Ridderprint

Chapter 5 94 psychological obligations, thereby influencing the amount of effort and affect exerted on both behalves. Social exchange theories are thus broadly applicable, in the sense that they can cover all types of social support (e.g., information, emotional, instrumental) and a variety of behaviors by the expatriate in return. For instance, social exchange theories could explain expatriates’ family-oriented efforts in response to family support, or citizenship and knowledge-sharing behaviors in response to community support. However, in light of the success criteria considered in this meta-analysis, we apply the social-exchange perspective narrowly in the sense that it is limited to expatriates reciprocation in terms of commitment (Figure 5.1, arrow 1) and increased performance and retention (Figure 5.1, arrow 3) in response to the support provided by work-domain agents. Figure 5.1: An explanatory framework of the relationship between social support and expatriate success criteria, integrating social capital, social exchange, and uncertainty management theories. In sum, multiple theoretical perspectives explain how social support in general positively influences the success criteria under study. Hence, we expect to find overall positive relationships (Hypothesis 1). Social exchange theories emphasize the importance of social support from the work domain for commitment, retention and performance outcomes. Therefore, we expect specifically these three outcomes to be more strongly influenced by support from the work domain compared to support from the community and family domains (Hypothesis 2). Hypothesis 1. Social support relates positively to international assignment success in terms of expatriates’ (a) cross-cultural adjustment, (b) organizational commitment, (c) performance, and (d) retention. Hypothesis 2. Social support from the work domain has a stronger influence on expatriates’ (b) organizational commitment, (c) performance, and (d) retention than social support from family and community domains. 5.3.1 Agent proximity Previous studies suggest that the value of social support can be affected by the proximity of the supporting agent (for an overview, see Chapter 4). This proximity can