The Relationship between Perceived Organizational Support and the Intentions of International Students in Hungary to Stay in Hungary: The Role of Conflict Climate and Intercultural Adjustment

Abstract

In recent years, Hungary has seen a dramatic increase in the number of international students, particularly since the government launched a scholarship program to encourage more talented overseas students to study at Hungarian universities. The mobilities of these students have notably increased their participation in part-time jobs or internships in the host country. These work experiences could broaden the perspectives of international students regarding the organizational operation modes in the host country’s firms; moreover, they may impact their ability to interculturally adjust to the host country’s culture, clarifying their intentions to stay or not. This article attempts to find out how perceived organizational support (POS) affects international students’ plans to stay and work abroad (IS), as well as what roles conflict management climate (CMC) and intercultural adjustment (IA) play in this relationship. A linear snowball sampling method was used to collect the data. The study’s sample was taken from international students in Hungary with part-time jobs or internships. A self-administrated questionnaire was distributed to the participants through online channels. The PLS-SEM method was used to empirically test the proposed hypothesis. Later, a total of 433 valid answers were used for the analysis. The results reveal that POS positively and significantly affects CMC and IA but has no significant effect on IS. Moreover, IA is the only factor that has a direct impact on IS and it shows a significant mediating impact on the relationship between POS and IS. The findings contribute to the success of Hungarian organizations in retaining talented young (or soon-to-graduate) employees in their companies by encouraging their intentions to stay in the country.

1. Introduction

With the growth of fierce competition in the global economy, it is essential for companies to attract, hire, train, develop, and manage the best talents in order to achieve the strategic and operational goals of the organization [1]. Among the different talents, foreign employees with a diverse set of skills are regarded as critical for firms seeking to remain competitive in global markets [2]. Moreover, different scholars considered them to be key factors in the success of many organizations [3]. Reachability to highly educated and skilled global human resources not only helps global firms implement their business strategies but also helps to fill the depleted talent pool of domestic organizations [4] and meet the need for cross-cultural flexible talents [5]. With the rise of globalization and ease of mobility, different countries, especially in the west, have witnessed a rapid increase in the number of talented foreign employees [6], which has prompted various researchers to focus on this segment of the market. For instance, in Hungary, foreign employees who work full or part-time in the Hungarian service sector account for nearly 15% of the total employees in this sector [7,8]. According to Bove and Elia [9], an increase in the number of talented foreign employees may bring a variety of new skills and experiences when relocating to the host country, potentially aiding in the acceleration of new technological innovation. From an economic perspective, it may even be beneficial to urban and regional economic growth in host countries [10]. Therefore, the international employees’ mobility topic has become an important one in the field of management and organization [11].

Along the same vein, the flow of international students accounts for a considerable part of the emerging high-skilled global labor market [12,13]. In many cases, foreign students possess the attributes that employers want in the labor market, as they may have been in the host country for many years, including language skills, cultural familiarity, and adaptability, besides their personal work-related qualifications [14]. Previous research has shown that hiring foreign students can improve the business experience and innovation ability of the company, as these students may bring cross-cultural experience and ability as well as a new business perspective from their own country [15]. Therefore, it would be logical to see international graduates as potentially significant resources of skilled labor for the host country in the future [16].

For international students, their views and experiences regarding staying in the country for work after graduation may change as they experience different aspects of the host country during their study periods [10]. Working in a foreign country may be different from working at home in a few ways, which could make it hard for them to fit in with the organization of the host country and make them feel isolated [16]. In this case, the difficulties that the students may encounter in securing suitable employment in the host country are a major factor in their decisions to return to their home countries or to relocate to countries other than the host country [1]. Some of these factors include the ability to overcome language barriers and fit in with society and are considered among the most significant factors in determining whether international students can obtain employment in the country where they are studying [13]. These difficulties have been boosted in the last few months as different occasions have hit the economy worldwide generally and in Europe especially, such as the pandemic and the current geopolitical and economic problems that hit the region. Such a crisis may be the main reason for employees to withdraw from the host country, as their stress may increase. Rudolph et al. [17] mention that in the time of a crisis, the uncertainty and stress among international employees in the host countries increase rapidly; they may further face inequalities and be more negatively impacted economically and emotionally.

