Minimizing cross-cultural maladaptation: How minority status facilitates change in international acculturation.

Abstract

Culturally savvy organizations recognize that selecting and developing people who can be effective in a global workforce is important in today's business environment. Nevertheless, many companies struggle to identify and develop talent who are happy and successful working and living outside their home country. We examine 1 factor that may foster success in a host country-minority status in 1's home country-as a predictor of change in acculturation over time. Specifically, we draw on the conservation of resources model to suggest that international students who have been a member of more minority groups in their home country have unique experiences working with dissimilar others that offer advantages when acculturating to new cultures and novel situations. Then, change in host country acculturation is explored as a mechanism to explain how minority status in the home country relates to intentions to leave the host country and psychological well-being 6 months after entry. Two moderators (cultural intelligence, perceived diversity climate of the host institution) of these relationships are also examined. Results revealed that the relationship between minority status in the home country and change in host country acculturation was positive and stronger for those with higher cultural intelligence. Further, the relationship between change in host country acculturation and psychological well-being was positive when perceived diversity climate of the host institution was high, but was not significant when perceived diversity climate was low. (PsycINFO Database Record

Life Outside your Comfort Zone

“…My status as a minority in my home country prepared me for adjusting to my host countries. My experiences aligned with findings from a research study conducted by Volpone, Casper, Marquardt, and Avery (2018): "People who were members of more minority groups in their home country acculturated to a host country more rapidly" (p. 260). In other words, I was able to draw from my previous experiences as a minority to cope and adjust in new environments.…”

Fostering longevity attitudes in women expatriates: the role of general and targeted types of organizational support

“…Although in their home countries men may enjoy the privilege of being seen as the normative majority, upon moving abroad they may find themselves faced with a minority status for perhaps the first time. Suddenly being thrust into a situation where they are culturally (and sometimes visibly) different from others may result in an identity shift (Volpone, Marquardt, Casper, & Avery, 2018). This newfound 'other' status may present a psychological challenge that makes it more difficult for men to adjust than women, who have more experience in both heightened visibility and marginalization (Kanter, 1977).…”

Hype or hope? A new look at the research on cultural intelligence

“…Insert Table 5 about here CQ has been found to be an important moderator in various contexts, including expatriation (Froese, Kim, & Eng, 2016), business travel (Ramsey, Leonel, Gomes, & Monteiro, 2011), education (Jie & Harms, 2017), export (Magnusson, Westjohn, Semenov, Randrianasolo, & Zdravkovic, 2013), international study (Presbitero, 2016b;Volpone, Marquardt, Casper, & Avery, 2018), intercultural service encounters (Lorenz, Ramsey, Tariq, & Morrell, 2017), and intercultural teamwork (Rosenauer, Homan, Horstmeier, & Voelpel, 2016). In general, CQ strengthens the relationship between intercultural differences and cross-cultural adjustment and performance (Lorenz et al, 2017;Magnusson et al, 2013;Rosenauer et al, 2016) and diminishes the relationship between such differences and adaption problems as strain (Ramsey et al, 2011).…”