Exploring the Success Factors of Malaysian Expatriate ... … · class managers in the...

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International Journal of Education and Knowledge Management (IJEKM)

https://rpajournals.com/ijekm

IJEKM International Journal of Education and Knowledge Management (IJEKM)

Journal Homepage: https://rpajournals.com/ijekm

Exploring the Success Factors of Malaysian Expatriate Business

Managers in Oman

Ahmad Shazeer Mohamed Thaheer1 Abdul Rahman Abdul Rahim2 Nuryusmawati Mohd Yusof3 Syed Ashrene Syed Omar4

Lisa Ashiqin Rustam5 Department of International Business

Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Malaysia

Abstract

*Corresponding author: Ahmad Shazeer Mohamed Thaheer; Email: [email protected]

Introduction

To be able to effectively compete against major global competitors, international firms need world class managers in the international marketplace. Human resource managements (HRM) and human resources itself have been identified crucial for sustaining international business growth and as a key to international business success (Mendenhall, Black, Jensen and Gregersen, 2003; Haris, Brewster & Sparrow, 2003). Due to the growing importance of effective International Human Resource Management (IHRM), it has been suggested that Human Resource Management should be linked more closely to multinational corporation’s (MNC) global business strategies (Mendenhall et al, 2003; Harris et al, 2003; Sparrow, Brewster & Harris, 2004). Expatriate assignments thus have been identified for playing a vital role in developing global manager competencies (Mendenhall et al, 2003; Harris et al, 2003; Dowling & Welch, 2004). Therefore, expatriate assignments should be managed strategically as part of total corporate strategy.

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International Journal of Education and Knowledge Management (IJEKM) 2(4): 1-13 (2019) Print ISSN: 2616-5198 Online ISSN: 2616-4698

This research was conducted for the purpose of examining the success factors of Malaysian expatriate business managers in Oman through their coping strategies (problem-focused and symptom-focused) and international adjustment (sociocultural and psychological adjustment). This research is important as very few studies had been conducted in examining the success factor for Malaysian expatriate managers. This exploratory study was done on a sample of 180 respondents from different companies located in Oman using questionnaire. Data was collected by means of both self-administrated and subordinate rating. Results show that only sociocultural adjustment (motivation to perform, satisfaction with supervision, commitment to work, and unit performance) and psychological adjustment (Turning to Religion) influence Malaysian expatriate success. The findings are crucial in identifying and understanding what is required for expatriates to be successful in their international job. Keywords: Coping Strategies (problem-focused and symptom-focused), International Adjustment (Sociocultural and Psychological Adjustment), Expatriate Success.

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Expatriate assignments or also known as international assignments can be extremely challenging and costly to both the expatriate and the assigning organization. Expenditure on each international assignment has been estimated as ranging from US $300,000 to $1 million per annum (Selmer, 2001). These include the direct cost of salary, training, travel and relocation expenses as well as perhaps the possibly more significant indirect costs of poor performance such as damaged relations with host country organisations, loss of market share (Collings et al, 2007), loss or reputation, loss of business or subsequent recruitment difficulties (Black & Gregersen, 1990). Research has shown that expatriate workers often lack the necessary cultural awareness and realistic job previews for their assignments, contributing to the high failure rate of expatriate assignments (Caligiuri, 2003; Earley & Mosakowski, 2004; Tung, 1998). Failure is defined as the expatriate not completing the assigned work and returning to the home country prior to the agreed upon international assignment duration. In the case of failures assignments, the lost may be astounding. Various estimates have ranged between US$ 150,000 to US$ 200,000 for each expatriate failure (Punnet, 1997). Copeland and Griggs (1988) estimated that US firms lost US$ 2 billion a year in direct cost as a result of failure and the harm to company reputation. However, regardless of the associated risks, MNC still continue sending expatriates abroad, not only for traditional control and expertise reasons, but also to facilitate entry into new markets, or to develop international management competencies. International Human Resource Management (IHRM) – Petroleum National In the Malaysian context, International Human Resource Management (IHRM) is also become more and more important as Malaysia has been involved in the international business extensively for the past decades. The number of Malaysian firms going global has increased in recent years due to the rapid growth of internationalization or globalization. According to a study conducted by Mehden (2007), Petroleum National (Petronas) being one of the national oil company with an international vision. While the company has been in existence for only about thirty years, it has transformed itself radically during this period. In the first half of its life, it was learning the ropes of the petroleum business and concentrating primarily upon upstream operations with limited downstream activated. In the following fifteen plus years, it expanded its domestic activities into downstream operations including retail business and petrochemicals, entered into overseas operations in some 35 countries, developed its role as a dominant player in oil and gas shipping, and helped finance a series of mega projects in Malaysia.

