PurposeSelf-initiated expatriates (SIE) women's career decisions are often based on the establishment of close personal relationships in various spheres of life. This paper aims to explore the effects of social isolation in times of crisis on SIE women's work, psychological and general adjustment.Design/methodology/approachThe model of expatriate women's adjustment by Caligiuri and Lazarova (2002) is reviewed and adapted to account for the impact of social isolation and loneliness on SIE women's adjustment and professional development in a crisis context. The interplay between duration and intensity of crisis and acculturative stress over time is highlighted; danger zones for potential maladjustment are identified, and adjustment-as-a-crisis context are incorporated into the model.FindingsThe spillover effects between different life spaces in times of isolation have a negative impact on SIE women's ability to develop supportive relationships in different life spaces. The organization becomes the main point of contact with the host culture, but pressure to perform, uncertain contracts, gendered role division and the experience of a double crisis add to the existing acculturative stress which may lead to maladjustment or further fit-dependent crisis over time.Originality/valueThe authors contribute to the theoretical understanding of the impact of social isolation on a single, vulnerable acculturating group, by expanding on an existing static model of adjustment, to account for the temporal (time) and spatial (multi-dimensional crisis context) constraints faced by SIE women which has not been done before.
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore and discuss the role of motivational cultural intelligence and its related strategies in the experiential learning and cross-cultural adjustment of self-initiated expatriate (SIE) women. Design/methodology/approach – Interactive qualitative analysis (IQA) was the design and process used for this research. Two IQA focus groups were conducted with a non-probability purposive sample of 21 SIE women, aged between 26 and 53 who were living and working in the Netherlands at the time of the research. Participants were invited to brainstorm about their adjustment experience and actively construct a framework of their adjustment experiences. Findings – Evidence is provided for the role of motivational CQ, with specific reference to reinvention, self-efficacy and goal-setting as motivational strategies, in the successful adjustment of SIE women. Conceptual frameworks of the cyclical learning process and motivational strategies with choice as a moderator in the process, have been developed. Three propositions for future research are also presented. Originality/value – This study represents an under-researched group and proposes conceptual frameworks for understanding the complex, multidimensional process of SIE women adjustment and the role of motivation, from a participant perspective.
