The Influence of National Culture on Expatriate Work Adjustment, Intention to Leave and Organizational Commitment

Abstract

The movement of human resources across national borders has become a common practice in multinational organizations. The challenges international human resources face have become a subject of intense interest in the field of industrial and organizational psychology and human resource management. In view of this, the researchers investigated the influence of national culture on work adjustment, intention to leave host country and organizational commitment among expatriates in Ghana. Cross-sectional survey design was employed to investigate differences in work adjustment, intention to leave and organizational commitment between expatriates from collectivist and individualistic cultures. Data were collected from 111 expatriates using reliable research questionnaires. Independent t-test was used to test the hypotheses. It was observed that expatriates from collectivist cultures had fewer problems with adjustment than their counterparts from individualistic cultures. It was also observed that, expatriates from collectivist cultures had less intention of leaving the host country and significantly high level of organizational commitment compared to their counterparts from individualistic cultures. The findings are consistent with the person-culture fit theory. The implications for cross-cultural personnel selection and expatriates behaviour are discussed.

Keywords: National Culture, Work Adjustment, Intention to Leave, Expatriates, Organizational Commitment, Person-Culture Fit Theory, Ghana