Developmental Networks of Young Adults for Career Growth Opportunities: South Korean Self-Initiated Expatriates in Vietnam

Abstract

This quantitative study examined the characteristics of the developmental networks of young South Korean self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) in Vietnam and the effects of the network characteristics on developmental functions and career growth. Based on a literature review, a hypothesized model was developed and examined using a path analysis. The results demonstrated that organizational, cultural, and program diversity and network strength influenced different types of developmental functions (career, psychosocial, and cultural support). The findings also demonstrated that cultural support did not have a direct relationship with perceived career growth opportunities, while it indirectly influenced career growth through career and psychosocial functions of developmental networks. This study provides a comprehensive understanding of SIEs’ developmental networks and their effect on career development with empirical evidence. The results of this study will inform career counselors and educators on how to support SIEs’ career development and career-related relationship building.

Keywords

career growth opportunity developmental networks path analysis self-initiated expatriates

Introduction

The combination of increased global mobility and a protean career attitude has led to the rise of self-initiated expatriates (SIEs), who take the initiative to secure foreign job positions (Jokinen et al., 2008). As SIEs are becoming a significant part of the workforce, supporting their careers and growth has become an important endeavor for governments and employers. SIEs are distinct from other workers in that they are susceptible to the challenges of adapting to new cultures and their new organizations and careers (Shen & Kram, 2011). Given that SIEs must leave behind their social networks in their home countries and build their careers in new environments, it is vital to consider how SIEs’ changed social networks support their career development and future success (Cao et al., 2012; Wang, 2002).

Social network perspectives on career development, particularly developmental networks (Higgins & Kram, 2001), focus on informal or formal relationships as potential developmental venues and their roles in providing developmental support and guidance. Developmental networks have been widely used to explore the impact of social relationships on workers’ careers and growth (Yip & Kram, 2017). Although several scholars have explored developmental networks in various contexts, such as higher education (De Janasz & Sullivan, 2004) and entrepreneurship (Gruber-Mücke & Kailer, 2015), less is known about developmental networks in global contexts, such as SIEs (Shen & Kram, 2011). Characteristics and functions of developmental networks can vary widely depending on social and individual contexts (Higgins & Kram, 2001). Therefore, investigating how network characteristics and functions interact in SIEs’ contexts can yield new insights into research and theory. In addition, existing studies on expatriates’ social networks mainly focused on their adjustment as outcomes (eg Bayraktar, 2019), and only a few have discussed expatriates’ career development and growth (Doherty, 2013). This is a significant gap in the literature, considering that career development is a major motive for SIEs to leave their home countries (Cao et al., 2012). This study addresses this gap by contributing new evidence on SIEs’ network characteristics, which link to their perceived career growth opportunities.

This study focuses on South Korean SIEs in Vietnam, whose population has increased more than 20 times since 2013 (Ministry of Employment and Labor in Korea, 2022). Vietnam’s promising economic growth, the globalization of South Korean companies, and youth unemployment in South Korea have all contributed to this remarkable increase (Human Resource Development Service of Korea, 2022). College graduates often fantasize about working abroad as a getaway from South Korea’s competitive and collectivist work culture (Cho & Yoon, 2001; Oh & Jang, 2021). However, many of them who move to Vietnam find positions at local branches of South Korean companies and learn that the work culture is not significantly different from that of South Korea (Kim, 2018). Therefore, many seek to develop networks outside their organizations for emotional and cultural support (Oh & Jang, 2021). South Korean SIEs also undergo physical and cultural adjustment in Vietnam, which has a much warmer and humid climate, uses a different language, and has different social structures and norms as a socialist republic with a unique history (Oh & Jang, 2021). Thus, this study also examines the role of the cultural support function, which has not been dealt with in previous literature in terms of the relationship between developers, namely mentors and protégés. Higgins and Kram (2001) suggested that two main developmental functions, psychosocial and career functions, may help to increase protégés’ sense of clarity of professional identity and personal values. Although cross-cultural studies also emphasize cultural adjustment support as the main role of mentoring in increasing expatriate adjustment (Shen & Kram, 2011; Zhuang et al., 2013), few studies have identified the cultural function in the relationships between development networks and their outcomes.

In sum, the purposes of this study are to develop and examine a hypothesized model based on the prior findings in SIE literature. The model includes structural relationships among developmental networks, developmental functions, and perceived career growth opportunities. Moreover, this study also aims to examine the mediation effects of developmental functions, including cultural support functions, on the relationship between developmental networks and perceived career growth opportunities.

