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Cross-cultural training to facilitate expatriate adjustment: It works!

Article  in  Personnel Review · January 2005

DOI: 10.1108/00483480510571879

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CROSS-CULTURAL TRAINING TO FACILITATE EXPATRIATE ADJUSTMENT:
IT WORKS !

Marie-France Waxin, Alexandra Panaccio

Dr. Marie France Waxin,Professeur Adjoint,

HEC Montréal
3000 Chemin Cote Sainte Catherine
H3J 2H7, Montréal, Canada
Tel: + 1 (514) 340 67 17
Fax : Tel: + 1 (514) 340 68 98
Marie-france.waxin@hec.ca

And

Alexandra Panaccio, Doctoral student

HEC Montréal
3000 Chemin Cote Sainte Catherine
H3J 2H7, Montréal, Canada
Tel: + 1 (514) 340 67 17
Fax : Tel: + 1 (514) 340 68 98
alex_joelle@hotmail.com

Submitted the 30.09.2003 to

Special issue of Personnel Review on
GLOBAL HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (DEVELOPMENT)

Presented at the
2004 Academy for Global Business Advancement Conference to be held in New Delhi, India,
from January 7-9, 2004.

1
 Abstract

Researches in the fields of cross-cultural psychology and management sciences have shown
the positive effect of cross-cultural training on expatriates’ cross-cultural adjustment.
However, the cross-cultural training provided by most multinationals is insufficient,
incomplete or simply non-existent. The objective of this research is to answer the following
questions: What are the effects of the different types of cross-cultural training on the work
adjustment, interaction adjustment and general adjustment of expatriates? Do prior international
experience and cultural distance have a moderator effect on the effectiveness of cross-cultural
training? To achieve that objective, we examine the effect of four different types of cross cultural
training (conventional/experimental and general/specific to the host country) on the three facets of
adjustment (work, interaction, general), on a sample consisting of 54 French managers, 53 German
managers, 60 Korean managers and 57 Scandinavian managers expatriated in India. Then, we
examine the moderator effect of prior international experience and of cultural distance on the
effect that cross-cultural training has on adjustment. Our research demonstrates cross-cultural
training accelerate expatriates’ work, interaction and general adjustment. Our results also show
that the averages of the three facets of intercultural adjustment vary significantly according to the
type of cross-cultural training received, and that the positive effects of cross-cultural training are
even more noticeable for managers who have little or no prior international experience. They also
show that the effects of cross-cultural training differ according to expatriates’ country of origin.

Introduction

Corporations have a hard time recruiting candidates who are qualified for expatriation. The
training they provide to employees and their families thus becomes crucially important. It is
now widely accepted, by both academic researchers and HR practitioners, that pre-move training
and cross-cultural briefings can help expatriate staff adapt to living and working in new
environments (Foster, 2000). However, the cross-cultural training provided by most
multinationals is insufficient, incomplete or simply non-existent (Brewster, 1995; Waxin,
Roger, Chandon, 1997, Selmer, 2000). The objectives of such training being qualitative by
nature, evaluating its effectiveness is difficult. Few authors have studied the effects of the
different types of cross-cultural training on the different facets of expatriate adjustment, on
a sample sufficiently large and while monitoring the cultural distance between the host
county and the expatriates’ country of origin, which is nevertheless one of the main
variables of cross-cultural training models. Moreover, few authors have studied the optimal
conditions of effectiveness of cross-cultural training. Waxin (2000, 2003) has shown that the
country of origin had a moderator effect on adjustment and its antecedents. One could think that
cultural distance also has a moderator effect on the effectiveness of cross-cultural training. Many
researchers have shown that international experience facilitates cross-cultural adjustment. One
could thus expect that expatriates with many years of international experience would be less
dependent on cross-cultural training in order to adjust, and that cross-cultural training would be
more effective for those with little or no prior international experience.

The objective of this research is to answer the following questions: What are the effects of the
different types of cross-cultural training on work adjustment, interaction adjustment and general

2
adjustment of expatriates? Do prior international experience and cultural distance have a
moderator effect on the effectiveness of cross-cultural training? In order to achieve this, we study
the effect of four types of cross cultural training (conventional/experimental and general/specific
to the host country) on the three facets of adjustment on a sample consisting of 54 French
managers, 53 German managers, 60 Korean managers and 57 Scandinavian managers expatriated
in India. We examine the moderator effect of prior international experience and of cultural
distance on the effect of cross-cultural training on adjustment.

I. LITERATURE REVIEW

1.1 Cross-cultural adjustment

Literature on cross-cultural adjustment (Black, 1990; Parker et McEvoy, 1993; Caligiuri, 2000)
defines it as « the degree of psychological comfort of an individual with several aspects of
a new environment ». Black (1988) put forward three facets of adjustment: work
adjustment, which encompasses supervision, responsibilities and performances, relational
adjustment, which encompasses interaction with members of the host community, and
general adjustment, which encompasses life conditions in the foreign country. Many
authors have confirmed this typology (Waxin, 2000; Black et Stephens, 1989; Black and
Gregersen, 1991; Parker and McEvoy, 1993; Cerdin, 1999). Black, Mendenhall and Oddou (1991)
identify three categories of explicative variables for expatriates’ cross-cultural adjustment:
individual, organizational, and contextual. Individual antecedents include the individual’s
adjustability and prior international experience. Contextual antecedents consist of the length of
time spent in the host country, partner’s social support and organization’s logistic support.
Organizational antecedents include job-related variables (such as role clarity and role discretion),
variables related to the organizational social support (such as supervisory, coworkers, and home-
country organization support), organizational culture dissimilarity between the home-country
organization and the host-country organization, and finally, cross-cultural preparation. Waxin
(2000, 2003) has shown that the expatriates’ country of origin has a direct effect on the three
facets of adjustment as well as a moderator effect on their antecedents. In this research, we study
the effect of different types of cross-cultural training on the three facets of adjustment.

