Evaluating Expatriate Training

Author(s): Chris Brewster and Juana Pickard

Source: International Studies of Management & Organization, Vol. 24, No. 3, Current Issues
in Expatriation (Fall, 1994), pp. 18-35
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40397279
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Int. Studies ofMgt. & Org.9 Vol. 24, No. 3, pp. 18-35
M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 1994

Chris Brewster and Juana Pickard

Evaluating Expatriate Training

Cross-cultural training has long been advocated as a means of facilitating adjustment to the expatriate environment (Brislin, 1981; Landis

and Brislin, 1983; Mendenhall and Oddou, 1986; Tung, 1987). However, although there is a substantial literature, mainly from the United

States, on the preparation of expatriates for their foreign assignment,

much of this is anecdotal and prescriptive (Harris and Harris, 1976;

Rahim, 1983). The research that has been done shows, primarily, that
little preparation takes place. Despite the importance of expatriate positions, the high costs associated with expatriation and the extensive
and largely nonproductive "running-in" periods, it is still the case that
most organizations provide no formal training for expatriation.

Studies in the 1970s found that, amongst U.S. MNCs, only twothirds provided any training at all (Baker and Ivancevich, 1971) and
less than a quarter provided any formal orientation training (Baker and
Ivancevich, 1971; Lanier, 1979). In the 1980s, a study of the largest
U.S. MNCs found that "only 25 percent offer extensive pre-departure

orientation training programs" (Baliga and Baker, 1985, p. 35). According to Tung (1982), only 32 percent of U.S. companies surveyed
provided training. European and Japanese MNCs did more: 69 percent
among European, and 57 percent among Japanese.
Evidence for European MNCs is rather sparse. There is some evidence that the Europeans did more training in the 1970s and in the
1980s; more than half of Swedish companies provided formal training
(Torbirn, 1982), as did about half of a general survey of European
corporations (Tung, 1982, p. 66).

Some companies arrange shadowing opportunities in which em-

Chris Brewster is Professor of European Human Resource Management and Juana

Pickard is a Ph.D. student at Cranfield School of Management, Cranfield Institute
of Technology, Cranfield, Bedford, UK, MK43 OAL.
18

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EVALUATING EXPATRIATE TRAINING 19

ployees take responsibility for a country operation prior to moving

across to that country.

European MNCs provide a variety of means of preparation. In one

study, informal briefings were used by two-thirds of the MNCs as
standard policy; in other companies, the expatriates often organized
their own briefings. Others use "look-see" visits for all their expatr
ates, and a few attempt to arrange significant overlaps of tours of dut

Most of the European MNCs make explicit provision for languag

training, and nearly all will make arrangements for it "if necessary
Formal training courses were used by nearly half the European MNC
(Brewster, 1988).
Very little is known about the training that is done; but it is encour
aging that nearly all the evidence points in the same direction. The
most important finding here is that training is closely correlated wit
expatriate skills and expatriate performance. Tung (1982) argues that
there is a clear negative correlation between lack of training and expa
triate failure. Statistically, her argument may not be strong, but th

logic is clear. A valuable article by Black and Mendenhall (1990)

reviews U.S. empirical studies on the subject: twenty-nine in all. The

found a positive relationship between cross-cultural training and the
development of appropriate perceptions relative to members of anoth
culture; that training was positively correlated with adjustment; and
that there was a positive relationship to performance.
Studies of the form of training, though sparse, seem to show that i
is the process, rather than the type, of training that is important. Earley

(1987), for example, demonstrates that preparation for managers "ha

beneficial effects on managerial performance overseas" (he is report

ing on managers from the United States sent to South Korea). However, he found that both documentary and interpersonal approaches
were equally effective.

Although business organizations frequently doubt the value of suc

training (Baker and Ivancevich, 1971; Tung, 1982; Zeira, 1975), on

argument is that it is the lack of a theoretical framework that causes the

question about the value of such training to remain unanswered. What

is needed is both a model of the process and more empirical data.

Some interesting training models have been developed, notably by

Tung (1982), Rahim (1983), and Mendenhall and Oddou (1986). The

suggest that the depth of training provided should depend on the task
the environment, and the individual, or on the length of stay, the extent

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20 BREWSTER AND PICKARD (UK)

of integration into the host culture, and the cultural "difference" of the
host country from the home country.

It was decided to examine more carefully the assumptions that lie

behind much expatriate preparation.