Another issue that may push students towards not staying in the host country may stem from the internal policy of the host country. In some Western countries that advocate nationalism or national protectionism, international students are encouraged to return to their home countries after graduation [18]. For example, the encouragement of foreign students is not a priority policy goal for the Hungarian government as they suggest that those students may be ambassadors to promote Hungarian higher education in their home countries, which may further promote scientific, economic, and cultural ties between Hungary and third-world countries [19]. The effect of this policy was clear in a recently published report regarding international students who earned degree certificates in Hungary between 2021 and 2019. The report, which was put together by the Tempus Foundation and the Ministry of Education, shows that almost 60% of international graduates no longer live in Hungary [20]. According to the report, reasons for leaving Hungary after graduation include the need to be close to family; a lack of knowledge of the Hungarian language; attitudes of employers; and labor market conditions, such factors may affect employment opportunities [20]. Therefore, the organizational roles in providing support for such segments of the labor market may be vital in the intention to stay in Hungary.

The topic of foreign employees in organizations has been attracting different researchers in the last few years [21]. They are facing increased stress and psychological and economic pressures more than before (as post-effects of the COVID-19 crisis) [22]. Employees who feel stressed or uncertain would appreciate any type of support from their organizations, which could help them cope with the difficulties that they may face and integrate into the host country [23]. Thus, POS may be a fundamental factor that predicts the intention of employees to stay in the host country. When employees perceive that their organization’s management supports them, they tend to consider it as evidence that their organization cares about them and their needs; employees translate this positively and reciprocate with positive behaviors [24]. Additionally, when employees perceive that the required support is available to assist them in adjusting to work and life in the host country, it will have a favorable impact on their social interactions with their organization. In turn, this may have a positive influence on work and non-work-related expatriation outcomes (such as job satisfaction and adjustment in the host country) [25]. POS has also been linked to intercultural adjustment as a way to reduce stress in other studies [26]. Intercultural adjustment is considered one of the most critical elements that predict the intention to stay in the host country [23].

According to Tanova and Ajayi [23], organizational climate plays an important role in this regard. Different studies have linked organizational climate to the intention of foreign employees to stay in the host country. Churchill et al. [27] have described organizational climate as the sum of the social elements that make up an employee’s work environment. Different dimensions have been suggested for organizational climate based on the way it is viewed [28,29], one of these dimensions according to many researchers is conflict management climate (CMC). According to previous studies, an effective CMC can buffer bullying and negative feelings in the workplace, which leads to fewer problems and stress in the workplace. A positive CMC can be a subsequence of perceived organizational support (POS) [29]. The POS can be considered a significant predictor of organizational climate because it can foster positive attitudes toward it [30]. It can further reduce stress among the individuals in the organization, which can increase their work satisfaction [31].

As we could notice in the literature in the Hungarian context, there is little literature on the career intentions of international students and their experiences of looking for jobs after graduation in the host country [15]. Previous studies have shown that the intentions of international students in Hungary to be employed abroad are influenced by their overseas study experiences and attributes [32]. However, they did not consider whether their work experiences would affect their intentions to stay. In recent years, Hungary has witnessed a rapid increase in the number of international students that are enrolled in full-time education as different scholarship programs have been offered by both the government and the EU to students from all over the world [7]. This may provide the Hungarian economy and organizations with good opportunities to attract talents from various backgrounds to work during (or after) their studies. However, it is still not clear how these organizations can change the students’ plans to stay in Hungary, either directly (by providing them with support) or indirectly (by creating a good organizational climate for dealing with conflicts or by helping them adjust to the new culture). With economic and political problems becoming worse, this issue is more important than ever. This study, according to our knowledge, is the first empirical survey of international students in Hungary to investigate how part-time and internship experiences affect their intentions to stay and work in the host country after graduation, which will be important for both Hungarian researchers and managers. The study will attempt to answer the following questions: what effect does POS have on international students who are currently working during their studies in Hungary, and what roles do CMC and intercultural adjustment play in this relationship?

This study’s main objective is to assess the effect of POS on the intention to stay in Hungary of foreign students who work as interns or part-time employees. The research also seeks to determine the roles of CMC and intercultural adjustment in this relationship. In addition, it attempts to demonstrate the connection between POS and CMC and intercultural adjustment, respectively. This paper begins by introducing the theoretical background of the research, reviewing the relevant literature, and putting forward the research hypothesis and the conceptual framework for the study. In the next section, data collection and analysis are presented, and then the results are discussed. Lastly, the paper concludes with research limitations and directions for future research.

