Within-group differences: Differentiated Chinese expatriate-HCN interactions and the influence of human resource management practices

Beiting He, Guangyi Xu and Xinran Gu

International Business Review, 2025, vol. 34, issue 4

Abstract: With the increasing global presence of Chinese firms, the number of Chinese expatriates has increased. Concurrently, academic interest in identifying factors that influence the relationship between expatriates and host country nationals (HCNs) has grown. However, less attention has been paid to the dynamic interactions between Chinese expatriates and HCN subcategories. This study explores the differentiated Chinese expatriate–HCN interactions and potential influence of organizational human resource management (HRM) practices on this dynamic. We conducted a single case study and collected data through semi-structured interviews with 33 Chinese expatriates. The findings suggested that Chinese expatriates interacted differently with different HCN subcategories. Specifically, their interactions with HCN employees (customers) were need-oriented (utilitarian-oriented). Organizational HRM practices had a double-edged effect on the dynamic interaction process. Overall, this study offers a nuanced and highly contextualized understanding of the significance of expatriate–HCN interactions and role of organizational HRM practices in facilitating this process.

Keywords: Chinese expatriates; Expatriate adjustment; Expatriate–HCN interactions; Organizational HRM practices (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969593125000617
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:iburev:v:34:y:2025:i:4:s0969593125000617

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/133/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... me/133/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2025.102448

Access Statistics for this article

International Business Review is currently edited by P. Ghauri

More articles in International Business Review from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().