Male & Female Expatriates : Partner Accompaniment and its Importance for Acculturation to a Host Country

Abstract: In a world where the economies of more countries interact with each other, many companies are depending on produc-tion, sales and R&D outside their national boundaries. In line with this, the performance of expatriates has become crucial. Foreign postings for executives are, however, costly undertak-ings for multinational corporations, especially when they fail. Hence the acculturation of an expatriate to the host country is a highly relevant topic. The research on expatriate accultura-tion to a host country has changed substantially over the past few years. Yet to date, the majority of research has been focus-ing on male expatriates. The purpose of this paper is to exam-ine whether there are any differences between male and female expatriates, and the impact of partner accompaniment on their adjustment to the host country. An exploratory multiple-case study has been made and data has been collected through a survey of the expatriates of three major multinational corpora-tions. Five propositions have been formulated and verified. The contribution of this paper is to illuminate the presumptive differences between male and female expatriation.