姝 Academy of Management Review

2010, Vol. 35, No. 3, 434–454.

NETWORKING ABROAD: A PROCESS MODEL

OF HOW EXPATRIATES FORM SUPPORT TIES
TO FACILITATE ADJUSTMENT
CRYSTAL I. C. FARH
KATHRYN M. BARTOL
DEBRA L. SHAPIRO
JISEON SHIN
University of Maryland

In order to adjust, expatriates working abroad must form network ties in the host
country to obtain critical informational and emotional support resources. We present
a five-stage process model that delineates how expatriates form adjustment-
facilitating support ties in a culturally unfamiliar context. We then provide proposi-
tions about how the progression of each stage is influenced by various expatriate-,
actor-, and context-related factors. We conclude by discussing our model’s implica-
tions for future research and managerial action.

With the rise of multinational corporations,
companies are increasingly sending personnel
abroad on international assignments (GMAC,
2007). The success of these global managers— or
expatriates—is heavily tied to their ability to
adjust to various work and nonwork conditions
in the host country. Relative to expatriates who
adjust well (i.e., gain familiarity and psycholog-
ical comfort with the host environment; cf. Black,
1990), maladjusted expatriates perform worse
and are more prone to psychologically withdraw
from and/or terminate the assignment (Caligi-
uri, 1997; Shaffer & Harrison, 1998). Because such
negative outcomes are extremely costly in terms
of business disruption, wasted funding for relo-
cation expenses, and human capital losses for
the manager and the organization, it is no sur-
prise that much research has been devoted to
identifying factors that increase expatriates’ ad-
justment.
Scholars have recently honed in on the rela-
tionships—the network ties— expatriates build
with individuals in the host country and the role
of these ties in bringing expatriates the critical
support resources they need in order to adjust
(e.g., Johnson, Kristof-Brown, Van Vianen, & De
Pater, 2003; Liu & Shaffer, 2005; Manev & Steven-
son, 2001; Wang & Kanungo, 2004). In particular,
We thank Riki Takeuchi and Margaret Shaffer for their
comments on earlier versions of this draft, as well as David
Lepak and three anonymous AMR reviewers for their valu-
able comments that helped to develop this manuscript.
434
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network ties have been shown to provide expa-
triates with “informational support”—informa-
tion assisting expatriates’ functioning and prob-
lem solving in the host country—and “emotional
support”— emotional resources helping expatri-
ates feel better about themselves and their sit-
uation when adjustment difficulties become
overwhelming (e.g., Johnson et al., 2003). Prelim-
inary research in this area has shown that who
expatriates build ties with impacts the amount
of informational and emotional support they re-
ceive (Johnson et al., 2003; Manev & Stevenson,
2001) and that expatriates with a large number
of diverse relationships tend to obtain more sup-
port and experience greater adjustment than
their less well-connected counterparts (Johnson
et al., 2003; Shaffer & Harrison, 2001; Wang &
Kanungo, 2004).
An important implication of this research is
that, if they are to adjust well to the host country,
expatriates must successfully build relation-
ships with individuals who are able to provide
adjustment-facilitating informational and emo-
tional support. However, because research to
date has focused primarily on demonstrating
the support and adjustment outcomes of expa-
triates’ social ties, little is known about how
expatriates come to build these ties in the first
place. In particular, unlike newcomers or do-
mestically relocated employees, expatriates are
uniquely immersed in the challenge of interact-
ing with more or less culturally similar others.
Because of the inherent differences in cultural
2010 Farh, Bartol, Shapiro, and Shin
norms, language incompatibilities, and con-
flicting value systems, expatriates are likely
to find certain interpersonal interactions to be
psychologically and cognitively taxing (Black,
Mendenhall, & Oddou, 1991; Maertz, Hassan, &
Magnusson, 2009; Molinsky, 2007). Given these
culture-related complexities, there is a need to
understand when expatriates will be more or
less successful in forming support relationships
in a culturally unfamiliar context. Otherwise,
management scholars’ advice that, to adjust, ex-
patriates should build networks in the host
country may prove ineffectual.
To address this void, our primary purpose in
this paper is to develop a process model that
explains when and how expatriates will effec-
tively interact with “actors” (defined as individ-
uals in the expatriate’s host country work, so-
cial, or physical environment, such as peer
expatriates or local colleagues) to form informa-
tional and emotional support ties. The process
model we offer delineates five stages that col-
lectively explain how expatriates go about seek-
ing, receiving, and internalizing adjustment-
facilitating support resources from actors in the
host country. Our five-stage process model is
depicted by the headings and shaded compo-
nents of Figure 1.
A second purpose of our paper is to strengthen
understanding about why expatriates come to
have networks of varying size and diversity (cf.
Wang & Kanungo, 2004). Toward this end, we
identify how expatriate-, actor-, and context-
related contingencies (as depicted by the non-
shaded components in Figure 1) may affect the
manner in which each stage of the tie formation
process unfolds. The contingencies we identify
enable us to offer propositions regarding when
expatriates will be more or less motivated to
seek support from actors in the host country (in
Stage 1); which actors expatriates are likely to
contact for support (in Stage 2); when actors will
be more or less able and willing to provide valu-
able support to the expatriate (in Stage 3); when
expatriates are more likely to value and inter-
nalize the support they receive (in Stage 4); and
when expatriates will add helpful actors to their
support network, seek their assistance on future
occasions, and reciprocate their support (in
Stage 5).
Finally, our third purpose is to reframe how
actors are conceptualized in the extant expatri-
ate social network literature, both with regard to
435
how they are categorized and the character of
their role. Since not all actors of the same social
group are equally capable and willing provid-
ers of informational and/or emotional support,
we depart from the tendency of prior research to
infer an actor’s ability and willingness to help
based on whether he or she is a “host country
national” or “peer expatriate” (e.g., Johnson et
al., 2003). Instead, we introduce a new and theo-
retically meaningful way of categorizing actors
based on three underlying characteristics: the
actor’s host country expertise, adjustment empa-
thy, and cultural similarity to the expatriate.
Also, by explicitly incorporating both the per-
spective of the support seeker (expatriates) and
that of the support provider (contacted actors)
into our model, we deviate from prior work that
has focused primarily on expatriate determi-
nants of adjustment (e.g., Black et al., 1991). In
doing so we answer a call to consider the sup-
port provider’s perspective in the support ex-
change process (Olsen & Martins, 2009; Toh &
DeNisi, 2003, 2005, 2007; Varma, Toh, & Budhwar,
2006).
The paper is organized as follows. First, we
present an overview of our five-stage process
model, discuss ways in which it builds on and
extends existing theories relating to support tie
formation, and further explain our recategoriza-
tion of actors to better capture expatriates’ ac-
tual tie options in the host country. We then
revisit each of the stages and present proposi-
tions about the various expatriate-, actor-, and
context-related contingencies that may contrib-
ute variation to how the tie formation process
unfolds. We conclude by discussing the theoret-
ical implications of our model, providing direc-
tions for future research, and offering sugges-
tions for practitioners interested in enhancing
expatriates’ adjustment through their network
ties.
OUR FIVE-STAGE PROCESS MODEL OF
EXPATRIATE TIE FORMATION
Since no existing theories of tie formation ad-
equately capture the unique cultural challenges
and informational and emotional needs faced
by expatriates, we derive our model by integrat-
ing frameworks of advice tie generation (e.g.,
Nebus, 2006), social support processes (e.g., Iida,
Seidman, Shrout, Fujita, & Bolger, 2008), and the
cross-cultural adjustment literature (e.g., Earley
 FIGURE 1
436

A Five-Stage Model of Expatriate Tie Formation

Academy of Management Review
July
2010 Farh, Bartol, Shapiro, and Shin
& Ang, 2003). We focus on understanding the
sequence of actions required on the part of the
support seeker and the response required by the
support provider to generate a support tie in a
culturally unfamiliar environment.