Theoretical Background

Developmental Networks: Functions and Characteristics

This study adopted a social network perspective to investigate SIEs’ career development. Social networks are widely known as critical factors for individuals’ social learning and development (Bandura, 1971). Developmental networks, in particular, is a framework that elaborates functions of social networks by distinguishing various types of relationships involved in individuals’ career development (Higgins & Kram, 2001). This framework was proposed to extend the concept of ‘mentoring’ at work. Traditional mentoring literature defined mentoring as a dyadic relationship between a protégé and a mentor within the same organization. On the other hand, the developmental network framework has a broader definition of mentors. Coworkers, subordinates, and even individuals outside of the organization can support one’s development (Hezlett & Gibson, 2005). Furthermore, the developmental network expands the meaning of ‘mentoring’ from giving work-related advice to providing career, psychosocial, and cultural support (Dobrow et al., 2012; Higgins & Kram, 2001; Kram, 1985).

In a developmental network framework, career support refers to a developmental function that directly assists the development of an individual’s career, including coaching, sponsorship, providing challenging assignments and protection (Kram, 1985; Kram & Isabella, 1985). Career support is closely related to the intention to remain with an organization (Higgins & Thomas, 2001) and with a host country (Zhuang et al., 2013), as well as career-related optimism, such as self-efficacy for career success. Psychosocial support, on the other hand, represents social exchanges that facilitate reduced work stress, establishing one’s identity, and increasing work satisfaction through counseling, role modeling, acceptance, and friendship (Higgins & Kram, 2001; Kram & Isabella, 1985). In addition to these two types of support, developmental network studies have extended work to suggest other support functions, for example, freedom and opportunity for skills development as a facilitator for career support (Cotton et al., 2011), work ethics and values (Murphy & Kram, 2010), and cultural guidance and trans-country support (Shen and Kram, 2011). In the context of expatriation and international careers, cross-cultural transition support functions (“cultural support”) gain further significance. Mao and Shen (2015) pointed out the under-explored functions by going beyond monocultural assumptions and exploring expatriates’ needs in cultural transition processes. Cultural support includes material, informational, and logistic support for facilitating the transitions and connection to home countries (Shen & Kram, 2011).

Career, psychosocial, and cultural supports can be yielded from various sources and may depend on the person’s network characteristics (Higgins & Kram, 2001). Network characteristics can be examined through their diversity and embeddedness (Burt, 1983). Diversity of networks refers to the degree to which developers in the network shares little or no commonalities with mentees, such as the number of differences in race and national identity and the degree of different social systems, for example, work, communities, or schools, from which one’s developers originate (Burt, 1983; Higgins & Kram, 2001; Marsden & Campbell, 1984). Embeddedness is broadly defined as the closeness or connectedness of interpersonal relationships (Granovetter, 1985). It also represents the strength of relationship dimensions, which refers to the degree of reciprocity, intimacy, or frequency of interactions between the developers and mentees. The types and degrees of developmental functions a person receives differ by the person’s network characteristics, such as diversity and embeddedness (Chao et al., 1992; Burke & McKeen, 1997; Seibert et al., 2001). The broad literature on social networks suggests that networks comprised of diverse developers can create new insights and information for individuals, while networks with high embeddedness enable the individual to obtain high-quality and exclusive information (Dobrow et al., 2012). However, few studies have explored how network characteristics lead to network functions when moving to another country to work on one’s own arrangement. The following section discusses how network characteristics relate to expatriate contexts’ developmental functions.

The Relationships between Networks Characteristics and Developmental Functions

The diversity and embeddedness of a network have been described in various ways (Knoke & Yang, 2020). In this study, we use homophily–heterophily as network diversity indicators (McPherson et al., 2001) and intimacy and contact frequency as embeddedness indicators (Knoke & Yang, 2020). In the following sections, we review how these network attributes are related to developmental functions.

Homophily–Heterophily as Network Diversity

The range and density of a network were typically described as the main indicators to represent network diversity. Range refers to the degree of diverse social identities of developers. A low-range developmental network would consist of members from similar organizations or communities, while high density, which means developers are highly interconnected and thereby protégés have few opportunities to explore new opportunities, would consist of members who have relatively redundant information. Thus, this study describes network diversity as homophily–heterophily indicators. Preference for individuals with similar social characteristics is termed homophily, while the opposite, heterophily, is a tendency to prefer social connections with individuals who are different (Lazarsfeld & Merton, 1954; Rogers & Bhowmik, 1970). In general, a person with a high level of heterophily would have a more diverse network, as it would comprise individuals who share less in common with the individual. Different types of homophily and heterophily in a developmental network can lead to different types of support for expatriates. Organizational heterophily, which is defined as a preference toward workers outside of one’s workplace, can be of particular importance for SIEs. The literature has found that having extra-organizational members in one’s developmental network can benefit expatriates because they can bring opportunities for the expatriate to learn more about the host country (Mäkelä & Suutari, 2009; Shen & Kram, 2011). On the other hand, studies have also demonstrated that intra-organizational members can aid SIEs’ adjustment in the workplace and the host country’s culture (Oh & Jang, 2021). Senior members of the organization often have hands-on experience and knowledge about the job. When the member is also a fellow expatriate, it is likely that the person also has advice to share on how to adjust to the country and culture.

Cultural heterophily, which refers to a preference towards individuals from the same cultural background, is closely associated with the global nature of expatriation. Cross-cultural developers and host country nationals can significantly support expatriates to transition to the new country and adjust to the culture (Wang & Kanungo, 2004; Shen & Kram, 2011). On the other hand, home country nationals provide emotional support, a sense of security, and connectedness to their home country (Caligiuri & Lazarova, 2002; Bayraktar, 2019; Kubovcikova & van Bakel, 2022). Furthermore, home country nationals often share exclusive and valuable information about work and careers in the host countries as a courtesy, for example, for “fellow South Koreans” (Shen & Kram, 2011; Pinto & Araújo, 2016; Khedher & Asadullah, 2020).

Lastly, we examined the role of program homophily, which refers to favoring fellow graduates of overseas employment assistance (OEA) program as developers. The OEA program graduates build strong emotional bonds as they live and learn together for 1 year (Oh & Jang, 2021). OEA graduates are also a very homogeneous group, as they are all recent college graduates, in the early career stage, and have recently moved to Vietnam (Oh & Jang, 2021). This homogenous group may provide various developmental support to its members by sharing feelings and information on work and cultural adjustment. Accordingly, Hypotheses 1 to 3 (H1–H3) were developed as follows:

Organizational diversity (heterophily) is significantly associated with (a) career support, (b) psychosocial support, and (c) cultural support.

Cultural diversity (heterophily) is significantly associated with (a) career support, (b) psychosocial support, and positively associated with (c) cultural support.

Program homophily is significantly associated with (a) career support, (b) psychosocial support, and (c) cultural support.

Intimacy and Frequency as Network Embeddedness

Intimacy (the degree of emotional closeness to the person) and frequency of interaction have been used in social network studies to represent embeddedness (Knoke & Yang, 2020). In expatriate literature, Johnson and colleagues (2003) found that intimacy, interaction frequency, and duration of relationships with fellow expatriates are positively associated with general and work adjustment of expatriates. This finding was supported by Kubovcikova and van Bakel (2022), who found that the frequency of socialization with career-related supporters is positively associated with the work and emotional support they receive from the network. These studies indicate that individuals may yield career and psychosocial support from intimate and frequently interacting developers. Less is empirically known about how network embeddedness may relate to cultural support. Mao & Shen (2015) hypothesized that network embeddedness would be closely tied to expatriates’ cultural integration. This might hold true for South Korean SIEs, particularly as South Korean culture is known to be more collectivist than other countries (Cho & Yoon, 2001). The collectivist culture in South Korea may influence South Korean SIEs to value information and support from close relationships. Based on the literature, H4 and H5 were developed:

SIEs’ intimacy with their developers is positively associated with (a) career support, (b) psychosocial support, and (c) cultural support.

SIEs’ frequency of contact with their developers is positively associated with (a) career support, (b) psychosocial support, and (c) cultural support.

The Relationships between Developmental Functions

Studies on expatriates have suggested that cultural support might play a role in expatriates’ adjustment and career development indirectly through career and psychosocial support. Shen and Kram (2011) noted that cross-cultural transition support appeared simultaneously or preemptively in the context of career or psychosocial support. Their study suggested that cross-cultural transition functions can be categorized into three sub-functions: cultural guidance, facilitating transition (trans-country/trans-organizational), and home linkage (Cotton et al., 2011; Kram, 1985). These three sub-functions are closely associated with psychosocial support, as they involve feelings of connectedness and comfortableness. Wang and Kanungo (2004) demonstrated that network cultural diversity is significantly and positively related to expatriates’ psychological well-being, which indicates the potential relationship between cultural support and psychosocial support. In addition, these sub-functions also promote career support, especially in trans-organizational transition, as it facilitates the sense-making of the new work environment reflecting the local career development condition that SIEs face (Cao et al., 2012). Career-related information used in the home country may not be valid in the host country, so cultural support is an important prerequisite for career support. Accordingly, the following hypothesis was examined:

Cultural support is positively associated with (a) career support and (b) psychosocial support.

Career Growth Opportunities

Career growth opportunities refer to the perceived value and utility of a person’s current job in relation to personal growth, learning, increased responsibility and autonomy, a wider range of tasks, and higher income (Nouri & Parker, 2013). Career growth opportunities are an important indicator of subjective career outcomes and profoundly impact employees' turnover intentions and organizational commitment (Bedeian et al., 1991; Nouri & Parker, 2013; Weng et al., 2010). Career growth opportunities can also be a critical career outcome for SIEs, who are suggested to be protean careerists; that is, they build their careers based on their work and life values (Cao et al., 2013; Crowley-Henry, 2007; Doherty et al., 2013; Hull, 1996). As protean careerists self-direct their careers, how they perceive the growth opportunities in their current job can significantly impact their decisions regarding future career plans, performance, and commitment in the current workplace. Studies have found that newcomers identify greater career development chances when they have well-functioning developmental networks (Murphy & Kram, 2010). Since SIEs are newcomers in both their organizations and host countries, they might need both career support and significant psychosocial and cultural support to fully comprehend the dynamics of career growth in the host country (Shen & Kram, 2011). Therefore, this study explored the role of career, psychosocial, and cultural supports on perceived career growth opportunities. Accordingly, the following hypothesis was developed:

(a) Career support, (b) psychosocial support, and (c) cultural support of SIEs’ developmental networks are positively associated with career growth opportunities.

Figure 1 summarizes the hypothesis model of the quantitative study.

Figure 1.

Hypothesized model of the study.

Methods

Participants

The participants were 122 South Korean SIEs currently living and working in Vietnam. The participants were alumni of a 1-year overseas employment assistance (OEA) program for South Koreans aiming to find employment abroad (eg Vietnam, Laos, or Cambodia); it is partially funded by the South Korean government and operated by a company-sponsored foundation. The program’s purpose is to foster the development of global business leaders through systematic mentoring and intensive education in global entrepreneurship, cultural adjustment, and language. The program requires a 4-year college degree to apply. The selected participants take basic courses for learning global business and the local language for the first 6 months in their home country. Subsequently, the cohort moves to the host country and take intensive language and entrepreneurship courses for the last 6 months. The program graduates typically find employment in South Korea-based multinational firms in Vietnam or local Vietnamese firms that collaborate with South Korean companies.

Procedures

Data were collected using an online survey before the COVID-19 pandemic (2018-2019). With the support of the partner OEA program, the survey link, a consent form, and the study’s purpose were posted on closed online community websites for South Korean SIEs in Vietnam. Participation was anonymous and voluntary, and the participants were guided to read and confirm informed consent before completing the survey. A total of 140 responses were collected; 122 (87.1%) responses were utilized for analysis, excluding those with missing and incomplete data.

Measures

Developmental Networks

The egocentric network analysis approach was conducted (Higgins & Thomas, 2001). The participants were asked to list the names or initials of up to seven people who had been important in their career or personal development in Vietnam (“alters” or “developers”). They were also asked to describe each relationship in detail in terms of network structure, including the nature of the relationship (supervisor, peer, subordinate, family). Subsequently, the participants responded to binary questions (Yes or No) that asked whether this person worked in the same organization, was of the same nationality, and was an alum of the preliminary OEA program.

Organizational, cultural, and program diversity were calculated from the responses using the E-I (External-Internal links) index proposed by Krackhardt and Stern (1988). The index represents the relative influence of out-group or external individuals (eg those of a different nationality) and in-group or internal individuals (eg those with the same nationality). According to Krackhardt and Stern (1988), the equations used for the E-I index is written as

E I I n d e x = \frac{E - I}{E + I}

where E is the number of external relationships, and I is the number of internal relationships with the respondent. The possible scores for the E-I index range from −1 to +1, where −1 indicates complete homophily (all members in the network have the same attribute as the respondent) and +1 indicates complete heterophily (all members in the network have different attributes from the respondent).

Intimacy was measured with a 5-point Likert question examining how intimate or close the respondent feels to each person (1 = not at all intimate, 5 = very intimate). Interaction frequency was measured by asking how often the respondent talked to the person, including text messaging and phone calls (1 = less than once per month, 2 = 1–2 times per month, 3 = 3–5 times per month, 4 = 3–5 times per week, 5 = every day).