1.2 Cross-cultural training and its effectiveness in terms of cross-

cultural adjustment

The objective of cross-cultural training is to teach members of one culture to interact effectively
with members of another culture, and to predispose them to a rapid adjustment to their new
positions (Brislin et Pedersen, 1986; Mendenhall et Oddou, 1991). Brislin (1979), a cross-cultural
psychologist, identifies three methods of cross-cultural training: cognitive, affective, behavioral. The
cognitive method corresponds to a diffusion of information, using conferences or non-participative
sessions, on a foreign cultural environment. The affective method aims at provoking individual
reactions so the subject can learn to deal with critical cultural incidents. The behavioral method aims
at improving participants’ capacity to adapt their communication style, and to establish positive
relationships with members of another culture. Management science researchers have used

3
Brislin’s model and have added situational variables (hardness of the culture and hardness of the
communication, Tung, 1987 ; function and role of the manager, Black et al., 1992 ; planned
duration of expatriation, Mendenhall and Oddou, 1986) and individual variables (personal
learning objectives, Ronen, 1989 ; degree of active participation, Black and al., 1992). Tung
(1981) identifies five different training programs, which she places on a continuum: didactic
training (1), culture assimilator1 (2), language training (3), sensitivity training (4) and field
experience (5). She suggests that the training method should be chosen according to the type of
assignment and should be contingent to two determinant factors: the degree of similarity between
the culture of origin and the host culture (which is a synonym of cultural distance) and the degree
of interpersonal interaction between the manager and host country’s inhabitants, which would be
linked, according to Black et al. (1992) to the role and function of the manager. In conclusion, the
different models or cross-cultural training and their content are built around three fundamental
variables: the cultural distance between the country of origin and the host country, the manager’s
level of integration with his environment and the duration of the expatriation.

Gertsen (1990) proposes a typology of training methods encompassing four categories.

First, she identifies two kinds of training: conventional training, where the information is
transmitted through a unidirectional communication, as is the case in schools and
universities, and experimental training, where the trainer gets the trainees to participate by
simulating real life situations. Then, she identifies two possible orientations: either the
training focuses on the notion of culture in general and aims at sensitizing participants to
the notion of culture, or it focuses on one specific culture and aims at making participants
more competent in that particular culture. According to Gertsen (1990), the combination of
these two dimensions reveals four types of training, as represented in Figure 1. In our
research, we use those four types of training.

Figure 1: Gertsen’s typology of cross-cultural training methods (1990)

Experimental
Training

General Specific
Experimental Experimental
Training Training
General Specific
Culture Culture
General Specific
Conventional Conventional
Training Training

Conventional
Training

4
Black and Mendenhall (1990), followed by Black et al. (1991), conducted a review of empirical
studies on the relationship between cross-cultural training and cross-cultural efficiency. Their
findings can be summarized in three conclusions: cross-cultural training is associated with 1)
feelings of well-being and self-confidence, 2) development of appropriate behaviors in the
context of the foreign culture and 3) improvement of the relationships with host country’s
inhabitants. However, the authors noted several methodological problems. First, only 48%
of the studies included control groups, and only 24% included control groups and
longitudinal studies. Moreover, 85% of those researches had been conducted on
populations of students or American Peace Corps rather than managers. Finally, in 75% of
the cases, the samples comprised less that 100 individuals. Deshpande and Viswesvaran
(1992) conducted a meta-analysis from existing researches, published, including the ones
referred to by Black and Mendenhall (1990), and non published researches, such as
academic thesis. They reached the same conclusion. Earley (1987) conducted longitudinal
studies in order to test the extremes of Tung’s continuum (1981), i.e. conventional training and
field experiences. His sample consisted of 80 American managers on a three-month assignment
in Korea. Earley found that both types of cross-cultural training had a positive effect on
adjustment to the host country’s culture and on managerial performance. Those results must
however be put into persperctive because these managers were expatriated for a period of only
three months. Nevertheless, Hammer and Martin (1992) came to similar conclusions after
studying American managers expatriated in Japan, confirming the effectiveness of the two
opposite training methods. On the other hand, Pruegger and Rogers (1994) found, through a
qualitative study, that interpersonal methods were more effective than didactic programs in
generating a change of attitudes towards a foreign culture. Their quantitative study could
not demonstrate the effectiveness of either method of training. However, the authors
insisted on the temporary aspect of their findings because of the small size of the sample
and because of the respondents’ characteristics (who were psychology students). However,
Cerdin (1996) found, with a sample consisting of 293 French managers expatriated in 44 different
countries, that cross-cultural training had no significant influence on the three facets of adjustment.
It must be noted that the average work adjustment was significantly lower amongst managers who
had not received cross-cultural training, but this relationship ceased to be significant when the
cultural newness of the host county was taken into consideration. In conclusion, researches in
the fields of cross-cultural psychology and management sciences have shown the positive
effect of cross-cultural training on expatriates’ cross-cultural adjustment. However, too few
authors have studied the influence of the different methods of cross-cultural training on the
different facets of expatriate adjustment, on sufficiently large samples and while monitoring
the cultural distance between expatriates’ country of origin and the host county, which is
known to be one of the main variables of cross-cultural training models. In our research, we
state the following hypothesis :