Our process model of tie formation begins
with expatriates’ motivation to seek support
from actors in the host country (Stage 1). Accord-
ing to our model, expatriates’ motivation to seek
support is strengthened when they experience
informational and social uncertainty, as well as
when they are dispositionally oriented toward
learning and social interaction. However, this
motivation to seek support from local interper-
sonal sources may be attenuated when expatri-
ates perceive alternative sources of support as
relevant, available, and adequate. Expatriates
who are sufficiently motivated to seek support
will then “contact” or approach potential sup-
port providers in the host country (Stage 2). We
argue that expatriates will generally choose to
approach actors whom they perceive as able to
provide the support they seek (i.e., actors who
possess host country expertise and adjustment
empathy). However, given the real or perceived
psychological barriers associated with interact-
ing with culturally dissimilar others (Molinsky,
2007), expatriates are more likely to seek support
from actors whom they perceive as able and
culturally similar to themselves, unless they
possess the motivation or ability to interact with
those of another culture (Earley & Ang, 2003).
Once an expatriate contacts an actor, we pro-
pose that the expatriate’s requests for support
will be met by the provision of valuable, adjust-
ment-facilitating support only when the con-
tacted actor is both able and willing to help
(Stage 3). The contacted actor’s ability to help is
a function of his or her actual host country ex-
pertise and adjustment empathy, whereas the
contacted actor’s willingness to help is influ-
enced by his or her perception that the expatri-
ate is culturally similar or is motivated and able
to act in ways that are culturally appropriate.
Assuming that the contacted actor provides sup-
port to the expatriate, the expatriate is unlikely
to translate the support received into better ad-
justment unless he or she perceives the con-
tacted actor’s response as supportive (Stage 4).
We further suggest that because some forms of
host country–specific information may conflict
with the expatriate’s prior values, attitudes, and
behaviors (Maertz et al., 2009), the expatriate
437
must possess a level of absorptive capacity in
order to translate the informational support he
or she receives into enhanced adjustment.
The process of tie formation is completed
when an expatriate, because of the support pro-
vided by a particular actor, experiences en-
hanced adjustment and decides to add that ac-
tor to his or her support network and contact the
individual for future requests for support (Stage
5). We further argue that an expatriate who en-
gages in reciprocal support of the actor will
strengthen the tie and increase the actor’s will-
ingness to provide support on future occasions.
Theoretical Underpinnings and Extensions of
Our Model
Our model builds on and yet extends existing
models of tie formation in several ways. Al-
though Nebus’s theory (2006) focuses primarily
on the focal individual’s decision processes re-
garding whom to seek advice from, in explain-
ing his theory Nebus also comments on the gen-
eral process by which advice ties are formed.
According to Nebus, a tie is initiated when the
focal individual seeks advice from an actor he or
she perceives to possess task-relevant expertise
(which we refer to as Stage 2). A tie is formed
when the focal individual finds the contacted
actor’s response to be helpful and continues to
approach that actor for future requests for ad-
vice until the problem is resolved (which we
refer to as Stage 5).
The general process articulated in Nebus’s
theory is useful for modeling the broad stages of
how expatriates build informational support
ties in the host country. However, the theory’s
main focus on how collegial information sources
are chosen renders it too narrow to adequately
account for the unique complexities and chal-
lenges that characterize the cross-cultural ter-
rain of expatriate tie formation. In the expatriate
case there is a need to also understand (1) how
emotional support ties are formed in the host
country, (2) what affects contacted host country
actors’ ability and motivation to act as support
providers, and (3) how cross-cultural factors im-
mensely complicate the entire process. To ac-
commodate these various requirements for an
adequate model of expatriate tie formation, we
incorporate components of the social support
(e.g., Iida et al., 2008) and cross-cultural adjust-
438 Academy of Management Review
ment literature (e.g., Earley & Ang, 2003) into our
model.
While work by Iida et al. (2008) echoes as-
pects of Nebus’s tie formation process, Iida et
al. delve further into factors affecting the mo-
tivation of the support seeker and support pro-
vider to engage in the support process. We
found this mutual perspective helpful in guid-
ing our thinking about determinants of expa-
triates’ motivation to seek support (in Stage 1),
as well as contacted actors’ motivation and
ability to provide support (in Stage 3). How-
ever, since neither Nebus (2006) nor Iida et al.
(2008) address the complexity of building rela-
tionships in a culturally unfamiliar environ-
ment, we also draw on the cross-cultural ad-
justment literature to understand factors that
influence various stages of the tie formation
process. In particular, we incorporate expatri-
ate- and context-related factors from the ad-
justment literature to explain when expatri-
ates will be motivated to seek support from
local interpersonal sources (in Stage 1). We
then integrate the notion of cultural intelli-
gence (Ang & Van Dyne, 2008; Ang et al., 2007)
into our model to explain when expatriates
will choose to initiate a support tie with less
culturally similar actors (in Stage 2), as well
as when such actors will be motivated to re-
spond as support providers (in Stage 3). Rec-
ognizing that expatriates may experience cog-
nitive conflict when attempting to internalize
new cultural norms (Maertz et al., 2009), we
discuss when expatriates will be able to trans-
late the support they receive into better adjust-
ment (in Stage 4).
Although we draw on other theories related
to the support process to justify our proposi-
tions about the contingencies affecting each
stage of the process, the core of our new the-
oretical model primarily reflects the integra-
tion of the three theories mentioned above. By
incorporating key aspects from each of them,
we develop a new model that parsimoniously
explains the process by which expatriates
seek and build support ties in a culturally
unfamiliar environment to increase their ad-
justment. As part of our effort to advance our
theory, we now further explain why we found
it necessary to categorize actors in the host
country in a way different from prior expatri-
ate social network research.
July
Recategorizing Actors Based on Underlying
Characteristics
As we noted previously, expatriate adjust-
ment scholars have traditionally categorized ac-
tors as either host country nationals or peer ex-
patriates (Johnson et al., 2003; Manev &
Stevenson, 2001; Wang & Kanungo, 2004). Relat-
edly, scholars have tended to infer an actor’s
ability to provide informational and emotional
support to the expatriate based on these social
category labels— expecting host country nation-
als to provide primarily informational support
owing to their greater expertise in host country–
related matters, and expecting peer expatriates
to provide primarily emotional support owing to
their greater empathy for cultural adjustment
challenges and cultural similarity to the expa-
triate (Johnson et al., 2003).
Conceptually, while we agree that actors’
suitability in providing informational and emo-
tional support may vary, we argue that this suit-
ability depends on the extent to which an actor
is knowledgeable about the host country (which
we later refer to as host country expertise);
shares adjustment experiences similar to the
expatriate’s (which we later refer to as adjust-
ment empathy); and shares language, values,
and cultural norms similar to the expatriate’s
(which we later refer to as cultural similarity).
We further argue that an actor’s variation on
these underlying characteristics may or may not
correlate with his or her social category label.
One can imagine that a peer expatriate who has
worked in the host country for a number of years
may be considered to have host country exper-
tise. Similarly, a host country national who has
worked abroad may empathize with the chal-
lenges associated with adjusting to a new coun-
try and may be considered culturally similar to
the expatriate if he or she was educated in the
expatriate’s home country. Therefore, since ac-
tors may not operate as their social category
label suggests, we opt to recategorize actors and
their suitability to provide informational and
emotional support according to the underlying
characteristics named above. This reframing in-
fluences our arguments in relation to which ac-
tors expatriates are likely to contact (in Stage 2),
as well as which actors are able and willing to
provide expatriates with valuable support (in
Stage 3).
2010 Farh, Bartol, Shapiro, and Shin
Having provided an overview of the five
stages of our process model, an outline of the
theoretical underpinnings of our model, and our
recategorization of actors based on underlying
characteristics, we now discuss each stage in
turn and provide propositions about the various
expatriate-, actor-, and context-related contin-
gencies that may contribute variation to how the
tie formation process unfolds.