Developmental Functions

A nine-item scale was used to measure the developmental functions of the networks. Six items on career and psychosocial support items were adopted from Pellegrini and Scandura, 2005, which have examined the factorial stability of the mentoring functions; and this study developed a three-item scale based on the qualitative study of Shen & Kram (2011). The items included “They help me coordinate professional goals” (career support), “I share personal problems with him/her” (psychosocial support), and “They give me local cultural knowledge to help me adapt here” (cultural support). The participants were asked to rate each alter on a scale from 1 to 5, where 1 means “not at all” and 5 refers to “extremely.”

Career Growth Opportunities

The participants also responded to five items about their perceptions of their current career growth opportunities (Nouri & Parker, 2013). Examples of the items include “My present job in Vietnam is useful in achieving my career goals” and “I feel that my present job here will lead to the future attainment of my career goals.” The respondents a selected from a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Not at all, 5 = Extremely). The Cronbach alpha coefficient was .93 in the Nouri and Parker’s study.

Planned Statistical Analysis

To examine the hypotheses, two-step procedures of structural equation modeling (SEM) were conducted. The first step was to assess the measurement models to increase all constructs’ validities, and the second step was to evaluate a structural model with path analysis among the variables. In establishing the measurement model, confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were conducted to determine if items load well on the underlying constructs, and the average variance extracted (AVE) and composite reliability (CR) were tested for their convergent validities. Second, path analyses among the variables were conducted to examine the significant relationships in the structural model. The structural model was built using a hybrid model that includes both observed exogenous and latent endogenous variables. Organizational diversity, cultural diversity, program heterophily, intimacy, and frequency were measured using the observed variables, while career support, psychosocial support, cultural transition support, and career growth opportunities were measured with the latent variables. A bootstrapping test was undertaken to verify the mediation effects among independent and dependent variables via mediators.

Results

Descriptive Statistics

The data from the 122 participants indicated that 71.3% of the participants were male, 87.7% were single, and 94.3% were 4-year university graduates. Their average work experience in Vietnam was 25 months (max. 78 months; minute. 1 month), and their self-evaluated Vietnamese fluency was 3.42 on a five-point Likert scale (1 = poor and 5 = very good). A total of 65.6% were working in a South Korean multinational corporation (MNC), while others worked in international or local MNCs. Additionally, 50% of the participants were working with more than 1000 people, and 36.9% worked with less than 300; 68% worked in the manufacturing sector, while 10.7% were in the service sector.

SIE developmental networks ranged from one to seven, with an average of 6.4, and 83.6% of the participants listed seven people. The total number of alters was 780. Of these, 31.3% were supervisors, 42.4% were peers, and 4.7% were subordinates. Only 5.9% were family (parents, brothers, and sisters), and 3.7% were partners or spouses. More than half (53.0%) of the developers were from the same organization in which respondents worked. In total, 89.9% of the developers were South Korean nationals. A total of 41.9% of developers were OEA program alumni. The average perceived intimacy with the developers was 4.13 out of 5, and the average frequency of contact was 4.11 out of 5. The mean, standard deviation, and correlation coefficients for each variable are illustrated in Table 1.

Table 1.

Statistical Descriptions and Correlations.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
1. Size
2. ORG	−.086
3. CUL	.038	−.247^**
4. PROG	.171	−.537^***	.319^***
5. Intimacy	−.058	.229^*	.065	−.094
6. Frequency	−.046	−.178^*	.162	−.017	.263^**
7. CARS	.094	−.065	.114	.083	.365^***	.159	(.852)
8. PSYS	.003	.283^**	−.014	−.250^**	.396^***	.219^*	.323^***	(.954)
9. CULS	.106	.031	.172	−.188^*	.357^***	.170	.513^***	.477^***	(.795)
10. CGO	.014	.012	−.024	.143	.065	−.018	.267^**	.297^**	.152	(.940)
Mean	6.373	−.054	−.796	.161	4.125	4.113	3.668	4.269	3.639	3.623
St.d	1.392	.690	.372	.682	.819	.760	.746	.530	.924	.963
AVE							.658	.873	.568	.757

Note. N = 122; St.d = standardized deviation; AVE = average variance extracted; CR = composite reliability (CR) in parentheses. Size: Developmental network size; ORG = organizational heterophily; CUL = cultural heterophily; PROG = program heterophily; CARS = career support; PSYS = psychosocial support; CULS: cultural transition support; CGO = career growth opportunities.

