Int. J. of Human Re.

wurce Management 17:7 July 2006 1209-1222

O Routledge

Cultural novelty and adjustment: Western

business expatriates in China

Jan Selmer
Abstract Although seldom formally tested, the traditional assumption in the literature
on expatriate management is that the greater the cultural novelty of the host country, the
more difficult it would be for the expatriate to adjust. To be able to test this proposition, a
mail survey was directed towards Western business expatriates in China. Three
sociocuitural adjustment variables were examined: general, interaction and work
adjustment. Although a negative relationship was hypothesized between cultural novelty
and the three adjustment variables, results of the hierarchical multiple regression analysis
showed that there was no significant association between them. Although highly tentative,
the suggestion that it is as difficult for business expatriates to adjust to a very similar
culture as to a very dissimilar culture is fundamental. Implications of this potentially
crucial finding are discussed in detail.
Keywords

Cultural novelty; sociocuitural adjustment; difficulty to adjust; China.

Introduction
There is an intuitive logic to it: what seems very different could be difficult to adjust to
and what appears familiar does not take long to get u.sed to. Although seldom tested by a
rigorous empirical investigation, this has been the default assumption regarding
expatriate adjustment for many years (cf. Black et al., 1991). This seems to be a justified
assumption supported by theory as well as a myriad of anecdotal evidence. Social
learning theory (Bandura, 1977) would predict such an outcome of expatriate
assignments. Perhaps even more convincing, many of us may have felt bewildered when
dumped as tourists in foreign locations unable to speak the local language and feeling
very unsure about what to do next. However, dissenting voices have been heard claiming
that it could be as difficult for business expatriates to adjust to a similar as to a very
different culture (Brewster, 1995; Brewster et al., 1993; O'Grady and Lane, 1996). So,
does it really matter whatever the answer may be? Yes, this is an issue of considerable
theoretical and practical importance. Besides potentially leading to the need to break
new theoretical ground, far-reaching implications can be expected for international firms
with business expatriates if solid evidence can be produced that the traditional
assumption is untenable. This may emphasize the need for international firms to provide
better support for their business expatriates, either through appropriate cross-cultural

Jan Selmer, Department of Management and International Busines.s, Aarhus School of Business,
Fugiesangs Alle 4, DK-8210 Aarhus V, Denmark (tel; -1-45 8948 6828; fax: +45 8948 6125;
e-mail: selmer@asb.dk).
The tnlernalional Journal of tinman Resource Management
ISSN 0958-5192 print/ISSN 1466-4399 online 2006 Taylor & Francis
http://www.tandf.co.uk/joumals
DOI: 10.1080/09585190600756475

1210

The International Journal of Human Resource Management

training or through more sophisticated selection mechanisms, to ensure that they are well
prepared to deal with assignments in both similar and dissimilar host cultures.
Therefore, the purpose of this investigation is to examine the association between
cultural novelty and expatriate adjustment. This is both relevant and important, since the
adjustment of expatriates may be related to their performance. Although the theoretical
link between expatriate adjustment and performance is conceptually unclear, it has been
observed that expatriate.s who are unable to adjust to work and life at a host location are
also likely to perform poorly (Ones and Viswesvaran, 1997). Emerging rigorous
empirical research supports a positive association between the adjustment of expatriates
and their work performance (Caligiuri, 1997; Kraimer et ai, 2001; Parker and McEvoy,
1993). This is crucial, since the reason for assigning expatriates to foreign locations is to
perform certain work tasks. So, depending on the finding of this study, the cultural
novelty may be a more or less relevant factor in assessing the performance of business
expatriates. Popular notions, such as 'hardship postings' and 'tough assignments',
referring to a radically different cultural context to justify special consideration and
treatment for expatriates, may turn out to be an irrelevant line of argument.
Consequently, the main potential contribution of this investigation is the exploration of
the traditional, intuitively appealing notion ofthe presumed negative association between
cultural novelty and expatriate adjustment.
The place of investigation is China. This host location was selected both for its
growing importance to Western business firms and its dissimilar cultural context
permeating daily life and work of Western expatriates assigned there. The country's
entry into the World Trade Organization has accentuated its importance as a current and
potential market for Western and other international business firms. Virtually
uncontested, China has emerged as the world's most desirable market. With a
population of 1.3 billion, China has one-fifth of the population of the world. In 1979,
when China opened up for foreign investment, foreign businesses started to move in to
claim a share ofthe country's vast markets. China continues to attract more foreign direct
investment than any other developing country. However, establishing operations in
China may constitute more than a financial concern to foreign firms. China is distinctly
different from most other countries. From a Western perspective, China 'is seen as the
most foreign of all foreign places. Its culture, institutions, and people appear completely
baffling - a matter of absolute difference, not of degree.' (Chen, 2001: 17). This makes
China a challenging destination for Western business expatriates, since they have to deal
with a very different way of life than in their own country and they have to perform in an
unfamiliar work context. There is a wealth of evidence suggesting that many Western
business expatriates could find their assignment in China frustrating (Bjorkman and
Schaap, 1994; Kaye and Taylor, 1997; Sergeant and Frenkel, 1998).
After introducing the concept of expatriate adjustment, and especially the
sociocultural aspects of this notion, the association between this construct and cultural
novelty is discussed. Using social learning theory (Bandura, 1977) as the theoretical basis
for this relationship, three hypotheses are proposed. The methodology for testing these
hypotheses is delineated and the results of the analysis are presented. The findings are
discussed in detail, noting potential limitations and implications ofthe study. Finally, the
conclusions from this investigation are drawn.

