Self-regulation and expatriate adjustment: The role of regulatory fit

TY - JOUR

T1 - Self-regulation and expatriate adjustment

T2 - The role of regulatory fit

AU - Kumar, Rajesh

AU - Budhwar, Pawan

AU - Patel, Charmi

AU - Varma, Arup

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2018 Elsevier Inc.

PY - 2019/12

Y1 - 2019/12

N2 - In this paper, we draw on the construct of regulatory fit in explaining how expatriates manage interactional and work-related discrepancies in diverse cultural contexts. When expatriates go overseas, they are often faced with a set of expectations that are at variance with their home country norms and these differences in expectations generate discrepancies. The emergence of discrepancies in an alien cultural context exacerbates the uncertainties facing the expatriate, though the response to uncertainty varies between expatriates. We posit that expatriates with a promotion-focused self-regulatory system are focused on maximizing gains leading them to manage uncertainty through experimentation whereas expatriates with a prevention-focused self-regulatory system are oriented to minimizing losses leading them to manage uncertainty by persisting with the status-quo. Utilizing insights from motivational science and by linking the self-regulatory processes to the cultural context, we develop a framework and propositions for expatriate adaptation in loose and tight cultures. We present managerial implications of our model and offer guidance for testing the framework.

AB - In this paper, we draw on the construct of regulatory fit in explaining how expatriates manage interactional and work-related discrepancies in diverse cultural contexts. When expatriates go overseas, they are often faced with a set of expectations that are at variance with their home country norms and these differences in expectations generate discrepancies. The emergence of discrepancies in an alien cultural context exacerbates the uncertainties facing the expatriate, though the response to uncertainty varies between expatriates. We posit that expatriates with a promotion-focused self-regulatory system are focused on maximizing gains leading them to manage uncertainty through experimentation whereas expatriates with a prevention-focused self-regulatory system are oriented to minimizing losses leading them to manage uncertainty by persisting with the status-quo. Utilizing insights from motivational science and by linking the self-regulatory processes to the cultural context, we develop a framework and propositions for expatriate adaptation in loose and tight cultures. We present managerial implications of our model and offer guidance for testing the framework.

KW - Expatriate management

KW - Regulatory focus

KW - Tight-loose culture

U2 - 10.1016/j.hrmr.2018.09.002

DO - 10.1016/j.hrmr.2018.09.002

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85054346713

SN - 1053-4822

VL - 29

JO - Human Resource Management Review

JF - Human Resource Management Review

IS - 4

M1 - 100666

ER -