STAGE 1: FACTORS INFLUENCING
EXPATRIATES’ MOTIVATION TO SEEK
SUPPORT FROM ACTORS IN THE HOST
COUNTRY
Expatriates’ Informational and Social
Uncertainty
Expatriates experience high levels of uncer-
tainty in the host country, not only because the
problems they encounter in the host country are
qualitatively different from those they encoun-
tered back home but also because the informa-
tional and emotional resources they relied on in
the home country are no longer as present or
relevant (Black et al., 1991). Expatriates’ experi-
ence of uncertainty may be highest upon arrival
in the host country, or, according to the U-curve
hypothesis (Black & Mendenhall, 1991), their un-
certainty may peak after the initial “honeymoon
period” has passed and the “culture shock pe-
riod” sets in.1 Regardless of when the experi-
ence of uncertainty escalates, the expatriate—
desperate to make sense of a new living
situation, job, and set of culturally diverse col-
leagues—will seek support from those around
him or her to alleviate the source of the uncer-
tainty.
1
The U-curve framework describes a series of temporal
stages by which expatriates increase their adjustment to the
host country over time. Expatriates are theorized to first
enter the “honeymoon period,” during which they perceive
themselves to be moderately well adjusted owing to super-
ficial similarities between the home and host country. As
expatriates become increasingly aware of ways in which
their understanding of the host country falls short, they enter
the “culture shock period” and experience frustration be-
cause of the accumulating negative feedback they receive.
As they slowly acquire the information they need to function
effectively in the host country, expatriates enter and con-
tinue in an “adjustment period” until they reach “mastery,”
at which point they experience few needs for additional
learning or adaptation.
439
The notion that felt uncertainty increases mo-
tivation to seek support is consistent with theo-
ries of newcomer information seeking and the
social support literature (e.g., Bolger & Amarel,
2007; Miller & Jablin, 1991). However, for expatri-
ates, the sources of uncertainty associated with
moving abroad are more varied than those as-
sociated with entering a new organization or
relocating domestically. Expatriates’ uncer-
tainty arises not merely from a lack of knowl-
edge about living, working, and relating to lo-
cals in a culturally unfamiliar environment,
which we refer to as informational uncertainty,
but also from feeling socially isolated since they
are cut off from previous support networks in the
home country, which we refer to as social uncer-
tainty (Adelman, 1988; Berry, 1997; Wang &
Kanungo, 2004). Hence, we propose that expatri-
ates will be motivated to seek informational
support from actors in the host country when
they experience high levels of informational un-
certainty, and they will be motivated to seek
emotional support when they experience high
levels of social uncertainty. Because the experi-
ence of uncertainty in one domain may or may
not correlate with the experience of uncertainty
in the other, depending on the strength of the
type of uncertainty experienced, expatriates
may potentially be motivated to seek one form of
support over the other.
Proposition 1a: An expatriate’s infor-
mational uncertainty is positively re-
lated to his or her motivation to seek
informational support from actors in
the host country.
Proposition 1b: An expatriate’s social
uncertainty is positively related to
his or her motivation to seek emo-
tional support from actors in the host
country.
Expatriates’ Learning Goal Orientation and
Sociability
Learning goal orientation is the extent to
which an individual is intrinsically interested in
learning new skills to master challenging situ-
ations (Butler, 1993; Dweck & Leggett, 1988;
VandeWalle, 1997). Learning goal– oriented indi-
viduals tend to believe that their abilities are
malleable rather than fixed (Dweck, 1986), and
they intrinsically enjoy working toward compe-
440 Academy of Management Review
tency development (Dweck & Leggett, 1988). As a
result, learning goal– oriented individuals are
likely to be more motivated to engage in learn-
ing strategies (such as information seeking and
feedback seeking) to increase their mastery of
new tasks (Seijts, Latham, Tasa, & Latham, 2004;
VandeWalle & Cummings, 1997; VandeWalle,
Ganesan, Challagalla, & Brown, 2000).
Learning goal orientation has been cited by
scholars as an important dispositional factor
predicting cross-cultural adjustment (e.g., Gong
& Fan, 2006; Wang & Takeuchi, 2007). In partic-
ular, learning goal– oriented expatriates may
perceive adjusting to the international assign-
ment as a challenge to master (Wang & Takeu-
chi, 2007). Hence, such individuals may be more
motivated to seek out host country–related infor-
mation as a means of improving their function-
ing and effectiveness in a novel, cross-cultural
environment.
Proposition 2a: An expatriate’s learn-
ing goal orientation is positively re-
lated to his or her motivation to seek
informational support from actors in
the host country.
Although the need for social relationships is
considered fundamental to human psychology
(Baumeister & Leary, 1995), some individuals
may dispositionally experience this need and
intrinsically enjoy building social relationships
more strongly than others. Sociability—a dimen-
sion of extraversion most closely related to the
selection of social situations (e.g., “I prefer a
party to reading a book”)—frequently has been
cited in the expatriate literature as an important
predictor of adjustment, presumably through the
building of supportive relationships in the host
country (Arthur & Bennett, 1995; Caligiuri, 2000b;
Church, 1982; Shaffer, Harrison, Gregersen,
Black, & Ferzandi, 2006). Because of their prefer-
ence for social interaction and relationships
(Costa & McCrae, 1992), highly sociable expatri-
ates are likely to find relationship building in
the host country intrinsically satisfying (Johnson
et al., 2003) and, hence, may be particularly mo-
tivated to seek companionship and emotional
support from proximal others.
Proposition 2b: An expatriate’s socia-
bility is positively related to his or her
motivation to seek emotional support
from actors in the host country.
July
Perceived Adequacy of Organizational
Practices and Existing Emotional Support Ties
The expatriate adjustment literature has iden-
tified several types of organizational practices
that, if available in the host country, can provide
expatriates with informational resources re-
lated to living, working, and relating to locals in
the host country, thereby reducing their need to
seek this information from others. For instance,
organizational support programs providing lo-
gistical and financial assistance (Guzzo,
Noonan, & Elron, 1994; Kraimer & Wayne, 2004;
Kraimer, Wayne, & Jaworski, 2001) can reduce
expatriates’ need to seek information about
where to live in the host country (Chen, Kirkman,
Kim, Farh, & Tangirala, in press). Organiza-
tional socialization practices providing informa-
tion about the host country organization and
how its role expectations may differ from the
home country organization (Aycan, 1997; Van
Maanen & Schein, 1979) can reduce expatriates’
need to seek job-related information from others.
Finally, continuing cross-cultural training pro-
grams that provide information about how to
effectively interact with locals and accelerate
expatriates’ exposure to host culture norms
(Black & Mendenhall, 1990) can reduce expatri-
ates’ need to seek interaction-related informa-
tion from others. Arguments in the newcomer
socialization literature suggest that informa-
tional resources provided by the organization
can attenuate newcomers’ need to seek informa-
tion from interpersonal sources (e.g., Wanberg &
Kammeyer-Mueller, 2000). Akin to such conten-
tions, we argue that the perceived adequacy of
these organizational practices in providing ex-
patriates with host country–related information
can attenuate the motivation of uncertain or
learning goal– oriented expatriates to seek in-
formational support from actors in the host
country.
Proposition 3a: The perceived ade-
quacy of information provided
through organizational practices will
weaken the positive impact of an ex-
patriate’s informational uncertainty
and learning goal orientation on his
or her motivation to seek informa-
tional support from actors in the host
country.
2010 Farh, Bartol, Shapiro, and Shin
Given vast advances in communication tech-
nologies, such as email and video chat, expatri-
ates may be able to fulfill their needs for emo-
tional support by maintaining regular contact
with their friends and extended family in the
home country (e.g., Ong & Ward, 2005; Shaffer &
Harrison, 2001; Walton, 1990). Expatriates may
also obtain emotional support from those they
bring with them to the host country, such as an
accompanying spouse and children (Caligiuri,
Hyland, Joshi, & Bross, 1998; Harvey, 1985). Given
that strong ties characterized by trust and emo-
tional support are relatively costly (in terms of
time and resources) to build from scratch
(Granovetter, 1973), expatriates with access to
existing emotional support ties may prefer to
obtain emotional support from these existing
relationships. Thus, such expatriates may be
less motivated to seek and build emotionally
supportive relationships with actors in the host
country.
