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The Importance of Relationship Quality: Maximizing the Impact of Expatriate Contact with a Local Host

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: Contact between expatriates and a local host-a specific type of peer mentoring-has been shown to result in benefits to adjustment, social support, and intercultural competence. This longitudinal study examines the role of the quality of this contact. Expatriates in the Netherlands were randomly divided into an experimental group (N = 33) in which 21 participants had developed high-quality contact with their host, and a control group (N = 32) that had no host. The results suggest the higher the quality of the contact, the more benefit the expatriate experienced. Moreover, expatriates with low-quality contact did not experience a detrimental effect. Theoretical and practical implications for mentoring in general, and peer mentoring of expatriates specifically, are discussed. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Source: Thunderbird International Business Review

DOI: 10.1002/tie.21740

Authors: Marian van Bakel, Marinel Gerritsen, Jan Pieter van Oudenhoven

Institutions: University of Southern Denmark, Radboud University Nijmegen, University of Groningen

Language: English

Topic: International Student and Expatriate Challenges

Subfield: Communication

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

OpenAlex ID: W1916668951

FWCI: 6.434

Cites: 35

Cited by: 23

Related to: 10