Selmer: Cultural novelty and adjustment

1211

Expatriate adjustment
Sociocultural adjustment
The concept of sociocultural adjustment has been proposed and defined in the literature
on international adjustment (Searle and Ward, 1990; Ward and Kennedy, 1992; Ward
and Searle, 1991). Sociocultural adjustment relates to the ability to 'fit in' or effectively
interact with members of the host culture (Ward and Kennedy, 1996). Sociocultural
adjustment has been associated with variables that promote and facilitate culture learning
and acquisition of .social skills in the host culture (Cross, 1995; Searle and Ward, 1990).
The sociocultural notion of adjustment is based on cultural learning theory and highlights
social behaviour and practical social skills underlying attitudinal factors (Black and
Mendenhall, 1991; Furnham, 1993; Klineberg, 1982).
Black et al., (1991) argued that the degree of cros.s-cultural adju.stment should be
treated as a multidimensional concept, rather than a unitary phenomenon as was the
previous dominant view (Gullahorn and Gullahorn, 1962; Oberg, I960). In their
proposed model for international adjustment. Black et al., (1991) made a distinction
between three dimensions of in-country adjustment: (I) adjustment to work, (2)
adjustment to interacting with host nationals and (3) adjustment to the general non-work
environment. This theoretical framework of international adjustment covers sociocultural aspects of adjustment and it has been supported by a series of empirical .studies of
US expatriates and their spouses (Black and Gregersen, 1990, 1991a, 1991b, 1991c;
Black and Stephens, 1989). McEvoy and Parker (1995) also found support for the three
dimensions of expatriate adjustment.
Cultural novelty and adjustment
In the literature on expatriate management, the traditional argument is that the greater the
cultural novelty of the host country, the more difficult it would be for the expatriate to
adju.st in the foreign location (Black etai., 1991). This is an intuitively appealing position
supported by common sense and a host of anecdotal evidence. Although conflicting
suggestions have been proposed over the years (Brewster, 1995; Brewster et al., 1993;
O'Grady and Lane, 1996), the tenets of social learning theory (Bandura, 1977) have been
used to justify this initial stance (Black and Mendenhall, 1991).
Theoretical framework
Albert Bandura (1977) is one of the main proponents of social learning theory which
integrates cognitive and behavioral theories. In his book, Bandura (1977) asserts that in
addition to individuals' learning based on the consequences of their own actions,
individuals can also learn and behave based on their vicarious experience, by observing
other people's behaviour and associated consequences and by imitating the modelled
behaviour. In the same source, Bandura further suggests that people are capable of
choosing how they will respond in future situations. The complete theory can be found
elsewhere (Bandura, 1977, 1983) and only theoretical aspects underpinning the
discussion about the association between cultural novelty and expatriate adjustment will
be touched upon here.
Social learning theory would suggest that individuals entering a new culture tend to
pay attention to those elements in the foreign cultural context that are similar to their own
culture and, therefore, seem familiar. They may even superimpose familiarity on
anything that only remotely resembles familiar cues. Given this tendency of selective
perception towards the familiar, individuals are most likely to notice only those

1212

The International Journal of Human Resource Management

differences between their own and the host culture that are clearly visible and striking.
Initially, whether the host culture appears familiar or not, individuals are likely to make
use of past behaviour which in their own culture has proved from successful in similar
situations. However, to the extent that new cultural environment is different from their
own culture, generically similar situations may require radically different behaviours.
Hence, to the extent that the host culture requires different specific behaviours,
individuals are likely to exhibit inappropriate actions. In turn, these inappropriate
behaviours are likely to generate negative consequences (Black and Mendenhall, 1991).
If the cultural novelty of the host culture is large, the frequency of novel situations and
the probability of the newcomers committing behavioural blunders are substantial
(Torbiorn, 1982). There is also a higher probability that the magnitude of the negative
consequences of displaying inappropriate behaviour in a host setting with high cultural
novelty will be greater (Black and Mendenhall, 1991). These arguments based on social
learning theory all seem to suggest that the higher the cultural novelty ofthe host culture,
the more likely expatriates are to exhibit inappropriate behaviours and generate negative
consequences which may adversely affect their adjustment in the foreign location. In
other words, these arguments appear to propose a negative association between cultural
novelty and expatriate adjustment.
Another line of theoretical argumentation can be based on the factors that have been
shown to be important in influencing which models a person selects to focus his or her
attention on. Such factors include attractiveness and similarity of the model (Bandura,
1977). The cultural novelty ofthe host culture is likely to affect the similarity of potential
models and, therefore, the attractiveness of the models (i.e., host country nationals,
HCNs). The greater the dissimilarity between parent country nationals (PCNs) and HCNs
due to cultural novelty, the greater the likelihood that the individual will perceive
the models (HCNs) as less attractive and as a consequence pay less attention to the
behaviours modelled by HCNs. The less attention paid to modelled behaviours, the less
likely the individual is to acquire and retain new behaviours appropriate for the host
culture accurately, and the more likely the individual is to exhibit inappropriate
behaviours (Black and Mendenhall, 1991). The more the individual displays
inappropriate behaviours and experiences negative feedback and consequences, the
greater will be the impediment to adjustment. Furthermore, the greater the cultural
novelty ofthe host culture, the greater the dissimilarity between the individual's notions
of appropriate behaviour and appropriate behaviour in the new culture (Torbiorn, 1982).
The greater the dissimilarity of appropriate and inappropriate behaviours between the
two cultures, the more difficult it will be for the individual to exhibit appropriate
behaviours, even if attention was paid to HCNs as models of appropriate behaviour
(Black and Mendenhall, 1991). Consequently, these arguments also seem to suggest a
negative relationship between cultural novelty and expatriate adjustment. Hypotheses
1 to 3 examine this proposition in terms of the three sociocultural dimensions of incountry expatriate adjustment: general adjustment, interaction adjustment and work
adjustment.
Hypothesis I: Cultural novelty has a negative association with general adju.stment.
Hypothesis 2: Cultural novelty has a negative association with interaction adjustment.
Hypothesis 3: Cultural novelty has a negative association with work adjustment

