Mentoring in International Assignments: A Personality Traits Perspective

Abstract

Purpose: This study analyzes the impact of home and host country mentorship on expatriates' psychological wellbeing and identifies for whom which type of mentoring is most beneficial. We argue that expatriates with certain personality traits (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, and Openness) derive more advantages from mentoring than others do.Design/methodology/approach: Based on socioanalytic theory, we develop hypotheses and test them against data of 334 expatriates by employing a linear hierarchical regression approach.Findings: The study reveals that home country mentorship has a significant positive impact on psychological wellbeing, whereas host country mentorship shows no significant positive effects. Moreover, the study indicates that home and host country mentorship partially moderates the relationship between personality traits and psychological wellbeing.Originality/value: Since we derive important implications for the selection process of expatriates, as well as the implementation of mentoring in MNCs, this study is of value for researchers and practitioners in the areas of human resource management and organizational studies.