Research On The Impact Of Social Network On Expatriate Adjustment In Chinese Multinationals

In recent years,more and more research has been conducted on Chinese enterprises going abroad,and more and more study at the micro level has begun to focus on the work of expatriates sent by Chinese enterprises.Expatriate adjustment is an important factor for expatriates to achieve their expected goals aboard.Current studies on expatriate adjustment also increasingly focus on the process of adjustment,especially on how expatriates build new social network,and thus achieve good adjustment.Through three studies,this paper gradually reveals the characteristics and process of the overseas social network building of expatriates in Chinese enterprises,and explores the influence of expatriates' social networks on their adjustment.And use the typical case studies to inspire Chinese enterprise going abroad.Study 1 adopted the interview method,and have conducted in-depth interviews with expatriates who had returned to China.In this study,a path model on how expatriates' social networks influence their adjustment were built and developed.The oversea social network of expatriates includes the motivation of construction,the application of construction,the types of nodes in the network,and the method of maintenance.The motivation of construction determines the approach of construction,type of nodes and method of maintenance.Also,the types of nodes influence the approach of construction and method of maintenance.Environmental-related factors,organizational-related factors and individual-related factors are all influencing factors for the formation process and characteristics of expatriates' social network.The networks of expatriates influence their expatriate adjustment through social network value transmission.Through study 1,a preliminary model on the social networks of expatriates from Chinese enterprises and the networks' influence on expatriate adjustment was formed.Study 2 adopted the survey method,and the questionnaires were distributed to expatriates in West Asia,South Asia,the Middle East,Africa and South America.The results of data test show that There is no significant relationship between social network and expatriate adjustment.Social network intimacy positively affects the social capital of expatriates,and core self-evaluation positively moderates the mediating effect of social network intimacy through social capital on expatriate adjustment.Social network scale negatively affects the relational energy of expatriate,which in turn affects expatriate adaptation.Social network intimacy affects the expatriates' relational energy positively,which in turn affects expatriate adaptation.The core self-evaluation moderates the mediating effect of social network scale,social network intimacy through relational energy on expatriate adjustment.Social network cultural heterogeneity has no significant effect on expatriate social capital and relational energy.Therefore,the second study shows that social network construction of Chinese expatriates should not blindly expand the network scale,but should pay attention to the intimacy in social network.In addition,it should be emphasized that the purpose of building social networks is to obtain social capital and relational energy so as to have a higher level of adaptation.Through the second study,the internal mechanism of how social networks of the expatriates from Chinese enterprises influenced their expatriate adjustment was further verified.Study 3,through a case study of an international company in Shandong,found out the major issues faced by enterprises,mid-year management and new staff in the process of expatriation,and the major measures.It has important reference value for Chinese enterprises' assignment.The results of this study provide new thoughts for the characteristics and construction process of expatriates' overseas social network,and its influence mechanism on expatriate adjustment.The results underscore the importance of expatriates to build a new social network,and to have what characteristics of network and personality traits could achieve higher level of expatriate adjustment.It not only put forward a conceptual model about the social network and expatriate adjustment of expatriates,but also verified the internal mechanism of how social networks' influence on expatriate adjustment.It also has important significance in practice.For Chinese enterprises going abroad,how to create social network forming environment has become an important method to solve the adjustment problem of expatriates.For expatriates themselves,how to build and maintain a social network that matches their characteristics becomes an important method to adapt quickly.