Cross-Cultural Adjustment: A Study Of Indian Expatriates Working In Thailand

Abstract

Thailand is an emerging economy in Southeast
Asia and is seen as an attractive destination for foreign
investment. This has led to an increasing number of
expatriates coming on work assignments to Thailand. Most
studies on cross-cultural adjustment thus far have
employed expatriates from western countries as samples
whereas studies on Indian expatriates’ adjustment are
limited. The purpose of this paper is to examine crucial
antecedents of cross-cultural adjustment of Indian
expatriates working in Thailand. Specifically the study
focuses on the relationship between five independent
variables, namely, job satisfaction, family support,
learning orientation, organization socialization, crosscultural
training and the dependent variable, crosscultural
adjustment. The study employed quantitative
research design with a self-administered questionnaire
survey to collect data from 334 Indian expatriates working
in multinational and privately-owned organizations in
Thailand. Pearson Correlation Coefficient and Multiple
Regression as statistical tools to analyze the data from the
survey. The findings revealed that job satisfaction is the
strongest predictor of cross-cultural adjustment of Indian
expatriates followed by family support. Organizations
employing Indian expatriates in Thailand need to have
effective human resource policies and practices for
socialization, communication and training so as to ensure
smoother adjustment and successful completion of the
assignment on the part of these expatriates.