Influence of Intercultural Communication Competencies on Cross-Cultural Adjustment, Job Satisfaction and Intention to Stay of White-Collar Foreign Workers in Taiwan

Abstract

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In recent years Taiwan has had to start facing the increasingly serious issue of depopulation, exploring solutions to tackle it. Attracting foreign talent to work on the island has therefore become one of the most pressing crucial strategies of the country. However, attracting is only one part of it and retention happens to be just as important. Previous studies have focused on similar situations in nearby states such as South Korea or Japan or when conducted in Taiwan, the attention was pointed at specific groups such as cram schools English teachers or immigrant blue-collar workers. This research, on the other hand, is aimed at the population that is so precious to Taiwan at the moment, the white-collar expatriates. In particular, the study engaged in the understanding of those conditions and dynamics that might prompt a foreign white-collar worker in Taiwan to quit his position. The study was conducted through a quantitative study, with a self-administered questionnaire that produced 256 valid responses.The analysis involved software tools such as IBM SPSS Statistics 23, IBM SPSS AMOS, and IBM SPSS Process. The results showed how three components of Intercultural Communication Competence (Host Country Language Proficiency, English Use in the Workplace, Social Interactions with host country nationals) have significant positive relationships with Cross-Cultural Adjustment, as well as Intention to Stay. Besides, data supported the existence of a positive mediating effect from Cross-Cultural Adjustment and Job Satisfaction in the relationship between the three components of Intercultural Communication Competence mentioned above and Intention to Stay. In every occasion in which the fourth component of Intercultural Communication Competence, Indirect Communication, was employed no hypothesis of positive relationship or mediation was supported. Given the saliency of this topic, the outcome of the following study might equip Taiwanese companies interested in hiring foreign workers with significant practical contributions, as much as to foreign workers themselves.