IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/iburev/v29y2020i2s096959312030007x.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Would you work abroad? The effect of English proficiency on Chinese employees’ willingness to accept international assignments

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Jie
  • Zhao, Yue
  • Han, Xue

Abstract

The process of globalization has led to a considerable number of expatriates working abroad. In this article, we investigate whether those with a higher level of English proficiency are more willing to accept international assignments. To examine our hypotheses, we conducted a time-lagged survey of 239 employees from Chinese multinational corporations (MNCs). The results reveal that employees’ English language proficiency is positively related to their willingness to accept international assignments, and that their openness to corporate globalization mediates this relationship. In addition, employees’ foreign language anxiety (FLA) moderates the mediating effect of English language proficiency on willingness to accept international assignments via openness to corporate globalization. Implications and future research directions are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Jie & Zhao, Yue & Han, Xue, 2020. "Would you work abroad? The effect of English proficiency on Chinese employees’ willingness to accept international assignments," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(2).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:29:y:2020:i:2:s096959312030007x
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2020.101669
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096959312030007X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2020.101669?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yamao, Sachiko & Sekiguchi, Tomoki, 2015. "Employee commitment to corporate globalization: The role of English language proficiency and human resource practices," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 168-179.
    2. Cheong, Adeline & Sandhu, Manjit S. & Edwards, Ronald & Poon, Wai Ching, 2019. "Subsidiary knowledge flow strategies and purpose of expatriate assignments," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(3), pages 450-462.
    3. Lauring, Jakob & Selmer, Jan, 2018. "Person-environment fit and emotional control: Assigned expatriates vs. self-initiated expatriates," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(5), pages 982-992.
    4. Sarbari Bordia & Prashant Bordia, 2015. "Employees’ willingness to adopt a foreign functional language in multilingual organizations: The role of linguistic identity," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 46(4), pages 415-428, May.
    5. Mary Yoko Brannen & Rebecca Piekkari & Susanne Tietze, 2014. "The multifaceted role of language in international business: Unpacking the forms, functions and features of a critical challenge to MNC theory and performance," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 45(5), pages 495-507, June.
    6. Peltokorpi, Vesa, 2017. "Absorptive capacity in foreign subsidiaries: The effects of language-sensitive recruitment, language training, and interunit knowledge transfer," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 119-129.
    7. Vasiliki Gargalianou & Katrin Muehlfeld & Diemo Urbig & Arjen van Witteloostuijn, 2016. "Foreign Language Anxiety in Professional Contexts," Schmalenbach Business Review, Springer;Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft, vol. 17(2), pages 195-223, August.
    8. Collings, David G. & Scullion, Hugh & Morley, Michael J., 2007. "Changing patterns of global staffing in the multinational enterprise: Challenges to the conventional expatriate assignment and emerging alternatives," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 198-213, June.
    9. Yifan Zhong & Cherrie Jiuhua Zhu & Mingqiong Mike Zhang, 2015. "The management of Chinese MNEs’ expatriates," Journal of Global Mobility, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 3(3), pages 289-302, September.
    10. Dan Wang & Di Fan & Susan Freeman & Cherrie Jiuhua Zhu, 2017. "Exploring cross-cultural skills for expatriate managers from Chinese multinationals: Congruence and contextualization," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 34(1), pages 123-146, March.
    11. Rosseel, Yves, 2012. "lavaan: An R Package for Structural Equation Modeling," Journal of Statistical Software, Foundation for Open Access Statistics, vol. 48(i02).
    12. Robert Konopaske & Chet Robie & John M. Ivancevich, 2009. "Managerial Willingness to Assume Traveling, Short-term and Long-term Global Assignments," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 49(3), pages 359-387, June.
    13. Stahl, Günter K. & Miller, Edwin L. & Tung, Rosalie L., 2002. "Toward the boundaryless career: a closer look at the expatriate career concept and the perceived implications of an international assignment," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 37(3), pages 216-227, October.
    14. Tsedal B. Neeley, 2013. "Language Matters: Status Loss and Achieved Status Distinctions in Global Organizations," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 24(2), pages 476-497, April.
    15. Konara, Palitha & Wei, Yingqi, 2019. "The complementarity of human capital and language capital in foreign direct investment," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 391-404.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xue Han & Yunyue Yang & Feng Li & Yuhui Li, 2022. "Adding Life to Years: The Influence of Internet Use and Appearance Management on Life Satisfaction Among the Elderly," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 160(2), pages 585-600, April.
