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Projekt F06
Support for Employess During Foreign Assignment
Full Title: The role of providing employees on foreign assignment in small and medium-sized companies with social support
Abstract: This project focuses on the private networks, family members and friends, of employees sent on foreign assignment by small and medium-sized companies. Previous research showed that families are a critical factor in the success or failure of a foreign sojourn: in many cases the foreign sojourn is terminated if the family members have difficulties in adjusting to the foreign culture, resulting in extensive costs for the firm.

Many research projects have dealt with providing employees with social support in various contexts (families, friends, work). Social support postulates positive environmental factors that neutralize, respectively reduce, the stress effects, respectively have a positive effect, on health and well-being, independent of the actual stressor constellations. Thus, on  the one hand, social support is ascribed a positive function in coping with stress (“puffer function”). On the other hand, it is important in a prophylactic sense, to prevent illness and therefore represents an individual contribution to risk management.

Interviews of employees on foreign assignment following specific guidelines should determine the problem areas of the support and the networking in a foreign assignment. These interviews serve as a basis to draft a standardized questioning instrument to question employees of small and medium-sized companies on foreign assignment at three intervals: shortly before the sojourn, during the sojourn and after the sojourn. From the results, we expect to discern the role that private networks can play and to draw recommendations on how to act for future foreign assignments.

Method employed: Interviews of employees on foreign assignment following specific guidelines should determine the problem areas of the support and the networking in a foreign assignment. These interviews serve as a basis to draft a standardized questioning instrument to question employees of small and medium-sized companies on foreign assignment at three intervals: shortly before the sojourn, during the sojourn and after the sojourn. From the results, we expect to discern the role that private networks can play and to draw recommendations on how to act for future foreign assignments.
Team:
Prof. Dr. Erika Spieß >>
Prof. Dr. Lutz von Rosenstiel >>
Christina Stroppa >>
Cooperations:
Prof. Dr. Astrid Podsiadlowski,
School of Psychology,
Victoria University of Wellington, New Sealand
Further Reading:

Erika Spiess, Andreas Brüch: Auswirkungen von interkulturellen Erfahrungen für die Motivation beruflicher Auslandsaufenthalte ost- und westdeutscher Studierender Effects of Cross-Cultural Contacts and Experiences on the Motivation of Students from East and West Germany to Work Abroad. In: Zeitschrift für Sozialpsychologie, 2002.04, S. 219-228. download>>

Erika Spieß (2004): Identitäten und interkulturelle Verständigung im Wirtschaftsleben. Beiträge der SSIP-Tagung in Potsdam am 27. September 2003. In: SSPI Sonderheft 2003, ed. Armin Triebel 2004. download >>

Spieß, E. (2004). Psychologische Überlegungen zu interkulturellem Handeln. SSIP-Mitteilungen, Sonderheft, 11-14.

Spieß, E. & von Rosenstiel, L. (2003). Psychologische Faktoren der Kooperation in interkulturellen Kontexten. In H. Luczak (Hrsg.), Kooperation und Arbeit in vernetzten Welten (S. 287-294). Stuttgart: Ergonomia-Verlag.

Spieß, E. & Brüch, A. (2002). Beurteilung der Motive beruflicher Auslandstätigkeit. In A. Peitz & R. Pfeiffer (Hrsg.), Personalauswahl international - Suche, Auswahl, Integration (S. 11-28). Düsseldorf: Symposion.

Spieß, E. & Jonas, K. (2002). (Hrsg.), Interkulturelle Perspektiven der Sozialpsychologie. Zeitschrift für Sozialpsychologie. 4.

Spieß, E. & Brüch, A. (2002). Auswirkungen von interkulturellen Erfahrungen für die Motivation beruflicher Auslandsaufenthalte ost- und westdeutscher Studierender. Zeitschrift für Sozialpsychologie, 4, 219-228.

Moosmüller, A., Spieß E. & Podsiadlowski, A. (2000). International team building: Issues in training multinational work groups. In M. Mendenhall, J.S. Black, T. Kuhlmann & G. Stahl (Eds.), Developing global leadership skills (pp. 211-224). Westport: Quorum Books.

Spieß, E. & Wittmann, A. (1999). Motivational phases associated with foreign placement of manangement candidates - an application of the rubicon model of action phases. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 10, 891 - 905.

Spieß, E. (1997). Personalentwicklung unter Berücksichtigung der Internationalisierung - Thesen zur Auslandsentsendung. In von L. von Rosenstiel, T. Lang von Wins & E. Sigl (Hrsg.), Perspektiven der Karriere. (S. 241 - 252). Stuttgart: Schäffer-Poeschel.

Spieß, E. & Wittmann, A. (1996). Zur Motivation eines Auslandseinsatzes bei Führungsnachwuchskräften. Zeitschrift für Arbeits- und Organisationspsychologie, 40, 1, 42 - 46.

Podsiadlowski, A. & Spieß, E. (1996). Evaluation eines Trainings für interkulturelle Zusammenarbeit. Zeitschrift für Personalforschung, 1, 48 - 66.