Hypothesis 1: Expatriates who received cross-cultural training will show a higher level of
adjustment than those who have not.
Hypothesis 2: Experimental forms of cross-cultural training have the most beneficial effect on the
three facets of expatriates’ adjustment.

5
1.3 Prior international experience

In his review of empirical literature, Church (1982) shows the importance of a first cultural
experience or prior exposition for the adjustment of individuals who sojourn in a foreign country.
Black (1988) shows that the experience of a prior expatriation lowers the difficulties related to
work adjustment, but not those related to general adjustment. On the contrary, Parker and
McEvoy (1993) find that prior international experience is significantly correlated only with
general adjustment. One could expect that managers who have little or no prior international
experience to would need more cross-cultural training in order to adjust than those who have
already lived and worked in a foreign country. We thus state the hypothesis that prior
international experience has a moderator effect on the effectiveness of cross-cultural training and
on expatriates’ adjustment.

Hypothesis 3: The effectiveness of cross-cultural training will be more marked for managers with
little of no prior international experience.

1.4 Cultural distance

Many authors suggest that the more different the expatriate’s country of origin and the host
country are, the more difficult the adjustment will be. Church (1982) refers to this phenomenon in
terms of « cultural distance » and Tung (1987) in terms of « hardness of culture ». Mendenhall
and Oddou (1985) also identify a « cultural dimension ». Waxin (2000), Parker and McEvoy
(1993) and Gregersen and Stroh (1997) show that the cultural distance is negatively linked to
cross-cultural adjustment. One could expect that, as the cultural distance increases, cross-cultural
training becomes more important in terms of adjustment. For example, a Korean manager
expatriated in India could need more cross-cultural training than a French one, because the
cultural distance between Korea and India is larger than the one between France and India,
according to Hofstede’s findings (1991). This would explain why researchers who studied the
effectiveness of cross-cultural training obtained such different results. Indeed, studies conducted
so far neglected to take into account the cultural specificities of the host culture and the cultural
distance between expatriates and their host country, while this factor could play a moderating role
on the effectiveness of cross-cultural training. We thus state the following hypothesis :

Hypothesis 4: The effectiveness of cross-cultural training will be more marked for managers
whose country of origin presents a large cultural distance with India.

II METHODOLOGY

2.1 Sample and data collection

Our sample consisted of 224 managers, of which 54 were French, 53 German, 60 Korean and
57 Scandinavian (Swedish, Danish and Norwegian). The respondents were expatriated in the
area of New Delhi, in India, where they had been working for at least eight months.

6
Respondents held general management positions or were high-level executives in the foreign
subsidiaries of multinationals from their home country, in several different fields of activity.
The mean age of the 33 women and 191 men who participated in the study was 38 years old.
Respondents reported on average 2.16 years of prior international experience. They had
been working in India for an average of 20.49 months at the time the data was collected,
while the average duration of their contract was 3.11 years. The first author collected the
data in 1999, in New Delhi, in the context of her thesis, using self-administered
questionnaires written in English. Embassies of France, Korea, Denmark and Sweden
provided lists of their national companies based in New Delhi. The director of human
resources of each subsidy was contacted and asked to participate in the study and to provide
the names of their expatriate employees. Those employees subsequently received the
questionnaire with a letter explaining the objectives of the research and guaranteeing the
anonymity of their responses. Respondents could return the questionnaires directly to the
first author. The answer rate was 76%.

2.2 Measurement

Adjustment. We use the scale developed by Black and Stephen (1989), which uses 14
statements to measure the managers’ self-estimated level of adjustment. For each
statement, the expatriates rate their level of adjustment on a seven-point ordinal scale
using antinomic adjectives (1=not adjusted at all, 7=completed adjusted). A factorial
analysis of main components on the 14 statements confirms the existence of the three
distinct facets of adjustment. Our results show a strong internal consistency for each
facet, on the global sample as well as on the national samples: Cronback’s alphas range
from 0.89 to 0.94.

Cross-cultural training. One question allows us to determine whether the expatriate

has received some kind of cross-cultural training. If the answer is positive, four
additional questions based on the work of Gertsen (1990) allow us to determine which
type of training was received. Answers are then coded in the following manner: no
training (0), general conventional training (1), specific conventional training (2),
general experimental training (3), specific experimental training (4).

Prior international experience was measured by adding the number of months that the
expatriate declared having spent abroad, whether in the context of an expatriation, articling,
studies or accompaniment of family.

To study the impact of cultural distance on the effectiveness of the different types of cross-
cultural training, we needed to choose respondents whose countries of origin presented various
cultural distances with India. The first author had the opportunity to collect data in New Delhi,
India. She consequently chose four countries that were not only very different one from the other,
but that were also increasingly distant from India: France, Germany, Korea and Denmark. Since
the number of Danish expatriates in New Delhi was insufficient to constitute a valid sample, the
author decided to form a Scandinavian sample. In order to calculate the objective cultural
distance between countries, we proceed as did Caligiuri (2000) and Parker and McEvoy (1993),
that is to calculate the sum of the absolute differences between the scores found by Hofstede

7
(1980, 1993) on the four dimensions of the studied countries, using the information given by the
respondents.

Table 1: Hofstede’s cultural variability factors and cultural distance (1991)

Pays Power Control of Individualism Masculinity Distance

distance uncertainty with India
France 68 86 71 43 91
Germany 35 65 67 66 96
Korea 60 85 18 39 109
Norway 31 50 69 8 125
Sweden 31 29 71 5 131
Denark 18 23 74 16 142
Scandinavia 27 34 71 10 133
India 77 40 48 56 -

2.3 Statistical analysis

For each facet of adjustment, we proceed in the following manner. First, we test the effect of
cross-cultural training in general: we conduct analyses of variance to compare the level of
adjustment of expatriates who received some kind of cross-cultural training and to that of the
expatriates who have not. Then, we test the effect of the different types of cross-cultural training
through additional analyses of variance, using the five levels of cross-cultural training2. In order
to show the significant contrasts between the average levels of adjustment reported by expatriates
who received the different types of training, we use a Bonferroni test with a significance level of
5%. To test the influence of prior international experience on the effectiveness of cross-cultural
training, we conduct additional analyses of variance, this time using only respondents with less than
two years of prior international experience. We then compare the results with those of the analyses
conducted on the whole sample. Finally, to study the impact of the cultural distance, we compare
the relative importance of the effects of cross-cultural training on adjustment for the different
national samples.

III. RESULTS

We shall analyze, in turn, the effect of cross-cultural training on the three facets of
adjustment.

3.1 Work adjustment

The effect of the presence of cross-cultural training and of the type of cross-cultural
training
On the global sample, the analysis of variance shows that expatriates who received some kind of
2
0=no training, 1=general conventional training, 2=specific conventional training, 3=general
experimental training, 4=specific experimental training

8
cross-cultural training report an average work adjustment that is significantly higher than those
who have not (F test = 6.93 p <0.01). The only significant contrast revealed by the Bonferroni
test at a 5% risk level appears between respondents who have not received any kind of training
and respondents who have received a specific experimental training.

The effect of prior international experience

On the global sample of respondents having less than two years of international experience, the
effect of cross-cultural training is reinforced (F=9.85, p<0.01 vs. F=6.93, p<0.01). Similarly, the
effect of the five different types of cross-cultural training is stronger than on the complete sample
(F=3.51, p<0.01 vs. F=2.89, p<0.05). The positive effects of cross-cultural training are thus even
stronger on the work adjustment of expatriates who have less that two years prior international
experience.

Table 2: The effect of cross-cultural training (CCT) on work adjustment

Sample/ Global France Germany Korea Scandinavia
Cross-cultural training
Presence of CCT, all resp. N = 224 N=54 N = 53 N = 60 N = 57
No training 4.90 (103) 5.50 (28) 4.98 (27) 4.23 (19) 4.71 (29)
Training (any form) 5.37 (121) 5.88 (26) 5.30 (26) 5.11 (41) 5.37 (28)
F test 6.93** ns ns 5.46* ns
Presence of CCT, int. exp « 2yrs N = 138 N = 36 N = 38 N = 39 N = 25
No training 4.63 (62) 5.39 (18) 4.74 (19) 4.13 (13) 3.86 (12)
Training (any form) 5.35 (76) 5.98 (18) 5.44 (19) 5.09 (26) 4.87 (13)
F test 9.85** ns 4.42* 3.99+ ns
Type of CCT, all resp. N = 224 N=54 N = 53 N = 60 N = 57
No training 4.90 (103) 5.50 (28) 4.98 (27) 4.23 (19) 4.71 (29)
Conventional, general
5.35 (31) 6.10 (7) 5.41 (9) 4.67 ( 10) 5.60 (5)
Conventional, host country 5.05 (39) 6.17 (6) 5.20 (5) 4.76 (8) 4.83 (10)
Experimental, general 5.55 (25) 5.62 (7) 5.33 (6) 6.06 (6) 5.17 (6)
Experimental, host country 5.73 (26) 5.67 (6) 5.17 (6) 5.86 (7) 6.14 (7)
F test 2.89* ns ns 3.43* ns
Bonferroni 0<4 ns ns 0<3 ns
Type of CCT, int. exp « 2yrs N = 138 N = 36 N = 38 N = 39 N = 25
No training 4.63 (62) 5.39 (18) 4.74 (19) 4.13 (13) 3.86 (12)
Conventional, general 5.13 (20) 6.08 (4) 5.25 (8) 4.22 (6) 5.50 (2)
Conventional, host country 5.09 (26) 6.16 (6) 5.11 (3) 4.94 (12) 4.13 (5)
Experimental, general 5.61 (17) 6.08 (4) 5.60 (5) 6.00 (4) 4.75 (4)
Experimental, host country 5.87 (13) 5.50 (4) 6.00 (3) 5.92 (4) 6.33 (2)
F test 3.51** ns ns 2.52+ ns
Bonferroni 0<4 ns ns ns ns
+=p<0.07, *=p < 0.05, **=p < 0.01 and *** =p < 0.001, ns = non significant

The effect of cultural distance

On the national samples, the analyses of variance show that only Korean expatriates who received
some kind of cross-cultural training report an average work adjustment that is significantly higher than
those who have not (5.11 vs. 4.23, F test = 5.46, p < 0.05). Il we use only respondents who have
less than two years of international experience, results are even more significant for the Korean

9
(F test = 3.99, p<0.07) and German managers (F test =4.42, p<0.05).

