Cultural distance and expatriate job satisfaction

Despite its strong impact in domestic settings on job performance, organizational commitment, stress, and turnover intentions, job satisfaction has received little attention in the literature on expatriates. This paper analyzes the predictors of job satisfaction that may arise in an expatriate context. Drawing on the cultural distance perspective, we propose that the national cultural distance, supervisor's nationality, host-country language proficiency, expatriate type, and company nationality are important determinants of expatriate job satisfaction. Survey results from 148 expatriates in Japan demonstrate that national cultural distance, supervisor's nationality, and expatriate type have a statistically significant influence on expatriate job satisfaction. Theoretical and practical implications are provided.

Research highlights▶ Cultural distance perspective helps explain expatriate job satisfaction. ▶ National cultural distance decreases expatriate job satisfaction. ▶ Expatriates show lower job satisfaction under host-country supervisors. ▶ Self-initiated expatriates show lower job satisfaction.