As the rate of globalization grows, more people are moving out of their countries to find better employment or quality of life overseas. Since Malaysia remains an attractive destination for business growth and global expansion, thereby attracting increasing number of immigrant workers, this paper aims to study how immigrants, specifically from developed Western and developing Asian countries, adapt to the Malaysian culture. A qualitative research using semi-structured interviews was used to collect the data from ten participants who originates from Western and Asian regions. Drawing on Berry’s (1997) acculturation strategies, the data was then analysed through a thematic analysis to identify how culturally adapted the immigrants are toward the host culture. The results reveal that Asians are more likely to integrate into the Malaysian culture as compared to the Westerners. This is due to the common values and beliefs shared by those residing in the Asian region. The implication of this study is to provide valuable insights for employers and Human resource management to be prepared for the common acculturative stress that their expatriates or foreign workers might experience in the work setting and address the needs of these foreign employees via effective acculturation programs.
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In-Text Citation: (Fadil & Mohamad, 2022)
To Cite this Article: Fadil, D. S., & Mohamad, N. H. S. (2022). Acculturation Strategies among Immigrants in Malaysia: A Comparative Analysis between Developed Western Countries and Developing Asian Countries. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 12(10), 1193– 1207.
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