Host country nationals (HCNs) can assist expatriates in smoothing their transition and adjustment to the host country. However, this support is not automatic or guaranteed, thus warranting more research to better understand the antecedents of HCNs’ support. The present research aims to investigate whether perceived cultural similarity between Central/South American expatriates and HCNs enhances their relationship quality and support from HCNs to expatriates.
We conducted a field study involving an online expatriate community (Study 1) and a survey (Study 2) with Central/South American expatriates. In Study 1, we utilized big data on online interactions between HCNs and Central/South American expatriates and applied natural language processing (NLP) techniques to analyze their interactions. In Study 2, we employed a structured questionnaire to elucidate the underlying mechanism of the relationship between perceived cultural similarity and HCNs’ support for expatriates.
As hypothesized, Central/South American expatriates (e.g. Mexicans) assigned to culturally similar countries (e.g. Brazil) were perceived as more similar to HCNs and adjusted to their host country more successfully than those assigned to culturally dissimilar countries (e.g. the USA). Perceived cultural similarity enhanced interpersonal affect between HCNs and expatriates, leading to increased support from HCNs for expatriates.
First, we expand the regional scope of expatriate research to one of the most under-researched areas – Central/South America. Additionally, we utilize a mixed-method approach to highlight the complementary benefits of integrating recent advances in big data and NLP techniques with a traditional survey method. As a result, our research not only addresses the call for innovative methods but also makes a valuable contribution to the body of research focusing on countries that have received relatively less attention.
