IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/iburev/v25y2016i5p1030-1042.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Affective networks, informal ties, and the limits of expatriate effectiveness

Author

Listed:
  • Horak, Sven
  • Yang, Inju

Abstract

Expatriate effectiveness research has so far rarely taken into account the influence of social networks on expatriate performance and adjustment. Likewise, antecedents of social networks remain poorly understood. We fill this research gap by exploring the situation of expatriates in South Korea. Based on expert interview data, we have discovered seven antecedents critical to expatriate effectiveness. Most antecedents hinder expatriate effectiveness due to the expatriates’ inability to become a part of so-called Yongo networks, a distinctive type of social tie in South Korea that is to a great extent determined by birth. As a consequence, it is in particular expatriates’ relational performance and interaction adjustment that is negatively influenced by Yongo. Based on the South Korean case, this study advises future research to more deeply study the nature and characteristics of the local social context, in particular affective ties, and extend research on expatriate effectiveness in this important dimension. Finally, we discuss practical implications important for multinational corporations and provide suggestions on how to better cope with exclusive informal social networks while on an assignment abroad.

Suggested Citation

  • Horak, Sven & Yang, Inju, 2016. "Affective networks, informal ties, and the limits of expatriate effectiveness," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 1030-1042.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:25:y:2016:i:5:p:1030-1042
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ibusrev.2016.01.006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969593116300063
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2016.01.006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sven Horak, 2014. "Antecedents and characteristics of informal relation-based networks in Korea: Yongo , Yonjul and Inmaek," Asia Pacific Business Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(1), pages 78-108, January.
    2. Chen, Ming-Huei & Chang, Yu-Yu & Lee, Chia-Yu, 2015. "Creative entrepreneurs' guanxi networks and success: Information and resource," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(4), pages 900-905.
    3. Mike W Peng & Denis Y L Wang & Yi Jiang, 2008. "An institution-based view of international business strategy: a focus on emerging economies," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 39(5), pages 920-936, July.
    4. Margaret A Shaffer & David A Harrison & K Matthew Gilley, 1999. "Dimensions, Determinants, and Differences in the Expatriate Adjustment Process," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 30(3), pages 557-581, September.
    5. J Stewart Black, 1988. "Work Role Transitions: A Study of American Expatriate Managers in Japan," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 19(2), pages 277-294, June.
    6. Fan, Ying, 2002. "Questioning guanxi: definition, classification and implications," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 11(5), pages 543-561, October.
    7. Au, Kevin Y. & Fukuda, John, 2002. "Boundary spanning behaviors of expatriates," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 285-296, January.
    8. Harzing, Anne-Wil, 2001. "Of bears, bumble-bees, and spiders: the role of expatriates in controlling foreign subsidiaries," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 366-379, January.
    9. Abosag, Ibrahim & Lee, Joong-Woo, 2013. "The formation of trust and commitment in business relationships in the Middle East: Understanding Et-Moone relationships," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 602-614.
    10. Mike W Peng & Rabi S Bhagat & Sea-Jin Chang, 2010. "Asia and global business," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 41(3), pages 373-376, April.
    11. Seung Ho Park & Yadong Luo, 2001. "Guanxi and organizational dynamics: organizational networking in Chinese firms," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(5), pages 455-477, May.
    12. Peltokorpi, Vesa & Froese, Fabian, 2014. "Expatriate personality and cultural fit: The moderating role of host country context on job satisfaction," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 293-302.
    13. Peter Li, 2007. "Social tie, social capital, and social behavior: Toward an integrative model of informal exchange," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 227-246, June.
    14. Tsang, Eric W. K., 1999. "The knowledge transfer and learning aspects of international HRM: an empirical study of Singapore MNCs," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 8(5-6), pages 591-609, October.
    15. Thomas Hippler & Paula Caligiuri & Johanna Johnson, 2014. "Revisiting the Construct of Expatriate Adjustment," International Studies of Management & Organization, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(3), pages 8-24, January.
