Narratives of expatriates in the Middle East : adaptation, identity and learning in non-profit organizations

This study elaborates international career and expatriate experience in non-profit organizations. The aim of this study was to enhance the understanding of cross-cultural adaptation, identity transformation and learning during international assignments. The international actors of the research worked and lived in the Israeli-Palestinian cultural context, which provided a transforming cultural setting combined with the dilemma of uncertainty and security. The research questions were: (1) How do expatriates in the Middle East narrate their work and life? (2) How can cross-cultural expatriate experience be understood from the perspectives of cross-cultural adaptation, identity transformation and learning? The empirical research was conducted during 2002-2003 in the Middle East. Based on the transcribed data of almost six hundred pages, life stories of the expatriates were constructed by the help of narrative analysis. Life stories provided a comparable narration of expatriate experiences. Further analysis classified the life stories into different categories. Then a composite narrative profile of each category was constructed. Finally, cross-cultural adaptation, learning and identity transformation were discussed in the frame of narrative profiles. The analysis of the data produced four different categories of narrative profiles of international actors: global careerists, balanced experts, idealizer and drifters. The findings suggest that successful expatriation requires different approaches to strengthen the attachment anchors of different categories of international actors during their international assignment. The study enhanced the previous approaches of cross-cultural adaptation. The study indicates that adaptation of expatriates occurs in relation to various cultural contexts. It suggests that expatriates have different frames of reference which play a vital role in their adaptation. The findings of this study claim, that identity transformation and transformative learning take place during international assignments.