Proposition 3b: The perceived ade-
quacy of emotional support provided
through existing emotional support
ties will weaken the positive impact of
an expatriate’s social uncertainty and
sociability on his or her motivation to
seek emotional support from actors in
the host country.
Assuming that expatriates have sufficient mo-
tivation to seek informational and/or emotional
support from actors in the host country, we next
consider which actors expatriates will approach
to obtain this support.
STAGE 2: FACTORS INFLUENCING
EXPATRIATES’ SELECTION OF AND SUPPORT
SEEKING TOWARD ACTORS
Actors Perceived to Have Host Country
Expertise
Information-seeking theory suggests that in-
dividuals motivated to seek information will
most likely seek it from those they perceive to be
knowledgeable (Borgatti & Cross, 2003; Morri-
son, 2002; Nebus, 2006). In the expatriate context,
we argue that expatriates motivated to seek in-
formational support are likely to approach ac-
tors whom they perceive to have host country
expertise. An actor is perceived to have host
country expertise if he or she appears to be more
441
knowledgeable than the expatriate about living,
working, and/or interacting with locals in the
host country. To ascertain whether an actor pos-
sesses the relevant host country expertise, ex-
patriates may rely on surface-level indicators at
first, such as the number of years an actor has
lived or worked in the host country or the actor’s
functional title in the organization (Nebus, 2006).
Whether or not the actor is actually knowl-
edgeable in a particular domain and able to
provide the information the expatriate seeks,
however, presents a separate issue that we ad-
dress in Stage 3 of our process model. Indeed,
research suggests that faulty attributions on the
part of the information seeker may lead to un-
fruitful requests for information (Borgatti &
Cross, 2003; Fiske & Taylor, 1984). Nonetheless,
absent knowing whether an actor actually pos-
sesses the relevant expertise, expatriates moti-
vated to seek informational support will most
likely contact those they perceive to have host
country expertise. For instance, the expatriate
may seek advice from such actors about where
to buy groceries, what the requirements of his or
her new job are, or how to win the trust of his or
her local colleagues and clients.
Actors Perceived to Have Adjustment Empathy
Social support theory suggests that individu-
als motivated to seek emotional support will
most likely seek it from actors they perceive as
sharing or having shared a common stressor
(Cohen, Underwood, & Gottlieb, 2000). In the ex-
patriate context, where the primary stressor may
be problems arising from maladjustment to the
host country, expatriates are likely to find an
empathetic ear in those who themselves have
had to adjust to a new country. Actors with ad-
justment empathy—that is, actors who are going
through or have gone through stressful adjust-
ment experiences similar to those of the focal
expatriate—are likely to be perceived by expa-
triates as helpful sources of emotional support.
Actors with adjustment empathy are more able
to relate to the expatriate’s feelings of bewilder-
ment and confusion in the host country, reassure
the expatriate that he or she is not alone, and
help the expatriate make sense of the new en-
vironment (Adelman, 1988; Marsden, 1988).
Indeed, empathy-based emotional support
has been shown to be most effective in reducing
psychological distress (Zellars & Perrewe, 2001).
442 Academy of Management Review
Since empathetic support is best communicated
between individuals who are facing or have
faced similar adversity (Cohen et al., 2000), we
expect that expatriates motivated to seek emo-
tional support will most likely contact actors
whom they perceive to have adjustment empa-
thy. For instance, a lonely expatriate may seek
emotional support from such actors by discuss-
ing the various frustrations he or she encounters
in the host country.
Actors Perceived to Be Culturally Similar
Information-seeking theory suggests that peo-
ple motivated to seek information will prefer to
seek it from actors who are not only perceived as
able to help but also less costly to contact (Bor-
gatti & Cross, 2003; Morrison, 2002; Nebus,
2006)—that is, actors who appear to be accessi-
ble and willing to help. Thus, in addition to
considering actors’ host country expertise and
adjustment empathy as indicators of their abil-
ity to provide informational and emotional sup-
port, respectively, expatriates may ultimately
choose to approach actors they perceive to be
accessible and willing to help.
According to social identity theory, individu-
als tend to categorize themselves and others
based on salient identity characteristics (e.g.,
race, gender, age) and to find those who have
identity characteristics similar to their own as
more attractive and trustworthy (Ashforth &
Mael, 1989; Tajfel & Turner, 1979). An additional
consequence of interpersonal similarity be-
tween two persons is their greater willingness
to interact with each other (Byrne, 1971) and to
engage in mutual helping (Brief & Motowidlo,
1986; Nebus, 2006). Hence, interpersonal similar-
ity on key identity characteristics may increase
perceptions of accessibility and willingness to
help.
Although there are potentially an infinite
number of dimensions on which two individuals
can be interpersonally similar (Harrison & Klein,
2007), in a cross-cultural context in which differ-
ences in language, cultural norms, and values
may contribute to psychological strain and cog-
nitive conflict (Maertz et al., 2009; Molinsky,
2007), we argue that perceived cultural similar-
ity will emerge as the most salient and impor-
tant basis of interpersonal similarity and, thus,
will influence expatriates’ choice of which ac-
tors to contact for support. Indeed, expatriate
July
adjustment theory has pointed to cultural simi-
larity as a salient identity characteristic on
which expatriates can relate and connect to oth-
ers (Johnson et al., 2003; Toh & DeNisi, 2003),
especially if foreigners are rare and distinctive
in an otherwise ethnically homogeneous host
country (Mehra, Kilduff, & Brass, 1998; Olsen &
Martins, 2009).
We define cultural similarity as the extent to
which the expatriate and actor share fluency in
a common language (either the expatriate’s
home country language or the host country lan-
guage), abide by similar behavioral norms, and
espouse similar cultural values (Maertz et al.,
2009). Greater perceived cultural similarity be-
tween the expatriate and the actor not only in-
creases the expatriate’s expectations about the
actor’s willingness to help but also increases
the expatriate’s anticipated ease of communi-
cating support needs to the actor (Adelman,
1988; Johnson et al., 2003; Marsden, 1988; Zenger
& Lawrence, 1989). Especially for an expatriate
who is unfamiliar with the host country culture
and language, the preference to interact with
and seek support from a culturally similar actor
is likely to be particularly strong.
In summary, because expatriates motivated to
seek informational support are likely to ap-
proach actors they perceive to be knowledge-
able (i.e., actors with host country expertise) and
willing to help and easily accessible (i.e., actors
who are culturally similar), we propose the fol-
lowing.
Proposition 4a: An expatriate’s moti-
vation to seek informational support is
positively related to his or her infor-
mational support seeking from actors
perceived to have host country exper-
tise, particularly when these actors
are also perceived to be culturally
similar.
Similarly, because expatriates motivated to
seek emotional support are likely to approach
actors they perceive will be emotionally sup-
portive (i.e., actors with adjustment empathy)
and willing to help and easily accessible (i.e.,
actors who are culturally similar), we propose
the following.
Proposition 4b: An expatriate’s moti-
vation to seek emotional support is
positively related to his or her emo-
2010 Farh, Bartol, Shapiro, and Shin
tional support seeking from actors per-
ceived to have adjustment empathy,
particularly when these actors are
also perceived to be culturally similar.
