The JGM BitBlog: How can organizations influence the attitudes of their employees to make them more willing (or less hesitant) to expatriate?
Sachiko Yamao, Keio University, Yokohama, Japan
Tomoki Sekiguchi, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Personality traits have been shown as important predictors of an individual's willingness to accept international assignments. Earlier studies on expatriation willingness have examined general personality traits-notably, the Big Five or the five-factor model of personality traits (e.g. extraversion and neuroticism)-as predictors of expatriation willingness. In this study, we examined whether and to what extent dispositional resistance to change (DRTC), a constant personality trait of an individual's tendency to resist change, predicts willingness to expatriate among Japanese employees.
DRTC is relevant to our research context because of the culturally and linguistically homogenous societal context of Japan. Due to the culturally static nature of Japanese society, with a strong preference for maintaining ethnic homogeneity, most Japanese are not accustomed to interacting with people from other cultural backgrounds. Moreover, their native tongue, the Japanese language, dominates every aspect of their lives, including education, profession, and socialization. In addition, the Japanese language substantially differs from other language groups, creating a significant barrier for Japanese to communicate in another language, especially when assigned overseas.
We theorized that DRTC is a distal predictor of expatriation willingness and introduced proximal predictors that mediate the relationship between DRTC and expatriation willingness. The first mediator is motivational cultural intelligence (CQ), or the motivation to learn about other cultures. The second mediator is foreign language anxiety, or apprehension and nervousness about communicating in a second or foreign language. Because personality traits (i.e. DRTC) are difficult to change, organizations may be able to motivate their employees to expatriate through the two proximal factors.
We tested mediation hypotheses using a two-wave survey of 693 Japanese employees in various industries. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling with Mplus 8. Results indicated that motivational CQ and foreign language anxiety fully mediate the negative relationship between DRTC and willingness to expatriate.
The current study offers insights into expatriation willingness by demonstrating that DRTC is a personality trait relevant to be studied in the context of expatriation. Second, and more importantly, the study finds that motivational CQ and foreign language anxiety are crucial mechanisms through which DRTC influences expatriation willingness. This is important because the study shows that organizations can influence their employees' career choices even if they cannot directly change their personality traits (i.e. DRTC).
To read the full article, please see the Journal of Global Mobility publication:
Yamao, S. and Sekiguchi, T. (2024), "There is nothing like staying at home: Japanese employees' dispositional resistance to change and their expatriation willingness", Journal of Global Mobility, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 573-590. https://doi.org/10.1108/JGM-11-2023-0083
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Professor Jan Selmer, Ph.D.
Founding Editor-in-Chief
Journal of Global Mobility (JGM)
Department of Management, Aarhus University
E-mail:
selmer@mgmt.au.dkTwitter: @JanSelmer_JGM
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