A longitudinal investigation of self-initiated expatriate organizational socialization
| Published date | 06 March 2017 |
| Pages | 182-204 |
| Date | 06 March 2017 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-05-2015-0149 |
| Author | Carmen Fu,Yu-Shan Hsu,Margaret A. Shaffer,Hong Ren |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Global HRM |
A longitudinal investigation
of self-initiated expatriate
organizational socialization
Carmen Fu
Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Yu-Shan Hsu
Concordia University, Montreal, Canada
Margaret A. Shaffer
Lubar School of Business, University of Wisconsin –Milwaukee, Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, USA, and
Hong Ren
University of Wisconsin –Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine the process of self-initiatedexpatriate (SIE) organizational
socialization.
Design/methodology/approach –To assess the socialization process, data were collected at three points in
time. SIE English teachers were surveyed at three points in time. At Time 3, data from the principals of those
teachers who completed surveys at Time 2 were also collected.
Findings –Organizationalsocializationtactics facilitatesocial integrationand learningspeed, which,in turn, are
positively related to SIE adjustment. Moreover, SIEs who climbed the learning curve more quickly were only able
to capitalize on their learning ability to promote performance when t heir calculative commitment was low.
Originality/value –First, in contrast with the majority of expatriate socialization studies that tend to focus
on the proactive behaviors of expatriates, the authors examine the organizational socialization tactics of a
local host organization. Second, they consider the role of calculative commitment, which is especially germane
to the SIE context, on SIE performance. Third, this study contributes to the organizational socialization
literature by recognizing that socialization is an on-going process that continues to influence employees even
after they are no longer “newcomers.”Fourth, the authors assess adjustment directly rather than through
proxy measures.
Keywords Adjustment, Quantitative, Organizational socialization, Expatriate performance,
Self-initiated expatriate
Paper type Research paper
With more than 38 percent of employers worldwide having difficulty filling positions due to
the lack of suitable talent available in their markets (Manpower Group, 2015), both
multinational and local organizations are increasingly relying on self-initiated expatriates
(SIEs) to redress their shortage of skilled labor. Although there is no general consensus
about how to define an SIE, Cerdin and Selmer (2014) recently clarified this concept by
specifying several criteria that differentiate SIEs from other forms of globally mobile
employees. According to these scholars, the first criterion is that SIEs initiate their own
international relocation, without any connection to or support from a home country
employer. In other words, SIEs are not transferred by their employer; they are either self-
employed or hired as an individual, often on a contractual basis (Andresen et al., 2014;
Doherty, 2013; Jokinen et al., 2008; Lee, 2005). Furthermore, to qualify as an SIE, individuals
Personnel Review
Vol. 46 No. 2, 2017
pp. 182-204
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/PR-05-2015-0149
Received 29 May 2015
Revised 16 February 2016
23 February 2016
Accepted 23 February 2016
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
This paper forms part of a special section “International mobility of workers: new forms, processes and
outcomes.”
182
PR
46,2
must have regular employment (or intend to be employed), plan to stay in the host country
only temporarily, and have skilled or professional qualifications (Cerdin and Selmer, 2014).
Given the increasing prevalence and importance of SIEs, there is a need for organizations
to better understand this emerging work force so they can capitalize on their motivation and
ability to be global employees (Vaiman et al., 2015). Indeed, research on SIE management
has surged during the past decade. However, a personal agency perspective (Tharenou,
2008) has dominated the existing studies, whereby SIEs themselves are viewed as having
sole responsibility for their entire expatriation process. Although a few researchers have
looked beyond the SIE him/herself to consider family inputs, such as family encouragement
(e.g. Tharenou and Caulfield, 2010), organizational social influences such as social support
and transformational leadership (Lee et al., 2013), and institutional factors, such as
discrimination (e.g. Fitzgerald and Howe-Walsh, 2008), host country location, and reputation
(Doherty et al., 2011), the role played by host organizations during the self-expatriation
process has been given scant attention. Because SIEs do not have support from a parent
organization, a basic assumption in the literature has been that they must manage their own
adjustment and careers (Suutari and Brewster, 2000). In this study, we question that
assumption and consider how a local (domestic) host organization enhances SIE adjustment
and performance by offering various structured socialization practices.
Socialization is the process of learning the behaviors and attitudes necessary for
assuming a role in an environment (Van Maanen and Schein, 1979). SIEs, who do not receive
pre-departure preparation from a parent organization, may have a limited understanding of
their host organization and host country (Howe-Walsh and Schyns, 2010). Therefore, their
level of uncertainty and anxiety toward these entities may be high, subsequently inhibiting
their integration into the host organization and preventing them from getting up to speed at
work. The socialization literature (e.g. Bauer et al., 2007) provides a comprehensive
theoretical background that helps us understand what host organizations can do to enhance
SIE adjustment and performance. Consequently, in this study, our first objective is to draw
on this socialization framework to understand how local host organizations promote the
social integration and learning speed of SIEs.
Within the socialization literature, socialization is viewed as an adjustment process, and
both proximal (e.g. role ambiguity and perceived fit) and distal (e.g. organizational
commitment, job performance, and quit intentions) outcomes of organizational socialization
have been identified (see Saks and Ashforth, 1997). Although conceptualized as an
adjustment process, the proximal outcomes of organizational socialization have generally
been viewed as indicators of adjustment; the actual adjustment of employees has not been
assessed within the organizational socialization literature. Within the expatriate literature,
organizational socialization is seen as an input to adjustment. It has been theoretically and
empirically linked to mode of adjustment (i.e. role innovation; Black, 1992), but only one
study has associated organizational socialization with degree of adjustment (Palthe, 2004).
Assimilating these differing perspectives, we conceptualize socialization as a process
whereby organizational socialization practices contribute to social integration and learning
speed at work; these then influence the distal SIE outcomes of expatriate adjustment and
performance. In particular, instead of conceptualizing socialization as adjustment, we
consider the effect of socialization (i.e. the proximal outcomes of social integration and
learning speed at work) on the extent to which SIEs experience work, interaction, and
cultural adjustment. Thus, our second objective of this study is to assess the influence of
proximal outcomes of organizational socialization on SIE adjustment and performance.
Another key feature of our study has to do with a previously unexamined employment
characteristic of SIEs –the fact that they are often hired on a contractual basis (Andresen,
et al., 2014; Doherty, 2013; Lee, 2005; Peltokorpi and Froese, 2009; Selmer and Lauring, 2013).
Because of the temporariness of many SIE assignments, SIEs may be inclined to fulfill their
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SIE
organizational
socialization
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