Perceived corporate training investment as a driver of expatriate adjustment

Whether expatriate cross-cultural training programs significantly influence expatriate adjustment has been debated for more than two decades. The purpose of this paper is to examine a pivotal variable not yet addressed in the literature: the expatriate's perceptions of the employer's investment in the training (termed “perceived corporate training investment”: PCTI).

Completed surveys were collected from 71 hotel expatriate managers stationed around the globe.

When an expatriate manager perceives that his/her company's investment in expatriate training (PCTI) exceeds industry standards, it leads to enhanced work adjustment. Interestingly, PCTI is also found to significantly influence the expatriate's general adjustment in the foreign culture. A firm's organizational learning climate mediates the relationship between PCTI and both forms of adjustment (work and general).

It could prove informative for future research to model additional variables in these relationships, such as an expatriate's spousal support.

These findings suggest that firms should not only invest in expatriate training, but should also communicate to their expatriates the extent and importance that they assign to investment in training to foster a positive learning climate that in turn improves adjustment.

This research is the first to examine perceived corporate training investment (PCTI). Since PCTI is found to ultimately influence an expatriate's work adjustment and general adjustment, it is a key variable that should be considered by multinational hotel firms.