigners, older expatriates essentially belong to a prestigious group in the eyes of the HCN, calling for greater respect and support. However, if age is not valued by HCNs in such a way, older expatriates and younger expatriates are likely to be viewed as equals, and only their foreignness will be salient. Therefore, Proposition 11: In a country with a culture emphasizing respect for age, the positive relationship between an expatriate s age and HCN support is moderated by the salience (as perceived by HCNs) of the expatriate s foreigner outgroup membership. Specifically, as salience increases, the relationship between age and HCN support will weaken. In a 16

17 country without such emphasis on respecting older individuals, there will be no relationship between an expatriate s age and HCN support. Thus, we propose that while the disadvantages of belonging to a lower status social group can be overridden by the salience of one s foreign outgroup membership (as per the discussion about sex), so too can the advantages of belonging to a prestigious group be overridden by that foreign outgroup membership (as per this discussion about age). We should note that while some studies present correlation tables in which the correlation between age (as a control variable) and adjustment are presented, studies that specifically investigate age as a main effect are uncommon. Additionally, because many studies use heterogeneous (with respect to national origin) expatriate samples, correlational data are difficult to interpret in terms of this proposition. DISCUSSION In this paper, we have used SIT to develop a HCN-centric model of the effects of an expatriate s demographic characteristics on the support he/she receives from HCNs at work during an international assignment. Prior research has argued that HCN support leads to greater expatriate adjustment (Aryee & Stone, 1996; Shaffer et al., 1999; Toh, 2003), and our approach helps to address some inconsistent findings in research on expatriate demographic characteristics and their effects on outcomes such as adjustment. This approach has several implications for research and for practice. Future Research Directions Going beyond simple similarity effects, the SIT approach suggests that how an expatriate s demographic characteristics are perceived by HCNs matters greatly in determining their effects. For example, in understanding the mixed effects of an expatriate s age on HCN support, SIT suggests that it is the meaning ascribed to age by HCNs that may influence the extent of adjustment-facilitating support provided by the HCNs. Future research may measure HCNs perceptions of expatriate age and their actual adjustment-facilitating supportive behaviors. These may then be compared across cultures with and without underlying Confucian values that emphasize a respect for older age. The discussion above suggests that research on the international assignment needs to go further than it currently has in integrating HCN characteristics and perceptions into models of expatriate adjustment. It suggests that some results might only make sense when contextualized in HCN characteristics or perceptions. For example, it might be useful for researchers to take 17

18 into account the demographic distance (e.g., Tsui et al., 1992) between an expatriate and the workgroup into which they are assigned. Also, using survey or observational methods to examine whether expatriates with specific characteristics are included in the ingroups of key HCNs would help in improving our understanding of the link between expatriates demographics and HCN support. In this area, researchers could also draw on social network theory, as has been done in similar research on the effects of demographic characteristics in organizational groups (e.g., Mehra, Kilduff, & Brass, 1998). In reviewing the literature on the effects of demographic characteristics on expatriates experiences, we are struck by the relative lack of research in the area. Interestingly, there is a relatively large literature on the effects of demographic differences in workgroups (see Milliken & Martins, 1996; van Knippenberg & Schippers, 2007; Williams & O'Reilly, 1998, for reviews) and demographic differences (see Riordan, 2000 for a review) in domestic settings, which has developed an extensive theoretical foundation linking demographic characteristics to individual and group outcomes. In particular, this literature has drawn heavily on SIT and related theories to develop propositions that could have potential applicability to understanding the effects of expatriates demographic characteristics. Thus, expatriate researchers may benefit from the use of a diversity lens when examining expatriates within the context of a workplace consisting primarily of HCNs. In addition, longitudinal studies that examine the effect of the workplace s demography on HCN attitudes and behaviors throughout an expatriate s assignment could provide unique insights into the expatriate adjustment process and HCNs roles in it. One area in which a SIT lens could provide good insights is the effects of expatriate race and ethnicity on HCN support. Because racioethnicity is a visible or readily accessible characteristic (e.g, Milliken & Martins, 1996), it has been found to be a strong basis for social identification and categorization and consequent interpersonal interactions and outcomes (e.g., van Knippenberg & Schippers, 2007). Interestingly, although researchers often make note of expatriate nationality in their studies, they rarely assess racioethnicity. However, in an increasingly diverse world, and a consequently racially and ethnically diverse pool of expatriates emanating from the same country, it is important to also consider race and ethnicity in this area of research. Moreover, whereas much attention on the experience of expatriates in international assignments has focused on the characteristics of the expatriate (Bhaskar-Shrinivas et al., 2005; 18

