Toward a person-centered approach to cross-cultural adjustment: comparing profiles between female and male expatriates
结合以人为中心的方法与资源保存理论，通过模糊集定性比较分析106名在捷克的外派人员，发现女性外派人员能达到与男性相当的适应水平，但需要更广泛和整合的个人资源，尤其对已婚女性而言。
This study advances our understanding of expatriate adjustment by integrating a person-centered approach with the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory to compare the cross-cultural adjustment profiles of female and male expatriates. We examine how gender, marital status, extraversion, cultural intelligence (CQ), and host-country language proficiency collectively impact cross-cultural interaction adjustment. Using fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) on 106 expatriates in the Czech Republic, we find that female expatriates can achieve adjustment levels comparable to their male counterparts; however, success requires a broader and more integrated set of personal resources, especially for married women. These findings challenge assumptions of homogeneous expatriate experiences and highlight the need for profile-specific strategies in expatriate management. The study extends COR theory by demonstrating how structural disadvantages shape resource accumulation processes and by expanding the principle of equifinality to emphasize configuration-based pathways to adjustment. It also shows that expatriate adjustment depends on the interplay and synergy of multiple personal traits rather than isolated characteristics. Our results offer practical implications for developing targeted support mechanisms tailored to different expatriate subgroups.