Selmer: Cultural novelty and adjustment

1213

Method
Sample
A mail survey targeted at business expatriates assigned by Western firms to China was
used as the source to extract data for this study. The number of returned questionnaires
was 165, representing a response rate of 25.2 percent. This is not high, but it is equivalent
or higher than other mail surveys of business expatriates (Harzing, 1997;
Naumann, 1993).
The average age ofthe respondents was 44.68 years (SD = 8.61) and on the average,
they had spent 5.98 years in China (SD = 7.45) and had lived abroad for 9.94 years
(SD = 8.77), including China. Most of the expatriate managers were from the US
(24.2 per cent), Germany (13.3 per cent), Britain (9.7 per cent), Australia (9.2 per cent)
and Denmark (5.5 per cent). Expatriates from other Western countries made up smaller
groups. As shown in Table 1, consistent with other recent studies of business expatriates
(Caligiuri, 2000; Selmer, 2001; Shaffer et al., 1999), most of the respondents were male
and married. Almost all the respondents had managerial positions, of which the majority
was CEOs. Joint ventures were the most frequent place of work. The sampled
respondents were located in most of the 23 provinces of China, but a majority was from
the three largest citie.s: Beijing (32.7 per cent), Shanghai (25.5 per cent) and Guangzhou
(9.7 per cent).

Instrument
Cultural novelty was measured by the scale used by Black and Stephens (1989) adopted
from Torbiorn (1982) (alpha = .77). The expatriates were asked to indicate on a fivepoint Likert-type scale how similar or different a number of conditions were where they
lived in China compared to their home country. As in the original scale, the response
categories varied from I = extremely different to 5 = extremely similar (sample item:
'Everyday customs that must be followed'). For easier interpretation of the results, this

Table 1 Background of the .sample

Background variables
Gender
Male
Female
Married
Position
CEO
Manager
Non-managerial
Type of organization
Joint-venture
Wholly-owned subsidiary
Representative office
Branch
Note: N = 165.

Frequency

157
8
126

95
5
77

125
36
3

76
22
2

68
47
40
6

42
29
25
4

1214

The International Journal of Human Resource Management

scale was reversed in the analysis to make a higher score represent a higher cultural
novelty.
Respondents also completed Black and Stephens' (1989) 14-item scale to assess
sociocultural adjustment. This scale is designed to measure three dimensions: general
adjustment (sample item: 'Food'), interaction adjustment (sample item: 'Speaking with
host nationals') and work adjustment (sample item: 'Supervisory responsibilities'). The
respondents indicated how well adjusted they were to China on a scale ranging from
1 = very unadjusted to 7 = completely adjusted. Principal components factor analysis
with varimax rotation produced the three previously identified dimensions of expatriate
adjustment. Seven items on general adjustment (alpha = .S\) and four items on
interaction adjustment (alpha = .81) were identified. However, due to low reliability,
one of the three items on work adjustment was deleted resulting in a reliability of
alpha = .70 for this two-item factor.
Time in China was used as a control variable. It is essential to control for the time
expatriates had spent in China since expatriate adjustment is a process over time (Black
and Mendenhall, 1991; Church, 1982; Furnham and Bochner, 1986). The variable time in
China was measured by directly asking the respondents how long they had been assigned
to China.
Results
Table 2 displays sample means, standard deviations and zero-order correlations. The
mean score for the variable cultural novelty is significantly higher than the neutral
midpoint, 3.00, of the scale (t = 19.75; p < .001), not surprisingly, suggesting that the
Western expatriates felt that China as a host location represented a relatively high
cultural novelty. Also all of the three variables of expatriate adjustment have
significantly higher mean scores than the midpoint of the scale, general adjustment
(t = 22.35;p < .001), interaction adjustment (t = 17.68;/? < .QQ\) and work adjustment
(r = 34.93; p < .001). This indicates that despite the high cultural novelty, the
expatriates felt relatively well adjusted to the sociocultural context in China.
As presumed, there is a significant positive correlation between time in China and
interaction adjustment (r = .20; p < .05) confirming the need to use time in China as a
control variable. There is also a significant negative association between cultural novelty
and general adjustment ( r = . 1 6 ; p < .05), providing preliminary support for
Hypothesis 2. There was no other significant difference between cultural novelty and
either ofthe other two sociocultural adjustment variables, preliminarily leaving the other
hypotheses unsupported.
The hypotheses were formally tested by means of hierarchical regression analysis.
The control variable, time in China, was entered first. As displayed in Table 3, the control
Table 2 Means, standard deviations, and correlations among the variables'
Variables

