Expatriate Adjustment in the Context of Intergovernmental Organizations

236 Pages·2014·1.81 MB·English

Expatriate Adjustment Revisited: An Exploration of the
Factors Explaining Expatriate Adjustment in MNCs and
UN organizations in Egypt

By

Wessam Mahmoud Khedr

A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree
of Doctor of Philosophy in Business and Management

November 2011

De Montfort University, Faculty of Business and Law.
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To my beloved family,

My husband Hassan and my lovely kids
Noor and Mohamed
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Table of Contents

Table of Contents ....................................................................................................................................... 3
List of Tables .............................................................................................................................................. 6
List of figures .............................................................................................................................................. 8
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................ 9
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................................... 11
Chapter One: Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 12
1.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 12
1.2. Research overview .................................................................................................................. 13
1.3. Thesis outline .......................................................................................................................... 16
1.4. Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 18
Chapter Two: Explaining Expatriate Adjustment: Overview of the Conceptual Framework ......... 19
2.1. Expatriation and cross-cultural adjustment ............................................................................ 19
2.2. The antecedents of expatriate adjustment ............................................................................... 23
2.3. Provisional research model .................................................................................................... 27
2.4. Examining the proposed adjustment model in novel organizational and national contexts ... 28
Chapter Three: Research Conceptual Model and Hypotheses ............................................................ 33
3.1. The traditional research variables .......................................................................................... 33
3.1.1. Pre-departure training ............................................................................................................. 33
3.1.2. Organization support .............................................................................................................. 36
3.1.3. Previous overseas experience ................................................................................................. 38
3.1.4. Language ability ..................................................................................................................... 39
3.1.5. Culture distance ...................................................................................................................... 42
3.2. The new research variables .................................................................................................... 49
3.2.1. The institutional factors and Institutional Distance ................................................................ 49
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3.2.2. Economic Level ...................................................................................................................... 59
3.2.3. Last country assignment’s effect ............................................................................................ 60
3.3. Research Model ....................................................................................................................... 63
3.4. UN versus MNCs related hypotheses ........................................................................................ 64
Chapter Four: Egypt as a Host Country ................................................................................................ 66
4.1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 66
4.2. Egyptian institutional context.................................................................................................. 67
4.2.1. Economic context and legislative framework ......................................................................... 67
4.2.2. Role of state, political context and administrative framework ................................................ 68
4.2.3. Education sector...................................................................................................................... 70
4.2.4. Labour market ......................................................................................................................... 72
4.2.5. The role of religion ................................................................................................................. 75
4.3. Egyptian socio-cultural context .............................................................................................. 76
4.4. Workplace practices and organizational context .................................................................... 81
4.4.1. Decision making and leadership ............................................................................................. 82
4.4.2. Working relationships, business dealings and approach to meetings ..................................... 83
4.4.3. Promotion and reward management, job motivation and loyalty ........................................... 84
4.4.4. Team working relationships .................................................................................................... 86
4.4.5. Changes to the embedded workplace cultural features and practices ..................................... 87
4.5. Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 89
Chapter Five: Research Methodology .................................................................................................... 91
5.1. Research questions .................................................................................................................. 91
5.2. Research design ...................................................................................................................... 92
5.3. Research context and rationale for the sampling strategy ...................................................... 96
5.4. Sampling strategy .................................................................................................................. 100
5.4.1. Sampling design.................................................................................................................... 100
5.4.2. Sampling frame ..................................................................................................................... 103
5.4.3. Sample size and response rate .............................................................................................. 104
5.5. Questionnaire design ............................................................................................................ 107
5.6. Development of the research variables ................................................................................. 108
5.6.1. The dependent variable ......................................................................................................... 108
5.6.2. The independent variables .................................................................................................... 110
5.7. Description and Frequencies for the study sample and research variables.......................... 120
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5.8. Data entering, cleaning and methods used in the analysis ................................................... 125
5.9. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 129
Chapter Six: Research Results .............................................................................................................. 130
6.1. Examining Research Question 1: the factors explaining adjustment ................................... 130
6.2. Examining Research Question 2: the differences between UN and MNC organisations ...... 143
Chapter Seven: Research Discussion .................................................................................................... 173
7.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 173
7.2. Research Question 1: the factors explaining adjustment ...................................................... 173
7.3. Research Question 2: the differences between UN and MNC organisations ........................ 184
7.4. Contingency Model of Expatriate Adjustment ....................................................................... 190
Chapter Eight: Conclusion and Future Research ............................................................................... 195
8.1. Academic contribution .......................................................................................................... 195
8.2. Practical implications ........................................................................................................... 201
8.3. Study limitations and future research ................................................................................... 203
References ............................................................................................................................................... 205
APPENDIX ............................................................................................................................................. 220
The 2005 pilot study ............................................................................................................................ 232
The piloting process: Interview procedures and measuring instruments ........................................ 232
The 2006 pilot study ............................................................................................................................ 235
Problems that affected the piloting process .................................................................................... 235
The 2006 pilot sample .................................................................................................................... 236

