Cultural Adaptation on Overseas Assignments

Early return from International Service Personnel (ISP) assignments and inadequate job performance while abroad are very costly to GM and the individual ISP families. Adaptation problems experienced by the ISP spouses are one of the main causes of poor ISP job performance. This paper addresses variation in the ease and rate of cultural adaptation with ISP families. Structured interviews with ISPs and spouses enabled us to compare their statements about adaptation with their statements about the nature and structure of their daily routines. Two principal findings emerged from the data. First, ISPs interact to a greater extent with host country nationals while the spouses interact primarily with members of the expatriate community. Second, the spouses experience a more difficult and prolonged period of adaptation than the ISPs. We conclude that the spouses' more difficult adaptation is due to their initial lack of organizational affiliation and social networks. Our recommendations focus particularly on providing more specific types of assistance and social contacts to newly arrived family members, especially the spouses.