How simulated home influences Chinese expatriates: the partial mediating role of organizational embeddedness and organizational identification
ISSN: 0142-5455
Article publication date: 15 April 2022
Issue publication date: 23 September 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research study is to explore the influence of perceived organizational support (POS) on organizational embeddedness and organizational identification in the simulated home environment. Another objective of this study is to provide an effective cross-cultural adjustment model adopted by many Chinese enterprises operating overseas. Furthermore, it examines the mediating effects of organizational embeddedness and organizational identification on POS and expatriate adjustment.
Design/methodology/approach
The data of this quantitative research study was acquired from a questionnaire survey completed by 326 expatriates from Chinese enterprises in a power station in Bangladesh, and regression analyses were conducted using SPSS software.
Findings
The study found that POS of expatriates is positively correlated with their organizational embeddedness and organizational identification, and it positively impacts expatriate adjustment. Moreover, the study also evaluated that organizational embeddedness and organizational identification positively influence expatriate adjustment. Finally, it was demonstrated that organizational embeddedness mediates the relationship among living POS, emotional POS and expatriate adjustment. Organizational identification mediates the relationships among work POS, emotional POS and work adjustment. Organizational identification mediates the relationships between work POS and interaction adjustment.
Practical implications
The research results demonstrate that the living, work and emotional support to the expatriates from the projects department of Chinese enterprises is of particular importance for their better adjustment in overseas engineering projects. Furthermore, these results are particularly conducive to the successful management of employees accommodated in fully-closed and semi-closed simulated homes.
Originality/value
In the setting of a simulated home in the overseas engineering projects, this research study has demonstrated for the first time that the living, work and emotional support provided by an organization can effectively help its expatriate workers acclimatize during their overseas placement.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the reviewers and Professor Nickson for their insightful comments on this article. The authors would like to congratulate the third author of this article, Mr. Zhao, on his happy wedding, and the fifth author, Mr. Ding, on his happy wedding. The authors also congratulate the fourth author, Mr. He, on the birth of his second daughter and wish her good health and happiness.
Funding: This study has received research grants from Major program of the National Social Science Foundation of China: “Global Value Chains and the Construction of New International Relations” (No. 20DZA099).
Citation
Huang, H., Liu, H., Zhao, X., He, H. and Ding, Y. (2022), "How simulated home influences Chinese expatriates: the partial mediating role of organizational embeddedness and organizational identification", Employee Relations, Vol. 44 No. 6, pp. 1290-1317. https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-01-2021-0040
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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