A Cusp-Catastrophe Model of Cross-Cultural Adjustment

This paper reviews difficulties with both the conceptualisation and testing of cross-cultural adjustment identified in extant literature and empirical research. The U-curve hypothesis, one enduring theoretical position on cross-cultural adjustment, is extended with the application chaos theory to suggest adjustment may be a bi-modal phenomenon capable of linear and nonlinear progressions. Such an approach may explain adjustment phenomena such as abandoning the overseas assignment. The potential and implications of this model are also discussed.