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The purpose of this paper is to find out if Australian project managers who are working in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) receive cross‐cultural training and if this training helps them to adapt to the new environment and perform better.

The information on which this paper is based was obtained through semi‐structured interviews conducted with Australian expatriates who were working the UAE in 2009.

The findings suggest that cross‐cultural training is very important in that it helps minimise, although not eradicate, misunderstandings and inappropriate behaviours. Specific cross‐cultural training provides expatriates with information and guidance that is relevant and particular to the culture in which they will be working. The information provided should be on the destination country and its people and that country's specific culture, values, attitudes and appropriate behaviours.

Providing expatriates with the appropriate cross‐cultural training is only useful if the expatriate is receptive and willing to learn. The best training in the world is useless if the expatriate is unwilling to learn. This research did not look at the selection criteria for expatriates. Selecting the right people, who are willing to learn and who enjoy new and sometime challenging environments, is paramount to the success of cross‐cultural training.

By providing expatriates with cross‐cultural training, expatriates are more likely to adapt to the new culture faster, which will in turn help the expatriates to perform at their full potential.

This study aims to contribute to the enrichment of the literature by examining the impact of cross-cultural training on expatriates’ adjustment of Nigerian bankers on expatriate assignments in other African countries.

Data on cross-cultural adjustment from expatriate employees in five banks that collectively accounted for over 80 per cent of Nigerian banks with subsidiaries in other African were systematically selected for the investigation. This data was collected quantitatively via a survey instrument. Independent sample t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and regression analysis were deployed in analyzing the data.

The study found that cross-cultural adjustment varied significantly across the different categories of gender, age, marital status, previous expatriate training, previous expatriate experience, and duration of expatriation. The study concludes that in order to attain higher levels of adjustment African banks and other organizations should provide a more comprehensive cross-cultural training program that mirrors the needs of employees following a detailed needs analysis. Also, the training must be sequential and not a one-off approach.

The literature though still nascent is largely focused on expatriate preparation and adjustment for expatriates moving from Western-to-western contexts and very little exists in the literature on how multinationals from Non-Western contexts like Africa prepare their staff for expatriation and its consequent impact on their adjustment. This study aims to enrich the literature by examining the impact of cross-cultural training on expatriates’ adjustment of Nigerian bankers on expatriate assignments in other African countries.

Purpose –– This chapter shows the connection between the reality of intercultural communication training and its importance to the development of intercultural communication competence, symbolised by the Rainbow Model of Intercultural Communication Competence.

Methodology/approach –– 405 useable questionnaires (response rate=19.4%) were used from 56 German MNEs in a convenience sample of companies in the high-tech industry that are suppliers for the automotive, aviation, optical and chemical industry.

Findings –– German MNCs provide traditional intercultural communication training sparingly to expatriates, but with adjustments depending on the target country. Only 41% of training recipients deemed the training helpful for their mission. Non-traditional training methods are administered more consistently.

Practical implications –– The Rainbow Model of Intercultural Communication Competence should guide the implementation of customised intercultural communication training efforts.

Social implications –– Assisting expatriates in their development of intercultural communication competence via intercultural communication training fulfils the social responsibility of multinational enterprises.

Originality/value of chapter –– This chapter provides guidance to human resource specialists in the international arena to design and implement customisable intercultural communication training programmes for expatriates.

This study aims to focus on intercultural training for Taiwanese expatriates and assess the gap between intercultural training needs perceived by Taiwanese expatriates and the training provided by their companies.

This study surveyed both Taiwanese expatriates and HR managers of their companies. It developed a questionnaire based on the research of Black and Mendenhall to assess contents and methods of intercultural training. There were 16 questions for assessing intercultural training and they were divided into two categories: symbolic learning and participatory learning.

