| The types of criteria used to evaluate individuals' "success" in expatriate assignments and variables which predict them were investigated in this dissertation. The three most common criteria are (1) premature termination of the foreign assignment, (2) cross-cultural adjustment, and (3) actual performance on the foreign assignment. The relationships among these three criteria were examined using data collected from expatriates currently working in foreign subsidiaries of a USA-based multinational organization. The expatriates' peers and leaders also provided ratings of the expatriates' performance. Using confirmatory factor analysis, results supported the hypothesis that these three criteria, while often treated as a unitary construct, are in fact separate constructs. In addition, the various performance dimensions (technical, contextual, managerial, expatriate-specific) which comprise the expatriate performance construct were examined. Results from multiple regression analyses partially supported the hypothesis that the performance construct is multidimensional.; In the case of the self-reported dependent variables, there was considerable support for the hypothesis that individual characteristics were related to the various success criteria. Individual characteristics predicting desire to terminate were: likeability, perceived social support. Family adjustment was also a significant predictor of desire to terminate the assignment. Individual characteristics predicting cross-cultural adjustment were: emotional stability, sociability, need for cognition, need for structure, and tolerance of ambiguity, and expectations, in addition to family adjustment, time in the assignment, cognitive ability, previous foreign experience, and training adequacy. Individual characteristics related to the performance dependent variable were emotional stability, ambition, intellect, sociability, and need for cognition. Time in the assignment was also a significant predictor of self-reported performance.; In the case of the peer and leader-rated dependent variables, there was somewhat less support for the hypothesis that individual characteristics were related to the various success criteria. The support for this hypothesis was with respect to ratings of technical performance. Adjustment, intellect, conscientiousness, school success, and sociablity were individual characteristics predictive of leader-rated technical performance. Intellect and likeability were individual characteristics predictive of peer-rated technical performance. Country difficulty, training adequacy, and language ability were significant control variables predicting leader-rated technical performance. Some exploratory analyses were conducted which improved the predictive ability of peer and leader performance. |
