Navigating Cross-Cultural Leadership and Adaptation Among Expatriate Leaders

Abstract

This study investigates how expatriate leaders in Swedish multinational corporations experience and adapt to cultural differences in leadership. Based on eleven qualitative interviews with expatriate leaders from Swedish multinational corporations, analysed through the GLOBE framework and Culturally Endorsed Leadership Theory, the study finds that effective adaptation is best understood as a selective and ongoing process rather than full assimilation. The findings show that expatriate leaders adapt their leadership behaviours across communication styles, workplace relationships and authority structures, while still preserving core values connected to the multinational corporation and their own leadership background. The recommendation is that expatriate leaders should prepare for general cultural differences before an international assignment, while recognizing that such preparation is only a starting point. Since leadership expectations may differ, expatriates need to enter the local workplace with willingness to learn. At the same time, they must balance local adaptation with core leadership values such as trust, collaboration, participation and responsibility. However, this balance can be challenging. The study therefore contributes by showing that expatriate leadership adaptation can be understood as cultural translation, where leaders adjust selected behaviours without abandoning the organisational values they are expected to represent.