Hypotheses
The provision of training
Most of the studies (including, for example, Murray and Murray, 1986,
and Brewster, 1991) find that, while companies are often uncertain
about the value of training for expatriate assignments, the expatriates
themselves tend to be more positive. This is not surprising. They are
being put into a new and difficult position, in an environment that they
do not understand, and with great expectations of performance weighing on them. The support implicit in the provision of training, the
opportunity to reflect in a time of turmoil, and the chance to absorb
valuable information should lead us to expect that:

HI. Expatriates and their partners will respond favorably to the

provision of specific formal courses and will find them to have
been beneficial to their ability to adapt.

Expatriates and their partners

The importance of the role of the partner, or "spouse" (in most cases)
has received ever more attention in the literature. It is now clear that it
is often the partner's failure to adjust that leads to the early termination

of an assignment (Black and Stephens, 1989; Harvey, 1985), although

most organizations still make assumptions about the partner's willingness to follow when selecting expatriates (Brewster, 1991). Furthermore, it is known that these assumptions are increasingly under threat

as family life-styles change and the number of dual-career couples

increases. It is important not to assume too readily that preparation that

is appropriate for one partner will suit the other. Therefore, we tested
the proposition that:

H2. Expatriates and their partners will respond differently to

training programs.

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EVALUATING EXPATRIATE TRAINING 21

Age
Heller (1980) conjectured that the more mature person is more likely to
have the criteria necessary to adjust to working in a foreign environment: experience, ability to do the job, breadth, and broad horizons.
We considered similarly that more mature expatriates are likelier to

have experienced job transition and relocation (whether at home or

overseas), and are likelier to have experienced a wider variety of training (although not necessarily cross-cultural training). They are likely to
hold more senior positions within their organizations and to play different
roles on the foreign assignment. Thus, it was possible to hypothesize:

H3. Younger expatriates will find the training more valuable than
older expatriates.
Previous expatriate experience
It has been argued that previous expatriate experience will facilitate
adjustment to a new expatriate environment (Church, 1982). Torbirn
(1982), however, found that while previous expatriate work experience
was related to higher level of adjustment, the amount did not seem to
matter: adjustment was not related to the duration of previous experience. Later studies by Black (1988) found that previous overseas work

experience was related to work adjustment for expatriates, but not to

general adjustment.
In terms of preparation in general, and the training from which the
data here are drawn in particular, it seemed possible that those with

expatriate experience might well feel that such experience already

went some way towards fitting them for a further adjustment. Expatri-

ates themselves have made this point (Brewster, 1991). This led to
testing the proposition:

H4. Previous expatriate experience will lead participants to see

the training as less useful.

Point of data capture

Perceptions of training programs are subjective, and liable to change
with time: in particular, perceptions held by attendees immediately
following the course might be modified by their actual expatriate experience, and might be modified again by their return from the assign-

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22 BREWSTER AND PiCKARD (UK)

ment. Furthermore, there is considerable unanimity in the literature to

the effect that an expatriate assignment generally passes through a

"honeymoon" stage during which the expatriate observes but does not
come to terms with the new environment, followed by a learning pe-

riod during which adjustment takes place (Black and Gregersen,

1991; Gullahorn and Gullahorn, 1963; Torbirn, 1982). The length
of the assignment might also be a factor. The literature contains a
variety of estimates for the length of an "average" expatriate assign-

ment. Tung (1987) quotes two to three years for U.S. MNCs and
five or more years for European MNCs; Black (1988) estimates
three to five years; Brewster (1991) found that the "average" varied
with the nationality of the MNC. It is arguable that those assigned

for longer periods would have a greater desire or requirement to

adjust to the foreign assignment, and this would affect their perceptions of the training course.
In terms of point of data capture, therefore, we tested the hypothesis
that:

H5. Expatriate responses to the value of training will vary with

the point at which they were asked their views (before, during, and
after assignment); and with the anticipated length of the assignment.

Location

For many companies involved in making international transfers, distinctions between different parts of the world are reflected in the most
explicit of ways, by different payments or salaries. The literature too
reflects this distinction, but goes beyond it to argue that it is the "cultural" distance between home and host culture that creates the problem

(Dowling and Schler, 1990; Mendenhall and Oddou, 1986; Tung,

1981). However, the major growth in expatriation in recent years has
been between developed countries; hence, in opposition to these views,
it has been argued that in some ways the lack of cultural awareness that

may occur in transfers to similar cultures can also create problems

(Brewster, 1991). We therefore tested the proposal:

H6. Responses to the provision of formal training programs will

vary with the destination of the expatriate.

