Expatriates’ withdrawal intentions. The influence of organizational culture and satisfaction with the assignment

Published date06 November 2017
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/PR-02-2016-0033
Date06 November 2017
Pages1852-1869
AuthorLuisa Helena Pinto,Carlos Cabral Cardoso,William B. Werther Jr
Subject MatterHR & organizational behaviour,Global HRM
Expatriateswithdrawal intentions
The influence of organizational culture
and satisfaction with the assignment
Luisa Helena Pinto and Carlos Cabral Cardoso
School of Economics, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal, and
William B. Werther Jr
Department of Management, School of Business Administration,
University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida, USA
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examin e the role of perceived home and desti nation
organizational culture characteristics and general satisfaction with the assignment as antecedents of
expatriateswithdrawal intentio ns.
Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through a web survey of an international sample of
expatriates with a broad representation of industries, organizations and countries of origin and destination.
Findings The results indicate that home and destination organizational cultures affect expatriates
withdrawal intentions, after controlling for demographics and national cultural differences, namely: home
organizational culture has a stronger influence on withdrawal intentions from the organization, while
host organizational culture affects withdrawal intentions from the assignment. Further, the relationship
between host organizational culture and expatriatesintentions to withdraw from the assignment is mediated
by expatriatessatisfaction with the assignment. Evidence was also found supporting a stronger and negative
influence of the goal orientation dimension of organizational culture, thus suggesting that a collective
orientation toward common business goals (i.e. solidarity) may help retain expatriates.
Originality/value This study seeks to fill a gap in the literature by exploring the influence of
organizational culture on expatriateswithdrawal intentions, and the mediating role of expatriates
satisfaction with the assignment, on that relationship.
Keywords Organizational culture, Quantitative, Expatriates, General assignment satisfaction,
Withdrawal intentions
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
The literaturehas consistently shown that turnoverintentions and withdrawal cognitions are
predictors of turnover and expatriates are no exception (e.g. Bhaskar-Shrinivas et al., 2005).
Withdrawal cognitions involve both a perception and a plan to voluntarily change ones
circumstances (Koslowsky, 2009) related to the job, the organization or the occupation
(Blau, 2000, 2007; Carmeli, 2005). Despite a long tradition of turnover research, less is known
about the way organizational culture influences turnover. Someorganizational cultures were
found to foster loyalty and long-term commitment, while others fail to nurture positive
attitudes that ultimately encourage withdrawal and voluntary turnover (Abelson, 1993;
Iverson and Deery, 1997). The evidence available shows that the organizational culture can
have a strong influence on job attitudes and workplace behaviors (e.g. Jain, 2015), including
withdrawal intentions (Carmeli, 2005). For example, a study of college graduates working for
accounting firmsfound that an organizational culture emphasizing interpersonal relationship
values is moreattractive and better at retainingprofessionals over time thanan organizational
culture valuingwork task values (Sheridan,1992). And Carmeli (2005), in a research involving
social workers from Israel, found that job challenge one of the organizational culture
dimensions studied was the strongest predictor of withdrawal intentions. The results
suggest thatthe higher the job challenge, thelower the intention to withdrawfrom the job, the
organization, and the occupation. In this study, Carmeli (2005) followed Blaus(2000,2007)
Personnel Review
Vol. 46 No. 8, 2017
pp. 1852-1869
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/PR-02-2016-0033
Received 19 February 2016
Revised 19 November 2016
Accepted 19 February 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
1852
PR
46,8
three distinct dimensions of withdrawal intentions: from the job defined as the individuals
intentions to leave the current job in the near future though remaining in the same
organization;from the organization reflecting the individuals intentionto leave the employing
company in the nearfuture; and from the occupation referringto the individualsintentionsto
leave his/her current career (Carmeli, 2005).
In the international context, this framework seems particularly valuable to discern the
diverse and unique antecedents of expatriatesturnover intentions. Knowing how
organizational culture precludes expatriateswithdrawal intentions from the assignment
and the organization (Blau, 2000, 2007; Carmeli, 2005) can be particularly useful to anticipate
expatriatesattitudes and reduce voluntary turnover. Organizations are increasingly
expecting employees to take expatriate assignments (Bolino et al., 2016; Collings, 2014)
but employees often accept them unwillingly, leading to the development of negative
attitudes toward the assignment (Pinto et al., 2012) and the company (Pinto and Caldas,
2015), and ultimately triggering a premature return from the assignment and exiting from
the organization. As turnover intentions and withdrawal cognitions are antecedents of
actual turnover they can anticipate a behavior (voluntary turnover) that can be avoided
if companies act proactively. Over time, if employees feel connected to the company they are
more likely to stay despite the hardship of the assignment; however, when the employees do
not connect with the perceived and observable behaviors of household members and of the
foreign company they are more likely to leave.
This study extends earlier research (e.g. Boyle et al., 2012) and tests these assumptions
by examining how perceived home and host organizational cultures influence expatriates
satisfaction with the assignment and withdrawal intentions. Drawing on Goffee and Jones
(1998) organizational culture model this research examines how home and host perceived
social interactions (e.g. sociability) and perceived goal attainment behaviors
(e.g. solidarity) affect expatriatesattitudes and cognitions, such as satisfaction with the
assignment and withdrawal intentions from the assignment and the organization.
A research design was adopted using an international diversified sample of corporate
expatriates, defined here as employees who are sent by their employers to live and work
abroad on a temporary basis, to complete a time-based task or accomplish an
organizational goal (Shaffer et al., 2012). The terms expatriates, corporate expatriates and
assigned expatriates are then used interchangeably.
Overall, this study contributes to the literature in various ways. First, it examines the
influence of organizational culture in the international context. Following previous
suggestions to further investigate the impact of goal congruence between home and host
companies (Pattie et al., 2013) and examine the integration of global mobility with talent
management (Caligiuri and Bonache, 2016), this study looks at the influence of perceived
organizational culture at the individual level, despite the impact of cultural distance.
By doing so, this study extends the debate on national culture and organizational
culture interactions in the global setting (Boyle et al., 2012; Stahl and Tung, 2015), and
illustrates theusefulness of recognizing that organizational culture is reflected andexpressed
at an individuallevel, affecting job attitudes andintentions. Second, it examines theinfluence
of both home and host organizational cultures in terms of expatriatessatisfaction and
withdrawal intentions. Implicit is the assumption that the perceived characteristics of both
organizational cultures can influence expatriatessatisfaction and turnover intentions, and
therefore, can enhance retention. Whereas earlier research has emphasized the importance of
person-situation fit (e.g. OReilly III et al., 1991; Wheeler et al., 2007), this study examines the
dimensions of both organizational cultures that can predict expatriatesattitudes and
withdrawal intentions. Third, it provides empirical validation to the conceptual distinction
between the intentions to leave the job/assignment and the organization suggested by
Blau (2000, 2007) and Carmeli (2005). As pointed out above, this distinction is particularly
1853
Expatriates
withdrawal
intentions

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT