Personality traits and expatriate adjustment in Malaysia

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to investigate and reflect upon the effects of personality traits on expatriate adjustment within the context of Malaysia’s multicultural society.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing on the multicultural personality questionnaire (MPQ) and extrapolating from the literature on expatriate adjustment, the authors introduce five hypotheses, which are then tested based on data derived from 101 expatriates working in Malaysia.

Findings

The results indicate a positive relationship between both open-mindedness and adjustment as well as between flexibility and adjustment. However, the authors did not observe any significant positive relationship between the three remaining MPQ personality traits and expatriate adjustment.

Originality/value

While various studies have investigated the relationship between personality and expatriate adjustment in an Asian context, the majority have been conducted in largely monocultural settings, or at least on the implicit assumption of a single societal culture within the host country. This paper contributes to the literature by exploring the relationship in the context of a multicultural Asian host country.

Citation

Richardson, C., Tan, G.-H. and Kiumarsi, S. (2018), "Personality traits and expatriate adjustment in Malaysia", Journal of Asia Business Studies, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 594-612. https://doi.org/10.1108/JABS-06-2017-0091