Toward a Comprehensive Model of International Adjustment: An Integration of Multiple Theoretical Perspectives

Abstract

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. Academy of Management is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Academy of Management Review.Primarily because of the significant rate and costs of failed international assignments, the attention paid by scholars to the topic of international adjustment has increased recently. Unfortunately, most of the work has been without substantial theoretical grounding. In an effort to move toward a theoretical framework for guiding future research, this article integrates theoretical and empirical work of both the international and the domestic adjustment literatures. This integration provides a more comprehensive framework than might be obtained from either of the literatures alone. Academy of Management Review April work has been conducted in the area of international adjustment of expatriates-the existing literature consists mostly of anecdotal or atheoretical empirical efforts to understand the phenomenon (Adler, 1983; Kyi, 1988; Mendenhall & Oddou, 1985; Schollhammer, 1975).Conversely, the literature in the area of domestic (U.S./Canada) transfers and adjustment is much richer theoretically; researchers in this area have increasingly focused their efforts on understanding how an individual adjusts to a new organizational setting either after a transfer or upon initial entry into the firm . To date, scholars in the area of international human resource management have not utilized the domestic adjustment literature in order to formulate theories or models that would assist them in understanding the international adjustment process.Perhaps this has not occurred because although the theories of adjustment of employees to new organizational settings in the domestic context may have some application to adjustment in the international context, there seem to be substantial differences between domestic and international (or cross-cultural) adjustment. For example, most domestic adjustments do not involve significant changes in the nonwork environment; living in Los Angeles versus New York may be quite different in many ways, but the language, cultural, economic, social, and political contexts are significantly familiar. This is not the norm for international adjustments. Moving from the United States to a foreign country often involves changes in the job the individual performs and the corporate culture in which responsibilities are executed; it can also involve dealing with unfamiliar norms related to the general culture, business practices, living conditions, weather, food, health care, daily customs, and political systems-plus facing a foreign language on a daily basis.Because the work as well as the nonwork contexts usually change during an international ad...

Host country language ability and expatriate adjustment: the moderating effect of language difficulty

“…Furnham, 1993). Black, Mendenhall and Oddou (1991) argued that the degree of socio-cultural adjustment should be treated as a multidimensional concept rather than a unitary phenomenon, as was previously the dominating view (cf. Gullahorn & Gullahorn, 1962).…”

“…Gullahorn & Gullahorn, 1962). In their proposed model for socio-cultural adjustment, Black, Mendenhall and Oddou (1991) made a distinction between three dimensions of in-country adjustment: (1) general adjustment, (2) interaction adjustment, and (3) work adjustment.…”

An examination of crossover and spillover effects of spousal and expatriate cross-cultural adjustment on expatriate outcomes.

“…Black, Mendenhall, & Oddou, 1991). One reason for the high failure rates is the problem with the expatriate successfully adjusting to the foreign culture (e.g., Garonzik, Brockner, & Siegel, 2000).…”

Adaptation narratives on the example of Australian Estonians

“…Teine osa faktoreid on seotud oskusega lävida vastuvõtva rahvusega, suutlikkusega arendada erinevaid suhteid ja olla üldiselt suhtlemisaldis. Kolmas kategooria on seotud kognitiivsete oskustega, mis aitavad indiviidil luua õige kujutluse vastuvõtvast keskkonnast ja muuta sellega seotu endale tähenduslikuks kogemuseks (Black & Mendenhall & Oddou 1991).…”

“…Paljud olid tegusas lastekasvatamise ja tööalase karjääri perioodil assimileerunud rohkem austraalia keskkonnaga ja eestlusele jäi vähem aega, kuid selle juurde on pöördutud tagasi. Intuitiivselt valiti kohanemiseks õiged suhtlemistaktikad (vrd Black & Mendenhall & Oddou 1991).…”