Exploring the new, protecting the known: Curiosity and adjustment in culturally novel environments
Author Identifier (ORCID)
Abstract
Adjustment research has largely overlooked curiosity, despite its role in motivating engagement with novelty. We develop and test a process model explaining how curiosity shapes adjustment through distinct behavioral pathways across levels of cultural novelty. Using qualitative data from 66 expatriate interviews, we identify four curiosity profiles and two pathways of engagement. A complementary three-wave quantitative study (N = 611) replicates these profiles and tests their effects. Results show that adjustment depends on how curiosity-informed behaviors are enacted and regulated, instead of trait levels alone, and that cultural novelty moderates their effectiveness, highlighting the interplay between trait, behavior, and context.
Keywords
curiosity, cultural adjustment, expatriates, cultural novelty, cross-cultural adaptation, behavioral engagement
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Date of Publication
1-1-2026
E-ISSN
21516561
ISSN
00650668
Volume
2026
Issue
1
Publication Title
Academy of Management Proceedings
Publisher
Academy of Management
School
School of Business and Law
Copyright
subscription content
Recommended Citation
Langmann, S., Bezemer, P. J., & Zhang, F. (2026). Exploring the new, protecting the known: Curiosity and adjustment in culturally novel environments. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2026(1). https://doi.org/10.5465/AMPROC.2026.210bp