Foreign language proficiency, career behaviors, and turnover-related outcomes: A social cognitive career theory perspective of host country national employees in foreign subsidiaries

While the majority of employees in foreign subsidiaries are host country nationals (HCNs) who use English as a second language in their work tasks, little research focuses on the impact of English proficiency on their career-related behaviors and outcomes. This paper applies social cognitive career theory (SCCT) to link HCN employees' English proficiency to their career-related behaviors and outcomes in two time-lagged studies in foreign subsidiaries. Study 1 conducted with 542 HCN employees in the Philippines suggests that career environment exploration mediates the positive English proficiency–turnover intention relationship. Study 2 conducted with 493 HCN employees in Japan suggests self-initiated headhunter contacts to mediate the positive English proficiency–voluntary turnover relationship and job embeddedness moderate the self-initiated headhunter contact-turnover relationship.