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The Influence of Pre-departure Training on Expatriate Adjustment: An Empirical Investigation with Portuguese International Assignees

  • Dora MartinsEmail author
  • Eduardo Tomé
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Abstract

This chapter examines the cross-cultural influence of training on the adjustment of international assignees. We focus on the pre-departure training (PDT) before an international assignment. It is an important topic because in the globalized world of today more and more expatriations are needed. The absence of PDT may generate the failure of the expatriation experience. Companies may neglect PDT due to cost reduction practices and ignorance of the need for it. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews to 42 Portuguese international assignees and 18 organizational representatives from nine Portuguese companies. The results suggest that companies should develop PDT programs, particularly when the cultural distance to the host country is bigger and when there is no previous experience of expatriation to that country in the company. The study is original because it details in depth the methods of PDT, its problems, and consequences. Some limitations linked to the research design and detailed in the conclusion should be overcome in future studies.

Keywords

Host Country Psychological Contract Technical Training Organizational Representative International Assignment 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.ESEIG, Polytechnic Institute of PortoVila do CondePortugal
  2. 2.Unit ResearchGOVCOPPAveiroPortugal
  3. 3.Universidade EuropeiaLisbonPortugal

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