*p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.

Results of Measurement Model: CFA

Before examining the hypothesized hybrid model, the measurement model was tested. The measurement model was developed to assess whether all the distinct constructs and indicators load as intended on their latent variables. The four-factor model consisting of four latent variables with fourteen items was examined. To test the validity and reliability of the measurement model, a CFA was utilized (Figure 2). The results demonstrated a good fit of the data: χ2/degrees of freedom (df) = 2.368, goodness-of-fit index (GFI) = .892, Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = .908, comparative fit index (CFI) = .928, and root-mean-square error of approximation (RMSEA) = .061, with acceptable standardized coefficient values (.619–.962). The correlation coefficients among the latent variables were statistically significant and ranged between .278 and .517. In addition, each latent variable (career support, psychosocial support, cultural support, and career growth opportunities) demonstrated an acceptable AVE (greater than .50) and CR (higher than .70), which means they have convergent validity and construct reliability (Table 1).

Figure 2.

The results of CFA for measurement model. Note. χ2/df = 2.368 (168.104/71, p=.000); GFI = .892; TLI = .908; CFI = .928; and RMSEA = .061. The values on the one-way arrows indicate the standardized coefficient (ß) and the two-way arrows indicate the correlation coefficient. CARS: Career support; PSYS: Psychosocial support; CULS: Cultural transition support; CGO: Career growth opportunities.

Path Analysis Results

A path analysis was conducted to identify the relationships among network characteristics, developmental functions, and career growth opportunities (Figure 3). The hypothesized hybrid model was tested, and the results demonstrated an acceptable model fit for the overall indexes (χ2 = 265.959, df = 127, TLI = .947, CFI = .971, and RMSEA = .065). The loading values between measured items and their underlying constructs ranged from .687 to .921, and all were statistically significant (p < .001).

Figure 3.

Path analysis results for the hypothesized model. Path analysis results for the hypothesized model. Note. χ2/df = 2.094 (265.959/127, p=.000); GFI = .926; TLI = .960; CFI = .978; and RMSEA = .057. *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001. The values on the one-way arrows indicate the standardized coefficient (ß). ORG: Organizational heterophily; CUL: Cultural heterophily; PROG: Program heterophily; CARS: Career support; PSYS: Psychosocial support; CULS: Cultural transition support; CGO: Career growth opportunities.

Among the network diversity variables, cultural diversity (heterophily) and same program heterophily had a direct impact on the cultural transition support with standardized coefficients (β) of .191 (p < .05) and −.302 (p < .01). Regarding network embeddedness, only psychological intimacy was associated with cultural transition support. Organizational diversity and interaction frequency were directly linked to higher psychosocial support (β = .243, p < .01 and β = .162, p < .05). In addition, the degree of intimacy with the developer had a slightly significant relationship with psychosocial support (β = .160, p = 058). Program heterophily and intimacy were related to higher levels of career support (β = .191, p < .05 and β = .219, p < .01). Career support and psychosocial support were both directly related to cultural transition support (β = .487 and .391, respectively, with p < .001) and career growth opportunity (β = .246, p < .05, and β = .284, p < .01, respectively). Cultural support was not significantly related to career growth opportunities.

A bootstrapping analysis was undertaken to examine the mediation effects among the variables. In the indirect effects of five observed exogenous variables on career growth opportunities, only intimacy had statistical significance (standardized indirect effect = .137, p = .010). Moreover, cultural heterophily, program heterophily, and intimacy indirectly influenced career support (the standardized indirect effect was .080, −.118, and .136, respectively; p < .01) through cultural support. These variables were also significantly and indirectly associated with psychosocial support (respectively .098, −.144, and .166, p < .01) via cultural support. In addition, cultural support indirectly influenced career growth opportunities via career support and psychosocial support (standardized indirect effect = .229, p = .003). Table 2 illustrates the statistical description of the path analysis.

Table 2.

Statistical Descriptions in the Path Analysis.