    16. Peter Ping Li & Kwok Leung & Chao C. Chen & Jar-Der Luo, 2012. "Indigenous Research on Chinese Management: What and How," Management and Organization Review, The International Association for Chinese Management Research, vol. 8(1), pages 7-24, March.
    17. Gao, Hongzhi & Knight, John G. & Yang, Zhilin & Ballantyne, David, 2014. "Toward a gatekeeping perspective of insider–outsider relationship development in China," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 312-320.
    18. Wang, Xiaoyun & Nayir, Dilek Zamantili, 2006. "How and when is social networking important? Comparing European expatriate adjustment in China and Turkey," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 12(4), pages 449-472, December.
    19. Nealia S Bruning & Karan Sonpar & Xiaoyun Wang, 2012. "Host-country national networks and expatriate effectiveness: A mixed-methods study," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 43(4), pages 444-450, May.
    20. Bruce Kogut & Udo Zander, 1993. "Knowledge of the Firm and the Evolutionary Theory of the Multinational Corporation," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 24(4), pages 625-645, December.
    21. Choi, Soon-Gwon & Johanson, Jan, 2012. "Knowledge translation through expatriates in international knowledge transfer," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(6), pages 1148-1157.
    22. Inju Yang, 2006. "Jeong exchange and collective leadership in Korean organizations," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 23(3), pages 283-298, September.
    23. Kim, Kwanghyun & Slocum Jr., John W., 2008. "Individual differences and expatriate assignment effectiveness: The case of U.S.-based Korean expatriates," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 43(1), pages 109-126, January.
    24. Mahajan, Ashish & Toh, Soo Min, 2014. "Facilitating expatriate adjustment: The role of advice-seeking from host country nationals," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 476-487.
    25. Gilbert, David, 2003. "Strategic Decision-Making in Japanese Trading Companies: Case Studies of Information Search Activities," Journal of Management & Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 9(1), pages 27-41, January.
    26. Li, Peter Ping & Leung, Kwok & Chen, Chao C. & Luo, Jar-Der, 2012. "Indigenous Research on Chinese Management: What and How," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(1), pages 7-24, March.
    27. Buckley, Peter J. & Clegg, Jeremy & Tan, Hui, 2006. "Cultural awareness in knowledge transfer to China--The role of guanxi and mianzi," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 275-288, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Guo, Ying & Rammal, Hussain Gulzar & Pereira, Vijay, 2021. "Am I ‘In or Out’? A social identity approach to studying expatriates’ social networks and adjustment in a host country context," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 558-566.
    2. Inju Yang & Sven Horak, 2019. "Emotions, indigenous affective ties, and social network theory—The case of South Korea," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 36(2), pages 395-414, June.
    3. Shen, Jie & Wajeeh-ul-Husnain, Syed & Kang, Haiying & Jin, Quan, 2021. "Effect of outgroup social categorization by host-country nationals on expatriate premature return intention and buffering effect of mentoring," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(2).
    4. Amal M. Jawad, 2021. "Managing International Assignments (Expatriates and Inpatriates): Effect of Cultural Diversity," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 15(12), pages 1-78, July.
    5. Kong, Lingshuang & Ciabuschi, Francesco & Martín Martín, Oscar, 2018. "Expatriate managers' relationships and reverse knowledge transfer within emerging market MNCs: The mediating role of subsidiary willingness," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 216-229.
    6. Sven Horak & Yuliani Suseno, 2023. "Informal Networks, Informal Institutions, and Social Exclusion in the Workplace: Insights from Subsidiaries of Multinational Corporations in Korea," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 186(3), pages 633-655, September.
    7. Arelys López-Concepción & Ana Gil-Lacruz & Isabel Saz-Gil & Víctor Bazán-Monasterio, 2022. "Social Well-Being for a Sustainable Future: The Influence of Trust in Big Business and Banks on Perceptions of Technological Development from a Life Satisfaction Perspective in Latin America," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-14, December.
    8. Kubovcikova, Annamaria & van Bakel, Marian, 2022. "Social support abroad: How do self-initiated expatriates gain support through their social networks?," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(1).
    9. Langinier, Hélène & Pündrich, Aline Pereira & Ariss, Akram Al, 2024. "Understanding professional migrant women’s successful career progression within the Big Four in Luxembourg," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(1).
    10. Sven Horak & Markus Taube & Inju Yang & Katja Restel, 2019. "Two not of a kind: Social network theory and informal social networks in East Asia," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 36(2), pages 349-372, June.
