Comparing the Intercultural Adaptation Experiences of Four Western Expatriates in Malaysia

Abstract

Expatriates sojourn-experiences may effect their perceptions of Malaysia, which in turn may influence their assessment of and feelings about Malaysian societies, markets and politics. The negative or positive opinions that expatriates have of Malaysia will be relayed to their governments, their media and their corporations, perhaps influencing the opinions and stances of their policy makers towards Malaysia. Intensive interviews are conducted with four Western expatriates in Malaysia. Their adaptation experiences are compared with issues and concepts presented in several past literature on sojourner adaptation.