INTRODUCTION
This literature review provides the phenomenon of the intercultural contact experiences of foreign experts. It will focus more on the self-initiated expatriates working in the Asia-Pacific region and countries. To be able to provide an acritical review for future studies on the experiences of the expatriates and the psychological effect of intercultural contact, the review will have to look at the broader aspects of intercultural contact like cultural shock, cross-cultural awareness, cultural adjustment, and acculturation (Noels et al.,2020). There needs to be more literature on the psychological effects of foreign experts’ cultural contact and the possible signs of cultural shock. Thus, there is a need for more studies on it to come up with detailed theoretical frameworks (Moreno et al.,2020). To add on the lack of data on the possible factors that can impact the subjective career success of international works that has been claimed.
Another reason for this review is to support the qualitative, descriptive phenomenological research in exploring the lived experience of the foreign experts who work and reside in the Asia-Pacific. Foreign assignments play an essential role in globalization and always come with an expanse of sojourners settling to work in new regions, countries, and cultures. The review can endorse the study’s merits on the subject matter by covering current studies on foreign experts, commencing from the description and comparison of the assigned and self-initiated experts (Newnham et al.,2020), (Moreno et al.,2020).
From as early as the 1900s, we have been able to read that human resources have been in demand away from home and have been forced to make travels by leaving home countries and regions to work for areas with firms. These employees are called experts or expatriates. Recent studies have made significant discussions on classifying these employees into assigned and self-initiated experts. Parent firms have sent The assigned experts to foreign regions like Asia-Pacific. In many cases, they usually get a certain level of cross-cultural training, language courses, or seminars before departing to the countries of assignment (Cooke et al.,2020), ( Noels et al.,2020). In addition, the host regions will support relocation costs for the employee and their families, for the assigned expatriate international duties are seen as promotion, increased salary, and career growth. There are very few studies on expatriates in the Asia-Pacific region. Those done have majorly covered expatriates in China and have all shown that the employees have more signs and symptoms of psychological distress.
By the 1990s, expatriation had undergone considerable evolution and included self-initiated expatriates, mainly youth-educated and on seeking sprees and in need of expanding their careers (Cooke et al.,2020). Asia-Pacific has seen a massive increase in the number of expatriates who live and work among their indigenous population. In the course of coming to new areas and regions, these expatriates have needed help with intercultural adjustments. A Study has shown that these expatriates have adjusted highly to their intercultural contacts (Martela & Sheldon,2019). Research in Finland, for instance, in 2012 pertained to the pre-migration psychological adaptation, which is psychological and physical well-being, and also mental health issues and executed various approaches that had been used in the previous studies on the intercultural transition and communication; acculturation frameworks; studies on expatriate’s adjustments; and organizational, psychological dimensions on employee’s adjustments in diversified contexts and regions. The study by (Yijala et al., 2012) was able to look at three contexts:
- Assessment of the adaptive process as felt by the skilled experts before their location to new regions,
- Indication of the complexities of adaptation responses to the upcoming relation to new regions and
- Provision of more dynamics on social psychological perspective to studies on pre-relocation adaptation of the expatriates.
- The study data was collected electronically and showed that about 70% of the respondents were highly skilled. It found out that while considering a better psychological, social-psychological, and work adaptation, most of them sort pre-departure preparations to significantly impact intercultural contact.
Generally, experts’ motivation to go to foreign regions is seen as an adventure, travel, career growth, financial incentive, and influence of their families. A study by (Savicki, Ed.2023) found the primary motivation to go to foreign regions. The study examined life adventure, cage and family, career growth, and money as key. (Martela & Sheldon,2019) Highlights that deciding to experience a new culture and a better career are vital motivations. New experience and career development motivated the study (Suutari & Brewster, 2020). (Froese,2022), (Noels et al.,2020). carried out a study via interviews with experts working in South Korea. The study was to enlighten on the key motivation factors of the expatriates in the Asia-Pacific countries. Exploration was done on motivation and cross-cultural adjustments. The study found that respondents’ motivation for relocation to Asia-Pacific was the desire for international experiences, better work conditions, family, and poor labor market at home. Of interest, it was highlighted that there still needs to be a gap in the study on intercultural contacts and their impact on cross-cultural adjustments (Zaman et al.,2020).
Intercultural Contacts
Intercultural contact can be seen as individuals living in a culturally diversified region and individuals who enter a region from a different region with a goal or aim. The review looks at the psychological importance of interactions with unfamiliar cultures for individuals entering a new region like Asia-Pacific from other regions. Several phenomena arise in the process and with time: cultural shocks, cross-cultural adjustments, acculturation, and cross-cultural awareness (Berry,2019). Studies have all shown that many intercultural contacts in the Asia-Pacific region are seen as stressful encounters. Individuals in the region tend to avoid new, unpredictable contact with new cultures (Clauss-Ehlers et al.,2019). The results and impact of the encounters’ tensions mainly depend on whether the experience had a positive or negative impact and the barriers that could impede the intercultural contacts (Berry,2019). The longstanding barriers that are still applicable, such as the theoretical principles of similarity attractions, state that individuals have a high likeliness of seeking out, enjoying, and understanding and preferring individuals who share major characteristics (Noels et al.,2020). A highly supported cultural distances hypothesis foresees the more significant cultural gas among individuals with complicated experiences. People tend to categorize people in groups for preferential treatment for those in the group.
