American expatriates abroad: From neophytes to cosmopolitans

Based on a study of 409 expatriates on assignment to 51 countries around the world, this study examines: (1) Expatriates' perceptions of the importance of international assignments to their overall career development; (2) the modes of acculturation in interacting with host country nationals; (3) the mechanisms used to cope with stress abroad; (4) attributes that facilitate interaction abroad; and (5) the relationship between performance and country difficulty. The study yielded some new trends in expatriate assignments.