The above scenario has indicated that International Human Resource Management is becoming more important in the Malaysian context. With the growing numbers of foreign companies and Malaysian multinationals had hired Malaysian for international assignments, the performance of expatriates has thus become important to the success of MNC strategy implementation (Selmer 2006). As a result, factors affecting expatriate success and failure in foreign assignments (Breiden, Mohr & Mirza, 2006) have attracted the attention of many HRM researchers (Haile, Jones, Emmanuel 2010; Caligiuri, 1997).

Over the recent years, the Middle East has come to symbolise a region for expats looking for greater financial rewards and new opportunities (Explorer 2012). With 200 million people living abroad, the 2010 census indicated that the total expatriate population in Oman itself was 816,000 or 29.4% of the country’s population. Oman has attracted many migrants due to the combination of a relatively small Omani population and a fast-growing oil-driven economy. Most migrants are males from India (465,660 for both sexes), Bangladesh (107,125) or Pakistan (84.658). Female migrant workers are mainly from Indonesia (25,300), the Philippines (15,651) or Sri Lanka (10,178). Migrants from Arab countries account for 68,986 migrants and other Asian countries for 12,939 migrants. There were 8,541 migrants from Europe, 1,540 from the United States and 15,565 from other countries. According to the Malaysian Embassy in Oman (2012), there are approximately 700 registered Malaysian currently living in Oman while 300 of them are expatriates working in Oman.

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Due to the large number of Malaysian expatriates located in Oman, it is therefore logical to study the success level of these expatriates. The objective of this research are to examine whether Malaysian expatriate success are highly influenced by their coping strategies and international adjustment. The objective of this study is to examine the coping mechanisms of Malaysian expatriate managers in Sultanate of Oman and to test whether the expatriates coping strategies and international adjustments influence expatriates assignments success criteria. With expanding global competition and the growing number of international assignees, it is important to better understand why some expatriates are more successful than others in their foreign work assignments. Having the ability to manage global assignments effectively is crucial in competing internationally.

The study is restricted to Malaysian expatriates because there are very limited studies (Kong, 2009; Zainol, & Abdul Aziz, 2010) investigating Malaysian expatriates. Past literatures has indicated that studies conducted on expatriates related issues are represented by samples of employees from the developed countries (Selmer, 2006; Chi & Yeh 2006; Caligiuri, 1997). It should therefore be emphasised that the difference in culture may affect employees’ attitude and behaviour differently (Hofstede, 1997). As a result of such differences, the success level of Malaysian expatriates may be perceived differently in the eyes of the host country’s employees. Hence, there is a great need to understand the extent of Malaysian expatriates success. By doing so, this study aims to examine whether Malaysian expatriate success are highly influenced by their coping strategies and international adjustment. Problem Statement

