The JGM BitBlog:
An Underappreciated Approach to Expatriate Adjustment and Success
Brigitte Armon,
Morning Consult, Florida, United States
Lisa A. Steelman,
Florida Institute of Technology, Florida, United States
Sarah Jensen,
Florida Institute of Technology, Florida, United States
Feedback practices have long been explored as an antecedent to organizational newcomer success. Research and practical application support the idea that feedback
is essential for adaptation to work transitions because it reduces uncertainty. Surprisingly, the role of feedback in expatriate adjustment and success has not received much attention in the literature.
Feedback is embedded within organizational practices that can either support the use of high-quality feedback or disrupt the feedback process by
discouraging feedback provision and use. These practices create what’s known as a feedback environment.
The feedback environment refers to the feedback process within the work unit as an ongoing feature of
the work context, as opposed to specific instances of positive or negative feedback. A favorable feedback
environment denotes a safe context for giving and receiving useful performance information. Favorable, high-quality feedback environments serve as informational resources for employees in general and are associated with employee development,
job performance, and citizenship behaviors.
To examine the role of the feedback environment in an expatriate context, survey data was collected from current expatriates working full time in
a country other than their home country.
Results of the study revealed that expatriates who reported a favorable host country feedback environment had greater role clarity, greater adjustment, better
subsequent job performance and increased intent to stay on the international assignment. In a favorable
host country feedback environment, an expatriate has the benefit of ongoing, open, and constructive feedback conversations, promoting sensemaking and reducing the uncertainty inherent in the unfamiliar work situation. As uncertainty
decreases, the expatriate becomes more aware of culturally appropriate behaviors and develops the necessary skills to execute them. This enhances the likelihood of successful performance, as well as expatriate retention.
This study highlights the importance of host country feedback practices to reduce ambiguity. On-going, supportive feedback is critical for employee
growth and development in general and may be especially important for expatriates to “learn the ropes” in a new work context. Organizations can measure the feedback environment and intervene to make improvement, when necessary, prior to an expatriate assignment.
This step should pay off in terms of enhanced expatriate adjustment, job performance, and retention. Feedback practices are truly an underappreciated lever for promoting success in international assignments.
To read the full article, please see the
Journal of Global Mobility publication:
Armon, B., Steelman, L. and Jensen, S. (2023), "The role of the feedback environment in
expatriate adjustment", Journal of Global Mobility,
Vol. 11 No. 2, pp. 200-214. https://doi.org/10.1108/JGM-08-2022-0040
Best regards,
Jan
Professor Jan Selmer, Ph.D.
Founding Editor-in-Chief
Journal of Global Mobility (JGM)
www.emeraldinsight.com/jgm.htm
Department of Management, Aarhus University
E-mail:
[log in to unmask]
Twitter:
@JanSelmer_JGM
AIB
- Frontline IB Conversations: Jan Selmer
Latest Book: McNulty, Y. & Selmer J. (Eds.) (2017),
Research Handbook of Expatriates. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Electronic
version
New Article: Hsu, Y.-S., Chen, Y.-P., Selmer, J. and Bastida, M. (2023), “Thriving in Virtual Academic Conferences:
Fact or Fiction?”, International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction.
Download
New Article: Selmer, J., Dickmann, M., Froese, F.J., Lauring, J., Reiche, B.S. and
Shaffer, M. (2022), "The potential of virtual global mobility: implications for practice and future research", Journal of Global Mobility.
Download
New Article: Stoermer, S., Selmer, J., & Lauring,
J. (2021), "Expatriate Partners’ Personality and its Influence on Acculturation into a New Cultural Context: Examining the Role of Dispositional Affectivity“,
International Journal of Cross Cultural Management. Download
New Article:
Stoermer, S., Lauring, J., & Selmer, J. (2020), “The Effects of Positive Affectivity on Expatriate Creativity and Perceived Performance: What is the Role of
Perceived Cultural Novelty?”, International Journal of Intercultural Relations.
Download
New Article:
Stoermer, S., Lauring, J. & Selmer, J. (2020), “Job Characteristics and Perceived Cultural Novelty: Exploring the Consequences for Expatriate Academics' Job
Satisfaction",
International Journal of Human Resource Managament.
Download