Expatriates’ Cultural Intelligence and the
Relative Importance of Actors’ Cultural
Similarity
Although expatriates generally will prefer to
seek support from actors who are more rather
than less culturally similar to themselves, we
now consider the possibility that expatriates
possessing cross-cultural competencies and mo-
tivation may, in fact, prefer to seek support from
less culturally similar actors. For such expatri-
ates, cultural similarity as a characteristic of
actors may be less important in determining
which actors the expatriates approach for sup-
port. Indeed, previous research has suggested
that one’s knowledge of the host country and of
its behavioral norms increases the likelihood of
befriending individuals of a different culture
(e.g., Molinksy, 2007; Molinsky, Krabbenhoft, Am-
bady, & Choi, 2005; Ying & Liese, 1994). Similarly,
having a positive, open attitude toward interact-
ing with culturally dissimilar others has been
positively related to the pursuit of cross-cultural
relationships (Caligiuri, 2000a; Ying & Liese,
1994).
In an effort to capture both an individual’s
competency and motivation to engage in cross-
cultural interactions, Earley and Ang (2003) in-
troduced the multidimensional concept of cul-
tural intelligence (CQ), defined as a person’s
capability to effectively deal with situations
characterized by cultural diversity (Ang & Van
Dyne, 2008). CQ comprises four dimensions: (1)
cognitive CQ refers to the amount of culture-
specific knowledge an individual has, such as
knowledge of cultural customs or the political
and economic conditions of the country; (2) meta-
cognitive CQ refers to an individual’s ability to
perceive new cultural information and integrate
that information as working knowledge; (3) be-
havioral CQ refers to an individual’s ability to
learn and enact appropriate behaviors of a dif-
ferent culture; and (4) motivational CQ refers to
an individual’s level of intrinsic interest and
self-efficacy in learning about different cultures
(Ang et al., 2007). The cognitive, metacognitive,
and behavioral dimensions of CQ generally re-
flect an individual’s cross-cultural competency,
443
whereas the motivational dimension reflects an
individual’s cross-cultural motivation.
We argue that expatriates possessing both
motivational and competency-based aspects of
CQ are more likely to approach less culturally
similar actors for support. First, expatriates with
high motivational CQ— being intrinsically in-
terested in learning about different cultures—
will exhibit a greater desire to interact with
those who are less culturally similar to them-
selves (Earley & Ang, 2003). Second, expatriates
with greater cognitive, metacognitive, and be-
havioral CQ— being well versed in knowledge
about the host country’s norms and behaviors—
may be more confident to interact with others of
different cultures (Templer, Tay, & Chan-
drasekar, 2006). Because expatriates with
greater cross-cultural competency and confi-
dence are likely to perceive fewer costs associ-
ated with interacting with culturally dissimilar
actors (Molinsky, 2007), we expect that expatri-
ates with greater CQ will weigh actors’ per-
ceived cultural similarity as less important
when determining which actors to approach for
support. Thus, such expatriates are more likely
to seek support from less culturally similar ac-
tors for informational and/or emotional support.
Proposition 5a: An expatriate’s CQ
weakens the positive impact of the
perceived cultural similarity of the ac-
tor in Proposition 4a such that an ex-
patriate with higher CQ will engage
in greater informational support seek-
ing from actors perceived to be less
culturally similar than will an expa-
triate with lower CQ.
Proposition 5b: An expatriate’s CQ
weakens the positive impact of the
perceived cultural similarity of the ac-
tor in Proposition 4b such that an ex-
patriate with higher CQ will engage
in greater emotional support seeking
from actors perceived to be less cultur-
ally similar than will an expatriate
with lower CQ.
Assuming that the contacted actor’s ability
and willingness to help together determine the
value of the support provided to the expatriate,
we now consider how the three actor character-
istics initially guiding expatriates’ decisions of
which actors to approach for support (in Stage 2)
444 Academy of Management Review
come to influence how able and willing the con-
tacted actor is to provide informational and
emotional support.
STAGE 3: FACTORS INFLUENCING
CONTACTED ACTORS’ ABILITY AND
WILLINGNESS TO PROVIDE SUPPORT
Contacted Actors’ Actual Host Country
Expertise and Adjustment Empathy
A contacted actor’s ability to provide informa-
tional support is contingent on whether the actor
actually possesses the information the expatri-
ate is seeking. Expatriates may contact actors
they perceive to have host country expertise for
informational support, based on the assumption
that those actors are knowledgeable about liv-
ing, working, and interacting with locals in the
host country. However, because expatriates may
sometimes falsely infer actors’ host country ex-
pertise from organizational functional titles or
the length of time the actors have lived in the
host country, contacted actors may be unable to
provide the information expatriates seek. For
instance, an expatriate who contacts a peer ex-
patriate for tips on how to appropriately interact
with his or her local colleagues may find that
this particular peer expatriate, despite having
lived in the host country for a longer period of
time, has worked primarily with other foreigners
and, thus, is unable to help in this regard.
Proposition 6a: A contacted actor’s ac-
tual host country expertise is posi-
tively related to the actor’s ability to
provide informational support.
Similarly, an actor’s ability to provide emo-
tional support is contingent on whether the actor
actually possesses adjustment empathy and is
experiencing or has faced struggles similar to
the expatriate’s. An expatriate may assume that
a peer expatriate will possess adjustment em-
pathy if the peer expatriate has gone through
the process of adjusting to the host country.
However, after contacting the peer expatriate
for emotional support, the focal expatriate
may find that the peer expatriate struggles
with aspects of the host country that are of
little relevance to him or her and, thus, may
receive little empathetic support from that
peer expatriate. Hence, the contacted actor’s
ability to provide emotional support depends
July
on whether the actor actually shares and can
empathize with the expatriate’s adjustment
struggles and experiences.
Proposition 6b: A contacted actor’s ac-
tual adjustment empathy is positively
related to the actor’s ability to provide
emotional support.
Contacted Actors’ Perception of Expatriates As
Culturally Similar
Because supporting others represents a cost to
an actor in terms of time and effort (Hansen,
1999; Reagans & McEvily, 2003), the contacted
actor’s motivation to help is a critical component
of whether he or she will provide valuable sup-
port to the expatriate. The helping literature
suggests that an important facilitator of helping
behavior is the perceived interpersonal similar-
ity between the support provider and recipient
(Brief & Motowidlo, 1986). This is because more
similar recipients are deemed more attractive,
and the more attractive the recipient, the greater
the support provider’s motivation to help (Ash-
forth & Mael, 1989; Byrne, 1971; Hornstein, 1976,
1978). Consistent with prior research suggesting
that supportive behaviors tend to occur within
strong, homophilous ties (Brief & Motowidlo,
1986; Ibarra, 1992), and with our previous argu-
ments that cultural similarity is the most salient
dimension of interpersonal similarity in a cross-
cultural context, we argue that contacted actors
will be more motivated to support the expatriate
when they perceive the expatriate as culturally
similar to themselves. Because supporting a
less culturally similar expatriate represents a
substantial psychological cost owing to a lack of
communication compatibility and a higher
probability of encountering cross-cultural con-
flict (Maertz et al., 2009; Molinsky, 2007), con-
tacted actors may be particularly reluctant to
help expatriates they perceive to be culturally
dissimilar to themselves.
Proposition 7a: A contacted actor’s
perception of the expatriate’s cultural
similarity is positively related to the
actor’s willingness to provide informa-
tional support.
Proposition 7b: A contacted actor’s
perception of the expatriate’s cultural
similarity is positively related to the
2010 Farh, Bartol, Shapiro, and Shin
actor’s willingness to provide emo-
tional support.
Expatriates’ CQ and the Relative Importance
of Expatriates’ Cultural Similarity
Despite a lack of intrinsic motivation to sup-
port a culturally dissimilar expatriate, under
certain circumstances a contacted actor may
nonetheless be willing to help. One facilitator
of the contacted actor’s willingness to support
a less culturally similar expatriate is the ex-
patriate’s CQ. Expatriates with greater CQ,
especially those possessing high levels of cog-
nitive and behavioral knowledge of the host
country, are less likely to speak and act in
ways that violate cultural norms when ap-
proaching an actor for support (Earley & Ang,
2003; Molinsky, 2007). As a result, the actor may
perceive fewer psychological costs associated
with interacting with and supporting expatri-
ates with high CQ.
