Linking expatriate adjustment and expatriate performance: do gender and earlier international experience matter

This study investigates expatriate adjustment (EA) as a proximal determinant of expatriate performance (EP) building on Black et al. 's (1991) theoretical model. Moreover, it puts forward testing mediation effect of EA between individual-level stable factors of gender and earlier international experience (EIA) with EP. A cross-sectional design focusing on the short term assigned expatriates (STAs) in the ICT sector in Egypt is adopted, using an online survey for data collection. Results supported that both EIA and gender were negatively correlated with EP respectively, where males came to perform higher than females. Moreover, EA was supported as a mediator to the earlier relationships. The study enriches the expatriate management literature in the Arab world, especially STAs that are highly employed though not adequately investigated. The study concludes by providing some recommendations for organisations to manage STAs.