Benefits of psychological capital on host country nationals’ support and burnout of Chinese expatriates in Thailand: the moderating effect of personal characteristics
Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration
ISSN: 1757-4323
Article publication date: 23 August 2021
Issue publication date: 8 July 2022
Abstract
Purpose
Anchored on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study examines the direct impact of psychological capital (PsyCap) on the level of burnout experienced by Chinese expatriates working in Thailand. The social support offered by host country national (HCN) coworkers is postulated as the mediator that might transfer the impact of PsyCap on burnout. In addition, this study taps whether Chinese expatriates' personal factors, including gender and host language proficiency, might intensify or attenuate the role of PsyCap on HCN coworker support.
Design/methodology/approach
From the Chinese expatriates who are working for 15 Chinese subsidiaries in Thailand, 413 valid questionnaires were collected. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed for data analysis.
Findings
The result confirms a negative linkage between PsyCap and burnout, with HCN coworker support as the partial mediator. Furthermore, the moderation estimation reports that the positive role of PsyCap on HCN coworker support is particularly attenuated for the Chinese expatriates who are female and who have a high level of host language proficiency.
Originality/value
The finding of this study offers additional knowledge to the literature by utilizing the COR theory to elucidate the mechanism under which PsyCap can protect the expatriates from burnout through the mediator of HCN coworker support. The study also reveals that the beneficial role of PsyCap in facilitating the availability of HCN coworker support could be contingent on some personal factors relating to the Chinese expatriates.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
This research received financial support from the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA).
Citation
Fu, L. and Charoensukmongkol, P. (2022), "Benefits of psychological capital on host country nationals’ support and burnout of Chinese expatriates in Thailand: the moderating effect of personal characteristics", Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Administration, Vol. 14 No. 3, pp. 265-284. https://doi.org/10.1108/APJBA-06-2020-0181
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited