Integration of Chinese expatriates in Finland : a Chinese MNC in Finland

Abstract

The goal of this research was to study the situation of international expatriation of Chinese nationals in the foreign countries and determine the challenges they face and how the situation can be improved. The researcher focused on Fin-land, as there has been an influx of Chinese nationals in the country with many Chinese multinationals sending their workers in the international market. Using a case study of Chinese MNC X, the study adopted a qualitative approach and a subjective method to examine the Chinese expatriates in China and the chal-lenges they face in their adjustment in Finland. Using the semi structured inter-views, it was possible to determine the experiences and understand the feelings of these individuals in the new environment. The researcher used a purposive sampling technique. This is a form of nonprobability sampling method that in-volves the researcher using the expertise that they have to select a sample that is most useful for the research. The purposive sampling technique was used to select the 6 expatriates, who must have worked there for more than 2 years. The expatriates were strewn across different regions of China in a bid to offer a more balanced result for better and meaningful conclusions and recommenda-tions. The study found cultural differences is one of the major factors that affect expatriate adjustment in the foreign country. It was evident that China has a unique culture compared to Finland which is demonstrated by the expatriates. Generally, it was established that the Chinese culture was mainly influenced by Confucianism philosophies and ethics. Therefore, the study emphasized the importance of intercultural training to enable the expatriates to be well-prepared for the new environment. The analysis shows that cross cultural training plays a very important role on the entire adjustment process of an expatriate. The study proved the existence of a positive correlation between expatriate adjust-ment and CCT. It is evident that CCT can effectively shorten expatriate adjust-ment process and make the process better as well as smoother. According to the findings, the study recommends that companies that are sending expatri-ates to the international assignments should establish cross-cultural training to enhance success of these employees in their foreign mission.