Proposition 8a: An expatriate’s CQ
weakens the extent to which a con-
tacted actor’s perception of the expa-
triate’s cultural similarity positively
impacts the actor’s willingness to pro-
vide informational support such that
the actor is more willing to provide
informational support to a culturally
dissimilar expatriate when the expa-
triate possesses higher CQ.
Proposition 8b: An expatriate’s CQ
weakens the extent to which a con-
tacted actor’s perception of the expa-
triate’s cultural similarity positively
impacts the actor’s willingness to pro-
vide emotional support such that the
actor is more willing to provide emo-
tional support to a culturally dissimi-
lar expatriate when the expatriate
possesses higher CQ.
Assuming that the contacted actor is both able
and willing to help the expatriate, and thus pro-
vides the expatriate with valuable informa-
tional and/or emotional support, we now con-
sider when the expatriate will incorporate this
support into enhanced adjustment.
445
STAGE 4: FACTORS INFLUENCING
EXPATRIATES’ UTILIZATION OF
RECEIVED SUPPORT
Expatriates’ Perception of the Support
Provided
The social support literature suggests that
the objective support resources one actually
receives matter less for adjustment than how
one perceives the support (Cohen et al., 2000).
Scholars have noted that when recipients per-
ceive support as patronizing or insensitive,
they may feel even more frustrated and disap-
pointed (Collins & Feeney, 2004). In contrast,
recipients exhibit better adjustment when they
perceive support as helpful and offered with
benevolence. The latter—referred to as per-
ceived support— has been shown to be a stron-
ger and more proximal correlate of health and
well-being than received support, the objec-
tive social resources one actually receives
(Wethington & Kessler, 1986). Support attempts
may sometimes be ambiguous because sup-
port providers do not have the skills to provide
effective support or because they misunder-
stand the type or amount of support that is
needed by the support seeker (Coyne, Wort-
man, & Lehman, 1988; Dakof & Taylor, 1990;
Dunkel-Schetter, Blasband, Feinstein, & Her-
bert, 1992; Lehman & Hemphill, 1990). This is
more prone to happen if the expatriate con-
tacts the wrong actors for support or is not
able to appropriately articulate his or her
needs (in Stage 2). Thus, whether the support
provided by the contacted actor will actually
translate into better adjustment depends in
large part on the expatriate’s subjective con-
strual or perception of the support provided.
Proposition 9a: The positive impact of
the value of the informational support
provided on an expatriate’s increased
adjustment is mediated by the expa-
triate’s perception that the contacted
actor’s response was supportive.
Proposition 9b: The positive impact of
the value of the emotional support
provided on an expatriate’s increased
adjustment is mediated by the expa-
triate’s perception that the contacted
actor’s response was supportive.
446 Academy of Management Review
Expatriates’ Absorptive Capacity
In addition to an expatriate’s favorable per-
ception of the support provided, we also expect
that the expatriate’s likelihood of adjusting bet-
ter because of the informational support he or
she receives is enhanced when the expatriate
possesses the ability to utilize this new informa-
tion. Absorptive capacity is broadly defined as
the ability of the knowledge recipient to value,
assimilate, and apply new knowledge (Cohen &
Levinthal, 1990). Absorptive capacity is often
based on the knowledge recipient’s accumu-
lated prior knowledge, which, in turn, enhances
the recipient’s ability to recognize connections
between new and existing knowledge and to
integrate new information appropriately. In-
deed, knowledge transfer research suggests
that a recipient’s absorptive capacity is a key
determinant of whether the recipient will be
able to utilize new information toward better
outcomes (Reagans & McEvily, 2003).
In the expatriate context, the expatriate’s ab-
sorptive capacity for host country information
may be particularly important when a sufficient
level of ability or understanding of the host
country context is needed for the expatriate to
act on the informational support provided. For
instance, an expatriate may be advised that suc-
cessfully generating trust of local clients re-
quires negotiating contracts in the host country
language. However, an expatriate who lacks
sufficient host country language skills may be
unable to act on this information and, thus, may
be less effective in building client relationships.
As another example, an expatriate may be ad-
vised that telling jokes during team meetings is
an effective way to maintain positive morale.
However, an expatriate who lacks a sense of
humor or is unfamiliar with host cultural norms
of humor may have difficulty acting on this
piece of advice and, thus, may be less effective
in rallying team members’ morale. In such in-
stances we might characterize the expatriate as
having inadequate absorptive capacity, which,
in turn, may constrain the expatriate’s adjust-
ment, despite his or her having access to sup-
portive and valuable informational support.
Proposition 10: The likelihood an ex-
patriate will adjust better because of
his or her perception that the informa-
tional support provided by the con-
tacted actor was supportive is
July
strengthened by the expatriate’s ab-
sorptive capacity.
We now address the question of how an expa-
triate goes about incorporating this actor into
his or her informational and/or emotional sup-
port network when the expatriate has found the
support provided by the contacted actor to be
supportive, has been able to utilize the informa-
tional support, and thus has experienced en-
hanced adjustment.
STAGE 5: FACTORS INFLUENCING
EXPATRIATES’ ADDITION OF
ACTORS TO NETWORK
If the informational support provided by a
contacted actor has improved an expatriate’s
understanding of the host country, reduced the
expatriate’s felt uncertainty, and thus increased
his or her adjustment, the expatriate will choose
to form a support tie with and add that particu-
lar actor to his or her informational support net-
work. Similarly, if the emotional support pro-
vided by the contacted actor has alleviated the
expatriate’s uncertainty and distress and, thus,
has increased his or her adjustment, the expa-
triate will choose to form a support tie with and
add that particular actor to his or her emotional
support network. Once the actor has been added
to the expatriate’s informational and/or emo-
tional support network, the expatriate will likely
approach that same actor for future requests for
support of the same nature (Hays, 1985; Nebus,
2006).
Proposition 11a: An expatriate’s in-
creased adjustment due to informa-
tional support provided by a con-
tacted actor is positively related to the
formation of an informational support
tie between the expatriate and the ac-
tor, which is positively related to the
expatriate’s propensity to approach
the actor for future requests of infor-
mational support.
Proposition 11b: An expatriate’s in-
creased adjustment due to emotional
support provided by a contacted actor
is positively related to the formation of
an emotional support tie between the
expatriate and the actor, which is pos-
itively related to the expatriate’s pro-
2010 Farh, Bartol, Shapiro, and Shin
pensity to approach the actor for fu-
ture requests of emotional support.
In addition to forming a tie with an actor, an
expatriate may also engage in reciprocal help-
ing toward the actor, which will, in turn, lead the
actor to provide the expatriate with continuing
support in the future. Both social exchange the-
ory (Blau, 1964) and the norm of reciprocity
(Gouldner, 1960) posit that expressions of posi-
tive regard in the form of support create feelings
of indebtedness and a corresponding obligation
to return the favor so as to reduce this sense of
indebtedness (Gleason, Iida, Bolger, & Shrout,
2003). By reciprocating support back to the sup-
port provider, the recipient is able to fulfill feel-
ings of obligation while also reinforcing the in-
trinsic value of the exchange relationship
(Settoon & Mossholder, 2002).
Hence, expatriates who adjust better because
of the support provided by contacted actors are
likely to reciprocate by behaving supportively
toward those actors. For instance, in exchange
for information on how to handle host country
clients, expatriates may provide helpful actors
with insider information on how to get sent
abroad on international assignments or on the
inner workings of the headquarters in the home
country. Alternatively, if expatriates and actors
are experiencing similar adjustment struggles,
they may mutually provide empathetic emo-
tional support. By reciprocating the support pro-
vided by the selected actor, an expatriate rein-
forces the strength of the support tie and thereby
increases the likelihood the actor will be willing
to provide the expatriate with valuable support
in the future (Blau, 1964; Brief & Motowidlo, 1986).
