Dr. Kumar draws on the construct of regulatory fit to explain how expatriates manage interactional and work-related discrepancies in diverse cultural contexts. When expatriates go overseas, they are often faced with a set of expectations that are at variance with their home country norms and these differences in expectations generate discrepancies. The emergence of discrepancies in an alien cultural context exacerbates the uncertainties facing the expatriate, though the response to uncertainty varies between expatriates. Utilizing insights from motivational science and by linking the self-regulatory processes to the cultural context, we develop a framework and propositions for expatriate adaptation in loose and tight cultures. They present managerial implications of our model and offer guidance for testing the framework.

Dr. Rajesh Kumar is an expert in international business, specializing in cross-cultural negotiations, alliance management, and in the study of emerging markets. He has a doctorate in International Business from New York University, an MBA from Rutgers University, and a master’s degree in Economics from the University of Delhi. His research has been published in journals such as Organization Science, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of World Business, California Management Review, Human Resource Management Review, and Organizational Psychology Review. Dr. Kumar is currently an independent researcher and working on his memoir describing his cross-cultural journey.