Expatriate stories about cultural encounters-A narrative approach to cultural learning processes in multinational companies

This article focuses on the cultural encounters and learning processes that take place in the context of multinational companies. First, it argues that a narrative approach to expatriation and cultural encounters may enlighten us to the ways in which these phenomena are understood and constructed as part of the social reality of those who experience them. Second, it presents analyses of expatriates' narratives about critical incidents that evoked emotions, challenged the storytellers' established understandings, and made them reflect upon and cope with cultural encounters in new ways. Finally, the article outlines how researchers and practitioners could work with narration as a means of stimulating cultural learning processes, thereby enhancing cultural intelligence both at the organizational and at the individual level. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.