Page - (000069) - in Knowledge and Networks

60 Many studies (overview in Cohen & Wills, 1985 ) have shown a positive infl u- ence of social support at work on the well-being of those receiving it. Frese and Semmer ( 1991 ) named further social support mechanisms. First, social support is a primary need expressing humans’ phylogenetic urge to work in a social group. The lack of social support automatically leads to a diminution of well-being. And sec- ond, the positive feedback connected with social support directly affects self- confi dence and, thus, other components of mental well-being. Social support and the formation of networks are, therefore, closely related. The network concept is considered broad and multidimensional (Inkpen & Tsang, 2005 ) and consequently suited as an umbrella concept for social support. In the case of foreign assignment, various relationships within the interpersonal network of an expatriate are of interest, including those with the spouse, friends, and coworkers, mattering in both the home country and the country of sojourn. These networks may be considered an objective reality within which there are dyadic rela- tionships of different strengths. Social support is an essential component of our daily lives and takes on a special signifi cance in the context of assignment to a foreign country. Adelman ( 1988 ) expressed it as follows: “Our ability to cope with daily stressors, critical life transi- tions and environmental or cultural change is inextricably tied to the social ecology in which we are embedded” (p. 183). The entire social network and the accompany- ing social support of family, friends, and coworkers are of eminent importance in eliminating the risk of failure of the foreign assignment. The mentioned risks and the antecedents for successful adjustment have been primarily studied in large corporations (e.g., Mendenhall & Oddou, 1985 ; Ward & Rana-Deuba, 1999 ). The situation in small and medium-sized companies remains unclear, but it may be assumed that it is especially diffi cult, because small compa- nies do not have the corresponding resources at their disposal. In this context, inter- personal networks for small and medium-sized company transferees on foreign assignment are gaining signifi cance, although the involved company often underes- timates their effect. Social Support and Firm Size A study published in “ Expatriates’ Social Networks: The Role of Company Size” by Stroppa and Spieß ( 2010 ) extended and tested Caligiuri and Lazarova’s ( 2002 ) model for the infl uence of support provided by different network partners (supervi- sors, coworkers, friends, spouses) on received socioemotional and instrumental sup- port. This model was extended by examining the impact of company size on effectiveness of support. Ninety expatriates were questioned during their foreign assignment: 45 from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and 45 from large companies. As expected expatriates who received support from their network partner coworkers during their foreign sojourn also received more instrumental support. In addition, the study confi rmed that the type of company moderated the E. Spieß