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EVALUATING EXPATRIATE TRAINING 23

Type of employing organization

Not all people on expatriate training programs are sponsored by com-

mercial organizations: others include, for example, governmental

agencies, charities, and religious organizations. Their requirements of
training courses and their expatriate experiences might be far from
uniform and this in turn might affect their perceptions of the training.

Expatriates were asked to classify their sponsoring organization as:

(1) a commercial organization, (2) a mission organization (such as an
embassy or an armed force), or (3) a teaching, charity, or religious
organization. These are in line with three of Cohen's (1977) four expatriate classifications. (Cohen's fourth classification, leisure seekers,
was not considered relevant to this study). We hypothesized that:

H7. Reactions to a uniform training program will vary with the

type of organization employing the participants.
Influence of the expatriate community
Tung (1982) points to the expatriate community present in the host coun-

try as playing a major role as a mutual support mechanism: she notes the

longer history of overseas operations by European MNCs whose foreign

subsidiaries are often well established with a relatively large expatriate
community, so that new arrivals arc "fairly well looked after." Similarly,

Black (1990) points to the expatriate community as a support mechanism

with information and advice to facilitate cross-cultural adjustment.

We felt that the presence or absence of a significant expatriate community might modify the adjustment processes of expatriates, and thus
modify their perceptions of the training program.

Expatriate communities can be classified as: (1) large enough to

influence the type and availability of, for example, foods and shopping

facilities, medical facilities, schools and recreation opportunities

("large"); (2) visible, but not large enough to modify the local environ-

ment significantly ("medium"), or (3) insignificant or nonexistent

("small"). It could be anticipated that those in the larger communities
would have less need of training:
H8. The larger the expatriate community in the host country, the

less valuable would spouses in that community find a program of

predeparture training.

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24 BREWSTER AND PICKARD (UK)

Degree of social interaction with host nationals

Gregersen and Black (1989) found a positive correlation between the
level of adjustment to interaction with host-country nationals and the

expatriate's intent to stay in the overseas assignment; Black and

Gregersen (1991) found social support from host-country nationals to
be positively correlated to the spouse's adjustment to interacting with
host-country nationals. According to Furnham and Bochner (1986),
"the evidence suggests that most sojourners lead lives that are relatively isolated from their host society. Those sojourners . . . who do have
some intimate contact with host members seem to be more content, satisfied and successful than sojourners who have no such contact."

We considered that while most expatriates will be in contact with

host-country nationals as part of their work, the degree of contact
between the spouse and host country nationals is likely to vary. Accordingly, we asked the spouses to quantify the extent to which their

social activity included host nationals as: (1) almost none with host
nationals, nearly all with other expatriates; (2) 25 percent host nation-

als, 75 percent other expatriates; (3) 50 percent-50 percent; (4) 75

percent host nationals, 25 percent other expatriates, or (5) almost all
host nationals, nearly none with other expatriates.

H9. Expatriate spouses whose social activity included a greater

contact with host nationals would find the training more helpful
than those with less such contact.

Methodology
This study attempted to test these hypotheses by analyzing participant
responses to a well-established and well-supported expatriation program
being run in the United Kingdom. The courses were run by the Centre for
International Briefing at Famham Castle in southern England.

The center is an independent, nonprofit organization that mainly

runs one-week intensive, residential briefing courses for people who
are going to live and work overseas. The courses are designed to help
people who are going to a wide range of assignments; a large majority
come from multinational corporations but courses also include those
from government service, those working in aid programs, and volunteers from charities or churches. The level of training provided approximates Tung's (1981) environmental briefing and cultural orientation

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EVALUATING EXPATRIATE TRAINING 25

approaches, and Mendenhall and Oddou's (1986) information-givi

approach.
Information taken directly from the center's 1991 Annual Report
shows that, in 1990-91, the center ran more courses for more participants than in any previous year: in that year 52 full courses were run
for 804 course members.

The population for this study was a sample of 690 expatriates (and

their spouses) who attended courses between 1988 and 1992. The
sample was not entirely random, but consisted of all course members
whose employing organization was able to provide a forwarding address for the expatriate. We have no reason to believe that this sample
is uncharacteristic of the population as a whole.
Two questionnaires were designed, one to be answered by the expatriate and one to be answered by the spouse. In many cases, the ques-

tions were the same, particularly where the answers involved

perceptions of the program. Both questionnaires instructed the respondents to answer the questions without reference to their partner or to

their partner's responses. All expatriates received both questionnaires,

one to be answered by the expatriate and the other to be answered by
the spouse, if there was one. Thus, the selection of the spouses was a
function of the selection of the expatriates: the spouses included in the
study were all partners of expatriates on overseas assignments.