Mean

1 Cultural novelty
2 General adjustment
3 Interaction adjustment
4 Work adjustment
5 Time in China (control)

3.72
5.51
5.39
5.99
5.98

SD

1.00

1.00
-.16*
-.05

.72

.01

7.45

-.12

.47
.86

1.00
.45***
.46***
.11

1.00
.58***
.20*

1.00

Notes: * p< .05; *** p < .001 (2-tailed)'; 163 < N < 161 due to missing answers.

.07

1.00

Selmer: Cultural tiovelty atid adjustment

1215

Table 3 Results of hierarchical regression for effects of cultural novelty on expatriate adjustmenl
in China"
General adjustment p

Interaction adjustment /3

Work adjustment p

Step I

Time in China
(control)
R
^ (adjusted)
F
Step 2
Cultural novelty
R
Change in /? ^
/f^ (adjusted)
F

.09

.20*

.08

II
.01
1.82

.20
.04
6.69

.07
- .00
.82

-.15
.18
.02
.02
2.06

-.01
.20
.00
.03
3.34

.02
.08
.00
- .00
.45

Notes: " Regression coefficients are .standardized;* /; < .05.

variable was only significant for one of the adjusttnent variables, explaining 4 per cent of
ititeraction adju.stment {beta = .20; p < .05), confirming the preliminary observation
above. The predictor variable, cultural novelty, was entered in Step 2. However, that
failed to produce any significant relationship with any of the dependent variables and,
therefore, no hypothesis was supported.
Discussion
Unexpectedly, the main result of this study is that there was no association between
cultural novelty and any of the three sociocultural adjustment variables: general,
interaction and work adjustment, among the Western business expatriates in China. That
is surprising, although this highly tentative but potentially fundamental finding rnay be
due to a nutnber of limiting circumstances discussed below. Nevertheless, the result
supports the conflicting claims of the nature of the association between cultural novelty
and expatriate adjustment. Although, up to now, generally lacking rigorous empirical
corroboration of these assertions, the argutnent .seems plausible enough. Brewster (1995)
and Brew.ster et al., (1993: 27) have argued that assigning expatriates to a sitnilar culture
can be as much, if not more, of a trying experience as sending them to a very different
culture. For an expatriate assigned to an entirely different host culture, the advantage is
that the consciousness of dissimilarity is always there, whereas tnanagers posted in a
similar culture to their own often fail to identify the differences that do exist and easily
resort to blaming their subordinates or themselves for problems which in reality are due
to the culture clash. In other words, it is the expectations expatriates hold about the new
culture and the attributions they make about what happens in the new culture that will
have a significant impact on expatriates' adjusttnent.
In the light ofthe unforeseen finding of this study it is justified to assess whether it can
be reconciled with the tenets of social learning theory (Bandura, 1977). Since the
consequence of our finding seems to suggest that it is as difficult (or easy) for business
expatriates to adjust to a foreign location with a low cultural novelty as to one with a high
cultural novelty, the discussion will focus on this unexpected trouble of coping with the
familiar. According to social learning theory (Bandura, 1977), there is a tendency for
newcomers to look for or superimpose familiarity on a new cultural context, especially

1216

The International Journal of Human Resource Management

when the cultural novelty seems to be low. Therefore, due to the preference for the
familiar, reinforced by the expectancy of cultural similarity, some cultural mistakes, no
matter how insignificant, will no doubt be committed. In other words, the expatriate
manager assigned to a location with a low cultural novelty does not detect any cultural
differences as he or she is not looking for them since they are not expected. Hence,
ensuing problems that occur may not even be appropriately attributed to cultuial
differences but to other circumstances, such as doubts about one's own leadership
abilities or subordinates' 'laziness' or 'stupidity' (Selmer and Shui, 1999). The outcome
may even be worse than in a case with a high cultural novelty. Expatriates in locations
characterized by low cultural novelty may experience difficulties when trying to deal
with their incorrectly identified problems and they could become increasingly frustrated,
feeling unexpectedly badly adjusted.
Furthermore, this partiality for the familiar is of course not exclusive to the
expatriates, since the HCNs would also be affected by the same mechanism. An
individual, conspicuously from a very different culture, may be tolerated and given the
benefit of a doubt going through the process of trying to adjust to a new culture. On
the other hand, an expatriate from a similar, or presumed identical culture, could be
treated with less patience and given less latitude for culturally deviant behaviour. For
example. Hung (1994) has argued that in China, a Hong Kong Chinese may be judged by
different standards and more harshly than a Westerner for any mistake made because he
or she is presumably knowledgeable about Chinese etiquette and manners and would be
expected to fully understand the appropriate social protocol and behave accordingly.
Expatriates, overlooking any possible cultural differences that may exist in foreign
locations with a similar culture, exhibiting even minor inappropriate behaviours, will
most probably be unfavourably assessed. Their behaviour may even be misattributed and
interpreted by host nationals as evidence of incompetence or that the expatriate is
otherwise unsuitable for the occupied position or the foreign assignment.
Imitating modelled behaviour according to social learning theory (Bandura, 1977)
may not be a priority in a foreign location with a low cultural novelty, since no
modification of behaviour is expected to be necessary. Minor differences in behaviour
are seldom noted and the expatriate may not accurately acquire and retain new variants of
behaviour, making the expatriate continue to exhibit inappropriate behaviours, no matter
how insignificant. Although only mildly deviant, persisting in less appropriate
behaviours may over time become frustrating for the HCNs exposed to the behaviour
of the expatriates. As argued above, this in turn could lead to negative feedback and
consequences for the expatriates reinforcing their frustration and obstruct their
adjustment.
There are also various empirical observations that can be taken as support for the
findings of this study. Through a number of accidental and anecdotal observations,
although obtained by studies with no intentions to formally test the relationship between
cultural novelty and expatriate adjustment, some empirical support can nevertheless be
construed for the finding of this investigation. In a study of the poor performance of
Canadian retailers in the tJS, O'Grady and Lane (1996) concluded that much of the
difficulties seemed to be created by common, but unexplored, assumptions or underlying
beliefs among decision-makers in the Canadian retail companies that these two cultures
are similar and familiar. Although the ability to see differences is necessary for learning
to occur, the Canadian decision-makers were not prepared to look for differences. The
Canadian managers believed that 'Americans were just like Canadians, sharing a similar
language, culture, values, tastes, and business practices. Notably, it was precisely the fact

