Exploring Acculturation Strategies Among International Professionals From Ukraine and Latin America in Poland: A Qualitative Study

Acculturation is a complex process that refers to a psychological change of individuals’ cultural beliefs, attitudes, values, behaviors, and identities. By employing the Tridimensional (3D) Acculturation Model and the Relative Acculturation Extended Model, this study aimed to explore the acculturation strategies of the international professionals who work and live in Poland and to examine how the workplace shapes their experiences. Twenty professionals, 10 from Ukraine and 10 from Latin America, participated in semi-structured interviews and created cultural identity maps focusing on their experiences of acculturation and organizational culture of the companies they work for. Interpretive phenomenological analysis revealed four acculturation strategies used by the professionals: assimilation, separation, integration, and multicultural. Importantly, the last two were predominant among the study participants. Moreover, for some individuals, workplace organizational cultures shaped their acculturation process, particularly the adoption of a new culture’s values and practices. Overall, findings contribute to understanding the complexity and multidomain nature of acculturation. Methodologically, the study underscores the use of identity mapping to examine in depth the acculturation processes, especially of multicultural individuals who may not be adequately represented within quantitative approaches.