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This paper aims to examine the critical role played by cultural flow in fostering successful expatriate cross-border transitions.

The authors develop and test a model on the interplay among cultural intelligence, organizational position level, cultural flow direction and expatriate adaptation, using a data set of 387 expatriate on cross-border transitions along the Belt & Road area.

The authors find that both organizational position level and cultural flow moderate the relationship between cultural intelligence and expatriate adaptation, whereby the relationship is contingent on the interaction of organizational position status and assignment directions between high power distance and low power distance host environments.

Previous research has shown that higher levels of cultural intelligence are positively related to better expatriate adaptation. However, there is a lack of research on the effect of position difference and cultural flow on such relationship. Our study is among the first to examine how the interaction between cultural flow and organizational position level influences the cultural intelligence (CI) and cultural adjustment relationship in cross-cultural transitions.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an examination of Black et al.’s theoretical framework of repatriation adjustment as it relates to career planning for employees with international work experience.

The approach combines narrative with argument and analysis.

This paper expands on re‐entry adjustment to include additional research on repatriation, and discusses the utility of these theoretical propositions for individual and organizational career planning.

Suggestions for future research include repatriation strategies, incorporating concepts from the literature on other life transitions, and the importance of recognizing psychological variables in work adjustment.

Implications for career development are also discussed to help employees and career counsellors understand the impact of working internationally and to help organizations design ways to help employees integrate their expertise and experience through proactive and supportive repatriation practices.

The researchers in this study reviewed the literature to locate the most relevant multicultural theories, factors, and instruments in order to measure Albania's national culture. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

An innovative combination of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was used to fit the multicultural construct to the sample data and then estimate the national culture (n=73). The multicultural indexes were calculated for five generally accepted national culture factors to compare with the benchmarks published in the literature.

The multicultural indexes were calculated for five generally accepted national culture factors to compare with the benchmarks published in the literature. An asymmetric plot was created for critical comparison of Albania with five other theoretically selected countries, using the indexes for PDi, ICi, MFi, UAi, and LTi. Albania was found to be most similar to its Balkan and Turkish neighbors, as compared with Asian or Western cultures such as that of the USA.

The researchers discussed the implications of knowing Albania's national culture profile with reference to how other countries might collaborate and transact with this emerging transition economy.

From a business standpoint, the multicultural indexes for Albania provide general indicators of the national beliefs, norms and values, which foreign organizations may compare to their own cultural profile when interacting with professionals in this country. The best use for such indexes is for benchmarking and comparison. Foreign government, private corporations, or nonprofit organizations may compare their own culture profile with that of Albania to be aware of the similarities and differences.

Albanian national culture was estimated for the first time in the literature, using a five-factor model adapted from the work of Hofstede.

This paper aims to examine the asymmetric effect of cultural distance on the relationship between cultural intelligence and expatriate adjustment through the mechanisms of conflict management styles.

This paper conceptualizes a model depicting the interplay between culture intelligence, conflict management styles, cultural flows and expatriate adjustment.

The authors argue that the integrating style aggravates the positive effects of cultural intelligence on expatriate adjustment, while the avoiding style may undermine such effects. There is also a possible moderating effect of cultural distance asymmetry on the relationship between cultural intelligence and expatriate adjustment such that, the positive influence of cultural intelligence on adjustment is reinforced when the expatriate is sent from a loose cultural environment to adjust to a tight cultural environment, and that the positive influence of cultural intelligence on adjustment is diminished when the expatriate is sent from a tight cultural environment to adjust to a loose cultural environment.

This paper explicates the mediating effect of conflict management styles and the moderating roles of cultural distance asymmetry on the relationship between cultural intelligence and expatriate adjustment. The authors suggest that the level of adjustment is contingent on the direction of cultural flows that the assignment operates in.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors influencing work readjustment of Vietnamese returnees who used to study and/or work in a developed country and are currently working in different positions in their home country.

Data for this study were collected through a survey of 433 returnees using both paper-based and online surveys. Multiple regression was used to test the relationships in the model.

The findings show that while the length of time spent overseas, work expectations and subjective norm significantly affect work readjustment, the influences of age, gender and length of time since return on work readjustment are not supported.

The findings provide useful insights for home country government and managers of returnees developing repatriation programs that help returnees deal with the issue of poor work readjustment.

Empirical studies on cross-cultural re-entry adjustment of both self-initiated repatriates and international students are scarcely investigated. Most prior studies focused on individual factors (such as gender, age, duration in overseas and since return), research on the effect of work expectation on work readjustment is still scant. Most prior studies focused on examining the relationship between work expectation and work readjustment of company repatriates, however, this relationship in the context of returnees, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, has not been investigated. Furthermore, this study is the first to examine the influence of subjective norm on work readjustment of returnees.

The purpose of this study is to look at numerous mediating factors that influence innovative work behavior through cultural intelligence (CQ). The author specifically examines affective commitment, interpersonal trust and psychological well-being as three mediating pathways through which CQ predicts innovative work behavior (IWB).

Data was collected from 355 employees working in the health-care sector of India through convenience sampling.

Affective commitment, interpersonal trust and psychological well-being mediated the relationship between CQ and innovative work behavior. In addition, CQ positively relates to affective commitment (AC), interpersonal trust and psychological well-being and IWB.

Managers and human resource (HR) professionals can potentially stimulate employee innovation by developing cultural awareness programs for their employees. An organization must seek to provide a sense of attachment, a trustworthy environment and a favorable perception of psychological well-being to its employees. This could stimulate innovation in the health-care sector.

