Cross-cultural adjustment and fundamental interpersonal relations orientation behaviour (FIRO-B)

Abstract

Purpose of this paper:Expatriate workforces are growing as a result of globalisation and the considerable cost associated with expatriation is a strong incentive to identify which employees are most likely to adjust to the host nation. One area relevant to cross-cultural adjustment is interpersonal needs. The theory of Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation (FIRO) as measured by the FIRO-B (Behaviour) may offer insights as to the relationship between interpersonal needs and cross-cultural adjustment. Design/methodology/approachOne-hundred and eighty paper and pencil measures of the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations Orientation -Behaviour (FIRO-B) and ExpatriateAdjustment Scales (General, Work, and Interaction) were distributed via informed international associates and convenience and snowball sampling.One-hundred and twelve expatriates from the United Kingdom (44%), South Africa (22%) and India (20%) returned completed questionnaires. FindingsExpatriates with higher levels of wanted affection were higher on all subscales of cross-cultural adjustment. Those who wanted and expressed the need for inclusion were significantly higher in interaction adjustment while those who expressed and wanted control were less adjusted to work. 2 Research limitations/implications (if applicable):The cross-sectional design limits the extent to which these findings can be interpreted as causal and the small sample size may limit the generalizability of the findings. However, the underlying theoretical premise would strongly support the hypothesised directional relationships in the normal population. Common method via self-report may inflate inter-relationship but cannot explain the interaction effects identified. A number of factors beyond the scope of this study may play a fundamental role including cultural similarity. Practical implicationsWhilst not predictive, and acknowledging that environmental factors may vary, these results give an indication that interpersonal needs are related to successful adjustment in expatriates. As such these findings could be used to help inform the recruitment and training of expatriates in areas of interpersonal interaction taking into consideration intrapersonal needs. What is original/value of paper:No study to date has explored the inter-relationship between the interpersonal needs and expatriate adjustment. This is the first paper to do so and identify that there is a significant association between expatriate's motives for interaction and their level of cross-cultural adjustment.

The correspondence model of cross-cultural adjustment: exploring exchange relationships

“…3. We would like to acknowledge the observation and related reference of an anonymous reviewer that there are "alternate drives for interaction" besides the drive to bond (see Ditchburn and Brook, 2015). 4.…”

Personality traits and expatriate adjustment in Malaysia

“…Fourth, the Black (1988) and Black and Stephens (1989) CCA scale, on which we base our conceptualisation of adjustment, has been subject to criticism on grounds of, among other things, presenting a somewhat over-simplified understanding of adjustment (Haslberger and Dickmann, 2016). Nevertheless, as Ditchburn and Brook (2015) point out, the scale has been supported by meta-analytic reviews (Bhaskar-Shrinivas et al , 2005) and remains widely used in contemporary expatriate CCA research (Ren et al , 2015; Vijayakumar and Cunningham, 2016).…”

How do medical students differ in their interpersonal needs?

“…Significant statistical differences were clearly seen between undergraduate freshmen and second-year graduate students. One previous study showed that participants who had high wanted control were less adjusted to work [ 12 ]. In Sharma’s study [ 13 ], expressed control had the highest correlation with one of five factors, conscientiousness, which relates to self-discipline and influences how we control our impulses.…”