    11. Yamao, Sachiko & Yoshikawa, Toru & Choi, Daejeong & Toh, Soo Min, 2020. "When do host country nationals help expatriates? The roles of identification with the multinational enterprise and career development support by the subsidiary," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 26(3).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Caligiuri, Paula & Bonache, Jaime, 2016. "Evolving and enduring challenges in global mobility," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 127-141.
    2. Sven Horak & Markus Taube, 2016. "Same but different? Similarities and fundamental differences of informal social networks in China (guanxi) and Korea (yongo)," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 33(3), pages 595-616, September.
    3. Guo, Ying & Rammal, Hussain G. & Benson, John & Zhu, Ying & Dowling, Peter J., 2018. "Interpersonal relations in China: Expatriates’ perspective on the development and use of guanxi," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 455-464.
    4. Urzelai, Berrbizne & Puig, Francisco, 2019. "Developing international social capital: The role of communities of practice and clustering," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 28(2), pages 209-221.
    5. Sebastian Stoermer & Samuel Davies & Fabian Jintae Froese, 2021. "The influence of expatriate cultural intelligence on organizational embeddedness and knowledge sharing: The moderating effects of host country context," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(3), pages 432-453, April.
    6. Murray, Janet Y. & Fu, Frank Q., 2016. "Strategic guanxi orientation: How to manage distribution channels in China?," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 22(1), pages 1-16.
    7. Gao, Hongzhi & Knight, John G. & Yang, Zhilin & Ballantyne, David, 2014. "Toward a gatekeeping perspective of insider–outsider relationship development in China," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(3), pages 312-320.
    8. Bader, Benjamin & Schuster, Tassilo, 2015. "Expatriate Social Networks in Terrorism-Endangered Countries: An Empirical Analysis in Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 21(1), pages 63-77.
    9. Meyer Susanne, 2012. "The world’s factory and informal ties – organisation of firm networks in the electronics industry in the Greater Pearl River Delta, China," ZFW – Advances in Economic Geography, De Gruyter, vol. 56(1-2), pages 9-24, October.
    10. Sven Horak, 2018. "Join In or Opt Out? A Normative–Ethical Analysis of Affective Ties and Networks in South Korea," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 149(1), pages 207-220, April.
    11. Guttormsen, David S.A., 2018. "Does the ‘non-traditional expatriate’ exist? A critical exploration of new expatriation categories," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 233-244.
    12. Guo, Ying & Rammal, Hussain Gulzar & Pereira, Vijay, 2021. "Am I ‘In or Out’? A social identity approach to studying expatriates’ social networks and adjustment in a host country context," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 136(C), pages 558-566.
    13. Evans Sokro & Soma Pillay, 2020. "Host Country Nationals’ Attitudes, Social Support and Willingness to Work with Expatriates," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 21(5), pages 1184-1199, October.
    14. Muhammad Noman & Muhammad Safdar Sial & Talles Vianna Brugni & Jinsoo Hwang & Muhammad Yaseen Bhutto & Thai Hong Thuy Khanh, 2020. "Determining the Challenges Encountered by Chinese Expatriates in Pakistan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-16, February.
    15. Duvivier, Florence & Peeters, Carine & Harzing, Anne-Wil, 2019. "Not all international assignments are created equal: HQ-subsidiary knowledge transfer patterns across types of assignments and types of knowledge," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 54(3), pages 181-190.
    16. Lee, Voon-Hsien & Ooi, Keng-Boon & Chong, Alain Yee-Loong & Sohal, Amrik, 2018. "The effects of supply chain management on technological innovation: The mediating role of guanxi," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 15-29.
    17. Sven Horak & Markus Taube & Inju Yang & Katja Restel, 2019. "Two not of a kind: Social network theory and informal social networks in East Asia," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 36(2), pages 349-372, June.
    18. Hom, Peter W. & Xiao, Zhixing, 2011. "Embedding social networks: How guanxi ties reinforce Chinese employees’ retention," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 116(2), pages 188-202.
    19. Peter Ping Li & Tomoki Sekiguchi & Kevin Zhou, 2016. "The emerging research on indigenous management in Asia," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 33(3), pages 583-594, September.
    20. Pintar Rok & Martins Jorge Tiago & Bernik Mojca, 2017. "Analysis of Expatriation Process in a Slovenian Company," Organizacija, Sciendo, vol. 50(1), pages 63-79, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:iburev:v:25:y:2016:i:5:p:1030-1042. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/133/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.