Combined effects
On the national samples, the analyses of variance on the five types of cross-cultural training are
significant only for the Korean managers (F test = 3.40, p <0.01). The only significant contrast, with
the Bonferroni test at a 5% level, appears between Korean managers who have not received any
training and those who received a general experimental training. Results are the same when we only
include respondents who have less than two years of international experience.

We conclude that cross-cultural training has a positive effect on work adjustment. That
effect is even stronger for managers who have little or no prior international experience,
especially for the Koreans and the Germans. Amongst the different types of training,
experimental forms of training are the most effective. Hypothesis 1 and 2 are thus validated
for work adjustment, and hypothesis 3 is verified on the global sample.

3.2 Interaction adjustment

The effect of the presence of cross-cultural training and of the type of cross-cultural
training
On the global sample, the analysis of variance shows that expatriates who received some kind of
cross-cultural training report a higher average interaction adjustment than those who have not (4.05
vs. 4,74, F test = 15.68; p < 0.000). Expatriates who received general conventional, specific
conventional, general experimental and specific experimental training report increasing
averages of interaction adjustment (4.36, 4.47, 4.96 and 5.38, respectively). The Bonferroni test
shows the specific experimental trainings to be the most effective ones.

The effect of cultural distance

In the four national samples, expatriates who received some kind of cross-cultural training
report a significantly higher average of interaction adjustment than those who have not.
Similarly, in the four national samples, the analyses of variance on the four types of cross-
cultural training show that interaction adjustment averages vary significantly according to the
type of training received. However, we notice that French, Korean and Scandinavian managers
who received general conventional, specific conventional, general experimental and specific
experimental trainings report increasing averages of interaction adjustment. According to the
Bonferroni test, specific experimental training is the most effective on the German and Korean
samples.

The effect of prior international experience

On the global sample, the effect of cross-cultural training in general is much stronger for
expatriates who have less than two years of international experience (F=16.51, p<0.000), and the
effect of the different types of training is also more significant than on the complete sample
(F=8.36, p p<0.000).
On the national samples, cross-cultural training still has a positive effect on interaction
adjustment of respondents who have less than two years of international experience, although
results are slightly less significant than results for the complete national samples, except for

10
Korean managers, for whom the effect is stronger.

Table 3: The effect of cross-cultural training on interaction adjustment

Sample/ Global France Germany Korea Scandinavia
Cross-cultural training
Presence of CCT, all resp. N = 224 N=54 N = 53 N = 60 N = 57
No training 4.05 (103) 4.37 (28) 4.19 (27) 3.29 (19) 4.12 (29)
Training (any form) 4.74 (121) 5.45 (26) 5.15 (26) 3.84 (41) 5.01 (28)
F test 15.68*** 9.27 ** 9.40 ** 3.04+ 8.47 **
Presence of CCT, int. exp « 2yrs N = 138 N = 36 N = 38 N = 39 N = 25
No training 3.72 (62) 4.08 (18) 3.95 (19) 2.98 (13) 3.60 (12)
Training (any form) 4.60 (76) 5.24 (18) 5.05 (19) 3.70 (26) 4.85 (12)
F test 16.51*** 7.13* 8.84** 4.20* 7.20*
Type of CCT, all resp. N = 224 N=54 N = 53 N = 60 N = 57
No training 4.05 (103) 4.37 (28) 4.19 (27) 3.29 (19) 4.12 (29)
Conventional, general 4.36 (31)
5.21 (7) 4.69(9) 3.38 (10) 4.55 (5)
Conventional, host country 4.47 (39) 5.25 (6) 5.55 (5) 3.63 (18) 4.98 (10)
Experimental, general 4.96 (25) 5.46 (7) 4.83(6) 4.38 (6) 5.08 (6)
Experimental, host country 5.38 (26) 5.92 (6) 5.83 (6) 4.61 (7) 5.32 (7)
F test 7.08*** 2.50+ 3.65 * 2.64 * 2.38+
Bonferroni 0, 1, 2< 4; 0<3 ns 0<4 0<4 ns
Type of CCT, int. exp « 2yrs N = 138 N = 36 N = 38 N = 39 N = 25
No training 3.72 (62) 4.08 (18) 3.95 (19) 2.98 (13) 3.60(12)
Conventional, general 4.14 (20) 4.69 (4) 4.53 (8) 3.04 (6) 4.75 (2)
Conventional, host country 4.38 (26) 5.25 (6) 5.42 (3) 3.52 (12) 4.80 (5)
Experimental, general 4.59 (17) 4.94 (4) 4.85 (5) 3.88 (4) 4.63 (4)
Experimental, host country 5.75 (13) 6.06 (4) 6.42 (3) 5.06 (4) 5.50 (2)
F test 8.36*** ns 4.23** 4.39** ns
Bonferroni 0, 1, 2< 4; 0<3 ns 0<4 0,1<4 ns

+=p<0.07, *=p < 0.05, **=p < 0.01 and *** =p < 0.001, ns = non significant

Combined effects
Concerning the combined effects of the different types of cross-cultural training, of the
expatriates’ country of origin and of the expatriates’ prior international experience, the results
show a significant difference in averages only for the German and Korean samples, while such a
difference was visible for all respondents, in the complete sample. The explanation for this is
probably the small size of the French and Scandinavian samples. However, for the German and
Korean samples, results show a stronger F test and are more significant than when analyses are
carried out on all respondents.

