How simulated home influences Chinese expatriates: the partial mediating role of organizational embeddedness and organizational identification
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-01-2021-0040 |
| Published date | 15 April 2022 |
| Date | 15 April 2022 |
| Pages | 1290-1317 |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
| Author | Hao Huang,Hong Liu,Xingguang Zhao,Hanrong He,Yusen Ding |
How simulated home influences
Chinese expatriates: the partial
mediating role of organizational
embeddedness and
organizational identification
Hao Huang
School of Politics and International Relations, East China Normal University,
Shanghai, China
Hong Liu
School of Journalism and Communication, Guangxi University, Nanning, China
Xingguang Zhao
Shanghai Electric Power Generation Equipment Co., Ltd., Shanghai, China
Hanrong He
Law School, Guangxi University, Nanning, China, and
Yusen Ding
Guangxi Institute of Political and Economic Studies on Southeast Asia,
Nanning, China
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this research study is to explore the influenceof perceived organizational support
(POS) on organizational embeddedness and organizational identification in the simulated home environment.
Another objective of this study is to provide an effective cross-cultural adjustment model adopted by many
Chinese enterprises operating overseas. Furthermore, it examines the mediating effects of organizational
embeddedness and organizational identification on POS and expatriate adjustment.
Design/methodology/approach –The data of this quantitative research study was acquired from a
questionnaire survey completed by 326 expatriates from Chinese enterprises in a power station in Bangladesh,
and regression analyses were conducted using SPSS software.
Findings –The study found that POS of expatriates is positivelycorrelatedwiththeir organizational
embeddedness and organizational identification, and it positively impacts expatriate adjustment. Moreover, the
study also evaluated that organizational embeddedness and organizational identification positively influence
expatriate adjustment. Finally, it was demonstrated that organizational embeddedness mediates the relationship
among living POS, emotional POS and expatriate adjustment. Organizational identification mediates the
relationships among work POS, emotional POS and work adjustment. Organizational identification mediates the
relationships between work POS and interaction adjustment.
Practicalimplications –The research results d emonstrate that the living, workand emotional support to
the expatriates from the projects department of Chinese enterprises is of particular importance for their
better adjustment in overseas engineering projects. Furthermore,these results are particularly conducive
ER
44,6
1290
The authors would like to thank the reviewers and Professor Nickson for their insightful comments on
this article. The authors would like to congratulate the third author of this article, Mr. Zhao, on his happy
wedding, and the fifth author, Mr. Ding, on his happy wedding. The authors also congratulate the fourth
author, Mr. He, on the birth of his second daughter and wish her good health and happiness.
Funding: This study has received research grants from Major program of the National Social Science
Foundation of China: “Global Value Chains and the Construction of New International Relations”(No.
20DZA099).
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0142-5455.htm
Received 24 January 2021
Revised 9 August 2021
5 December 2021
24 February 2022
31 March 2022
Accepted 31 March 2022
Employee Relations: The
International Journal
Vol. 44 No. 6, 2022
pp. 1290-1317
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-01-2021-0040
to the successful management of employees accommodated in fully-closed and semi-closed
simulated homes.
Originality/value –In the setting of a simulated home in the overseas engineering projects, this
research study has demonstrated for the first time that the living, work and emotional support provided
by an organization can effectively help its expatriate workers acclimatize during their overseas
placement.
Keywords Simulated home, Chinese expatriates, Perceived organizational support, Organizational
embeddedness, Organizational identification, Expatriate adjustment
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
During the past two decades, especially after the initiation of “One Belt and One Road”by
China in 2013, Chinese mainland enterprises have started participating in economic
globalization by delivering an in creasing number of engineering proj ects overseas.
According to an estimate, China had produced a turnover of approximately $172.9 billion
in overseas contracts and dispatched a total of 487,000 workers overseas in 2019 (Ministry of
Commerce of the PRC, 2020). However, most existing research studies have focused on
economic issues without considering the Chinese expatriates and Chinese overseas project
departments. It is observed that the extant research studies primarily evaluate the self-
segregation pattern of Chinese overseas projects in the host countries from an economic
perspective (Yan et al., 2018). However, several studies focus on the impact of Chinese
overseas projects on the host countries, such as the transfer of knowledge and technology and
their mutual local interaction (Brautigam, 2011). Similarly, many research studies on the
adjustment of expatriates in Chinese overseas projects have primarily focused on their
psychological adjustment process (He et al., 2019). However, an insufficient number of
research studies have been performed regarding which expatriate adjustment and
management strategies should be adopted by the Chinese overseas project departments.
Primarily,every form of expatriation and expatriate managementthat has been effectively
deployed for a long duration originates from the social interaction between the expatriates’
country and their host country and has its unique existence. Similarly, Chinese overseas
projects are also expected to exhibit unique characteristics of their expatriate management
strategies under the Confucian culture, which accentuates great significance to the blood
relationship,bonds of kinshipand collectivism (Hall and Xu, 1990;Hwang, 1999;Ip, 1996,2009).
Consequently, Chinese enterprises (primarily, the state-owned enterprises) usually pay more
attention to thefamily culture and build a specialrelationship (known as Guanxi) betweenthe
enterprise and the staff. Due to the disparity between the Chinese and the Western cultures,
Chinese enterprises and their Western counterparts approach management strategies in their
own ways (Hofstede and Bond,1988). Moreover, research reveals that the expatriates can be
categorized into self-initiated and organizational expatriates (Peltokorpi and Jintae Froese,
2009). Most expatriates from Chinese enterprises are organizational expatriates that dispatch
them to work abroad. To facilitate them, Chinese companies have provided necessary social
and organizationalsupport overseas for these employees.
It is noteworthy that some research scholars have recently proposed the model of “simulated
home”(Huang et al., 2020), which refers to a dwelling set up by the Chinese enterprises in the host
country. These simulated home model has similar geographical environment, physical layout
and spiritual space to those of expatriates’home country. According to research studies, a
simulated home replicates China’s working, living and communication environment for Chinese
expatriates in overseas projects. This model serves as an effective solution to the adjustment
issues of Chinese expatriates in other countries. Initially, it had been proposed and adopted by
Chinese state-owned enterprises and has gradually reached maturity. A fully open and semi-
closed simulated home is generally deployed in projects where the host country’s security
How simulated
home influences
Chinese
expatriates
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