2. Theoretical Background and Hypotheses

2.1. Perceived Organization Support (POS)

Perceived organizational support (POS) refers to employees’ belief in whether and how the organization is willing to provide them with the help they need in terms of work and stress management [33]. Highly perceived organizational support includes preferential treatment from the organization in terms of employees’ perception of their pay and working conditions, justice and fairness, and supervisory support [34]. Moreover, Van der Laken et al. [35] elucidate that the pivotal role of POS includes reducing uncertainty and stress (from the perspective of stress management), providing favorable resources for employees (from the perspective of social capital), and increasing the sense of obligation to contribute to reciprocity (from the perspective of social exchange). Moreover, POS is considered to be very beneficial to employees’ work-related emotions, attitudes, and behaviors [36,37,38]. Social and emotional support from office supervisors and colleagues can also be particularly beneficial in stressful situations [39]. Social and emotional support activities that help to ease the pressure of adjustment can be very valuable, including the provision of a welcoming and compassionate environment, tangible resources, and practical assistance, as well as culture-related advice and information [40].

Organizational support from colleagues and supervisors helps self-initiated expatriates acquire the cultural intelligence of the host country and organization [26]. Individuals who perceive organizational support are more likely to develop positive relationships with colleagues and engage in organizational citizenship behavior [41]. In this respect, organizational support for foreigners involves fair organizational procedures, supervisory support, and higher remuneration rewards, as well as better working conditions, which has produced positive outcomes for both individuals and organizations [36]. Further, Fee and Gray’s [42] study shows that emotional and informational support for foreigners is considered to be a powerful factor to promote performance in terms of contextual and situational factors. The willingness and ability of the organization to provide support when needed also includes job roles that are clearly designed, manageable, and fully coordinated with available resources within the capacity of expatriates [43].

2.2. Conflict Management Climate (CMC)

Conflicts can be used by collaborative managers and employees to strengthen their relationships and work effectively. In contrast, when they use competitive or avoidant conflict resolution, their relationship will be weakened, and their work will be inefficient [44]. Positive conflict management can effectively alleviate the negative impact of task conflict on team performance [45]. In addition, when managers and employees have different cultures, values, and national backgrounds, it seems more difficult to develop a high-quality relationship and discuss conflicts effectively [44]. Differences in conflict patterns may lead to misunderstandings and conflicts in the workplace, which may make foreign employees dissatisfied with their work and have the intention of leaving the organization [46]. Furthermore, Davies et al. [39] suggest that expatriates will have to concentrate on their resilience to cope with adversity when working in a non-inclusive work climate. For instance, Chinese employees are more likely to deal with conflicts cooperatively and constructively with foreign managers with roughly the same cultural background [44]. Japanese managers are also collectivists who value interpersonal relationships and tend to manage conflicts in a non-aggressive way [47]. As such, individuals should use appropriate conflict management behaviors to be in line with the expectations of local people, so as to create a better environment to enhance their adaptability to foreign cultures [48].

2.3. Intercultural Adjustment (IA)

In early studies, Black and Mendenhall [49] put forward that intercultural adjustment refers to the degree of comfort and proficiency that individuals feel about the behavior and values of a new culture. Aycan [50] conceptualizes adjustment as the degree of adaptation between the expatriate and the working environment and the socio-cultural environment. Recently, Davies et al. [51] indicated that intercultural adjustment is about the extent to which individuals are integrated into the daily life and work of the host country as their ability to adjust or negotiate cultural interaction in the host country. It is more directed to the psychological comfort of expatriates in all aspects of the culture of the host country [52]. Understanding the intercultural adjustments of expatriates has become a central topic in the literature on expatriate management [52,53] and has attracted much attention since the late 1980s [54]. As individuals tend to feel stressed because of cultural differences, they need to recover quickly and learn from these setbacks in order to eventually adjust [39]. The adjustment of foreign employees is essential for the organization because their level of adjustment has a positive impact on their performance, resulting in an indirect enhancement of competitive advantage [55]. In order to better predict the possibility of successful adjustment in today’s high level of globalization, managers need to have a deeper understanding of how self-initiated expatriate adjusts the work of the host organization [52]. In contrast, the lack of intercultural adjustment is related to the intention to leave the host country [56]. Therefore, the success of intercultural adjustment is of great significance not only to host organizations but also to expatriates [26,50,52].