In conclusion, cross-cultural training greatly facilitates interaction adjustment on the global

sample as well as on the national samples. The specific experimental type of cross-cultural
training is the most effective one. Hypothesis 1 and 2 are thus validated for interaction
adjustment and hypothesis 3 is validated on the global sample. The effect of cultural distance

11
hasn’t been clearly assessed.

3.3 General adjustment

The effect of the presence of cross-cultural training and of the type of cross-cultural
training
On the global sample, the analysis of variance shows that expatriates who received some kind of
cross-cultural training report a higher average of general adjustment than those who have not
(4.97 vs. 4.54, F test = 8.57, p<0.01). The analysis of variance on the five types of cross-cultural
training show that the averages of general adjustment vary significantly according to the type of
training received (F=5.76, p<0.000). The Bonferroni test shows that general and specific
experimental forms of training are the most effective ones in terms of general adjustment.

The effect of prior international experience

On the global sample, when we retain only respondents who have less that two years of
international experience, analyses show that the effect of cross-cultural training in general
(F=10.13, p=0.002) and of the different types of cross-cultural training (F=5.79, p<0.000) are
stronger than for the complete sample. Therefore, cross-cultural training is more effective in
facilitating general adjustment for those who have little of no international experience.

The effect of expatriates’ country of origin

On the national samples, having received some kind of cross-cultural training has a positive
and significant effect on general adjustment on all national samples, except for the French one.
Similarly, the five types of cross-cultural training have a significant effect on the German,
Scandinavian and Korean samples, but not on the French one.

Combined effects
Concerning the combined effects of the different types of cross-cultural training and of the
expatriates’ country of origin, the Bonferroni test reveals that, for Korean managers,
experimental forms of training (general and specific) are the most effective ones, and that for
the Germans, specific experimental training yields the best results. If we consider only
expatriates who have less than two years of international experience, the results are the same as
for the national samples, but the F tests are stronger and the differences are more significant for
the Korean and Scandinavian samples. Similarly, the analysis shows that the effects of the
different types of cross-cultural training are the same as for the complete sample, although
results for the Scandinavian sample show a stronger F test and are more significant.

12
Table 4: The effect of cross-cultural training (CCT) on general adjustment
Sample/ Global France Germany Korea Scandinavia
Cross-cultural training
Presence of CCT, all resp. N = 224 N=54 N = 53 N = 60 N = 57
No training 4. 54 (103) 5,30 (28) 4, 76 (27) 3.23 (19) 4.47 (29)
Training (any form) 4.97 (21) 5.56 (26) 5.22 (26) 4.18 (41) 5.30 (28)
F test 8.57 ** ns. 6.11 * 12.31** 9.85 **
Presence of CCT, int. exp « 2yrs N = 138 N = 36 N = 38 N = 39 N = 25
No training 4.28 (62) 5.13 (18) 4.58 (19) 2.95 (13) 3.98 (12)
Training (any form) 4.86 (76) 5.43 (18) 5.04 (19) 2.14 (26) 5.32 (13)
F test 10.13** ns 4.28* 13.07*** 13.48***
Type of CCT, all resp. N = 224 N=54 N = 53 N = 60 N = 57
No training 4. 54 (103) 5,30 (28) 4, 76 (27) 3.23 (19) 4.47 (29)
Conventional, general 5.59 (31) 5.27 (7) 4.68 (9) 3.90 (10) 4.66 (5)
Conventional, host country 4.72 (39) 5.64 (6) 5.52(5) 3.87 (18) 5.29 (10)
Experimental, general 5.40 (25) 5.78 (7) 5.28(6) 5.07(6) 5.43 (6)
Experimental, host country 5.37 (26) 5. 57 (6) 5.72 (6) 4.61 (7) 5.67 (7)
F test 5.76*** ns 4.63** 5.94 *** 3.27 *
Bonferroni 0 < 3, 4; 1<3 0, 1 < 4 0<3,4 ns
Type of CCT, int. exp « 2yrs N = 138 N = 36 N = 38 N = 39 N = 25
No training 4.28 (62) 5.13 (18) 4.58 (19) 2.95 (13) 3.98 (12)
Conventional, general 4.35 (20) 4.89 (4) 4.54 (8) 3.62 (6) 4.71 (2)
Conventional, host country 4.69 (26) 5.64 (6) 5.52 (3) 3.88 (12) 5.00 (5)
Experimental, general 5.32 (17) 5.57 (4) 5.16 (5) 5.11 (4) 5.46 (4)
Experimental, host country 5.40 (13) 5.50 (4) 5.68 (3) 4.57 (4) 6.43 (2)
F test 5.79*** ns 3.95** 5.97*** 4.88**
Bonferroni 0 < 3, 4; ns ns 0 < 3, 4; 0<4

+=p<0.07, *=p < 0.05, **=p < 0.01 and *** =p < 0.001, ns = non significant

In conclusion, cross-cultural training significantly facilitates general adjustment. Experimental

forms of training have the strongest positive effects on general adjustment. The effects of
cross-cultural training are even stronger for respondents who have less than two years of
international experience, especially for the Korean and Scandinavian samples. Hypothesis 1, 2
and 3 are thus validated. The effect of cultural distance is partially verified.