Response rate
Of the 690 questionnaires sent out, 251 expatriate questionnaires were
returned for a response rate of 36 percent. One hundred and sixty-four

spouse questionnaires were returned, and in this case the proportion of

responses can only be indicated indirectly. Completed questionnaires
were received from the spouses of 83 percent of the married expatriates who returned a questionnaire. (Fuller details of the methodology
are available in Pickard and Brewster, 1992).

Population characteristics
The majority of responding course members were male (95 percent),
married (80 percent), British (82 percent; 14 percent were from elsewhere in Europe), and in full-time employment with their sponsoring
organization when selected for the international assignment (95 percent). While course members' ages generally ranged from 25 to 55, the

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26 BREWSTER AND PICKARD (UK)

most common age group was 31 to 40 (43 percent). Fifty-four percent

had one or more dependent children at the time that they attended the
course. Fifty-six percent had no previous expatriate experience. Course

members were well educated: 53 percent had a university degree,

while 49 percent reported professional qualifications and/or member-

ship of a professional body. Specialization was spread fairly evenly

among technical and managerial disciplines (further details are in Pickard and Brewster, 1992).
Results

Frequencies, means, and standard deviations of the variables characterizing expatriates, spouses, and their expatriate environments are displayed in Table 1. Correlations between these variables are displayed

in Table 2. The relationship between the influence of the expatriate

environment and the extent of social activities with host nationals is

displayed in Table 3. Correlations between these characterizing variables

and the respondents' perceptions of the program and between the spouses'
perceptions of the program and the degree of difficulty they encountered in

adjusting to aspects of the expatriate environment were analyzed. Space

limits their inclusion here (they are available from the authors).

The results in terms of the hypotheses we established are interesting.

First (HI), expatriates and their partners are very positive about the
value of this kind of preparation prior to the assignment. Murray and
Murray (1986) suggest that information briefings make little difference

to subsequent performance on the assignment. While our study did not

address performance specifically, it is clear that the expatriates them-

selves believe firmly that such briefings have helped them in their
assignments.
Expatriates and their partners (H2) tended to be almost equally positive about the program, although there was some variation with regard

to certain of its elements. For example, women were more critical of

the "living in the host community" elements of the program.

Expatriates were divided into three age groups; under 30, 30-39,
over 39. There were no significant differences between the responses
of these age groups (H3).
Expatriates were asked whether this was their first expatriate assignment or they had previous expatriate experience. They were also asked
to list their most recent six expatriate assignment destinations and du-

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EVALUATING EXPATRIATE TRAINING 27

Table 1
Personal and environmental variables

Frequency Percentage
Age of the expatriate ("Age")

Up to 29 years 37 15 Cases: 254

30 to 39 years 112 44 Mean: 38.6

40 years and over 105 41 Stddev: 8.83

Previous expatriate experience ("Exp")

1. First assignment 111 44 Cases: 254

2. Previous experience 143 56 Mean: 1.56

Stddev: 0.5

Expatriate status ("Capture")

1. Predeparture 15 6 Cases: 252

2. On assignment 161 64 Mean: 2.24
3.

Returned

76

30

StdDev.:0.55

Type of sponsoring organization

1. Commercial 193 82 Cases: 236
2. Mission 36 15 Mean: 1.18

("Em

3. Teaching, culture 7 3 Stddev: 0.39

Expected length of expatriate assignment (measured in mo

1 year 9 4 Cases: 232

2 years 74 32 Mean: 33.5

3 years 98 42 Stddev: 12.08

4 years 40 1 7
5 years or over 1 1 5

Time on current assignment (measured in month

Up to 2 months 6 4 Cases: 160

3 to 11 months 16 10 Mean: 28.55

12 to 23 months 35 22 Stddev: 14.26
24 to 35 months 60 37
36 to 47 months 32 20
48 months or more 1 1 7

Influence of the expatriate community ("Comm

1. Small 23 14 Cases: 165
2. Medium 41 25 Mean: 2.47

3. Large 101 61 Stddev: 0.73

Extent of socialization with host nationals ("Soc

1. Almost none 68 42 Cases: 162
2. 25% 44 27 Mean: 2.1
3. 50% 24 15 Stddev: 1.21
4.
75%
18
11
5. Almost all 8 5

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28 BREWSTER AND PICKARD (UK)

