Title: Linking expatriate adjustment and expatriate performance: do gender and earlier international experience matter?

Authors: Menatallah Darrag

Addresses: Faculty of Management Technology, German University in Cairo (GUC), 11835 New Cairo City, Cairo, Egypt

Abstract: This study investigates expatriate adjustment (EA) as a proximal determinant of expatriate performance (EP) building on Black et al. 's (1991) theoretical model. Moreover, it puts forward testing mediation effect of EA between individual-level stable factors of gender and earlier international experience (EIA) with EP. A cross-sectional design focusing on the short term assigned expatriates (STAs) in the ICT sector in Egypt is adopted, using an online survey for data collection. Results supported that both EIA and gender were negatively correlated with EP respectively, where males came to perform higher than females. Moreover, EA was supported as a mediator to the earlier relationships. The study enriches the expatriate management literature in the Arab world, especially STAs that are highly employed though not adequately investigated. The study concludes by providing some recommendations for organisations to manage STAs.

Keywords: gender; earlier international experience; EIA; expatriate adjustment; EA; expatriate performance; EP; Arab countries; Egypt; short-term expatriate assignments; STAs.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBEM.2025.147150

International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets, 2025 Vol.17 No.3, pp.374 - 391

Received: 22 Jan 2023
Accepted: 19 Jun 2023
Published online: 11 Jul 2025 *

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