IV. DISCUSSION

4.1 Discussion of the results

The purpose of this article was to analyze the effect of the different types of cross-cultural
training on the three facets of adjustment and to examine the moderator effects of the culture of
origin and of the prior international experience on this relationship. Our results confirmed the
tridimensionality of adjustment. Indeed, our factorial analysis of main components clearly reveals
the existence of the three facets: work adjustment, interaction adjustment and general adjustment.

13
Because our results simply confirm those obtained by many authors before us, we will not dwell
on this point. We also wish to point out the fact that 54% of our respondents had received some
kind of cross-cultural training, a relatively high percentage compared that of other researches.
According to Waxin (1997), less than 5% of French expatriates in Norway had received some
kind of cross-cultural training, and according to Cerdin (1996), only 20% of French expatriates in
44 different countries had received such training. The high rate of training in our sample is
probably due to the fact that India is considered to be quite culturally distant from France,
Germany, Korea and Scandinavia. In the following paragraphs, we discuss the effects of the
presence of cross-cultural training, of the different types of cross-cultural training, of prior
international experience and of the expatriates’ culture of origin on the relationship between cross-
cultural training and adjustment.

The effect of cross-cultural training

Our results clearly show that cross-cultural training, in all its forms, facilitates all three
facets of expatriates’ adjustment. Our first hypothesis is thus clearly verified. However, we
notice that work adjustment is the one facet on which cross-cultural training has the least
influence. This could probably be explained by the fact that work-related matters remain
relatively constant whether the manager works in his country of origin of in another country,
while interactions and other aspects of life in general vary a great deal. Our results confirm
those of Black and Mendenhall (1990), Black et al. (1991) and Deshpande and Viswesvaran
(1992), who found that cross-cultural training was linked to an improvement of the
relationships between expatriates and members of a foreign culture. Our results, however,
infirm those of Cerdin (1996), who found that cross-cultural training had no significant
influence on any of the three facets of adjustment of French expatriates.

The effect of the type of cross-cultural training

Our results on the global sample (224 respondents) also show that the averages of the three facets
of adjustment vary significantly according to the type of cross-cultural training received. This
effect varies according to the expatriates’ country of origin, but globally, the most effective types
of training are the experimental ones, especially experimental trainings focused on the host-
country’s culture (specific experimental). Our second hypothesis is thus verified. Our results are
consistent with those of Pruegger and Rogers (1994), who show that interpersonal types of cross-
cultural training are more effective that conventional didactic programs when it comes to
changing one’s attitude towards a foreign culture.

The effect of prior international experience

It is worth noting that French, German, Korean and Scandinavian expatriates report an average
prior international experience of 1.9, 1.7, 1.7 and 3.4 years, respectively. Thirty percent of
Koreans had no prior international experience, while French, German and Scandinavian in that
situation represented only 26, 19 and 5% of their national sample, respectively. Our results show
that the positive effects of the presence of cross-cultural training and of the different types of
cross-cultural training on the three facets of adjustment are even stronger for managers who
have little or no prior international experience. It would have been interesting to measure the
effect of the different types of cross-cultural training for expatriates who had absolutely no prior

14
international experience, but the small size of our sample did not permit such analyses. The size
of our sample led us to determine that, for the purpose of this research, « little international
experience » would refer to two years or less. We consider that our fourth hypothesis is verified
at the level of the global samples, although the small size of our samples prevented us from
verifying its validity at the level of each national sample. Selmer´ s recent research (2001)
suggests that the type of prior international experience could matter more than the magnitude of
such experience. Further research should take this into consideration.

The effect of cultural distance

The effect of cultural distance on the effectiveness of cross-cultural training on adjustment is

