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Cross-culturele aanpassing van expatriates in India

Lankester, A. (2009) Cross-culturele aanpassing van expatriates in India.

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Abstract:Due to the contemporary globalisation and the increased competition it has become necessary for many organizations to operate internationally. More than 80% of the medium and large western organizations have employees’ operative abroad and 45% of these organizations indicate that this number will increase in the future. Employees abroad, also called expatriates, cannot always meet the expectations. 30% of the expatriates do not succeed in completing their foreign assignment successfully. The large percentage unsuccessful expatriates and the high costs which are involved, makes it for organizations necessary to reduce the percentage of unsuccessful expatriates. Studies about the success of expatriates used mostly the construct 'expatriate ffectiveness'. Expatriate effectiveness consist of three variables: performances, withdrawal intentions and cross-cultural adaptation. The first two variables describes the real success of expatriates. The third variable, cross-cultural adaptation, is an important determinant for performances and withdrawal intentions. Cross-cultural adaptation is the degree in which one can adapt to another culture. Well adaptation by expatriates has a positive influence on the performances and reduce the withdrawal intentions. The cross-cultural adaptation of expatriates during their foreign task can be influenced by several factors. One of the factors are related to the new surrounding. Cultural difference, also called cultural distance, is an example. With cultural distance the discrepancy between the culture of expatriate and the host country is meant. How larger the cultural distance, how more difficult it is for expatriates to adapt to the new surroundings. Other factors are related to the properties of expatriate themselves, such as personality traits and skills. This research will aim specifically at expatriates which are operative in India. We chose India because of the following: 1) India is a non-Western country (great cultural distance). 2) India is (exept by China) the most important non-Western country to send expatriates to. 3) With respect to China, there have been little research about cross-cultural adaptation in India. The above aspects lead to the following research question: What impact has cultural distance, personality traits and skills on cross-cultural adaptation of Western expatriates in India and how can the success of expatriates be increased?
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:85 business administration, organizational science
Programme:Business Administration MSc (60644)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/58533
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