Expatriate adjustment in the digital age: The co-creation of online social support resources through blogging
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Authors
Nardon, Luciara
Aten, Kathryn
Gulanowski, Daniel
Subjects
Expatriate
Adjustment
Blog
Social support
Adjustment
Blog
Social support
Advisors
Date of Issue
2015
Date
Publisher
Elsevier
Language
Abstract
Support provided through social contacts in the best environment has long been recognized as critical for expatriate adjustment. Internet technologies are changing the way individuals form and interact with social contacts and access social support. These technologies have the potential to offer expatriates new sources and means for accessing social support. We investigated the role of blogging technology in expatriates' adjustment to foreign environments through a qualitative analysis of a set of blogs written by foreign individuals living in Canada between 2005 and 2012. We found that the blogging system, which is comprised of the blogging technology, bloggers, discussants,, and co-created digital discourse, generated online adjustment support resources which were accessed by expatriates. Online adjustment support resources are social support resources, created and residing online, which may help expatriates deal with their experiences of uncertainty, ambiguity and anxiety and include information, interpretation schemas, and comfort.
Type
Article
Series/Report No
Department
Business & Public Policy (GSBPP)
Organization
Naval Postgraduate School
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
Citation
L. Nardon, K. Aten, D. Gulanowski, "Expatriate adjustment in the digital age: The co-creation of online social support resources through blogging," International journal of intercultural relations, v.47, (2015) p. 41-55.
Distribution Statement
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.