A modest and respectful approach in interaction with HCNs what lakes as more appropriate than showing off. The noted ‘expatriate bubble’, in which expatriates separate themselves from the daily social environment, may not enhance improved intergroup relations and may be indicative for some of the host country nationals’ perceptions of expatriates. Moving towards more collective identities may have important consequences for behaviour as it is a compromise between two opposing needs, the need for differentiation and the need for assimilation. In organizations where the workforce which comprised of multiple nationalities participants observed that people ‘stick to their own child’. Other respondents seemed either not to be clear about the importance of interaction or separated work from private interaction interaction. Most interaction at the workplace seemed to take place between the expatriates themselves. All expatriates had few local friends.
Cases where expatriates had a higher number of local friends seemed related to the fact that these friends were spouses/husbands of expatriate colleagues. Expatriates who exhibit ethnocentric traits may experience greater difficulty in social interactions at work. Because host country nationals and expatriates have to work with each other and because it is commonly believed that host country national are deviating from the norm, instead of the new incoming expatriate, it is important to show empathy and cultural sensitivity. Being inflexible and having expectations that things run in identical way as in one’s home country, were linked to unsuccessful Eagle by a number of participants. One CEO with over thirty years of experience in Asia noted that it had been the reason for replacement of company managers. Well-adjusted expatriates showed behavioural changes and were therefore capable of articulating the background of these changes. On a personal level, findings showed consensus on the need for expatriates to adapt to a foreign country. Little adaptation apparently could be expected from the host country nationals.