Expatriations have been highly investigated by scholars due to its impact on organizational well-being in foreign countries. Most research study had been conducted in evaluating expatriates success involved Western Expatriates (Gregersen & Mendenhall, 1992; Caligiuri, 1997; Black, Shim & Paprock, 2002; Neill, J., 2008; Islam, Jantan, Chong, & Hashim, 2018). There are very limited studies (Kong, 2009; Awang Shuib, Malie & Mohd Issa, 2007) conducted which focused on the success of Malaysian expatriates during international assignment. Kong (2009) investigated the relationship between role novelty, role ambiguity, role conflict, role overload, role discretion, previous overseas working experience, pre-departure knowledge, family general adjustment and interaction with host nationals with Malaysian expatriates performances. In her study, her samples are International companies located in Malaysia who are heavily involved in overseas trading and/or foreign subsidiaries incorporated. Out of the 30 companies selected, 25 are Malaysian public listed companies. Awang Shuib, Malie & Mohd Issa (2007) on the other hand, investigated the relationship between expatriate’s selection process, adaptability, sensitivity to different cultures, ability to work in international teams and language skills with expatriates success factors. Their samples are Malaysian Manufacturing companies located in Malaysia who are heavily involved in expatriation activities.

Majority of past researches investigating the relationship between coping strategies, international adjustment and expatriates success were conducted by western scholars. Tung (1998) investigated the relationship between coping strategies and expatriates success among 409 American expatriates on assignments to 51 countries around the world. Feldman & Thomas (1992) also investigate the relationship between similar variable among 118 expatriates in Saudi Arabia, Europe, South America, and Japan. It can be seen that studies examining the relationship of coping and adjustment mechanisms with expatriates success has not been conducted for Malaysian expatriates. Additionally, no studies have been conducted on Malaysian expatriate success in Oman. Hence, this study deemed necessary. Moreover, majority of the studies regarding expatriates are based on self-administered surveys whereas in this research, the researcher decided to use subordinate ratings. Therefore, this study will examine the relationship of coping strategies and international adjustment on Malaysian expatriates success. More specifically, the study will examine the influence of problem-focused coping, symptom-focused coping, psychological adjustment and sociocultural

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adjustment on Malaysian expatriates success in Oman. The expatriates’ successes are measured by motivation, unit performance, commitment and satisfaction.

Research Objectives The main objective of this study is to investigate the influence of coping strategies and international adjustment has on expatriates’ success. Coping strategies consist of two dimensions which are problem-focused and symptom-focused coping, while international adjustment also has two dimensions which are sociocultural and psychological adjustment. Specifically, the objectives of this study are: 1. To investigate the relationship between problems-focused coping strategies and expatriate

success (motivation, unit performance, commitment and satisfaction). 2. To investigate the relationship between symptoms-focused coping strategies and expatriate

success (motivation, unit performance, commitment and satisfaction). 3. To investigate the relationship between socio-cultural adjustment and expatriate success

(motivation, unit performance, commitment and satisfaction). 4. To investigate the relationship between psychological adjustment and expatriate success

(motivation, unit performance, commitment and satisfaction).

Literature Review Dependent variables Expatriates Success In the study conducted by Avril and Magnini (2007), they have identified that a holistic selection, training, and organisational support approach are required to enhance the odds of the expatriates’ success. The approach consist variables such as the expatriate’s family status, emotional intelligence, dietary and exercise habits, and his/her learning orientation. Although no quantitative research has been done by the researchers, they explained how the importance of the holistic approach to expatriate selection, training, and organisational support should be employed by multinational hotel corporations. In another study conducted by Templer (2010), he measured expatriates success through the influence of expatriate manager’s personal attributes. Personal attributes was measured by job knowledge, relational leadership skills, and cultural openness and adaptability. The results revealed that all three personal attributes were individually related to the success criteria. The level of adjustment has also been found to have an influence on expatriates’ success (Smart, 2001), where adjustments were measured by pre-departure, preparation, on-arrival and continued support. In the study, success of an expatriate assignment was formed through the understanding that success was achieved through satisfaction of three key areas: professional, personal and reward. Result of their study also showed that adjustment is a key attribute pivotal to the success of an expatriate assignment in Singapore. Although all the three stages of expatriation were found significant to the success of an assignment, on-arrival support was the most significant in assisting adjustment, with inadequate adjustment correlated with expatriate failure. Lee and Sukoco (2008) have also conducted a study measuring expatriates success. Results reveal that expatriates’ personality has direct effects on perceived adjustment and operational capability. The expatriates’ operational capability was found to be a mediating variable for both expatriates’ personality and adjustment on performance. Independent variables Coping Strategies The coping concept refers to an individual’s cognitive and behavioural efforts to manage specific external and/or internal demands that are appraised as taxing or exceeding the person’s resources

