Adaptação sociocultural de gestores espanhóis expatriados no Brasil

Abstract

This study aims at understanding how sociocultural adjustment occurs in the case of managers, and their spouses, expatriated to Brazil by private and public Spanish organizations. To do so, it adopts as main theoretical frame the expatriate adaptation model proponed by Parker & McEvoy (1993), based on Black, Mendenhall & Oddou s model (1991), which establishes three dimensions of adaptation: adjustment to work; adjustment to general environment and adjustment to interaction with host country nationals. This work, of exploratory and descriptive nature, used field research to gather primary data subsequently analyzed with a qualitative approach. Data collection came from individual in-depth interviews with three Spanish managers expatriated in Brazil and two of their spouses. Resulting data were analyzed through one of content analysis procedures, thematic analysis. This research shows that adjustment is obstructed by cultural distance or cultural novelty rather than by work role characteristics, being more successful in expatriates that carry previous solid sociocultural knowledge about host country. It also verifies that the degree of expatriate adjustment is enhanced by the comprehension of cultural differences that originate values and behaviors different from those of the expatriate. It points out that individual factors such as perception and relation skills, flexibility, empathy and self-efficacy are positively linked to the three dimensions of adjustment: work, general adjustment and interaction adjustment. It finds expatriate adjustment to be lowered by spouse unsuccessful adjustment and shows that location in an environment perceived as short in key infrastructures is negatively linked to adjustment in expatriates coming from strongly urban environments. It concludes that expatriate adjustment occurs through progressive understanding of host country environment and through comprehension of the sociocultural context that explains differences between host country behaviors and values and those from the country of origin, a process which is favored by expatriate individual characteristics not directly linked to his/her technical qualification, such as perception and relation skills, flexibility and empathy, together with solid sociocultural knowledge about the host country. This research propones, therefore, that organizations involved in expatriation processes should include in their selection criteria the degree to which candidates possess personal characteristics and sociocultural knowledge that may facilitate adaptation