Although understanding the mechanism or processes by which CQ supports IWB is critical, research in this area is limited. This study theorizes and empirically examines affective commitment, interpersonal trust and psychological well-being as novel mechanisms through which CQ promotes innovative behavior in health-care organizations. Furthermore, the author presume that the intervening mediators guide the direction of social exchange.

This research aimed to identify cross‐cultural adjustment interventions to assist the personal wellbeing (psycho‐cultural) and cultural interaction (socio‐cultural) of managers on foreign assignments. Both pre‐departure and in‐country interventions were sought.

A questionnaire was employed and comprised two adjustment measures. Data were collected from 244 Australians in south‐east Asia working in two industry groups – manufacturing/industrial and financial/services. Exploratory factor analysis was employed to identify adjustment constructs. Pearson correlations, as well as ANOVAs and t‐tests, were employed to explore the effect of industry group, respondent group, number of cross‐border assignments, age and gender.

Eight adjustment interventions were identified and were labelled: quality of life awareness; host business and cultural awareness; family impact awareness; staff and business colleague awareness; home country networks; cultural reinforcement and support; cultural inclusion; and host language skills.

The research was limited to a specific business region, to one cross‐border manager cultural grouping and an exploratory technique was employed. Hence further work is needed to confirm the constructs and to assess the generalisability of the results to other business regions and to other cross‐border manager groups.

Whilst some important differences existed, the implications and value of the research may be evident in assisting psycho‐cultural problems such as anxiety and stress, and to encourage socio‐cultural interaction such as involvement in and with cultural environments and decreasing the potential for failed assignments.

The purpose of this paper is to report on research which addressed two purposes. First, to test the fit between, the theoretical model, and the empirical findings from an earlier reported study. Secondly, to test the extrapolative and interrelated nature of a two sets of cultural adjustment constructs designed to enhance the personal wellbeing and intra‐cultural interaction of cross‐border managers when on foreign assignments.

Data were collected from 244 cross‐border managers working for Australian private sector businesses in South‐East Asia in two broad industry groups: manufacturing/industrial, and financial/services. Respondents were asked to complete a questionnaire based on two separate dimensions associated with an individual's adjustment to cross‐border circumstances vis., personal wellbeing and intra‐cultural interaction. This paper evaluates the measurement fit between the identified constructs, by first examining any significant relationship though a structural equation model using LISREL 8; and then through employing path analysis.

Results from the structural equation modeling were significant; and suggest a sound fit between the theoretical model and the empirical findings. The path analysis further supports the multidimensional model. The results provide direction for organisations in addressing cultural adjustment issues to support the personal wellbeing; and the intra‐cultural interaction; of cross‐border managers.

Future research will need to consider the potential for measurement invariance associated with the framework identified in this paper.

The overall results provide useful insights for organisations as to important interventions to assist cross‐managers in becoming more attuned to their new job, business and cultural surroundings and circumstances. In this respect, cross‐border organisations need to include such interventions amongst the “adjustment experiences” for their cross‐border managers in developing personal wellbeing skills and intra‐cultural interaction strategies.

The purpose of this special issue is to extend the growing research on the challenges and opportunities facing services marketers in an increasingly culturally diverse global marketplace.

The nine papers included in this special issue use a variety of research methods (e.g. case study, experiments and surveys), participants (e.g. customers, employees and online panel members) and service settings (e.g. fast food, post office, weight loss, bank, home loan, personal fitness and offshore outsourcing).

All the nine papers highlight the importance of studying the unique perspectives of the customers and employees involved in intercultural interactions in diverse service settings in marketplaces and societies that are either already or have recently become multicultural.

The findings from the nine papers have useful implications for future research on services marketing in multicultural markets, although these may not always be generalisable beyond the unique context of the studies reported in each of these papers.

All the nine papers also present some useful directions for services marketing managers in the multicultural markets, to help them understand and manage the expectations of their culturally diverse customers, as well as employees.

This special issue is unique because it is one of the first attempts to understand the unique challenges and opportunities for services marketers in the growing multicultural global marketplace, from a theoretical, as well as empirical, point of view.

Drawing upon Folkman and Lazarus’ (1984) coping framework and interdependence theory (Thibaut and Kelley, 1959), the purpose of this paper is to investigate how expatriate spouses’ coping strategies (problem-focused and emotion-focused) affect expatriate spouse adjustment and expatriate adjustment. In addition, the authors also examine the mediating effect of expatriate adjustment on the spouse coping strategies-spouse adjustment relationship.

To test these relationships, the authors collected multi-source data from 191 expatriate spouses and their expatriate partners living in 37 countries.

The results revealed that problem- and emotion-focused coping strategies positively and negatively, respectively, influenced all types of spouse adjustment: personal, interaction, and cultural. Both forms of spouse coping also influenced expatriate adjustment. The authors also found that expatriate adjustment mediated the relationship between expatriate spouses’ coping strategies and spouse adjustment.

The results suggest that multinational organizations should pay equal attention to the adjustment of both their expatriates and their spouses. Both expatriates and their spouses should be included in the initial selection process and in pre-departure training to get well equipped before the international assignment. Training spouses to adopt problem-focused coping strategies would help to facilitate the effective adjustment of both spouses and expatriates.

The research provides one of the first examinations that investigate expatriate spouses’ coping strategies and their impact on expatriate and expatriate spouse adjustment. This research also highlights the interdependency of expatriates and their spouses.