The importance of contact quality: Maximizing the impact of expatriate contact with a local host

Establishing contact between expatriates and a local host has been found to reap benefits with regard to Interaction Adjustment, Host National Social Support, Open-mindedness, and Social Initiative. This longitudinal study examines the role of the quality of contact for these four aspects. Expatriates in the Netherlands were randomly divided into an experimental group (n = 33) of which 21 developed high-quality contact with their host, and a control group (n = 32) without host. The results show that contact quality plays an important role and suggest that the higher the quality of the contact, the more benefit the expatriate experienced. Moreover, expatriates with low-quality contact did not experience a detrimental effect.