ABSTRACT
In Chapter 3, we defined expatriate adjustment as a person–environment (p–e) relationship. Constituting elements of any p–e interaction are the individual, the environment and the situation in which the interaction occurs and that necessitates adjustive behaviour. In the following, the focus will be on these influencing factors and their respective characteristics. We discuss the nature of these factors in general first, and then we explore the issues through the extant expatriate adjustment literature. We will consider the various obstacles to integrating findings about antecedent–effect relationships in this literature and the complex nature of these relationships before concluding with a call for acknowledging the true complexity of expatriate adjustment in future investigations.