Selmer: Cultural novelty atid adjusttnent

1217

that these two countries probably are more similar than any other two that masked some
fundamental differences in values and attitudes.'
Based on in-depth interviews of ethnic Hong Kong Chinese business managers
assigned to Beijing and Shanghai, Selmer and Shiu (1999) found that the perceived
cultural closeness seemed to build up expectations of easy and quick adjustment, which
could, if it was not accotnplished, result in frustration, resentment and withdrawal. It was
remarkable how closely the predicament of many ofthe Hong Kong managers resembled
the worst experiences of expatriate managers in general as reported in the literature.
At work, they generally refrained from adapting their managerial style to local
expectations. Instead, they insisted, often in vain, that subordinates adopted parentcountry standards and behaviours, typically resulting in frustration and feelings of
detachment on the part ofthe expatriate manager. Outside work, they avoided socializing
with host nationals, and instead lived in the vicinity of, and sought the company and
social interaction with, other parent-country nationals. Similar predicaments have been
found facing other overseas Chinese managers in China, as for exatnple Taiwane.se
managers in Guangdong Province, ethnic Chinese Singaporean expatriates in Zheijiang
Province, or Malaysian Chinese in Wuxi (McEllister, 1998). Furthermore, comparing the
adjustment of Western and overseas Chinese business expatriates in China, Selmer
(2002b) found that although the Westerners perceived a higher degree of cultural novelty
than the overseas Chinese, they were better adjusted in sociocultural tenns, especially
with regard to work adjustment.
Reporting a study of 36 UK-based companies, Forster (1997) found that respondents
from similar cultures (e.g., USA) were as likely to report adjustment problems as
expatriates assigned to more dissimilar cultures like China. He concluded that the degree
of cultural 'strangeness' of the country does not seem to have any correlation with the
outcotne of the international assignment. Similarly, Peterson et al., (1996) stated that
Japanese MNCs reported that their expatriates appeared to adjust 'about the same' in
different countries, regardless of their degree of cultural similarity to Japan.
Limitations
As usual, this study may have some potential shortcomings that should be considered
when interpreting its findings. As the data were collected through a self-report
questionnaire, single method variance could have affected the results. Therefore, the data
were asses.sed for the presence of single method variance bias. The social desirability
aspect of single method bias often leads to compressed response range (Podsakoff and
Organ, 1986), but an inspection of the data did not reveal any compression of response
range. The data were also directly tested for single method variance bias by applying
Harman's single factor test, one ofthe most common te.sts available for examining monomethod bias (Podsakoff and Organ, 1986). All items are hypothesized to load on a single
factor representing the common method. The results ofthe factor analysis identifying the
three sociocultural variables of expatriate adjustment, general, interaction and work
adjustment, suggested that mono-method bias was not a serious concern in this study.
Furthermore, adjustment is a process over time but the method employed here only used
measures of the average level of adjustment at a certain point in time. A longitudinal
approach may have generated a richer data source where different patterns of adjustment
over time could have been identified and compared. On the other hand, longitudinal studies
have other inherent serious methodological challenges (cf. Menard, 1991).
Additionally, the choice of host country for this study could constitute another
potential limitation. As reflected in the high mean score ofthe cultural novelty variable.

