Taking an individual difference perspective, we evaluated individual trait and skill antecedents to expatriate attitudes and turnover intent with a sample of 84 expatriates working in China. We investigated the role of a theoretically relevant personality trait - cognitive closure - reflecting comfort with ambiguity and uncertainty, and we introduced a set of empirically derived skill-based adjustment competencies developed through a job analytical technique. The results showed that work-related adjustment competencies, and in particular the ability to integrate head and host offices, were important to positive work attitudes and intention to remain on assignment. These results underscore the importance of selecting and training expatriates on adjustment competencies specific to cross cultural work to reduce the costs of assignment failure. Cognitive closure related to non-work related adjustment competencies (cultural sensitivity and ability to adapt to the social environment), suggesting that this trait may be related to non-work related aspects of expatriate attitudes and behavior.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.