It is found that the needs of intercultural training perceived by expatriates are generally higher than the training provided by their companies. In the categories of symbolic and participatory learning, findings are consistent with the overall items. Results indicate that the perceived intercultural training needs of both categories are significantly higher than the training provided by their companies. Items of participatory learning are rated higher than those of symbolic learning by both groups.

Coping with the increasing competition in the international arena, Taiwanese business people are in need of being able to work effectively with people from a diversity of countries and cultures. It is necessary to study issues related to intercultural training for business expatriates. Findings in this area can be helpful for human resource practitioners in developing training programs for their business expatriates.

Whether expatriate cross-cultural training programs significantly influence expatriate adjustment has been debated for more than two decades. The purpose of this paper is to examine a pivotal variable not yet addressed in the literature: the expatriate's perceptions of the employer's investment in the training (termed “perceived corporate training investment”: PCTI).

Completed surveys were collected from 71 hotel expatriate managers stationed around the globe.

When an expatriate manager perceives that his/her company's investment in expatriate training (PCTI) exceeds industry standards, it leads to enhanced work adjustment. Interestingly, PCTI is also found to significantly influence the expatriate's general adjustment in the foreign culture. A firm's organizational learning climate mediates the relationship between PCTI and both forms of adjustment (work and general).

It could prove informative for future research to model additional variables in these relationships, such as an expatriate's spousal support.

These findings suggest that firms should not only invest in expatriate training, but should also communicate to their expatriates the extent and importance that they assign to investment in training to foster a positive learning climate that in turn improves adjustment.

This research is the first to examine perceived corporate training investment (PCTI). Since PCTI is found to ultimately influence an expatriate's work adjustment and general adjustment, it is a key variable that should be considered by multinational hotel firms.

This study aims to explore the intercultural training needs for US business expatriates on assignment in Taiwan. The study assesses Taiwan culture‐specific training needs of US expatriates from the perspectives of both US expatriates and their Taiwanese colleagues and compares the perceived importance of these intercultural training needs between these two groups.

This study used the survey method to assess the opinions of US business expatriates as well as their Taiwanese colleagues. A questionnaire was developed for the study. A total of 26 items were identified as knowledge and skills needed for US business expatriates in Taiwan. The items all fall within six categories: knowledge of the nation, relationship building, interpersonal communication, business protocol, legal issues, and living in Taiwan.

Data collected from 78 US respondents and 78 Taiwanese respondents were analyzed using matched pairs t‐tests. Between‐group differences for the overall 26 items and each category were examined. Results indicate that there was a significant difference between the US and Taiwanese respondents in the perceived importance of the overall items.

Although there has been an abundance of literature on intercultural training, rarely has research been done on Taiwan cultural‐specific training. A study in this area can help human resource practitioners in developing expatriate training programs. Research results can contribute to the knowledge base of expatriate training and development, as well as the development of theories in this area.

Joint ventures remain the largest group of foreign‐invested enterprises in China. Given the high level of potential conflict, this paper examines whether Western expatriates in joint ventures benefit from cross‐cultural training.

A mail questionnaire targeted business expatriates assigned by Western firms to joint ventures and other types of organisations in China.

Results show that training had a weak positive association with work adjustment for expatriates in joint ventures, but no relationship with work adjustment for Western managers in other types of operations.

Data were collected through a self‐report questionnaire and a cross‐sectional approach was applied. However, the scale measuring sociocultural adjustment may have some potential problems.

This paper emphasises the work context in China when training expatriate candidates. Alternatively, individuals should be selected with recent positive experiences of the host country and work task at hand. Such experience could be regarded as a perfect substitute for cross‐cultural training

The distinction between different organisational contexts in assessing the effect of cross‐cultural training constitutes a novel approach. The study contributes to the literature on the effectiveness of cross‐cultural training of business expatriates in general and the impact of their organisational setting in particular. It is important to notice that the improved adjustment covers the very reason for the foreign assignment, the work duties of the expatriate manager.

