Beyond adjustment: complex roles of personality and health-related strains in expatriate performance. (2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ren, Hong; Harrison, David A.; Shaffer, Margaret A.; Bhaskar-Shrinivas, Purnima
• Is Part Of: European journal of international management. Volume 10:Number 1(2016)
• Page Start: 54
• Page End: 77
• Publication Date: 2016
• Subjects: personality -- expatriate adjustment -- expatriate strains -- expatriate performance -- expats -- software engineers -- India -- social desirability -- task performance -- superiority striving -- cultural adjustment -- culture -- health-related strain -- stress -- relationship performance -- health problems -- international assignments; Management -- Periodicals; Organizational behavior -- Periodicals; International business enterprises -- Management -- Periodicals; Globalization -- Periodicals; 658.005
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1751-6757

Abstract

We proposed and investigated the complex roles of higher order personality dimensions and health-related strains in relation to expatriate adjustment and performance using comparable cross-sectional (n = 170) and longitudinal (n = 77) samples of software engineers posted from India to North America, Western Europe and East Asia. Results indicate that social desirability personality is negatively related to heath-related strains and positively related to task performance, while superiority striving personality is positively associated with cultural adjustment. Using longitudinal data, we also clarified the temporal sequence of health-related strains relative to adjustment and performance. The results suggest that health-related strains are an important antecedent of adjustment, rather than a consequence. Also, expatriate task and relationship performance is a function of health strains and not a predictor. Overall, our findings support a multifaceted influence of dispositions and a pivotal role of health problems on international assignments.