Through Malaysian Eyes: A Qualitative Study of Local Perspectives on Expatriate Adjustment in Malaysia

Expatriates experience challenges adjusting to a new host culture. Though host country nationals are critical in an expatriate’s success, existing literature focuses on the perspectives of expatriates rather than on host country nationals. This article describes how Malaysian nationals working for multinational corporations perceive the cultural adjustment of their expatriate colleagues. A constructivist philosophical orientation underpinned the basic qualitative design. Using snowball sampling, the lead researcher relied on contacts in Malaysia to refer participants, who then referred other participants. In total, the study included 17 participants who worked for multinational corporations and had weekly in-person contact with expatriate colleagues within the previous five years. Data was collected through one-on-one semi-structured interviews and then analyzed using first and second cycle coding. Findings demonstrated two factors that facilitated and complicated the adjustment of expatriates: cultural similarities and navigating cultural adjustment with families. Secondly, findings showed that the international and inclusive nature of an office culture significantly impacted expatriate cross-cultural adjustment. Sub-themes in this section included bosses are busy, forming relational silos, and lunch is more than lunch. One limitation was the potential for participants not to share openly. This issue was avoided by working with known contacts in Malaysia who endorsed the researcher and provided access to participants. Implications include developing an understanding of how expatriates can more successfully adjust to a local culture. Our findings may help multinational companies in Malaysia and those sending employees to Malaysia better training for cross-cultural adjustment, which will positively impact business operations.