The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the views and experience of cross‐cultural training (CCT) of experienced Western business expatriates (“China Hands”) assigned to China.

Data for this study were extracted from a mail questionnaire that targeted business expatriates assigned by Western firms to China. A net‐targeted sample of 651 respondents produced 165 usable questionnaires, following the extraction of questionnaires from respondents who were no longer in China or who were not engaged in business.

Findings of this study further highlight the need for more CCT for business expatriates destined for China. A clear majority of respondents preferred pre‐departure training a few weeks before departing for China and only a few of them claimed that CCT would not have been useful at any time. Most of the China Hands thought that CCT improved core managerial activities and therefore could have helped them to become better managers in China.

The views of experienced China Hands will be of use to a wide variety of management practitioners, given the competitive nature of the Chinese business environment.

The paper offers the view of experienced management practitioners concerning the Chinese business environment. The findings will be of value to both Western business people in China as well as business people considering an expatriate positing to China.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the training provided to US and European expatriates in Morocco, and subsequently build the body of knowledge for international HRD in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

The study used the models of Black and Mendenhall and Mendenhall and Oddou, subdividing the skills needed to be successful in a foreign country into three categories of skills; maintenance of self, interpersonal skills, and cognitive skills. The population for the study comprises 109 private companies in Morocco, with 34 responding, resulting in a response rate of 31 per cent.

Pre‐departure training was provided to all respondents, but none indicated receiving any training post‐arrival. None of the respondents' spouses or children received any training. Further, there was no tuition in Arabic, and very few received tuition in French. Co‐workers, locals, and neighbors were found to be major factors in assisting expatriates' adjustment.

The study is limited by the small sample size. The inconclusive results of this research provided some information that needs further exploratory studies to address the impact neighbors, co‐workers, and locals may have on the expatriates' adjustment. Further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of training that assists expatriates' adjustment and performance in Morocco.

Morocco is part of the countries that constitute the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA). MENA countries share similarities in culture that can impact global HRD practices. The results of the study add to the knowledge of international management and global HRD theory and practices.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the influences of expatriate characteristics, complexity of task assignment and perceived cross‐cultural differences on needs for expatriate training, and expatriate training effectiveness and to evaluate the influences of the fit between the expatriate's learning style and instructor's teaching modes on training effectiveness.

Survey methodology was adopted to obtain data from the opinions of expatriates in foreign companies within Taiwan and China. Quantitative data were used to answer the research questions. A total of 400 foreign companies, with 200 in Taiwan and 200 in China, were selected as the survey sample. Hierarchical regression analyses were adopted to test the five research questions as developed in this study.

The study results revealed that expatriates' perceived needs for training were negatively influenced by competence and adaptability to work in the overseas assignment. Expatriates' perceived needs for expatriation training were also influenced by the complexity of the task assignment, capability of host country managers, and the perceived cross‐culture differences between the home country and host country. Furthermore, the levels of fit between expatriate learning preferences and the instructor's teaching methods did moderate the relationship between the need for expatriate training and the effectiveness of such training.

First, since this study adopts cross‐sectional research design and examines the opinions of expatriates at one point in time, directional relationships may not be clear. It is recommended that future research conduct longitudinal studies to confirm the findings of this study. Second, due to the constraints of time and resources, the samples of this study are limited to expatriates working for foreign firms in Taiwan and in China. The generalization of the study results should thus be interpreted with appropriate caution. It is recommended that the same questionnaire, or an abbreviated form, could be used for expatriates in other countries, such as expatriates of multinational subsidiaries with US, Japanese, and European investment origins. Additional research will further confirm the validity and generalizability of the findings.

The training of expatriates has been recognized as one of the key elements for the success of business globalization. However, the evaluation of the effectiveness of training and development for overseas expatriates has remained largely unclear. The results of this study enabled one to understand how relevant contingency factors influence expatriate training needs and effectiveness. These findings could provide importance references for academics and practitioners when deciding on business practices.