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Culture shock in China?: Adjustment pattern of western expatriate business managers

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  • Selmer, Jan

Abstract

Currently working on the Chinese mainland, Western expatriate business managers, mainly from the USA, France, Germany, Australia and Great Britain, participated in a mail survey regarding their degree of adjustment which was then mapped over time. The results showed that while the three dimensions of sociocultural adjustment; work adjustment, interaction adjustment and general adjustment, all showed a clear U-curve pattern indicating a typical culture shock experience, no such pattern was displayed in the case of psychological adjustment as measured by their subjective well-being. Implications for Western expatriate business managers on the Chinese mainland and for companies assigning Western expatriates there are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Selmer, Jan, 1999. "Culture shock in China?: Adjustment pattern of western expatriate business managers," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 8(5-6), pages 515-534, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:8:y:1999:i:5-6:p:515-534
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Peltokorpi, Vesa & Zhang, Ling Eleanor, 2020. "Exploring expatriate adjustment through identity perspective," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(3).
    2. Yu, Qionglei & Foroudi, Pantea & Gupta, Suraksha, 2019. "Far apart yet close by: Social media and acculturation among international students in the UK," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 493-502.
    3. Dieu Hack-Polay, 2012. "When Home Isn’t Home – A Study of Homesickness and Coping Strategies among Migrant Workers and Expatriates," International Journal of Psychological Studies, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 4(3), pages 1-62, September.

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