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(Lazarus & Folkman, 1984). Lazarus et al. (1984) identified two types of coping strategies; they are problem focused coping and symptom focused coping. Empirical evidences (Folkman & Lazarus, 1980; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984; Pearlin & Schooler, 1978) demonstrated that, problems and symptom focused coping strategies are adopted to handle stressful situations, and thus influence expatriates success in international assignments. Coping strategies have been defined in several different terms. Long et al. (1992) used the term coping strategies as engagement vs. disengagement. On the other hand, Billings and Moos (1981) use the terminology approach vs. avoidance strategies. The term engagement (Long et al., 1992) and approach (Billings & Moos, 1981) are similar with the term problem-focused coping (Folkman & Lazarus, 1980). This is where the individual would alter the troubled person-environment relation causing the distress by either changing the situation or approach the problem. Similar goes to disengagement (Long et al, 1992) and avoidance (Billings & Moos, 1981). These terms has the same definition as symptom-focused coping (Folkmand et al. 1980) where individuals would attempts to minimise anxiety by physically or mentally withdrawing from the situation or avoiding the problem. International Adjustment International adjustment is when an individual leaves a familiar setting and enters an unfamiliar one. Because the new setting is unfamiliar, it upsets old routines and creates psychological uncertainty. Based on past studies, (Searle & Ward, 1990; Ward & Kennedy, 1992; Ward & Searle, 1991), there are two dimensions under international adjustment; psychological and sociocultural adjustment. Although these notions are conceptually interrelated, they refer to different phenomena. Psychological adjustment deals with subjective well-being or emotional satisfaction whereas sociocultural adjustment related to culture-specific skills, the ability to negotiate with the host culture (Ward & Chang, 1997; Ward & Kennedy, 1996). This distinction is compatible with behavioural and attitudinal acculturation as discussed by Jun et al, 1997. They suggest that behavioural changes (sociocultural) may have to be adopted involuntary due to existing circumstances, while attitudinal changes (psychological) are more likely to be more voluntary. Furnham and Bochner (1986) proposed that the expatriates do not necessarily have to undergo a basic shift in deeply held values to conform to a new set of cultural norms abroad. It is already sufficient by learning the foreign language, though one does not have to be particularly fluent at it. Black et al. (1991) proposed that the degree of cross-cultural adjustment should be treated as a multidimensional concept rather than a unitary phenomenon. The model for sociocultural adjustment acknowledges three dimension of adjustment; general adjustment, work adjustment and interaction adjustment. This theoretical framework of sociocultural adjustment has been supported and validated by a number of researcher (Black & Gregerson, 1990, 1991; Black & Stephens, 1989) and was found to be a good fit for this study. Based on the discussion of the studied variables from the literature, the theoretical framework was developed as shown in Figure 1.

