Developing a high quality intercultural relationship

What is it about?

Putting expats in touch with a local host can be a good way to support expats during their international assignment. The quality of the contact with the local host was important for the benefits that the expats got out of the contact: the higher the quality of the contact, the more benefits were derived. About two third of the expats did develop high quality contact with their host; they rated the contact a 7 or higher on a scale of 1-10. But why did certain participants hit it off, and others didn’t? What caused these expats to really enjoy the contact with their host? This article highlights nine factors that shed light on how you can stimulate the quality of the contact between expats and their local host (similarities, motivation, benefits, anxiety, expectations, busy schedules, suboptimal timing, communication breakdown, and cultural differences). Three factors were more important than others: similarities, motivation and benefits. These are important factors because they help overcome some of the barriers. If there is a ‘click’, people really want to make an effort, and they get something out of the contact, it does not matter as much that there may be an age difference or that they do not live very close to each other.

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Why is it important?

Our study provides suggestions that could stimulate the contact with a local host, making the intervention more valuable for organizations who wish to support their expatriates in this way. It is also one of the first to examine in detail the process of development of purposely created interpersonal relationships in an intercultural context. Furthermore, our study is new because it also examines unsuccessful relationships.