Friendship Formations of Expatriates in Asia

MA-Thesis / Master von Alexandra Schmider

Abstract:

The hyper competitive global arena of the twenty-first century requires companies to look for business opportunities beyond their national boarders. With the increased overseas operations there is also a rise in the number of personnel sent for overseas assignments. The increasing number of highly qualified European expatriates in Asian cities is also a manifestation of such activities. However, companies operating abroad report that their global strategy is undermined by expatriates’ failure. These high failure rates, measured by early returns are often connected with the private life of expatriates - the ineffective management of intercultural relations - as experts in this area call it.

Despite the critical role of the expatriates’ private life on the success of their overseas assignments, so far, the subject matter has not received enough attention from social scientists. Therefore, this study attempts to contribute towards bridging the gap by focusing on one part of the expatriates’ private life, which is the ‘friendship’ aspect. The study mainly intends to discuss the friendship formations of European expatriates based in India and China. In particular, this qualitative study highlights the role of various cultural aspects and socio-economic factors on intercultural friendship formations.

The interviews conducted with a sample of European expatriates working in New Delhi and Shanghai demonstrated that European expatriates mainly tend to develop friendships among each other. Further, the results showed that different cultural, social and economic aspects and various external conditions (like the existence of expatriate communities and the living conditions of expatriates) are in many cases major impediments in the development of closer relationships like friendships between European expatriates and host nationals.

Introduction:

Increasing interconnectedness, as one aspect of globalisation has led to a greater variety of possible social relationships. Out of foreign direct investment (FDI) and the move of production from Western countries to developing countries in Asia, Latin America and Africa new forms of labour migration have developed. Nowadays, labour migration is not limited to workers or unemployed individuals from developing countries or countries in transition. Rather, another group of migrants has become more prominent – the expatriates. The group includes highly qualified scientists, managers, employees of development organisations, teaching personnel and other professionals from industrialised countries. In addition to personal career motivations, such moves are also undertaken by necessity, as companies themselves send engineers, marketing specialists and other personnel abroad with the clear goals to establish a branch or to introduce new products.

On the top of the direct work related challenges, expatriates also face personal and social challenges associated with the place of their foreign assignments. As many studies have indicated, expatriates’ high failure rates measured by early returns and therefore rising costs for the sending companies are closely linked to difficulties in the integration of expatriates and their families. The resulting question is how expatriates manage their private social relations and how they establish social networks. Friendship aspects are among the major manifestations of social relationships; hence, another important question is what type of friendships expatriates tend to develop in their places of foreign assignment.

In the last decade, research on expatriates has increased. However, most of the studies are focused on: expatriates’ work performance, expatriates’ training for cultural sensitivity, leadership performance in a multicultural environment and on expatriates’ intercultural adjustment processes. On the other hand, the private life of expatriates has largely been neglected resulting in an obvious research gap. So far, there is a limited knowledge on the development of private social relations of expatriates during their foreign assignments. The major purpose of this particular study is, to join the ongoing efforts to fill that research gap by focusing on the aspects of intercultural friendship formation of European expatriates in India and China.

This Master’s thesis comprises four chapters. Chapter one provides a brief introduction to the issue of economic globalisation with particular focus on the rise of FDI in Asia and the related increase in foreign assignments. Further, the term ‘expatriate’ is analysed and distinguished from other types of migrants or groups of people on the move. This chapter also outlines the rationale for the study, the researcher’s key assumptions, the study’s contributions and limitations as well as the research methodology and sampling.

Chapter two deals with the literature on ‘intercultural friendship’. The discussion begins with the concepts of ‘culture’, ‘intercultural communication’ and the classical and modern concept of ‘friendship’. Further, the theories on ‘intercultural friendship formation’ are presented. In particular, the model developed by Elisabeth Gareis on her qualitative study on intercultural friendships is elaborated.

Chapter three presents findings of the actual research done on expatriates currently living in Shanghai and New Delhi. The results of the conducted qualitative interviews are presented to demonstrate friendship aspects of the interviewed expatriates, which they have developed during their stay in the foreign assignment. Specifically, the findings highlight how cultural and socio-economic aspects determine these friendship formations.

The final chapter deals with the conclusion drawn on the circumstances and possibilities of friendship formations of expatriates in Asian cities.

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