The personal characteristics of the successful expatriate

Jonna Holopainen · Ingmar Björkman

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International Student and Expatriate Challenges International Business and FDI Global and Cross-Cultural Management

Abstract

Purpose When critically reviewing the empirical research on the relationships between personal characteristics and successful foreign assignments it is revealed that the extant empirical research suffers from several limitations. The aim of this article is to shed additional light into the relationship between expatriate personal characteristics and job performance, circumventing the identified limitations of cross‐sectional design, use of self‐evaluations and inappropriate measures of success. Design/methodology/approach The empirical study is based on longitudinal data. Trained psychologists carried out a psychological assessment of the expatriate prior to the assignment. Performance data were provided by both the expatriate and the expatriate's superior. Findings The obtained results support the importance of communicational ability for expatriate success, whereas stress tolerance and relational ability were not found to be significantly related to success. Research limitations/implications The study was conducted in only one multinational company and the country of origin of all studied expatriates was Finland. Another limitation of this study is the relatively limited number of personal characteristics studied and the use of only one superior performance evaluation per expatriate. Practical implications Based on the results it is recommended that companies systematically assess the personal characteristics of candidates before deciding on an expatriation, especially the communicational ability. Minimising the use of self‐evaluations in research is strongly advised. Originality/value This article contributes to the literature by providing a longitudinal study on the relationship between expatriate personal characteristics and performance.

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References

1983Culture's Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values.1988The Effect of National Culture on the Choice of Entry Mode 1991Toward a Comprehensive Model of International Adjustment: An Integration of Multiple Theoretical Perspectives 2003Measuring intercultural sensitivity: The intercultural development inventory 1990Cross-Cultural Training Effectiveness: A Review and a Theoretical Framework for Future Research 1985The Dimensions of Expatriate Acculturation: A Review 1989The Influence of the Spouse on American Expatriate Adjustment and Intent to Stay in Pacific Rim Overseas Assignments 1988A META‐ANALYSIS OF SELF‐SUPERVISOR, SELF‐PEER, AND PEER‐SUPERVISOR RATINGS

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