AN EMPIRICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN REASONS FOR EXPATRIATE MANAGER ASSIGNMENT, MODES OF EXPATRIATE ADJUSTMENT, AND EXPATRIATE MANAGERIAL EFFECTIVENESS.

This study extends international research by empirically testing the relationships between the reasons for expatriate manager assignment, modes of expatriate adjustment, and expatriate managerial effectiveness. It utilizes both a more fully-specified conceptual model and more complete data regarding managerial effectiveness than previous studies in this area. Variables in the study include both personal development and control as reasons for expatriate assignment; both expatriate manager and subordinate personal changes and role innovations, representing an extension of Nicholson's (1984) work role transition theory; and expatriate managerial effectiveness data from both self-reports and subordinate reports. The model was tested using structural equation analyses of data provided by 194 expatriate managers and 505 direct-report host country subordinates from nine multinational hotel companies. Structural equation analysis yielded statistically significant support for the proposed model. In addition, examination of the standardized path coefficients indicated that ten of the fourteen hypothesized relationships were significant and in the predicted direction. Important findings include evidence that personal development as a reason for expatriate assignment drives the expatriate manager engaging in both personal change and role innovation, while control as a reason for expatriate assignment only drives expatriate manager attempts to make personal changes in subordinates. In addition, expatriate engagement in role innovation drives the expatriate self-report of performance, while subordinate engagement in personal changes drives subordinate rating of expatriate effectiveness. The conceptual and empirical contributions of this unique study as well as the managerial and future research implications are discussed.