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Theoretical Framework

Figure 1: A model of coping strategies and international adjustment with expatriate success

Research Methodology This study is exploratory in nature, whereby it aims to identify the correlation between the independent variables and dependent variables. The study is conducted for the purpose of identifying whether coping strategies and international adjustments will influence expatriates’ success with overseas assignments. The survey questionnaires were distributed to 300 Malaysian expatriates based on those who registered themselves with the Malaysian Embassy in Oman. The questionnaire consists of both open-ended and close-ended questions. Open-ended questions are only done in the demographic section in the event that the answers are not listed in the questionnaire. The questionnaires were distributed via e-mail. The respondents were given 10 days to complete the questionnaire and return. Measurements Independent variables International Adjustment consists of two dimensions: Sociocultural adjustment and Psychological Adjustment. Sociocultural adjustment is measured by a scale developed by Black (1988) and Black and Stephens (1989) with three subscales of ‘Work roles’, ‘Interacting with host nationals’, and ‘The general cultural and everyday life’. The researcher used an 11-item scales developed by Torbion (1982) with options from (1) ‘strongly not adjusted’ to (7) ‘strongly adjusted’ in response to the question to what degree the respondents were adjusted or not adjusted. Furthermore, psychological adjustment was measured using the 12-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) developed by Goldberg, 1972. The item focus on various aspects of respondents’ psychological disposition, for example, problem with sleep (Have you recently lost much sleep over worry?). For the scoring, a 7-point Likert scale was used. Higher score indicated lower psychological well-being. Coping mechanisms were measured by a 14-item instrument developed by Dunbar, 1993, with response option ranging from (1) ‘I don’t this all the time’ to (7) ‘I do this all the time’. The scale contained items implying both problem and symptom focused coping mechanisms. Factor analysis with varimax rotation suggested a structure of four factors, but one two-item factor was dropped due to lack of internal conceptual coherence and unacceptably low reliability.

Coping Strategies • Problem-Focused • Symptom-Focused

International Adjustment • Sociocultural • Psychological

Expatriate Success Factors • Motivation • Commitment • Satisfaction • Unit Performance

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Dependant variables Expatriate success factors are measure by the ability of the leaders to influence their followers based on the following dimensions – satisfaction with leadership, commitment to work for the leader, motivation to perform under the leader, and performance of the unit as compared to other units in the organisation both qualitatively and quantitatively. A 7-point Likert scale was being used with response option ranging from (1) ‘strongly disagree’ to (7) ‘strongly agree’. Subordinate satisfaction with the leader was measure with three items from the Job Diagnostic Survey (Hackman & Oldman, 1980). For example: ‘I am satisfied with the overall quality of supervision I receive in my work’. Subordinate commitment was measured with the affective commitment scales developed by Allen and Myer, 1990. The affective scale was used to provide a specific measure of the employees’ desire to remain with the superior rather than a need to do so. For example: ‘I enjoy discussing my organisation with people outside it’. Subordinate work motivation was measured with three items from the MLQ that assess subordinate willingness to exert extra motivation as a result of the leader’s influence. For example: ‘my leader increases my willingness to try harder’. Task, and contextual performance were measured using items adapted from Borman and Motowidlo (1993). For example: ‘in comparison to others, my superior is very effective in supporting and encouraging a coworker with a problem’. Analysis and Interpretation of Data Respondents Profile Table 1 elaborates the respondents’ background of expatriates working in Oman. As previously mentioned, out of 300 Malaysian expatriates currently employed in Oman, the researcher managed to receive 6% response rate (50 respondents) where only 30 are usable. The sample showed that 81.9% of the respondents are male while 18.1% are female respondents, all of which are 100% Malaysian. Majority of the respondents (91.3%) are married with a mean age of 3.43 which means the mean age ranges from 36–45 years old. The standard deviation for age is 0.754. There are 4 types of industries where the respondents worked at, where more than half of the respondents (73.9) came from Oil and Gas industry. Most of the respondents (34.1%) worked for the company between 37–72 months and only 7.2% of the respondents worked for more than 9 years with the company. 96.4% of the respondents are HOD in the company and majority of the expatriates (78.3) had prior experience before coming to Oman.

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Table 1 Demographic

The Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) version 22.00 was used to combined and analyse the quantitative data in order to answer the research objectives to investigate the relationship between international adjustment (psychological and sociocultural adjustment), coping mechanisms (problem and symptom focused coping) on expatriate success factors (satisfaction with leader, commitment to work for the leader, motivation to perform under the leader, and performance of the unit as compared to other units in the organisation).