1218

The International Journal of Human Resource Management

the Western expatriates generally felt that China had a very dissimilar culture compared
to their own countries. This could have constrained the variance of this variable
contributing to the non-significant relationship found between cultural novelty and the
three sociocultural variables of expatriate adjustment.
Last, but not least, a word of caution. A host of potential flaws and oversights in
designing and carrying out this study could have contributed to the non-significant
results. Despite the careful planning and execution of this investigation, everything from
the non-random selection of target respondents and their relatively low response rate to
potential data processing and errors in the analysis could have biased the results.
Implications
The suggestion based on the highly tentative main finding, that it is as difficult for
business expatriates to adjust to a foreign location when the cultural novelty is low as
when it is high, is fundamental and may give rise to a number of implications, both for
theory, practice and future research. The appropriateness of social learning theory
for justifying the traditional proposition that the greater the cultural novelty, the more
difficult it would be for an expatriate to adjust in a foreign location may be cast in doubt.
In fact, social learning theory can also be applied to explain the conflicting finding of this
study as discussed above. This calls for new theoretical grounds to be broken to further
explore the theoretical relationship between cultural novelty and expatriate adjustment.
The results suggest that business firms assigning expatriates abroad could expect
adjustment difficulties to a similar degree regardless of the extent of cultural novelty.
Therefore, a practical implication for international business firms from this result is that
cultural preparation and training could be useful not only when assigning expatriate
managers to foreign locations with a high cultural novelty, but also for assignments to
host countries representing a low cultural novelty. In other words, wherever business
expatriates are assigned, they may benefit from cross-cultural training. This may be an
important revelation since many business firms do not provide systematic training
programmes for expatriate managers (Dunbar and Katcher, 1990; Mendenhall et al.,
1987; Tung, 1988). Companies seem to be ambivalent on the usefulness of training,
apparently assuming that 'good persons always manage', preferring a learning-by-doing
approach (Black and Mendenhall, 1990; Brewster, 1995; Kuhlmann, 2001). The result of
this study seems to indicate that this may not be such a useful assumption.
However, it is likely that the training should be different for expatriates assigned to
locations with low as opposed to high cultural novelty. Whereas the latter type of
preparation often includes substantial elements of cognitive training, emphasizing
factual information about the host country (Gudykunst et al., 1996), the former would
probably rather focus on creating motivation for the individuals to fine-tune their current
sociocultural behaviour. Directing this change, the intercultural training could focus on
attracting the attention to the most essential nuances of cultural differences and their
behavioural implications in the similar host culture.
Obviously, an alternative way to go about this is to amend the expatriate selection
strategy. Individuals with a good track record of adjustment and performance in previous
foreign assignments could be targeted. They could be better suited to deal with a certain
foreign location, regardless whether it represents a high or a low cultural novelty.
Unfortunately, cross-cultural skills are traditionally not highly valued when selecting
expatriates (Franke and Nicholson, 2002). Of course, especially candidates with
past expatriate experience from the country in question may have acquired skills which
could facilitate their adjustment (Selmer, 2002a). In fact, a previous recent assignment to

Selmer: Cultural ttovelty and adjustmetit

1219

the same host location can be seen as the ideal expatriate training experience, especially
if the assignment was relatively successful. Selecting such candidates, with recent
positive experiences of the host country and work task at hand, could be regarded as a
perfect substitute for cross-cultural training. Another worthwhile endeavour might be to
try to match the personal characteristics of expatriate candidates with the cultural profile
of the host country (Nicholson et al., 1990).
There are several implications for future research involving improving weak points of
the study as well as extending the scope of investigation. Future studies tnay avoid
potential mono-method bias by tapping more data sources in addition to the expatriates,
such as spouses or other family members, colleagues and bosses. A longitudinal
approach can be applied and another host country can be selected that to a lesser extent
may restrict the variance of the cultural novelty variable. In doing so, an extension to
.several host countries could be considered in an attempt to safeguard a sufficient variance
of the independent variable. That would also provide an opportunity to explore the
expression of 'culture toughness' describing a transfer to a certain culture as especially
difficult (Black et al., 1992: 128). Could it be the case that, regardless of the degree of
cultural similarity, transfers from certain cultures to other specific cultures are typically
painful? Future research could extend the current investigation to address this question
and similar issues by carefully selecting more than one host country. One such issue is
the directionality of adjustment problems. For example, is it easier for business
expatriates from China to adjust to the US than it is for US expatriates to adjust to China?
Conctusions
The main finding of this study must be regarded as highly tentative. As this finding is
based on a set of non-significant results, it is acknowledged that a host of potential flaws
and oversights in designing and carrying out this study could have contributed to the
outcome of this investigation. Nevertheless, the suggestion that it is as difficult for
business expatriates to adjust when the cultural novelty is low as when it is high, is
fundamental. Despite its counterintuitive impression, this suggestion is consistent with
both theory and previous empirical observations, although of an anecdotal nature.
Therefore, the finding of this investigation could make an important contribution to the
literature as the first rigorous empirical corroboration of this proposition. The possible
implications may be wide and far reaching for both theory and the practice of managing
expatriates. New theoretical grounds should be broken to explore the relationship
between cultural novelty and expatriate adjustment. The finding also conveys a powerful
message about the need to support business expatriates better, either through appropriate
cross-cultural training or through more sophisticated selection mechanisms to ensure that
business expatriates are well prepared to adjust to host locations with both high and low
cultural novelty.

References
Bandura, A. (1977) Social Learning Theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Bandura, A. (1983) The Social Foundations of Thought and Action. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice Hall.
Bjorkman, I. and Schaap, A. (1994) 'Outsiders in the Middle Kingdom: Expatriate Managers in
Chinese-Western Joint Ventures', European Management Journal, 12(2): 147-53.

