Determinants of Receptivity to Expatriate Assignment

Abstract

This study is an empirical investigation of receptivity to expatriate assignment in culturally similar and dissimilar environments. The theoretical underpinnings of the study emerge from a model of the expatriate adjustment process which views the determinants as anticipatory adjustment variables antecedent to actual adjustment. Vertical individualism, career distance and corporate career policy along with role clarity and economic development as moderators were found to significantly explain willingness to relocate to culturally similar environments. Economic development, corporate family policy and career distance were significant predictors of mobility to culturally dissimilar environments. The proposed model for culturally similar environments substantially improves explanatory power over an existing model. Implications of the study in conjunction with predictors from the domestic mobility and international adjustment literature are discussed.