Expatriates Intercultural Adjustment and the Role of Cross-Cultural Training: A Case Study of Finnish Expatriates in China

Abstract

With the economic power shifting from the West to the East, there is no doubt that international transfers will remain an important part of organizations global strategies. Particularly for companies that frequently assign their expatriates to China must be continually reminded that cultural differences are very real and that they will affect the success of their expatriates.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate Finnish expatriates intercultural adjustment problems in China and find whether cross-cultural training (CCT) can facilitate expatriates adjustment and performance in the new living environment. CCT is an area identified in the literature being essential for successful adjustment, however, the effectiveness of such training remains inconclusive.

Therefore, a Finland based MNCs and its expatriates were selected for the qualitative investigation. The studied company was chosen due to the frequent use of foreign assignments and its highly systemized expatriate management and support practices.

Following a case study research strategy, the findings from five semi-structured interviews revealed that major adjustment difficulties related to Chinese work culture, communication differences, and local people’s norms and behaviours. Among all the organizational support practices, the CCT provided was not considered effective. This suggests that the case study company should ensure that they are getting value for money from the CCT providers or improve alternative support practices.