Adapting to a Boundaryless World: A Developmental Expatriate Model
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-2000
Keywords
EXECUTIVES -- Health, EMPLOYMENT in foreign countries -- Psychological aspects, EXPATRIATION, JOB stress, MENTAL health, IDENTITY (Psychology), AFFILIATION (Psychology), HEALTH, WORK environment -- Psychological aspects, GLOBALIZATION -- Social aspects, EXECUTIVE ability (Management), WORK -- Psychological aspects
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.5465/ame.2000.3819309
Abstract
Expatriate executives face a double-edged challenge to their mental and physical health: The stressors affecting them are not only new and unfamiliar, but the coping responses that worked at home may not do so abroad. The various stages involved in a successful adjustment are discussed. The executive's ability to identify with the host and the parent culture plays a critical role in every stage of the adjustment process. Failure to accept that the two cultural identities are not mutually exclusive is a source of internal conflict among expatriates. Cross-cultural competence training and a sensible repatriation plan help buffer the stressors encountered abroad. However, the willingness and courage to undergo the profound personal transformation associated with an international assignment are essential for a healthy expatriate adjustment, even after the expatriate's return. Learning to live with the paradox of dual identification is an essential coping mechanism for expatriate executives.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Academy of Management Perspectives, v. 14, issue 2, p. 96-106
Scholar Commons Citation
Sanchez, Juan I.; Spector, Paul E.; and Cooper, Cary L., "Adapting to a Boundaryless World: A Developmental Expatriate Model" (2000). Psychology Faculty Publications. 674.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/psy_facpub/674