			Beta	B	S.E.	C.R.	p
ORG	→	CARS	−.039	−.042	.102	−.413	.679
ORG	→	CULS	−.155	−.208	.136	−1.522	.128
ORG	→	PSYS	.243	.187	.071	2.614	.009**
CUL	→	CARS	−.058	−.115	.163	−.708	.479
CUL	→	CULS	.206	.510	.216	2.366	.018*
CUL	→	PSYS	−.053	−.076	.114	−.663	.507
PROG	→	CARS	.191	.209	.103	2.031	.042*
PROG	→	CULS	−.302	−.41	.134	−3.055	.002**
PROG	→	PSYS	−.014	−.011	.072	−.151	.88
Intimacy	→	CARS	.219	.199	.078	2.56	.010*
Intimacy	→	CULS	.347	.392	.099	3.952	***
Intimacy	→	PSYS	.160	.104	.055	1.897	.058+
Frequency	→	CARS	.026	.025	.079	.321	.748
Frequency	→	CULS	.013	.015	.107	.143	.886
Frequency	→	PSYS	.162	.113	.055	2.042	.041*
CULS	→	CARS	.478	.386	.067	5.739	***
CULS	→	PSYS	.391	.225	.047	4.763	***
CARS	→	CGO	.246	.288	.121	2.387	.017*
CULS	→	CGO	−.119	−.113	.106	−1.063	.288
PSYS	→	CGO	.284	.467	.166	2.809	.005**

Note. + p < .01, *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001, beta: Standardized Coefficient; B: unstandardized Coefficient.

Discussion

This study explored the characteristics of South Korean SIEs’ developmental networks and their effects on developmental functions and perceived career growth opportunities. The results of this study provide several implications for the overall literature and practice, and the effects of network diversity on developmental functions indicate several implications.

The findings demonstrate that organizational heterophily was positively associated with SIEs’ psychosocial support. Previous studies have emphasized the importance of extra-organizational developers and the psychosocial support they provide for expatriates, which is consistent with this study’s findings (Shen and Kram, 2011; Mäkelä and Suutari, 2009). Notably, organizational homophily was not related to the career support for SIEs, which needs further exploration. Existing literature indicates that hierarchy needs to be considered when investigating intra-organizational support, as expatriates might hesitate to receive help from their superiors but be more open to socializing with coworkers (Shaffer et al., 1999). Considering that most of the respondents have developmental networks from colleagues, and that young South Korean employees generally receive more career support from superiors than colleagues, organizational homophily may not affect their career support in the networks. This might be particular to the case of South Korea, where corporate culture embeds strong hierarchical norms (Cho & Yoon, 2001). Although young South Korean SIEs often express frustration with working in the collectivist and authoritarian environment of South Korean firms (Oh & Jang, 2021), they may not be free from such cultural influences. Taking the findings and contexts together, the effects of organizational homophily might be better understood when cross-examined with hierarchical homophily (ie preference towards same-rank coworkers).

The findings further suggest that cultural heterophily was positively associated with SIEs’ cultural support. This finding has been empirically supported in numerous studies, such as Wang and Kanungo (2004) and Shen and Kram (2011). The direct effects of cultural heterophily on psychosocial support were not significant in our study, although this relationship has been demonstrated to be significant in several studies about expatriates (Caligiuri & Lazarova, 2002; Bayraktar, 2019; Kubovcikova & van Bakel, 2022). However, cultural heterophily demonstrated significant indirect effects on career and psychosocial support via cultural transition support. This finding suggests that cross-cultural developers might not provide immediate career advice or emotional comfort for the SIEs, but they may facilitate SIEs’ career development and psychological well-being by supporting their cultural transitions.

The findings indicate that program homophily is negatively associated with career support for SIEs. In other words, SIEs with fewer fellow program graduates receive more career support from their developmental networks. However, it demonstrates the opposite results when examining the indirect relationship between program homophily and career support via cultural support. This result is particularly interesting given that program homophily was positively associated with cultural support for SIEs, meaning the more SIEs have fellow program graduates as their developers, the more they receive cultural support from their developmental networks. These findings indicate that fellow OEA graduates might provide friendships and support for cultural transitions, but they might not be the ideal developers for career support. As novice SIEs, fellow OEA graduates might not possess adequate knowledge, experience, or information to guide other SIEs to navigate the workplace or industry effectively. Bayraktar (2019) suggested that compatriots are important sources of cultural support, particularly in their role as a “bridge,” providing a sense of connectedness to the home country’s culture while understanding the hardships of adjusting to a new culture. The current study’s findings did not support the psychosocial functions of program homophily. However, we also found that program homophily is indirectly associated with psychosocial support via cultural support. This finding suggests that program compatriots can be valuable developers who provide cultural transition support, which later can lead to career development and the emotional well-being of SIEs.

