When does emotional intelligence function better in enhancing expatriates' cross-cultural adjustment? A study of Japanese PCNs in Malaysia

Jessica Marie Arokiasamy and Soyeon Kim

Journal of Global Mobility, 2020, vol. 8, issue 1, 67-84

Abstract: Purpose - As globalization expands opportunities for foreign investments, the role of expatriates is becoming important for business success in host countries. Cross-cultural adjustment (CCA) of expatriates is considered significant in determining business success in host countries. This study investigated the issue among Japanese expatriates in Malaysia. The purposes of this study were to unravel the influence of emotional intelligence (EI) on CCA and clarify the facilitating role of cultural intelligence (CI) on the relationship between EI and CCA. Design/methodology/approach - A survey was administered to 107 Japanese parent country nationals (PCNs) working at Japanese subsidiaries in Malaysia. Findings - The findings show that EI positively influences the subdimensions of CCA, namely, CCA–general, CCA–social and CCA–work. A notable finding is that CI facilitates the positive effect of EI on CCA–social. Research implications - The findings advance the existing studies on expatriate management by delving into the CCA issue with two culturally distinctive countries that have rarely been studied in this research domain, Japan and Malaysia. This study further contributes to prior studies by clarifying a boundary condition in which EI functions better in enhancing expatriates' CCA. Practical implications - The findings provide Japanese multinational corporations (MNCs) valuable directions and strategic ideas in the realm of expatriate management. Such insights can contribute to business success in host countries. Originality/value - Diverting from the conventional West–East approach in expatriate management studies, this study took an East–East orientation and explored the relationships among EI, CI and CCA. By proving that CI stimulates the positive effect of EI on CCA, this study underlines the significantly interactive effects of two distinctive individual capabilities on enhancing expatriates' CCA. It further highlights that CI should take on importance in attempts to understand CCA, even in seemingly culturally similar East–East nations.

Keywords: Emotional intelligence; Cultural intelligence; Cross-cultural adjustment; Japanese expatriates; Malaysia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:jgmpps:jgm-05-2019-0027

DOI: 10.1108/JGM-05-2019-0027

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