Predicting expatriate adjustment: Israel as a host country

This study assumes that the frequently applied model, developed in North America, predicting expatriate adjustment to foreign host countries is applicable crossnationally. This assumption is tested using Israel as a host country, an environment far removed from North American culture, and one that represents a particularly highly heterogeneous society in values, ethnic identities, languages, and religions. Expatriates from 14 different countries stationed in Israel were studied during the term of their foreign assignment. Tested were various behavioral and attitudinal constructs, which include personal, cultural, and work variables. Despite the cultural milieu Israel poses, the predictive model was reconfirmed in most of its aspects. As expected, the findings indicated that spouse's adjustment and expatriate's adjustment are highly correlated. However, it was found that interaction adjustment and environmental adjustment are two distinct processes and are predicted by different behavioral and attitudinal attributes. Work adjustment constitutes a separate criterion and can be predicted by work attitudinal variables. The theoretical and applied implications of these findings are discussed.