Table 2

Correlations between personal and environmental variables

Variables Age Exp Capture Emp Length Part Comm
Exp 0.28***

Capture -0.08 -0.13*

Emp 0.11 0.13* -0.06
Length 0.17** 0.15* -0.22** -0.03
Part 0.00 -0.09 -0.06 -0.14 0.26**
Comm 0.01 0.07 -0.02 -0.02 0.07 0.24**

Socact 0.02 -0.06 0.13 0.17* -0.16 -0.03 -0.54***

Exp = previous expatriate experience; Capture = point

sponsor; Length = expected length of assignment; Part
influence of expatriate community; Socact = socializati

rations. "Previous expatriate experience" wa

spondents who reported at least six months

tion. There were no significant differences

with and those without previous expatriate e

The point of data capture (H5) made little

signment appeared to be a little less positive

and those who had returned from the assig

still. Responses were not significantly modi

assignment, however, which implies that "p
step function, and that the psychological ef
the assigned country take place comparativel

Destination (H6) was a significant variab

way. Responses were broadly similar for a

world, with the exception of North America

for these destinations are comparatively sma

to be treated with caution. Three related reas

First, the Centre for International Briefing

offer courses in these two areas: it is possibl
of experience means that the programs are n
ond, there is evidence (Hofstede, 1980; Laur

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EVALUATING EXPATRIATE TRAINING 29

Table 3

Relationship between size of the expatriate community and interaction

with host nationals

Expatriate

community Almost none 25% 50% or more

Small
2

19

cases

9.7 6.2 7.1 expected value

8.7 8.7 82.6 row %
2.9 4.5 38.0 column %

Medium
12

14

14

cases

1 6.8 1 0.9 1 2.3 expected value

30.0 35.0 35.0 row %
17.6 31.8 28.0 column %

Large

54

28

cases

41 .6 26.9 30.6 expected value

54.5 28.3 17.2 row %
79.4 63.6 34.0 column %

Chi-square statistic: 41.2.

Significance: 0.0000

are culturally similar to the United King

center programs are less relevant and the

require less preparation. Third, these are a

much more familiar to the mainly British

who attend the center: their knowledge o

through all forms of media and often vi

they start from a higher base and are more

The type of organization that the expat

little difference to responses.

For both expatriate and spouse, the varia

perceptions of the program was "influen

nity" (H8). This variable significantly mo

responses, and 1 1 of the 14 spouse res

spouses in locations with influential expat

likely to recommend the program, more l

met its aim, and more likely to find the p
ment to the environment.

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30 BREWSTER AND PICKARD (UK)

The influence of the variable "extent of social activity with host

nationals" (H9) significantly modified responses for the spouse, but
not for the expatriate - this despite its high (negative) correlation with
"influence of the expatriate community." Spouses with higher levels of
social interaction with host nationals found the program to have been
more helpful in adjusting to six of the twelve environmental aspects:
these same six environmental aspects were also modified by the variable "influence of the expatriate community."

By contrast, "influence of the expatriate community" modified

spouse responses to four of the twelve questions relating to ease or
difficulty of adjusting to the environment, while "extent of social activ-

ity with host nationals" modified spouse responses to six of the same
twelve questions: the two variables, however, tended to influence different responses so that, between them, nine of the twelve responses
were modified by these two variables.
The interaction of these two variables, then, appears to be as follows: larger expatriate communities lead to lower levels of interaction

with host nationals and easier adjustment to the environment, yet

higher levels of interaction with host nationals also lead to easier adjustment to the environment.

After considering the implications of this interaction, therefore, we

propose the model of the adjustment process that appears in figure

1. This model applies particularly to the spouse, and may be somewhat less valid for the expatriate.

We propose that:

Large expatriate communities provide considerable levels of

support to the newly arrived spouse, and can act to isolate the
spouse from the host environment. This support and isolation
allows the spouse to "adjust" relatively easily, but this "adjustment" may be more to the local expatriate community than to
the host-country environment itself. Finding adjustment rela-

tively easy, therefore, spouses will be more likely to find the

training to have been "very helpful" or "helpful."