N Frequency Percentage Mean SD

Gender Male Female 138 113

25 81.9 18.1 - -

Nationality Malaysian 138 138 100.0 - -

Age

26 – 35 years 36 – 45 years 46 – 55 years 56 and above

138

9 73 43 13

6.5 52.9 31.2 9.4

3.43 0.754

Tenure

< 12 months 12 – 36 months 37 – 72 months

73 – 108 months > 108 months

138

17 45 47 19 10

12.3 32.6 34.1 13.8 7.2

2.71 1.082

Marital Status Single Married 138 12

126 8.7

91.3 - -

Industry

Oil and Gas Insurance

Hotel Shipping

138

102 13 9

14

73.9 9.4 6.5

10.1

- -

Position HOD Manager 138 133

5 96.4 3.6 - -

Prior Experience Yes No 138 108

30 78.3 21.7 - -

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Table 2: Pearson Correlation

1 = General Culture and Everyday Life 2 = Work Roles 3 = Interaction with Host Nationals 4 = Psychological Adjustment 5 = Active Planning 6 = Planning

7 = Suppression of Competing 8 = Restraint Coping 9 = Seeking Social Support 10 = Behavioural Disengagement 11 = Mental Disengagament 12 = Positive Reinterpretation and Growth

13 = Denial 14 = Acceptance 15 = Turning to Religion 16 = Seeking Social Support for Emotional Reason 17 = Focused on & Venting of Emotion

Table 2 represents the inter-correlation of the variables. Firstly, there are a couple of independent variables that are correlated to one another. The highest correlation value are between Planning and Suppression of Competing with a coefficient (r = .681). This shows that 99% of the time, there will be a correlation between planning and suppression of competing. On the other hand, the least correlation value are between Religion and Seeking Social Support for Emotional Reasons. It has a coefficient of (r = -.179).

Secondly there are positive correlation between General Culture and Everyday Life with Motivation to Perform (r = .210), Satisfaction with Supervision (.253) and Commitment to Work (r = .254). This just shows that when the expatriates are able to adjust with the general culture and lifestyle in Oman, it affect their performance at work where in the end, their subordinates are satisfied with working in the organisation under their respective expatriate. Commitment to work has the largest correlation value of (r = .254) with general culture and everyday lifestyle, which indicates that by ensuring that the expatriates are well adjusted with the culture and lifestyle in Oman, their performance at work improves significantly, which makes their subordinates feel more committed to work under the respective expatriate.

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Thirdly, Interacting with Host Nationals has been identified to have positive relationship between all the dependent variables. Interacting with Host Nationals has a correlation value of (r = .196) with motivation to perform, (r = .198) with Satisfaction with Supervision, (r = .178) Commitment to Work, and (r = .197) with Unit Performance. Since the correlations are significant at the 0.05 level, it is interpreted that a positive correlation between the stated variables will occur 95% of the time. In other words, when expatriates are able to interact easily with the host country nationals, it would be easier for them to do their work, resulting in the subordinates satisfied with working under the expatriate.

Fourthly, this research has indicated that Turning to Religion has a positive correlation with Motivation to Perform. The correlation value for the two variables are (r = .180). This just show that when an expatriate applies religion when encountered with stress or problems, it helps them by reducing the stated problem and let it not affects their performance at work. As a result, interactions with subordinates are not affected negatively. The summarized results are depicted in Table 3.