19 Black et al., 1991; Harrison et al., 2004), our approach suggests that how these characteristics relate to those of HCNs is very important in understanding their effects on the expatriate s experience in an international assignment. Thus, for example, SIT helps us realize that the comparison of an expatriate s racioethnic background with the racioethnic makeup of the host country may help to set expectations in terms of the degree of HCN supportiveness. Specifically, if the expatriate is racioethnically similar to the HCNs or if the host country is very diverse, HCNs expectations of the expatriate will be greater, making knowledge of the host country s culture and language more critical to gaining HCN acceptance and support. Otherwise, while such knowledge will undoubtedly aid a dissimilar expatriate in a homogeneous host country, social comparisons may be less relevant, and HCN expectations will not be as high. On one hand, such expatriates will have a difficult time overcoming categorization into a foreigner outgroup. On the other hand, he/she may be better able to rely on a prestigious status to win the support of the HCNs. Alternatively, if such a prestigious group membership is unavailable, the superordinate organizational identity could be emphasized. Additionally, organizational factors, such as the provision of support staff (e.g., translators, interpreters, bilingual assistants, etc.), in the country of assignment may be sufficient to facilitate the expatriate s adjustment without HCNs actually identifying with the expatriate. Although very large sample sizes are likely needed to explore these phenomena, future research should explore the characteristics and perceptions of both HCNs and expatriates across multiple countries, using demographically diverse samples. Also, with an increase in the percentage of expatriates made up of women, it is important to develop a more theoretically-grounded understanding of the effects of sex on HCN support as well as expatriate adjustment. Although much research suggests that males do not generally have an advantage over females on international assignments, we suggest that there may be circumstances in which they do. Additionally, some research has suggested that females may actually have an advantage in certain circumstances. For example, Selmer and Leung (2003b) found that Western female expatriates in Hong Kong adjusted better to work and to interactions with HCNs than did their male counterparts. Varma et al. (2006) similarly found that female American expatriates were preferred over male American expatriates by Indian HCNs. Selmer and Leung (2003b) posit that the phenomenon may be due to the tendency for Western cultures to emphasize nurturing and relationship orientation in female gender roles. Empirical research 19

20 that takes into account gender identification, role identities, and social categorizations may present a clearer picture of how an expatriate s sex affects how much support the expatriate receives from HCNs. An interesting extension of this research would be an examination of the interaction between sex and race/ethnicity on HCN support. We also recognize that more complex interactions may exist among the phenomena described in the propositions presented. For example, HCN support may be influenced in a very complicated manner when cultural distance between the countries, relative prestige, and racioethnic similarity between the expatriate and HCNs are all taken into consideration together 2. We have limited our discussion to less complicated relationships, but future theoretical and empirical work should explore these higher-order interactions. Finally, placing the focus back on the expatriate, future research could use SIT to understand how expatriates identify with their organizations, professions, and demographic groups. Researchers note that not only do individuals identify with groups who share their demographic characteristics (Tajfel, 1978; Tajfel & Turner, 1986) or organizational membership (Ashforth & Mael, 1989), but that they may also form professional identities independent of their organizational identities (Ibarra, 1999). Circumstances in which two or more of these identities conflict can be problematic. For example, research suggests that individuals may leave or threaten to leave their organizations if they perceive incongruence with their professional identities (Pratt & Rafaeli, 1997). Expatriate research has already noted the low availability of career development programs for expatriates (Selmer, 1999), indicating that organizations are not taking expatriates professional identities into consideration. An understanding of how an expatriate s various identities relate, as well as how these identities can be aligned to avoid conflict, may have important implications for expatriate turnover and premature return, and for developing ways to channel executive career development though international assignments. Practical Implications In addition to its implications for theory, a SIT approach to the effects of demographic characteristics on HCN support also suggests several implications for practice. It suggests that in preparing expatriates for international assignments, organizations should consider the expatriates personal characteristics as they relate to properties of the host country. Such a contextually situated approach will, for example, suggest that a Japanese-American woman 2 We thank an anonymous reviewer for this suggestion. 20