1220

The International Journal of Human Resource Management

Black, J.S. and Gregersen, H.B. (1990) 'Expectations, Satisfaction and tntentions to Leave of
American Managers in Japan', International Joumal of Intercultural Relations, 14(4):
485-506.
Black, J.S. and Gregersen, H.B. (1991a) 'Antecedents to Cross-Cultural Adjustment for Expatriates
in Pacific Rim Assignments', Human Relations, 44(5): 497-515.
Black, J.S. and Gregersen, H.B. (1991b) 'The Other Half of the Picture: Antecedents of Spouse
Cultural Adjustment', Journal of International Business Studies, 22(3): 461-77.
Black, J.S. and Gregersen, H.B. (1991c) 'The Other Half of the Picture: Antecedents of
Spouse Cross-Cultural Adjustment', Journal of International Business Studies, 22(4): 671 - 9 4 .
Black, J.S. and Mendenhall, M. (1990) 'Cross-Cultural Training Effectiveness: A Review and
Theoretical Framework for Future Research', Academy of Management Review, 15(1): 113-36.
Black, J.S. and Mendenhall, M. (1991) 'The U-Curve Adjustment Hypothesis Revisited: A Review
and Theoretical Framework', Journal of International Business Studies, 22(2): 225-47.
Black, J.S. and Stephens, G.K. (1989) 'The Influence of the Spouse on American Expatriate
Adjustment in Overseas Assignments', Journal of Management, 15: 529-44.
Black, J.S., Gregersen, H.B. and Mendenhall, M.F. (1992) Global Assignments: Successfully
Expatriating and Repatriating Intemationai Managers. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Black, J.S., Mendenhall, M. and Oddou, G. (1991) 'Toward a Comprehensive Model of
Intemationai Adjustment: An Integration of Multiple Theoretical Perspectives', Academy
of Management Review, 16(2): 291317.
Brewster, C. (1995) 'Effective Expatriate Training'. In Selmer, J. (ed.) Expatriate Matxagement:
New Ideas for International Business. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.
Brewster, C , Lundmark, A. and Holden, L. (1993) A Different Tack: An Analysis of British and
Swedish Management Styles. Lund: Studentlitteratur.
Caligiuri, P.M. (1997) 'Assessing Expatriate Success: Beyond Just "Being There'". In Sunders,
D.M. and Aycan, Z. (eds) New Approaches to Employee Management. Greenwich, CT: JAI
Press.
Caligiuri, P.M. (2000) 'Selecting Expatriates for Personality Characteristics: A Moderating Effect
of Personality on the Relationship between Host National Contact and Cross-Cultural
Adjustment', Management International Review, 40(1): 61-80.
Chen, M.-J. (2001) Inside Chinese Business: A Guide for Managers Worldwide. Boston,
MA: Harvard Business School Press.
Church, A. (1982) 'Sojoumer Adjustment', Psychological Bulletin, 91(3): 540-77.
Cross, S. (1995) 'Self Construals, Coping, and Stress in Cross-Cultural Adaptation', Journal of
Cross-Cultural Psychology, 26: 673-97.
Dunbar, E. and Katcher, A. (1990) 'Preparing Managers for Foreign Assignments', Training and
Development Journal, September: 457.
Forster, N. (1997) 'The Persistent Myth of High Expatriate Failure Rates: A Reappraisal',
Intemationai Journal of Human Resource Management, 8(4): 4 1 4 - 3 3 .
Franke, J. and Nicholson, N. (2002) 'Who Shall We Send? Cultural and Other Influences on the
Rating of Selection Criteria for Expatriate Assignments', International Journal of Cross
Cultural Management, 29(1): 21-36.
Furnham, A. (1988) 'The Adjustment of Sojourners'. In Kim, Y.Y. and Gudykunst, W.B. (eds)
Cross-Cultural Adaptation: Current Approaches. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Furnham, A. (1993) 'Communicating in Foreign Lands: The Cause, Consequences and Cures of
Culture Shock', Language, Culture and Curriculum, 6(1): 91-109.
Fumham, A. and Bochner, S. (1986) Culture Shock: Psychological Reactions to Unfamiliar
Environments. London: Methuen.
Gudykunst, W.B., Guzley, R.M. and Hammer, M.R. (1996) 'Designing Intercultural Training'.
In Landis, D. and Bahgat, R.S. (eds) Handbook of Intercultural Training. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage.
Gullahorn, J.E. and Gullahorn, J.R. (1962) 'An Extension of the U-Curve Hypothesis', Joumal of
Social Issues, 3: 33-47.