Table 3: The summarized results

No. Research Question Result 1 Does Problem-focused coping influence Malaysian

expatriate success? No

2 Does Symptom-focused coping influence Malaysian expatriates’ success?

No

3 Does Sociocultural Adjustment influence Malaysian expatriate success?

Supported (except Work Roles)

4 Does Psychological Adjustment influence Malaysian expatriate success?

No (except religion)

Discussion and Recommendations Studies on expatriates success with overseas assignments has been a major interest among Western practitioners in recent years. Although there are studies being conducted examining expatriates coping strategies and international adjustment against expatriates success with overseas assignments, very few has involved the success factor for Malaysian expatriates (Tung, 1998; Feldman & Thomas, 1992; Fermelis, J. (2011); Hsin-Kuang and Huery Ren, 2006; and Caliguiri, 1997). The purpose of this study was to examine the success factor for Malaysian expatriates based on their coping strategies and international adjustments. The coping strategies were divided into two dimensions which are problem-focused coping and symptom-focused coping, while international adjustment were also divided into two dimensions which are sociocultural adjustment and psychological adjustment. Based on the Pearson Correlation results, it can be seen that majority of the independent variables are strongly correlated to one another. The largest correlation coefficient were (r = .681). That was between Planning and Suppression of Competing. This indicates that 95% of the time, there will be correlation between these two variables. There are relationships between the two variables because whenever an individual encounters a problem, one requires to come up with a strategy or a plan to tackle the problem. Without planning, the possibility of solving the problem is low. Secondly, Sociocultural adjustment has been found to have positive correlation with expatriate success outcome. However, one of the dimensions of sociocultural adjustment (Work Roles) was found to have no relationship with expatriates’ success, which might indicate that individuals’ ability to adjust in the work place does not affect their ability to perform their work. On the other hand, the General Culture and Everyday Life and Interacting with Host nationals does play a major role in examining expatriates’ success with overseas assignments. This may be due to the fact that being able to adjust with the host country helps the expatriates to perform better at work and

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work well with their host national subordinates. Therefore, this statement supported research question 3 which stated that sociocultural adjustment influence expatriate success outcome. Thirdly, Psychological adjustment has been found to not have any correlation with expatriates’ success outcome. However, a study conducted by Ramalu (2010) indicated that psychological adjustment do affect expatriate success outcome. Therefore, the possible reasons on why the result shows no correlation in this study maybe due to the fact that psychological adjustment has low reliability score of .495. The questions provided in the questionnaire may not support the related statement, thus causing no correlation. Other causes maybe due to the subordinates who answer the questionnaires may misunderstand the questions provided thus resulting in low reliability score. As a result, this statement does not support research question 4. Fourthly, expatriates coping strategies, including both problem-focused and symptom-focused, were also found to not have any correlation with expatriates success outcome. However, a study conducted by Feldman and Thomas (1992), founded that there are relationship between the two dimensions and expatriates success outcomes. Feldman et al (1992) examined the effectiveness of different coping strategies, ranging from the very problem-focused to the very symptom-focused, among U.S managers on international assignments. They found that problem-focused strategies were significantly positively related to different criteria of expatriates effectiveness, while symptom-focused coping mechanism were inversely related to success overseas. As stated previously, the reason behind the insignificant result may be due to multilingual misunderstanding. Therefore, this statement has been found to not support research question 1 and 2.

Conclusion

Given the fact that few variables actually correlated with expatriates’ success, the conclusion can be made that the predictors of expatriates coping strategies and international adjustment are complicated and varied. The conclusion of this study suggests that the findings for this study are insignificant due to majority of the variables not correlated to one another, except for psychological and sociocultural adjustment. This may be due to the language barriers with the host nationals. Despite the fact that Oman has embraces modernity and despite its fast pace of modernization, traditional practices still pervade the workplace. Majority of the host country nationals prefers to speak in Arabic (their mother language) and very few of them understand English. As a result, the results obtained from the subordinates may not be correct. Furthermore, subordinate ratings are not preferred by most employees, although it should provide more reliable findings. Some of the subordinates were uncomfortable in evaluating their superior as they are afraid of losing their job or causing unnecessary trouble. References Avril, A.B, Magnini, V.P, (2007). A Holistic Approach to Expatriate Success. International Journal

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