Perceived organizational support and the cross‐cultural adjustment of expatriates in the UAE

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether, in a culturally diverse society such as the UAE, organizations employing expatriates can improve expatriate retention by providing expatriate employees with support aimed at facilitating their cross‐cultural adjustment.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was conducted in two phases; first, a pilot study was conducted to test the instrument. In the second phase, a survey with 54 items on a five‐point Likert scale was distributed to 900 academic and administrative staff working at 12 Higher Colleges of Technology in five UAE emirates via company's internal e‐mail.

Findings

The results show that there is a positive relationship between organisational support and expatriates' cross‐cultural adjustment that includes work, general and interaction adjustment.

Practical implications

This study is a synthesizing research that examines the relationship between organisational support and expatriates' cross‐cultural adjustment in a Middle Eastern environment. HR practitioners' and management researchers' concerns that seek to predict the selection of individuals who can live and work successfully in cross‐cultural setting, are explored in this study.

Originality/value

Global competition and reduction in trade barriers have increased the demand for individuals who can work effectively in a foreign environment. In the United Arab Emirates, the expectation is for the number of expatriates to increase in the coming years, with a corresponding expectation that, as the number of expatriates is growing, the expatriate failure rate is also increasing. Thus, the way in which organisational support programs affect the expatriate's perceptions of the company should be of particular importance for making decisions regarding which programs to offer.

Citation

Bashir, S. (2012), "Perceived organizational support and the cross‐cultural adjustment of expatriates in the UAE", Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues, Vol. 5 No. 1, pp. 63-82. https://doi.org/10.1108/17537981211225862