Proposition 12a: An expatriate’s in-
creased adjustment due to the infor-
mational support provided by a con-
tacted actor is positively related to the
expatriate’s reciprocal support of the
actor, which is positively related to
the actor’s willingness to provide
valuable informational support in re-
sponse to future requests.
Proposition 12b: An expatriate’s in-
creased adjustment due to the emo-
tional support provided by a con-
tacted actor is positively related to the
expatriate’s reciprocal support of the
actor, which is positively related to
447
the actor’s willingness to provide
valuable emotional support in re-
sponse to future requests.
DISCUSSION
Our paper makes three unique contributions
to expatriate social network theory. First, inte-
grating across existing frameworks of advice tie
generation (e.g., Nebus, 2006), social support pro-
cesses (e.g., Iida et al., 2008), and the cross-
cultural adjustment literature (e.g., Earley &
Ang, 2003), we develop a unique five-stage pro-
cess model that delineates how expatriates
build support relationships in a culturally unfa-
miliar environment to meet their critical infor-
mational and emotional needs. Our approach is
likely to yield more meaningful insights at this
juncture of research on expatriates’ social net-
works, and it contrasts with existing work that
has focused primarily on identifying expatriate-
and organization-related factors that directly in-
fluence adjustment (for a review see Bhaskar-
Shrinivas, Harrison, Shaffer, & Luk, 2005).
Second, we advance theory by incorporating
key concepts from the relevant literature to iden-
tify and explain how expatriate-, actor-, and
context-related factors may affect the progres-
sion and unfolding of each stage of the tie for-
mation process. As such, our model provides a
new theoretical lens for understanding how
these factors enhance adjustment through their
influence on the various stages and, ultimately,
on the types of relationships expatriates build in
the host country. For instance, we draw from the
social support (Iida et al., 2008) and cross-
cultural adjustment (Earley & Ang, 2003; Wang &
Takeuchi, 2007) literature to explain how indi-
vidual differences among expatriates, such as
learning goal orientation, sociability, and CQ,
affect their motivation and ability to seek and
obtain critical support resources from culturally
similar and dissimilar actors in the host country.
Further research is warranted on how these
individual differences affect the tie formation
process. In particular, given the central role of
CQ in facilitating support processes in a cross-
cultural context, future research might espe-
cially benefit from further examining how differ-
ent components of CQ may be more or less
important at different stages of the tie formation
process. For instance, an expatriate’s motiva-
tional CQ may be particularly important in en-
448 Academy of Management Review
hancing his or her tendency to approach cultur-
ally dissimilar actors for support (in Stage 2), the
expatriate’s behavioral and cognitive CQ may
increase a contacted actor’s willingness to help
him or her (in Stage 3), and the expatriate’s cog-
nitive and metacognitive CQ may increase his
or her absorptive capacity (in Stage 4).
Additionally, future work may identify cross-
cultural contexts in which the expatriate’s CQ
will be more or less necessary in the tie forma-
tion process. For instance, the expatriate’s CQ
may matter more (in Stage 2 and Stage 3) if the
host country is both culturally distant and holds
tight cultural norms. Host countries of greater
cultural distance imply that the interaction
norms surrounding how to build relationships
may differ greatly from what the expatriate is
used to (Kogut & Singh, 1988), whereas host
countries with greater cultural tightness imply
that expatriates who deviate from these culture-
specific interaction norms are unlikely to be
tolerated (Gelfand, Nishii, & Raver, 2006). As
Maertz et al. (2009) argued, when expatriates are
faced with both distant and tight host country
cultures, adjustment may be particularly diffi-
cult, and the need for CQ may be heightened
under such circumstances.
Although we have treated organizational
practices as alternative sources of informational
support that attenuate the need for expatriates
to seek local interpersonal sources of support (in
Stage 1), we recognize that organizational prac-
tices can play a larger role in expatriates’ ad-
justment, outside of encouraging tie formation.
For instance, Aycan (1997) mentioned that orga-
nizational support, cross-cultural training, and
socialization practices may directly increase ex-
patriates’ adjustment, thereby reducing the
level of uncertainty experienced by expatriates
in the host country and the need to build support
ties to adjust. Additionally, organizations em-
ploying formal mentoring programs may re-
place the need for expatriates to initiate the
support process, or the need for actors to be
contacted, able, and willing to provide support
to expatriates. These various organizational
practices can also facilitate aspects of the tie
formation process, in ways we describe in the
section on practical implications. Future re-
search can provide further guidance on how
managers can effectively implement such prac-
tices in ways that enhance expatriates’ pros-
July
pects of forming ties that improve their adjust-
ment.
Third, we also contribute to expatriate social
network theory by reframing how actors are con-
ceptualized. We identify three key actor charac-
teristics that constitute meaningful criteria for
which actors expatriates might most produc-
tively seek and receive support from, thereby
setting the stage for future research on how
these actor characteristics influence expatri-
ates’ network outcomes. Based on the actor char-
acteristics identified in our model, we challenge
the view that expatriates should build large and
culturally diverse networks to facilitate adjust-
ment (Wang & Kanungo, 2004), and instead we
suggest that adjustment benefits depend on the
extent to which actors in one’s network are able
and willing to provide the needed informational
and emotional support. This implies that expa-
triates should avoid fixating on intentionally
balancing their relationships between host
country nationals and peer expatriates, and
they should instead focus on approaching actors
who possess the underlying characteristics that
increase their ability and willingness to provide
valuable informational and emotional support.
A key actor characteristic for future research is
the actor’s CQ and its role in the tie formation
process. For instance, actors with greater CQ
may be more willing to support a culturally dis-
similar expatriate (in Stage 3) and may compen-
sate for expatriates with low CQ. Other disposi-
tional or contextual factors may also increase
actors’ motivation to provide expatriates with
specific types of support. For instance, highly
agreeable actors may be willing to provide emo-
tional support, while actors working interdepen-
dently with expatriates may be motivated to
provide work-related informational support.
Considering the major contributions of our
model to expatriate tie formation, a natural ex-
tension is to examine how the factors affecting
each stage of the process can ultimately affect
the configurations of expatriates’ social net-
works. We might expect more learning-oriented
and sociable expatriates to build larger infor-
mational and emotional support networks, and
more culturally intelligent expatriates to build
networks with greater cultural diversity. We
might also expect less culturally intelligent ex-
patriates to build denser support networks be-
cause of the greater cultural homogeneity of
their network ties. In contrast, more culturally
2010 Farh, Bartol, Shapiro, and Shin
intelligent expatriates may build networks that
exhibit subgroup-like patterns in which the den-
sity of ties may be high within culturally similar
cliques but low across culturally dissimilar sub-
groups. Culturally intelligent expatriates may
even act as brokers of structural holes between
two dense, culturally homogeneous subgroups,
allowing these expatriates to access large
amounts of novel information that either group
may not have about the other (Burt, 1992). Future
research may assess the support and adjust-
ment implications for expatriates who build
such network configurations.
For the sake of simplicity, we have considered
“adjustment” in its omnibus form, despite liter-
ature suggesting that adjustment is a tripartite
construct consisting of general (or cultural),
work, and interaction domains (Black & Ste-
phens, 1989). As such, future research may ex-
amine how the receipt of informational and
emotional support may be differentially impor-
tant for adjustment across the three domains (in
Stage 4). Certain types of adjustment, such as
work adjustment, may be facilitated fairly easily
by the receipt of work-related informational sup-
port. Surface-level aspects of general adjust-
ment, such as where to buy groceries or good
restaurants to eat at, may also be easily en-
hanced. Other aspects of living in the host coun-
try, such as norms restricting freedom for
women and lack of concern for cleanliness of
public spaces, may remain difficult to adjust to,
even with the receipt of relevant informational
support. Facilitating interactional adjustment
may also require a large amount of informa-
tional support in the form of repeated feedback,
since such iterative coaching is needed to
change one’s interpersonal style (Black & Men-
denhall, 1991). Overall, higher levels of emo-
tional support may be needed to help expatri-
ates overcome the frustrations associated with
those aspects of working, living, and interacting
in the host country that are particularly difficult
to adjust to.
