IMPACT OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCE ON EXPATRIATES COUPLES' ADJUSTMENT TO RELOCATION
IMPACT OF CULTURAL DIFFERENCE ON EXPATRIATES COUPLES' ADJUSTMENT TO RELOCATION

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of the study is to examine the influence of relocations' position (expatriate or couple) and the cultural distance (CD) on cultural adjustment to the host country (AHCC). The 120 conveniences cohort divided equally into expatriates and partners / developing and developed countries (N=30 in each group). AHCC include general adjustment (GA), Job adjustment (JA), and social adjustment (SA). The position during relocation was defined as an expatriate or a couple. A large CD was defined when the relocated took place from developing country to developed country or vice versa. A significant group difference was found for AHCC, GA, and JA, where the means of the small CD were significantly higher than that of the large CD. The AHCC and SA of the expatriates were significantly higher than that of the couples. In the other two dimensions, GA, and JA, a similar but not significant trend was found. A large difference was found in between the expatriates SA and that of the couples only under conditions of a large CD. The authors conclude that the difference between the expatriates and the couple's adjustment is greater in cases of a large cultural distance.

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