In Asia-Pacific regions, intercultural obstacles can arise from the primary socialization that individuals building a set of core values in their stay in the region and being resistant to changing values. In add, cultural syndrome barriers, beliefs, norms, and behavior that tend to be contrasting from one cultural setup to another tend to be ethnocentric and rejection of other cultures (Zaman et al.,2020), (Suutari & Brewster,2020). (Froese,2022), (Noels et al.,2020). It is not common for individualistic cutters to feel superior to a collectivistic culture and vice versa.
In the region of Asia-Pacific, I have a feeling that the expatriates will have experienced one or more styles of responses to the intercultural contact between their home culture and host of cultures: Passing is where people tend to reject their own culture and embrace new cultures like those in Asia-Pacific; Chauvinist is a rejection of new cultures and a militant standby of their home cultures; marginal, where a person has to move back and forth with both culture not comfortable to them; and mediating, where a person with success can integrate both cutters with rare effectiveness (Briscoe et al.,2021). However, in the process of cross-cultural contacts, conflict can come up in two ways: one coming from the hosts’ culture regarding communication with host natives in the formation of interpersonal relationships, and the second coming from the expatriates’ cultures and way of life (Chen,2019). The study of cross-cultural psychology gives data and suggestions globally and is vital in intercultural transitions. The experts in cross-cultural psychology are vital to help adjust thousands of people who migrate to the Asia-Pacific region.
Cross-Cultural Adjustment
Adjustment is the level of a person’s psychological comfort with the components of the new culture in the region, and in moving to the Asia-Pacific region, it is vital. Experts working in this unfamiliar culture likewise study cross-cultural adjustment, emphasizing accommodating dissimilar cultural values. The discovery has been made that it is more challenging to adjust to similar cultures (Suutari & Brewster,2020). (Froese,2022), (Noels et al.,2020). There are three divergent aspects of cross-cultural adjustments: general adjustment, interaction adjustment, and work adjustment. The way experts will come up with living in the Asia-Pacific region is general; establishing an intercultural relation with the region’s local population is interaction adjustment, and how the experts can adjust to work in the region is work adjustment.
The most vital influence of the cross-cultural adjustment is the adjustment of the families that accompany the expatriates to the region, life in the host vicinity, inadequate activities of the expatriates and the locals, and the relation between the expatriates and the locals (Newnham et al.,2020), (Moreno et al.,2020).
Acculturation
The two-fold progress of the cultural and psychological shift happens when two or more cultural practices come together; this is acculturation. Whether one relocates to the Asia-Pacific region for months or years, the stages of the process are still applicable. Since the process involves two or more cultures and the expatriates are the bridge between the two, integration is seen as the best form of acculturation strategy (Chen,2019). It is well argued that people who embrace the strategy tend to hold to the values of both cultures. The integration will be vital to them, allowing them to accept new ideas, improve problem-solving, and be good managers. Acculturation comprises an individual change in their behavior gamut, which can be a lengthy process that leads to psychological and social-cultural adaptations.
Manifestation of Cultural shocks
It is time-consuming to adjust to new cultures, and many stages of cultural shock impact this. Responding to adjustments depends on the features of the host region and the expatriate. Cultural shock is a negative emotional, psychological, and physical response to new regions (Suutari & Brewster,2020), (Noels et al.,2020). It takes place over a long time. It involves stages that those in the Asia-Pacific region will experience: the honeymoon stage, the reactionary or crisis stage, the reintegration stage, the adjustment stage, and the interdependence stage. Studies have shown that there are three components of cultural shocks: affect, behaviors, and cognition. Thus, individuals in the Asia-Pacific region will likely face anxiety, disorientations, suspicions, and desires to return home. The impact is that expatriates will exhibit destructive behaviors, hence misunderstanding locals (Tam & Milfont,2020).
Cross-Cultural Awareness
As an expatriate in the region, while gaining cross-cultural knowledge, understanding, and appreciation, awareness will crop in (Tam & Milfont,2020). This requires behavioral and attitudinal changes. It has been shown that most expatriates from the West have a good experience in Asia-Pacific concerning satisfaction, stresses, anxieties, quality of living, and health care. Studies have all reported that awareness takes a long time and has various levels, reflecting how foreigners have matured in looking at cultural differences. Mature foreigners will understand that cultural differences have good and bad sides, and it is better to synergize cultures in the region and get the best solution for adapting (Chen,2019).
The basis of communication and positivity in intercultural contacts is a stage for intercultural awareness that commences with awareness of the foreign expatriates ‘cultures and the host region’s cultures. It is clear that the lack of awareness leads to misunderstandings of non-verbal behaviors and communications.
Conclusion
When individuals realize humans are the same, and yet differences and similarities are taken towards cultural awareness, there will be no fear of diversity in the culture of the Asia-Pacific region. Lastly, I believe that globalization has led to a diversity of cultures and cultural contact, leading to conflicts, which are an issue of social–psychological importance to the foreigners in the region than it is to the host.
References
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