Page - (000070) - in Knowledge and Networks

61 relationship between the network partner (friends) and socioemotional and instru- mental support. The type of company had more infl uence on that support when there were no network partners (friends) available for the expatriates, and less when those contacts did exist. SMEs and their expatriate employees had less experience with environmental factors in different countries, less power to withstand the demands of host governments, and less reputation and fi nancial resources, as well as fewer resources for managing international operations. In the future, therefore, it is very important that fi rms, especially SMEs, develop concepts for the effective support of staff on foreign assignment. Social Support and Host-Country Nationals Social support can be regarded as especially signifi cant in the context of sojourners. Sources of support are wide ranging and can include many different social groups, such as family, friends, peers, coworkers, and supervisors. A study published in “ Social Support on International Assignments: The Relevance of Socioemotional Support From Locals ” (Podsiadlowski, Vauclair, Spieß, & Stroppa, 2013 ) identifi ed the importance of support from host-country nationals. Using the matching or specifi city hypothesis, which suggests that the right match between type and source of support is needed to increase well-being (Viswesvaran, Sanchez, & Fisher, 1999 , p. 318), the authors postulated that sojourn- ers’ satisfaction would increase if there were an optimal match between the type and source of social support (Madjar, 2008 ). One hundred thirty-one English-speaking participants living in New Zealand were sampled via a snowballing technique (Podsiadlowski et al., 2013 ). The results showed that both types of social support— instrumental and socioemotional—were positively related to satisfaction with the sojourn, with socioemotional support being more important in predicting satisfac- tion with a sojourn than instrumental support, and support from host-country nation- als being the most important source of social support. Furthermore, there was partial support for the matching specifi city hypothesis. Only the amount of support from host-country nationals was a signifi cant moderator and only the relationship between socioemotional support and satisfaction with a sojourn was moderated. The authors found only partial support for the matching or specifi city hypothesis. The study’s fi ndings showed that it did not apply to instrumental support. Additionally, results showed that the right match between socioemotional support and source of support was more specifi c than expected. Only socioemotional support provided by host- country nationals increased satisfaction with the sojourn. Support from home did not moderate the relationship between socioemotional support and satisfaction. This indicates that only host-country nationals are able to provide relevant socio- emotional support if individuals are faced with un controllable stressors . To summarize, the most important predictors for satisfaction with a sojourn were support from host-country nationals and perceived socioemotional support. Not only did socioemotional support from host-country nationals have a positive effect, 3 Interpersonal Networks in Foreign Assignments and Intercultural Learning Processes