    2. Barner-Rasmussen, Wilhelm & Gaibrois, Claudine & Wilmot, Natalie Victoria, 2024. "Perfection, hybridity or shutting up? A cross-country study of how language ideologies shape participation in international business," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(1).
    3. Volkmer, Philipp & Baum, Matthias & Coviello, Nicole, 2024. "Do international new ventures have attraction advantages? Insights from a recruitment perspective," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 59(3).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Haans, Richard F.J. & van Witteloostuijn, Arjen, 2024. "Does foreign language liberate or limit creativity? Three experiments on foreign language anxiety and use, and divergent and convergent thinking," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(4).
    2. Loderer, Anja & Muehlfeld, Katrin & Wilken, Robert & Moritz, Alexandra & Slomski, Véronique, 2024. "The language barrier as a springboard towards (team) creativity: An exploratory study of foreign language use in teams," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(2).
    3. Itani, Sami & Järlström, Maria & Piekkari, Rebecca, 2015. "The meaning of language skills for career mobility in the new career landscape," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 368-378.
    4. Caligiuri, Paula & Bonache, Jaime, 2016. "Evolving and enduring challenges in global mobility," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 127-141.
    5. Helene Tenzer & Siri Terjesen & Anne-Wil Harzing, 2017. "Language in International Business: A Review and Agenda for Future Research," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 57(6), pages 815-854, December.
    6. Barner-Rasmussen, Wilhelm & Gaibrois, Claudine & Wilmot, Natalie Victoria, 2024. "Perfection, hybridity or shutting up? A cross-country study of how language ideologies shape participation in international business," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(1).
    7. Diemo Urbig & Katrin Muehlfeld & Vivien Procher & Arjen Witteloostuijn, 2020. "Strategic Decision-Making in a Global Context: The Comprehension Effect of Foreign Language Use on Cooperation," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 351-385, June.
    8. Ahmad, Farhan & Barner-Rasmussen, Wilhelm, 2019. "False foe? When and how code switching practices can support knowledge sharing in multinational corporations," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 25(3), pages 1-1.
    9. repec:rai:zfpers:doi_10.1688/1862-0000_zfp_2013_02_remhof is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Heidi Wechtler & Alexei Koveshnikov & Cécile Dejoux, 2017. "Career Anchors and Cross-Cultural Adjustment Among Expatriates in a Non-Profit Organization," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 57(2), pages 277-305, April.
    11. Kubovcikova, Annamaria & van Bakel, Marian, 2022. "Social support abroad: How do self-initiated expatriates gain support through their social networks?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(1).
    12. Tenzer, Helene & Pudelko, Markus, 2017. "The influence of language differences on power dynamics in multinational teams," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 45-61.
    13. Vesa Peltokorpi & Markus Pudelko, 2021. "When more is not better: A curvilinear relationship between foreign language proficiency and social categorization," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(1), pages 78-104, February.
    14. David P. Kroon & Joep P. Cornelissen & Eero Vaara, 2015. "Explaining Employees’ Reactions towards a Cross-Border Merger: The Role of English Language Fluency," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 55(6), pages 775-800, December.
    15. Liu, Yipeng & Meyer, Klaus E., 2020. "Boundary spanners, HRM practices, and reverse knowledge transfer: The case of Chinese cross-border acquisitions," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(2).
    16. Elenkov, Detelin S. & Manev, Ivan M., 2009. "Senior expatriate leadership's effects on innovation and the role of cultural intelligence," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 44(4), pages 357-369, October.
    17. Antioco, Michael & Coussement, Kristof & Fletcher-Chen, Chavi Chi-Yun & Prange, Christiane, 2023. "What's in a word? Adopting a linguistic-style analysis of western MNCs’ global press releases," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(2).
    18. Peltokorpi, Vesa & Yamao, Sachiko, 2017. "Corporate language proficiency in reverse knowledge transfer: A moderated mediation model of shared vision and communication frequency," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(3), pages 404-416.
    19. Michalski, Marina P. & Śliwa, Martyna, 2021. "‘If you use the right Arabic…’: Responses to special language standardization within the BBC Arabic Service’s linguascape," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 56(5).
    20. Konara, Palitha & Wei, Yingqi, 2019. "The complementarity of human capital and language capital in foreign direct investment," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 391-404.
    21. Päivi Karhunen & Anne Kankaanranta & Tiina Räisänen, 2023. "Towards a Richer Understanding of Language and Identity in the MNC: Constructing Cosmopolitan Identities Through “English”," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 507-530, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:29:y:2020:i:2:s096959312030007x. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/133/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.