Expatriate adjustment in Nigeria : the impact of human resource supporting practices

Abstract

Globalization has influenced the wide use of expatriates to fill positions in foreign subsidiaries which has led to the expansion of Multinational Corporation in different countries with the need of skilled international workers. One of the reasons for failure is the inability of expatriate manager and spouse to adjust in the host country during assignment. This study focuses on Nigeria which is an emerging market where organizations are gradually investing into hence; there are numerous demanding factors that should be considered before relocating. In this context, existing research of expatriate adjustment in Nigeria is limited therefore this study tries to fill the gap by analyzing the thought of eight expatriates and two human resource managers working in Nigeria using qualitative research approach. This present study’s objective is to increase the understanding and investigate the adjustment challenges experienced by expatriates in Nigeria and explore the supporting practices organizations provides to facilitate adjustment of international workers in the country.

There are various factors that impacted the adjustment of expatriates; cultural, economic and political differences; however the expatriates adjusted to their new environment. Social support and motivation were factors that facilitated adjustment even in the harsh environment. This however distinguished the self-initiated employee as driven by their goal which stimulates adjustment while the assigned expatriates depend on support from the people or organizations. Furthermore, human resource managers representing corporations may provide cross-cultural training and perceive organization support in the form of logistical help to facilitate the adjustment of the expats. The result of this study indicates that expatriates working in Nigeria were able to generally adapt irrespective of the harsh situations in the country.