difficult to assess in our samples. We notice that the effect of cross-cultural training differs
according to the expatriates’ culture of origin. For instance, cross-cultural training appears to be
more effective for the Korean and German managers. However, the small size of our samples
prevents us from drawing general conclusions. The analyses conducted on the complete national
samples reveal that the Koreans are the only ones for whom cross-cultural training has a positive
effect on all three facets of adjustment. Results for the German and Scandinavian samples are
significant for interaction and general adjustment, and results for the French sample are only
significant for interaction adjustment. Therefore, the French are the ones for whom cross-cultural
training has the least effect on adjustment. According to Hofstede’s measure of cultural distance,
France presents the shortest cultural distance with India, followed by Germany, Korea and
Scandinavia. Except for Scandinavia3, our results seem to support our fourth hypothesis: the
larger the cultural distance between the country of origin and the host country, the more
pronounced are the effects of cross-cultural training. However, when we compare the
effectiveness of cross-cultural training using F tests, those results are not always validated.
Surely, larger samples would allow for a detailed analysis of the effects of cultural distance. This
might be explained by the fact that cultural characteristics other than those taken into
consideration in the measure of Hofstede’s cultural distance could come into play. Scandinavia,
although culturally distant from India, has been open to the world for many years. For decades,
Scandinavian corporations have been sending managers abroad, which, incidentally, is reflected
in the average international experience of our Scandinavian respondents. By contrast, Korea has
only opened itself to the world recently, and its contacts with other countries are still limited.
The average international experience of our Korean respondents reflects that state of fact.
Taking that factor into consideration, one could think that Korean managers presented, de facto,
the largest cultural distance with India, which would explain why cross-cultural training
benefited them the most. Other factors, such as time apprehension, could also have intervened in
the cultural effects on the effectiveness of cross-cultural training on adjustment. The measure of
Hofstede’s cultural distance does not take into account the subjective cultural distance, which an
expatriate might feel towards the host country. Indeed, an individual who has been in touch, one
way of another, with a foreign culture, will feel less distant from that particular culture, no
matter which country he is from. Finally, from an other “cultural” point of view, Vance and Paik
(2002) call for a significant change in research and practice to incorporate the voice of the host

3
Indeed, the effects of cross-cultural training on adjustment of Scandinavian managers are comparable so the effects
it has on the adjustment of German managers, while according to Hofstede`s …, Scandinavia is more distant
culturally from India than is Germany.

15
country workforce to develop more valid and effective predeparture training for expatriate
managers to enhance their performance in the host country to which they are assigned. To be
effective, a cross cultural training should be consistent with the cultural characteristics of the host
country.

4.2 Practical implications

Cross-cultural training appears to be an important factor of adjustment, especially when it comes

to interaction and general adjustment. Nevertheless, corporations often neglect to provide any
kind of cross-cultural training to their international managers. This could be explained in part by
the fact that those who make decisions on such matters often do not have any international
experience themselves (Shumsky, 1992). They perceive cross-cultural training as a useless
expense rather than as the necessity that it is. In order to compensate the insufficiency of the
training provided by corporations, some expatriates choose to take matters into their own hands.
However, only a minority of managers do so. Indeed, only 1.7% of French expatriates surveyed
by Cerdin (1996) had attempted to train themselves independently from their corporation.

The mere existence of some kind of cross-cultural training is not sufficient. The training must be
in accordance with the hardness of the culture of the host country. The more different that culture
is from that of the country of origin, the more important and necessary is the use of cross-cultural
training programs. Waxin (2000) showed that cultural distance is negatively related to
adjustment, and cross-cultural training is an effective way to reduce that distance. While
linguistic training is necessary, it is clearly insufficient. Our research focused on the different
types of training without considering the linguistic aspect. Our results show that experimental
methods of training that focus on the host country are the most effective. Those rigorous
programs, experimental and interpersonal, must be the responsibility of the corporation rather
than that of the individual. Furthermore, the method of training should be tailored to the cultural
distance between the expatriate’s country of origin and the host country, but also to the nature of
his assignment, to his position and to the duration of his contract. For instance, if the position is
mainly technical, the levels of interaction and general adjustment will have less impact on the
success of the expatriation. The training could therefore be less elaborate. On the other hand, a
position in marketing, for instance, necessarily demands that the expatriate have more contacts
with the host country’s inhabitants. The expatriate’s level of interaction adjustment will be
determinant on the success of the assignment. The cross-cultural training should therefore be
more thorough.

As an alternative to pre-departure training, cross-cultural training in the host country could also
be envisaged. Briody and Chrisman (1991) and Selmer (2001) report that some expatriates and
their families would have preferred to receive the training in the host country. “cross-cultural
training should be timed with motivation to learn which may make postarrival training a more
effective alternative to more traditional, predeparture training” (Selmer, 2001). Mendenhall and
Stahl (2000) mention in country real-time training as one of the three new tendancies that are
emerging for HR managers who work in the international HR area, alongside with global mindset
training, and CD-ROM/Internet-based training. However, since culture shock manifests itself in

16
the first few months of expatriation, pre-departure training seems indispensable. Black et al
(1992) believe that pre-departure training would be more effective if it were continued in the host
country, considered as the ideal place for learning a new culture. Further, corporations should
provide cross-cultural training to expatriates’ spouses, since a lack of adjustment on their part
could have negative repercussions on the adjustment of the expatriate himself (Cerdin, 1996).
Barham and Devine (1991) mention that cross-cultural training of the accompanying family is an
often-neglected aspect of the cross-cultural preparation of international managers. Finally, Harris
(1989) notes that corporations would benefit from using their former expatriates as trainers for
the new expatriates. Indeed, usage of the newly acquired competencies of expatriates is often
neglected, and cross-cultural training constitutes an area where those competencies could easily
be put to contribution.

CONCLUSION

In summary, the findings of this research confirm the view expressed by researchers over the last
20 years, that pre-move cultural training has a positive effect on adaptation to international
assignments. However, this study shows that experimental types of training are the most effective
ones. Furthermore, the efficacy of interculural training is clearly influenced by the magnitude of
expatriate´s prior international experience. Finally, our research seams to show that the larger the
cultural distance between the country of origin and the host country, the more pronounced are the
effects of cross-cultural training. Further research is needed for detailed analysis of the effects of
cultural distance and cultural characteristics on the efficacy of interculural training.

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