While the importance of international experience for advancement to the executive suites and firm performance has been well recognized, meta-analytic findings illustrating the impact of prior international experiences on the cross-cultural adjustment of expatriates have been discouraging. In the current study, we provide a theoretical review and critique of the cross-cultural adjustment literature by highlighting issues associated with conceptualization and operationalization of international experiences. By providing a narrative review of the existing studies on international experiences, we underscore the nature of the existing international experience measures and provide a synthesis for future research. Discussion of the implications of the different measures of international experience is also provided.
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