Managing Culture Shock and Reverse Culture Shock of Indian Citizenship Employees

Abstract

Adaptability of individuals to different cultures and countries is a challenge to be dealt with in the growing years. This study focuses on the ability to manage culture shock and reverse culture shock of employees travelling on international assignments and returning to India. Factors such as age, income, educational qualification, overall industry experience and previous international experience were tested for managing culture shock and reverse culture shock. Data were collected from 204 employees working in the IT sector who had travelled on international assignments. Z test and chi-square test was done to analyse the collected data. The findings revealed that unlike other studies culture shock is more severe than reverse culture shock for Indian expatriates and repatriates. The study also found that though all factors are important for international employees' acculturation, income, overall work experience and previous international experience facilitated in managing diverse cultures. Managerial implications of research are presented in the end. Copyright © 2014 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.