Adjustment of Western European vs North American expatriate managers in China

Western European and North American expatriate managers on the Chinese mainland responded to a mail survey about their sociocultural and psychological adjustment. The results indicated that Western European managers were less well socioculturally adjusted than their North American counterparts, especially concerning interaction adjustment. However, comparing the major nationalities taking part in the study revealed that US, British and German expatriates had significantly higher scores for interaction adjustment than did the French managers. There were no significant differences between these nationality groups in terms of the other sociocultural adjustment variables or regarding psychological adjustment. The implications for expatriate managers destined for the Chinese mainland, as well as for their companies assigning them there, are discussed.