Expatriates Job Satisfaction and Performance: Examining the Effects of Emotional & Cultural Intelligence, Cross-cultural Adoptability & Competency and Interpersonal Social Network

Globalization and internationalization of businesses have increased the cultural diversity of the workforce. To perform effectively, expatriate employees must possess skills and personality traits that enable them to adapt to a new cultural environment. The purpose of the present study was to examine the influence of the personal level factors of an expatriate employee, including emotional intelligence, cultural intelligence, cross-cultural adaptability, cross-cultural competence, and interpersonal social network, on job satisfaction and job performance. This information was collected from 238 Saudi Arabian expatriate workers in various industries. The results indicate a positive correlation between cultural intelligence, cross-cultural adaptability, interpersonal social network and expatriate employee job satisfaction. However, no significant correlation was found between emotional intelligence, cross-cultural competence, and job satisfaction. In addition, the mediating role of job satisfaction between various personal level factors and job performance was evaluated, and it was determined that job satisfaction positively mediated all relationships. As the role of emotional and cultural intelligence in cross-cultural adjustment has not been studied extensively, particularly in Saudi Arabia, this study makes a significant contribution to the literature. In addition, the interpersonal social network of an expatriate has not been previously linked to job satisfaction and performance in cross-cultural environments.