What you do depends on where you are: understanding how domestic and expatriate work requirements depend upon the cultural context

To empirically address the importance of the cultural context for successful assignments, we conducted two studies using a large sample of public-sector US professionals working in comparable jobs in 156 different countries. The results provided direct evidence that social and perceptual skill, reasoning ability, and adjustment- and achievement-orientation personality requirements are higher in expatriate assignments, which has implications for pre-departure selection. Also, the results partly supported the hypothesis that expatriates are required to adjust their behavior to be consistent with the local cultural values, which has implications for post-arrival behavioral training.