Optimizing Expatriate Adjustment Through Linear/Nonlinear Thinking Style Balance and Versatility

The adaptation to diverse cultural contexts is one of the most essential elements of the international management of expatriates given the substantial impact on their professional and personal lives. One critical aspect of expatriate adjustment that has received scant research attention is the relationship between thinking styles and their professional and personal adjustment to the country of destination. We address this research gap with an empirical study of international expatriates that examines a range of thinking styles and their impact on multiple forms of adjustment to diverse cultural contexts. On the basis of thinking style theory and research, which examines multiple information-processing and decision-making processes, we hypothesize that some thinking styles are associated with higher levels of expatriate adjustment while other styles are more likely to attenuate adjustment. Thinking styles are shaped by numerous factors, including education, culture, social groups, experiences, and other sociological and psychological factors, which collectively influence influence the adaptive capacity of expatriates. Utilizing a multivariate statistical methodology to classify international expatriates according to their thinking style, this survey study of 188 expatriates assessed the relationships between eight thinking styles (one linear and seven nonlinear) from the Thinking Styles Profile (Groves Vance, 2014) and multiple elements of expatriate adjustment to the professional and personal contexts associated with their international experiences (psychological adjustment, sociocultural adaptation, and expatriate adjustment). Our analyses also examined the degree of thinking style balance and versatility across linear and nonlinear thinking by classifying expatriates as nonlinear thinkers, linear thinkers, or balanced and versatile thinkers. The results illustrate that the balanced and versatile thinking style profile, which consists of high linear and high nonlinear thinking, was strongly associated with all three types of optimal international adjustment. Our results highlight the existence of significant differences across thinking style profiles regarding their impact on fostering professional and personal adjustment of international expatriates. We conclude by discussing suggestions for future research and the primary practical implications for optimizing expatriate international adjustment.