Selmer: Cultural novelty and adjusttnent

1221

Harzing, A.W.K. (1997) 'Response Rates in Intemationai Mail Surveys: Results of a 22-Country
Study', Intemationai Business Review, 6(6): 641-65.
Naumann, E. (1993) 'Organizational Predictors of Expatriate Job Satisfaction', Journal of
International Business Studies, 24(1): 61-80.
Hung, C.L. (1994) 'Business Mindsets and Styles ofthe Chinese in the People's Republic of China,
Hong Kong, and Taiwan', The International Executive, 36(2): 203-21.
Kaye, M. and Taylor, W.G.K. (1997) 'Expatriate Culture Shock in China: A Study in the Beijing
Hotel Industry', Journal of Managerial Psychology, 12(8): 496-510.
Klineberg, O. (1982) 'Contact between Ethnic Groups: A Historical Perspective of Some Aspects
of Theory and Research'. In Bochner, S. (ed.) Cultures in Contact: Studies in Cro.i.t-Cultural
Interaction. Oxford: Pergamon.
Kraimer, M.L., Wayne, S.J. and Jaworski, R.A. (2001) 'Sources of Support and Expatriate
Performance: The Mediating Role of Expatriate Adjustment', Personnel Psychology, 54:
71-99.
Kuhlmann, T.M. (2001) 'The German Approach to Developing Global Leaders Via Expatriation'.
In Mendenhall, M.E., Kuhlmann, T.M. and Stahl, G.K. (eds) Developing Global Leaders:
Policies, Processes, and Innovations. Westport, CT: Quorum Books.
McEllister, R. (1998) 'Recruitment and Retention of Managerial Staff in China'. In Selmer, J. (ed.)
International Management in China: Cross-Ctdturat Aspects. London: Routledge.
McEvoy, G.M. and Parker, B. (1995) 'Expatriate Adjustment: Causes and Consequences'.
In Selmer, J. (ed.) Expatriate Management: New Ideas for International Btt.siness. Westport,
CT: Quorum Books.
Menard, S. (1991) Longittidinal Research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Mendenhall, M., Dunbar, E. and Oddou, G. (1987) 'Expatriate Selection, Training and CareerPathing: A Review and Critique', Human Re.source Management, 26(3): 331-45.
Naumann, E. (1993) 'Organizational Predictors of Expatriate Job Satisfaction', Journal of
International Business Studies, 24(1): 61-80.
Nicholson, J.D., Stepina, L.P. and Hochwater, W. (1990) 'Psychological Aspects of Expatriate
Effectiveness', Research in Personnel and Human Re.sources Management, Supplement
2: 127-45.
Oberg, K. (1960) 'Culture Shock: Adjustment to New Cultural Environments', Practical
Anthropologist, 7: 177-82.
O'Grady, S. and Lane, H.W. (1996) 'The Psychic Distance Paradox', Joumal of Intemationai
Business Studies, 27(2): 309-33.
Ones, D.S. and Viswesvaran, C. (1997) 'Personality Determinants in the Prediction of Aspects of
Expatriate Job Success'. In Aycan, Z. (ed.) Expatriate Management: Theory and Research.
Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
Parker, B. and McEvoy, G.M. (1993) 'Initial Examination of a Model of Intercultural Adjustment',
International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 17: 35579.
Peterson, R.D., Sargent, J., Napier, N. and Shim, W.S. (1996) 'Corporate Expatriate HRM Policies,
Internationalization, and Performance in the World's Largest MNCs', Management
International Review, 36(3): 215-30.
Podsakoff, P.M. and Organ, D.W. (1986) 'Self-Reports in Organizational Research: Problems and
Prospects', Journal of Management, 12: 531-44.
Searle, W. and Ward, C. (1990) 'The Prediction of Psychological and Soeio-Cultural Adjustment
during Cross-Cultural Transitions', International Journal of Intercultural
Relations,
14: 449-64.
Selmer, J. (2001) 'Psychological Barriers to Adjustment and How They Affect Coping Strategies:
Western Business Expatriates in China', International Joumal of Human Resource
Management, 12(2): 151-65.
Selmer, J. (2002a) 'Practice Makes Perfect? International Experience and Expatriate Adjustment',
Management International Review, 42(1): 71-87.
Selmer, J. (2002b) 'The Chinese Connection? Adjustment of Western vs. Over.seas Chinese
Expatriate Managers in China', Joumal of Business Research, 55(1): 41-50.

1222

The International Journal of Human Resource Management

Selmer, J. and Shiu, L.S.C. (1999) 'Coming Home? Adjustment of Hong Kong Chinese Expatriate
Business Managers Assigned to the People's Republic of China', Intemationai Journal of
Intercultural Relations, 23(3): 447-63.
Sergeant, A. and Frenkel, S. (1998) 'Managing People in China: Perceptions of Expatriate
Managers', Joumal of World Business, 33(1): 17-34.
Shaffer, M.A., Harrison, D.A. and Gilley, K.M. (1999) 'Dimensions, Determinants, and
Differences in the Expatriate Adjustment Process', Journal of International Business Studies,
30(3): 557-81.
Torbiom, I. (1982) Living Abroad: Personal Adjustment and Personnel Policy in the Over.seas
Setting. New York: Wiley.
Tung, R.L. (1988) The New Expatriates. Cambridge, MA: Ballinger.
Ward, C. and Kennedy, A. (1992) 'Locus of Control, Mood Disturbance and Social Difficulty
during Cross-Cultural Transitions', Intemationai Journal of Intercultural Relations,
16: 175-94.
Ward, C. and Kennedy, A. (1996) 'Crossing Cultures: The Relationship between Psychological and
Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Cross-Cultural Adjustment'. In Pandey, J., Sinha, D. and
Bhawuk, D.P.S. (eds) Asian Contributions to Cross-Cultural Psychology. New Delhi: Sage.
Ward, C. and Searle, W. (1991) 'The Impact of Value Discrepancies and Cultural Identity on
Psychological and Socio-Cultural Adjustment of Sojoumers', Intemationai Journal of
Intercultural Relations, 15: 209-25.