In some locations having an influential expatriate community,

a minority of spouses will seek out and/or accept social activity with, and support from, host nationals, in addition to ac-

cepting the mutual support available from the expatriate

community. Having the best of both worlds, as it were, these

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EVALUATING EXPATRIATE TRAINING 31

Accepts support ___^_ ____

from expatriate ___^_ Easy I ____ Reports

Large

Mutual

support

Expatriate __ available from from host Helpful"

Community

expatriate

community

Reports

Isolated from I I sy I training

_ host nationals, but __ to _ "Very

accepts support from | adjust Helpful"

expatriate community or

I "Helpful"

Accepts support __ Less easy _ Reports

M from host nationals M to adjust training
expatriate _ support

community available from

expatriate
community

Rejects support _ Difficult __ Reports

__ (or support not 1 to adjust training

available) from | "Unhelpful"

host nationals I

Figure 1 Proposed Model of the Influence of the Expatriate Community

upon Adjustment and Perception of Training

spouses find it comparatively easy to adjust to the host environment. This easy adjustment also leads them to determine
the program to have been "very helpful" or "helpful."
Small expatriate communities will be less able to provide support to the newly arrived spouse, and will have less scope for
isolating the spouse from the host environment. If social interaction with host nationals is possible and is accepted by the
spouse, then this interaction may provide a significant measure
of support and assistance in adjusting to the new environment.
The process of adjustment is, however, likely to be more difficult than it would have been in a location having a significant
expatriate community. A spouse in this situation, therefore,
may have some difficulty in adjusting to the host environment.
This will be reflected back in their attitude to the training,
which they will judge as having been less successful in helping
them to adjust.

In a location that has a small expatriate community and where

social interaction is seen as difficult or is rejected by the

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32 BREWSTER AND PICKARD (UK)

spouse, the support available is limited indeed. Adjustment to

the host environment becomes very difficult in such cases. A
spouse in this situation, therefore, is likely to consider the
program "unhelpful."
Cohen (1977) lends considerable support to some of these propositions. He points out that the expatriate bears a responsibility role to his
company as an employee, to his country as an ambassador, and to the
host country as a temporary citizen. This representational role may add
to the expatriate's prestige, but it also puts constraints on his behavior,
creating strains from which the expatriate may seek to relax in the
privacy of his "environmental bubble." This represents an attempt by
the minority expatriate community to transform its ecological, institutional, and social microenvironment in order to resolve its adjustment

problems by minimizing the degree of adjustment its members are

asked to make. By this means, expatriates can continue to lead much of
their accustomed way of life with comparatively fewer adjustments to
the host environment.

But individuals do not all use expatriate institutions to the same

degree, nor are they equally desirous of the protection of the "environ-

mental bubble" - some find it obnoxious and oppressive, and try to

escape it by "going native," adopting local ways and cutting themselves off from headquarters. It should be noted, however, that even
those expatriates tend to avail themselves occasionally of both its institutions and its social support.

Female spouses experience more severe adjustment problems than

male expatriates. First, because the expatriate community is male-cen-

tered: it is usually the husband's job that is the raison d'tre for the
family's stay abroad. His associates and companions in the sponsoring
organization define the context within which social relationships and
friendship circles are established. Second, while the husband's role is
continuous, it is the wife who must transfer family life to the new
surroundings, build new friendships, and deal with issues of health and
schools. Furthermore, the role of the wife is likely to change: working

women may be unable to continue working, and the accustomed

housewife's role may be changed through different household arrangements and by the availability of cheap household help.

That wives face severe and particular adjustment problems becomes

important when laid against research indicating that spouse adjustment

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EVALUATING EXPATRIATE TRAINING 33

is a major factor in the success or failure of expatriates (Harvey, 1985

Tung, 1981). Much of this work relied upon the opinions of U.

human resource managers. Nevertheless, empirical research (Blac
1988; Black and Stephens, 1989) has found a significant and positive
relationship between spouse and expatriate adjustments.
Conclusions

This research program has shown that expatriates and their partners are

very positive towards formal training for expatriation. They believe

that it helps them to make the adjustment to living and working in the
host country. Their belief is not significantly affected by the age at
which they received the training, previous expatriate experience, the
point at which they are asked for their responses, the destination (other
than a difference between underdeveloped and developed societies), or
the type of organization for which the expatriate works. The data captured by this survey suggests that the degree of influence exercised by
the expatriate community may affect the difficulty with which expatri-

ates and (possibly to a greater extent) their spouses adjust to the host
environment. While cross-cultural training may simply assist an al-

ready easy adjustment process for expatriates and spouses who are
supported by a significant expatriate community, a higher degree of
cross-cultural training may be required for expatriates and spouses
assigned to locations having a limited expatriate community in order to
enable them to utilize better the assistance and support of host nationals to ease their adjustment into the new environment.
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