هوش فرهنگی و سازگاری مهاجران مذهبی: نقش ذاتی انگیزه برای مهاجرت موفقیت آمیز Religious expatriates’ cultural intelligence and adaptation: The role of intrinsic motivation for successful expatriation

Introduction Corporate expatriation has been studied extensively in the areas of international business, international human resource management and career development (e.g., Kraimer, Bolino and Mead, 2016; Gonzalez-Loureiro, Kiessling and Dabic, 2015; Takeuchi, 2010; Herman and Tetrick, 2009; Reiche, Harzing and Kraimer, 2009; Lazarova and Cerdin, 2007). These studies have highlighted the importance of adjustment among corporate expatriates (e.g., Ren et al. 2014; Firth et al., 2014, Takeuchi, 2010; Farh et al., 2010) but gaps remain in the literature in terms of understanding expatriation outside the confines of business organizations. McNulty and Brewster (2017) pointed out that the dearth of research on noncorporate expatriation can be attributed to the narrow conceptualization of expatriation as being sent overseas mainly by a multinational firm. The narrow corporate conceptualization of expatriation is limiting and tends not to pay attention to other forms of expatriation such as in religious communities. Religious communities, by virtue of their mission to evangelize and engage in international humanitarian work, heavily engage in expatriation (Oberholster and Doss, 2017; Oberholster et al., 2013). Religious expatriation has been shown to be more challenging given a perceived lack of support compared to support extended in the corporate expatriation domain (e.g., Navara and James, 2002). While initial studies on religious expatriation provide important insights, there are still areas that need careful examination, particularly the role of other individual-level factors and how these factors can lead to better adjustment and adaptation among religious expatriates. This study aims to address the abovementioned gaps in the literature by broadening our view of expatriation beyond the corporate context, focusing mainly on the experiences of religious expatriates. Specifically, the study examines the relationship between cultural intelligence and adaptation (i.e., psychological and sociocultural adaptation) among religious expatriates. The study draws from the theory of intelligence (Sternberg, 1999) and builds on recent empirical findings (e.g., Guomundsdottir, 2015) in asserting that cultural intelligence as a form of intelligence can enable a religious expatriate to psychologically and socioculturally adapt in his or her new cultural environment. Cultural intelligence, defined as the capability of an individual to function effectively in situations characterized by cultural diversity (Earley and Ang, 2003), is found to be an enabler for global leaders and global managers (e.g., Elenkov and Manev, 2009; Ng, Van Dyne and Ang, 2009). However, there is still a gap in the literature on how cultural intelligence can be relevant for individuals working in non-corporate contexts such as in religious expatriation. The study further investigates the role of intrinsic motivation in bringing about psychological and sociocultural adaptation among religious expatriates. Drawing from the theory of self-determination (Deci and Ryan, 2000; 1991) it is posited that intrinsic motivation, as a type of motivation, moderates the relationship between cultural intelligence and adaptation (both psychological and sociocultural). Intrinsic motivation – the sense of fulfilment and enjoyment that drives an individual towards the achievement of goals (Ryan & Deci, 2000) – is argued to strengthen the relationship between cultural intelligence and psychological/sociocultural adaptation. Intrinsic motivation is viewed in this study as a driving force for religious expatriates, making them determined despite the challenges they encounter while working in another cultural context. The argument is consistent with earlier findings (e.g., Smither and Walker, 2015) suggesting the relevance of intrinsic motivation for people living and working in religious communities.