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List of Tables
Table 5.1 Summary of the population and sample details ............................................ 105
Table 5.2 Frequencies and percentages of the study sample ........................................ 120
Table 5.3 Descriptive statistics for the CD, ID and CIM research variables ................ 123
Table 6.1 Model summary and ANOVA results ........................................................... 132
Table 6.2 Standardized coefficients, Betas and significance level ............................... 133
Table 6.3 Models summary and ANOVA results ......................................................... 134
Table 6.4 Coefficients Betas and significance level: Standardized .............................. 134
Table 6.5 Models summary and ANOVA results ......................................................... 135
Table 6.6 Standardized coefficients Betas and significance level ................................ 136
Table 6.7 Models summary and ANOVA results ......................................................... 138
Table 6.8 Standardized coefficients Betas and significance level ................................ 138
Table 6.9 Model summary and ANOVA results ........................................................... 140
Table 6.10 Standardized coefficients Betas and significance level .............................. 141
Table 6.11 results of the Adjustment variable .............................................................. 144
Table 6.12 ANOVA results ........................................................................................... 144
Table 6.13 MANOVA results ....................................................................................... 145
Table 6.14 Univariate effects from MANOVA and descriptive results........................ 145
Table 6.15 MANOVA results ....................................................................................... 147
Table 6.16 Univariate effects from MANOVA and descriptive results........................ 147
Table 6.17 MANOVA results ....................................................................................... 149
Table 6.18 Univariate effects from MANOVA and Variables descriptive ................... 149
Table 6.19 MANOVA results ....................................................................................... 151
Table 6.20 Univariate effects from MANOVA and descriptive results........................ 151
Table 6.21 Frequencies and percentages for the research variables ............................. 153
Table 6.22 MANOVA results ....................................................................................... 156
Table 6.23 Univariate effects from MANOVA and descriptive results........................ 156
Table 6.24 Summary of the Differences and Similarities between UN and MNCs
groups, on the research variables .................................................................................. 158
Table 6.25 Models summary and ANOVA results ....................................................... 160
Table 6.26 Standardized coefficients Betas and significance level .............................. 160
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Table 6.27 Model summary and ANOVA results ......................................................... 161
Table 6.28 Standardized coefficients Betas and significance level .............................. 161
Table 6.29 Model summary and ANOVA results ......................................................... 162
Table 6.30 Standardized coefficients Betas and significance level .............................. 162
Table 6.31 Model summary and ANOVA results ......................................................... 163
Table 6.32 Standardized coefficients Betas and significance level .............................. 163
Table 6.33 Model summary and ANOVA results ......................................................... 164
Table 6.34 Standardized coefficients Betas and significance level .............................. 164
Table 6.35 Model summary and ANOVA results ......................................................... 165
Table 6.36 Standardized coefficients Betas and significance level .............................. 165
Table 6.37 Models summary and ANOVA results ....................................................... 166
Table 6.38 Standardized coefficients Betas and significance level .............................. 167
Table 6.39 Models summary and ANOVA results ....................................................... 167
Table 6.40 Standardized coefficients Betas and significance level .............................. 167
Table 6.41 Summary of the variables influencing adjustment in UN and MNCs ........ 168
Table 6.42 overall summery of the research questions, hypotheses, exploratory analyses
and their results ............................................................................................................. 170
Table A.1 Number of work permits issued to foreigners in Egypt by type of permit and
main nationality groups (2005) ..................................................................................... 220
Table A.2 The number of work permits for expatriates working in different sectors in
Egypt, in 2005, classified according to the sector’s offices .......................................... 221
Table A.3 Work permits for expatriates in Egypt, according to their general posts
categories during year 2005 .......................................................................................... 221
Table A.4 Inter-domain correlations and total domain correlations ............................. 231

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List of figures:
Figure 1: Provisional research model .............................................................................. 27
Figure 2: Research model ............................................................................................... 63
Figure 3: Contingency model: Factors influencing expatriate adjustment ................... 192

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ABSTRACT

This thesis aims to understand the relative influence of institutional, cultural and organizational
factors on the adjustment of the United Nations’ (UN) and multinational companies’ expatriates
in Egypt. The research makes a contribution to the field of expatriate research through its
application of the institutional lens in examining the factors impacting on adjustment; and
through testing a traditional adjustment model in an under-researched host context. As a result
of the research this thesis proposes a new framework for understanding the factors impacting on
adjustment which adopts a contingency perspective and incorporates a stronger focus on
institutional determinants and the organisational infrastructure supporting the management of
expatriates.
The study relies, for its theoretical basis, on certain cultural and organizational factors borrowed
from the expatriate literature, in addition to introducing other factors (mainly institutional
factors) which have not been previously examined in the literature as predictors of adjustment.
The research questions the utility of these organizational, cultural and institutional factors,
especially those from traditional models, when applied to relatively new national and
organizational contexts, the Egyptian national context and the United Nations organizational
context. Both contexts are under-researched areas in the expatriate adjustment literature and in
the international human resources management literature in general.
The Arab cultural context introduces many differences to the Anglo-Saxon and European
context, more traditionally the subject of research studies and thus it provides an opportunity for
testing the wider application of expatriate models. Equally the UN is a highly multicultural
organisational context with a socio-political mission which is highly distinct from the ‘for
profit’ based multinational. Thus both these contextual factors offer fertile ground for the further
development of a framework for understanding expatriate adjustment during contemporary
times. In addition, the novelty of the context brings to the fore the opportunity for examining the
utility of institutional theory as an alternative or complement to cultural theory as a way of
understanding the factors influencing expatriate adjustment.
In terms of the method, the research relies mainly on quantitative data obtained by surveying
expatriates in multinational and United Nations organizations working in Egypt. In addition a
qualitative technique (interviews) was used to aid questionnaire development and data
contextualization.
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The results highlight the role of institutional measures in explaining expatriate adjustment. The
evidence suggests that the institutional variables provide additional explanatory power beyond
that provided by traditional factors studies. However, the research also demonstrates that the
institutional measures do not replace the cultural measures and therefore there is not a
substitution factor at work. Rather, we would argue that the institutional lens provides additional
understanding and is tapping into other factors not already captured through measures of
culture.
The research puts forward a contingency model incorporating additional organisational and
institutional variables which are often overlooked or underemphasised in some of the traditional
organisational focused models.
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