Suggestions for Empirically Testing Our Model
Because our model is a stage model, the mea-
surement of the various expatriate and actor
characteristics in our model must be guided by
the interpersonal mechanisms driving a partic-
ular stage of the process. For instance, an expa-
triate’s individual dispositions and perceptions
449
of the context may be most important in moti-
vating the seeking of support (Stage 1), whereas
the expatriate’s perception of an actor’s charac-
teristics may be more critical when determining
which actor to contact for support (in Stage 2).
On the other hand, the actor’s actual character-
istics may be more relevant for determining
when the actor will be able and willing to help
(in Stage 3). Here also, the expatriate’s CQ may
be important in providing him or her with the
confidence to seek support from a culturally dis-
similar actor, while the actor’s perception of the
expatriate’s CQ may be more predictive of the
actor’s willingness to support a culturally dis-
similar expatriate. Importantly, it is the expatri-
ate’s perceptions of support that have the best
prospects of influencing adjustment (in Stage 4)
and, ultimately, solidifying potential network
connections (in Stage 5). Careful consideration
of such interpersonal mechanisms within and
across stages will allow studies to appropri-
ately reflect the mutuality of the tie formation
process.
Incorporating both the expatriate’s and actor’s
perspectives in the network formation process
would represent an important advancement in
the expatriate social network literature, since
existing studies have primarily focused on only
the expatriate’s perspective of how much sup-
port he or she receives from the actors in his or
her network (e.g., Johnson et al., 2003; Manev &
Stevenson, 2001; Wang & Kanungo, 2004). Cap-
turing only the expatriate’s side of the support
relationship, however, is insufficient in explain-
ing why ties to particular actors yield more or
less valuable support resources. Addressing
mutuality within a process model will also pro-
vide a more meaningful understanding of why
seemingly advantageous expatriate network
connections do not materialize or fail to facili-
tate adjustment—a potentially rich area of in-
quiry about which little is known.
Any full examination of a process model must
necessarily also incorporate longitudinal de-
signs. Tracking expatriates’ tie formation pro-
cesses, starting from their arrival in the host
country, will involve periodic measurements, as
well as input from the actors at appropriate
points. It also may be advantageous to track
expatriates’ uncertainty over time, perhaps
through growth curve modeling, to determine
the extent to which tie formation actually re-
duces uncertainty and the points at which it
450 Academy of Management Review
does so. We argued previously that expatriate
support seeking may begin shortly after an ex-
patriate’s arrival in the host country or, accord-
ing to the U-curve hypothesis, may occur most
intensively during a later culture shock period.
This would suggest that researchers hoping to
capture the onset of tie formation processes
must be cognizant of expatriates’ adjustment
trajectories.
Researchers employing a longitudinal per-
spective should also be aware of the differing
temporal dynamics associated with the forma-
tion of an informational versus emotional sup-
port tie. Although in Figure 1 the processes of tie
formation in each domain are depicted in paral-
lel, we might expect informational support ties
to form relatively quickly and to dissolve as
soon as the informational uncertainty is re-
solved or changes in nature (Nebus, 2006). In
contrast, emotional support ties that are based
on trust and affect may require more time to
develop and may remain stable over time. Thus,
researchers may need to adjust their window of
observation depending on the type of support
and tie of interest. Researchers may also employ
qualitative methods (such as diary or scenario
methods) to capture the range of interpersonal
events that lead to the formation and dissolution
of network ties over time (Chen & Peng, 2008).
Managerial Implications
Our model argues that expatriates’ adjust-
ment in the host country depends on both their
motivation and ability to seek support relation-
ships with the right actors, as well as their suc-
cess in persuading the actors they contact to act
as support providers. Across the five stages, our
model suggests actions organizations can un-
dertake to increase both parties’ motivation and
ability to engage in these adjustment-facilitat-
ing support processes.
To increase expatriates’ motivation to seek
support, we recommend that managers select
expatriates with high learning goal orientation
and sociability, since such expatriates are more
likely to proactively initiate support relation-
ships in the host country. Beyond selecting for
these dispositional tendencies, managers may
also manipulate contextual factors surrounding
international assignments. For instance, by
framing expatriate assignments as develop-
ment focused (Adler & Ghadar, 1990; Pucik, 1992),
July
managers may be able to increase expatriates’
motivation to learn and seek informational sup-
port while on the assignment. Additionally, it
may be possible to institute organizational
training that helps expatriates identify in ad-
vance areas of likely uncertainty for which they
will need to seek support in the host country.
To ensure that expatriates will actually seek
support, organizations should reduce the per-
ceived risk associated with support seeking by
creating a psychologically safe culture, since
asking for help can sometimes be interpreted as
a sign of weakness (Morrison, 2002). Socializa-
tion practices, whether collective or serial, may
also increase informal opportunities for expatri-
ates to build relationships with knowledgeable
and empathetic others. Alternatively, organiza-
tions may want to employ formal mentoring pro-
grams and ensure that the fit between the char-
acteristics of the mentor and mentee is most
conducive to the exchange of high-quality sup-
port. In particular, expatriates with low CQ may
need to be matched with more culturally similar
mentors to increase the expatriates’ comfort
with seeking and their likelihood of receiving
valuable support from their mentors.
When pairing an expatriate with a culturally
dissimilar mentor, organizations may consider
selecting an expatriate with high CQ because of
CQ’s importance in increasing the contacted ac-
tor’s motivation and ability to provide support.
When expatriate candidates with high CQ are
not available, managers can intervene by pro-
viding actors with formal or informal rewards
for supporting expatriates (Toh & DeNisi, 2007)
and by providing expatriates and actors with
cross-cultural training to increase mutual un-
derstanding and acceptance of cultural differ-
ences. Managers can also encourage expatri-
ates to reciprocate the assistance they receive
from actors, thereby facilitating the formation of
mutually benefiting relationships.
Finally, to increase expatriates’ ability to ab-
sorb and internalize the host country–related in-
formation they receive, organizations can select
expatriates who possess some existing knowl-
edge of the host country, since common knowl-
edge can facilitate the learning of new concepts
(Reagans & McEvily, 2003). Organizations can
also provide cross-cultural training to expatri-
ates to increase their acceptance and internal-
ization of host country norms.
2010 Farh, Bartol, Shapiro, and Shin
CONCLUSION
How expatriates build support ties in the host
country is a complex phenomenon. To open this
black box, we have offered a five-stage process
model that examines how various factors com-
bine to influence the types of relationships ex-
patriates form. We hope that our model sparks
future research in this area. Forging ahead on
this path will enrich our understanding of the
role of networks, not only as a critical mecha-
nism by which expatriates adjust but also as a
means of achieving successful outcomes in in-
ternational and cross-cultural work settings.
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Crystal I. C. Farh (cfarh@rhsmith.umd.edu) is a doctoral candidate in organizational

behavior at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. Her
research interests include managing cross-cultural interfaces, emotional intelligence,
and employee voice and innovation.

Kathryn M. Bartol (kbartol@rhsmith.umd.edu) is the Robert H. Smith Professor of

Management and Organization at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School
of Business. She received her Ph.D. in organizational behavior and human resource
management from Michigan State University. Her research centers on leadership,
knowledge creation and sharing, networks, and information technology implications
for management and organizations.

Debra L. Shapiro (dshapiro@rhsmith.umd.edu) is the Clarice Smith Professor of Man-

agement and director of Ph.D. programs at the University of Maryland’s Robert H.
Smith School of Business. She received her Ph.D. from Northwestern University. Her
research regards strategies for managing various types of work-related conflicts (such
as perceived injustice or resistance to management) and cross-cultural challenges
associated with these dynamics.

Jiseon Shin (jishin@rhsmith.umd.edu) is a doctoral candidate in organizational be-

havior at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. Her re-
search interests include multinational teams, organizational change, and leadership.
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