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01-12-2016 | Research Article

Career Anchors and Cross-Cultural Adjustment Among Expatriates in a Non-Profit Organization

Authors: Heidi Wechtler, Alexei Koveshnikov, Cécile Dejoux

Published in: Management International Review | Issue 2/2017

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Abstract

Based on a sample of 189 expatriate managers working for a non-profit organization (NPO), we pursue two objectives in this paper. First, we address the lack of knowledge on expatriates working in the non-profit sector by exploring their dominant career anchors. Our analysis reveals that the dominant anchors are internationalism, dedication to a cause, and lifestyle. Second, we draw on person-environment fit theory to theorize and test the previously unexplored linkages between expatriates’ career anchors and cross-cultural adjustment (CCA). Our analysis shows that different career anchors are positively associated with different dimensions of CCA: autonomy, security, dedication to a cause, and pure challenge with general living adjustment; dedication to a cause, pure challenge, and internationalism with interactional adjustment; and functional competence, managerial competence, pure challenge, and internationalism with work adjustment. Overall, the study is one of the first attempts to explore career anchors and their linkages to CCA among expatriates in NPOs.

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Title: Career Anchors and Cross-Cultural Adjustment Among Expatriates in a Non-Profit Organization
Authors: Heidi Wechtler
Alexei Koveshnikov
Cécile Dejoux
Publication date: 01-12-2016
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: Management International Review / Issue 2/2017
Print ISSN: 0938-8249
Electronic ISSN: 1861-8901
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11575-016-0307-6

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