The effects of network embeddedness on developmental functions also present several implications. The findings suggest that intimacy is positively related to career and cultural support. In addition, our analysis demonstrated that intimacy is the only predictor that has significant mediation effects on SIEs’ perceived career growth opportunities. Lee and Van Vorst (2010), Johnson et al. (2003), and Liu and Shaffer (2005) have suggested that the strong embeddedness of expatriates’ networks has a positive influence on their adjustment and performance, which is supported by the present study’s results. While intimacy influenced two of the developmental functions, frequency of contact only affected psychosocial support, suggesting that even if an SIE does not interact with a developer, the developer can provide career and cultural support. Expatriate literature suggests that although family members and friends might be physically distant, they still provide strong developmental support, advice, and emotional assistance (Oh & Jang, 2021; Shen & Kram, 2011). In other words, SIE developers might not necessarily need to be in the same country but could be anywhere in the world. This result emphasizes that encouraging expatriates to maintain close relationships and intimacy with their family members and friends is critical for their development.

Finally, the results demonstrated that cultural support did not directly influence career growth opportunities, but it may indirectly affect career growth opportunities by influencing the career and psychosocial support of developmental relationships. This result indicates that developers’ help on cultural transitions may affect SIEs’ emotional stability and work adjustment, but may not directly influence their thoughts and ideas on developing their careers. Another potential explanation is that cultural support is rather a subfunction of career and psychosocial support, and its benefit can be yielded only when a developer provides career or psychosocial support for the SIEs.

Theoretical and Practical Implications

The findings of this study provide two main theoretical implications. First, this study is one of the first works empirically examining the role of cultural support theorized by developmental network scholars (eg Shen & Kram, 2011). Our study demonstrated that cultural support influences SIEs’ perceived career growth opportunities, but only indirectly through career and psychosocial support. Shen and Kram’s (2011) qualitative study uncovered that cross-cultural transition support intertwines with career and psychosocial support, which corroborates the results of this study. This raises the question of whether cultural transition support should be considered an independent function of developmental networks or a subfunction connected to psychosocial and career support. Accordingly, future research could provide conceptual clarifications concerning the identified support for a better understanding of developmental network research.

Second, this study provided a comprehensive understanding of SIEs’ developmental networks and functions and their impact on subjective career outcomes. This study’s findings demonstrate that extra-organizational developers, cross-cultural developers, fellow program affiliates, and developers with strong relationships can provide career, psychosocial, and cultural support, and these supports contribute to higher levels of perceived career growth opportunities. Additionally, these findings explain who can be sources of SIEs’ subjective career outcomes and how these supporters influence their thoughts on their careers in the host country.

From a practical perspective, this study can inform career counselors and educators who support potential or current SIEs can further foster expatriates’ career development. Particularly, it is important to note that different developers can provide different types of developmental support. For example, extra-organizational supporters may aid SIEs’ emotional well-being, but they might not be able to provide the information and support needed for work adjustment. Moreover, a well-designed OEA program may potentially build a developmental network. Understanding “who can provide what” in SIE contexts will be useful to guide SIEs to cultivate their networks based on their developmental needs and fully benefit from different types of relationships.

Limitations and Future Directions

This study has two main limitations. First, the limited sample size required a simple hypothesized model based on existing literature. The difficulty of collecting survey responses from SIEs is consistently described in previous studies (Cummings & Higgins, 2006). This study did not involve other developmental network characteristics, such as family ties. In future studies, more characteristics need to be designed as developmental networks and tested. Second, the study was conducted with the participants of one OEA program, which may limit its generalizability. Although the program is one of the most popular OEA programs among young South Koreans because it is directly sponsored by a scholarship foundation that is supported by one of South Korea’s most reputable corporations, future research needs to include the extended scope of OEA programs.

Footnotes

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

ORCID iDs

Seokyoung Oh

Kyoungjin Jang-Tucci

Author Biographies

Dr. Seokyoung Oh received his PhD in Human Resource Education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2009 and is now an associate professor at Yonsei University. His research program involves workplace learning, organizational learning, emotions in the context of workplace learning, and career development. He enjoys tennis, golf, and cycling.

Kyoungjin Jang-Tucci is a doctoral student in the Educational Policy Studies program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is also a project assistant at the Center for Research on College-Workforce Transitions. She received her B.A. in Social Work and M.A. in Education from Yonsei University, South Korea. Her research interest centers on postsecondary education related to work, (un)employment, and workers’ justice. Her recent works focus on asset-based approaches to underserved college students’ career development and employment after graduation. In her free time, Kyoungjin enjoys birdwatching with her spouse and cat.

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