Virtual expatriate assignments and host country national support: The role of higher-level construals in social categorization processes

Although extant research on expatriate management has explored the drivers of host country nationals’ (HCNs’) support for expatriates in traditional physical work environments, there is limited understanding in the context of virtual expatriate assignments. This necessitates further theorizing that departs from the presupposition that HCNs and expatriates interact physically. It integrates the particularities of working virtually to understand if and how the virtual context affects the provision of HCN support for expatriates, and whether related social categorization and identification processes work differently as part of virtual assignments. We draw on social identity and construal level theory and develop a conceptual model explaining the emergence of three types of HCN support that virtual assignees can receive, i.e., emotional support, appraisal support, and informational job support. We focus on the interplay between social categorization mechanisms and higher-level construals and, thus, more interpersonal neutrality and social disengagement originating from the virtual work context. We contribute by deriving a set of propositions that outlines the varied consequences of performing the expatriate job role virtually, with a particular focus on the provision of different types of support for expatriates by HCN co-workers. • COVID-19 and technological advancements have led to an increased interest in virtual expatriate assignments. However, research on virtual expatriation is scarce and the field lags behind these vital contemporary developments. • This conceptual study integrates social identity theory and construal level theory to understand the provision of support by host country nationals (HCNs) for virtual assignees. • Our conceptual model highlights that the effects of the categorization of virtual assignees as foreign outgroup members are conditioned by higher-levels construals resulting from the virtual work setting. • The developed propositions indicate the disparate effects for virtual assignees in terms of foreignness perceptions as well as the provision of emotional, appraisal, and informational (tacit/explicit) support from HCNs. • Based on our conceptual model, important implications for theory, research, and the practical management of virtual assignees are derived.