Specifically, Black [57] believes that the adjustment process of expatriates has three dimensions, i.e., the general adjustment to foreign culture, the adjustment of interaction with local people, and the adjustment to working. This three-dimensional adjustment model, which distinguishes between general, interactional, and work dimensions, has become the most popular in the literature [23]. Further, these three adjustment factors, covering expatriate experience in both work and non-work areas, have been validated in several studies [56,58]. In detail, General adjustment refers to the comfort of living in the local cultural environment, such as climate, food, transportation, and so on. Work adjustment refers to adapting to the management or job responsibilities in the host culture, including performance standards, work values, and expectations [57,59]. In the aspect of interactional adjustment, it is the comfort brought by communicating and establishing relations with the nationals of the host country [59]. Tanova and Ajayi’s [23] results show that the previous international academic experience of self-initiated expatriates will lead to better adjustments to their working environment, their interaction with the local community, and general adjustments in their lives. Froese’s [60] research on self-initiated expatriates in Korea shows that the language proficiency of the host country and the social interaction with the nationals of the host country have a positive impact on general and interactional adjustment. Howe-Walsh and Schyns [61] believe that a clear definition of the job position may have a positive impact on the work adjustment of SIES, while the interactive adjustment will be improved if the supervisors and colleagues in the host organization provide informal networks, social support, and role-related information on guidance and cooperation [61,62].

2.4. Intention to Stay (IS)

Whether international graduates decide to stay in their host countries or return to their home countries for employment is a challenging decision [63] that involves a variety of benefits and costs [64]. Meanwhile, it will affect the supply of important global human resources for a country with advanced knowledge, skills, and experiences [65]. Many factors affect the inclination of students to stay in their host countries or return to their home countries [66]. Research by Baruch et al. [66] and Nghia [67] reveals that the most important factors influencing the decision of international students to return or stay include their views on the labor market of the host country, the adjustment process of the students, and the family ties of the students in the host country and the home country. Such social relationships, including spouses, home families, professors, and peers in the host country, will significantly affect the intention of foreign students to stay [4]. Whilst, international work experience, working conditions, and high income have a significant impact on their willingness to stay [67]. However, the main challenge for international graduates is to match their qualifications, skills, and experience with vacancies and demand areas in the labor market of the host country [1]. Due to the lack of employment opportunities in the host country, many international graduates have decided to return to their home countries immediately after graduation or the expiration of their visas after studying abroad [1,68]. In addition, Güngör and Tansel [69] found that the possibility of increasing the stay of international graduates includes economic instability in their home countries, established intentions to stay abroad, and negative work experiences in their home countries.

2.5. Relationship

2.5.1. Perceived Organization Support and Intention to Stay

Self-initiated expatriates (SIE) are personally driven and have the intention of pursuing a global career [70]. Forstenlechner’s [71] research shows that expatriates’ perceptions of positive supported legal rights, informal rights or discrimination, working environment, and interaction with the government and its agents in the host country can be determined to have an impact on the intention to stay in the host country. Moreover, the effective management–retention of SIE has become an important issue for organizations [72]. Cao et al. [25], and Isakovic and Whitman [73] find that perceived organizational support is directly related to the intention to stay in the host country. Training and support from organizations are essential for expatriates to adapt to the host country [54]. Arokiasamy’s [74] study of expatriates in private higher education institutions in Vietnam shows that there is a positive correlation between perceived organizational support and expatriate retention.

In addition to the study of expatriates, we further collected the literature on non-expatriates. There is a direct causal relationship between perceived organizational support and turnover intention, which indicates that the improvement of employees’ sense of organizational support helps to increase employees’ intention to retain their position in the organization [75]. Cho et al.’s [76] research on hospitality organizations shows that perceived organizational support has a positive impact on employees’ intentions to stay. Organizations can improve employees’ intention to stay in their job by making individuals feel supported by the organization [77]. If employers provide a high level of support to employees according to the standard of reciprocity, employees are more likely to make an emotional commitment to the organization and reduce their intention to leave [78]. Moreover, Yahya et al. [79] suggest that organizations that expect to retain new employees should show more organizational support and concern for the well-being of new employees. When employees perceive the organization’s care, support, and concern for their well-being, they intend to stay in the organization [80]. Accordingly, employees who perceive more organizational support will be motivated to devote themselves more to work and care about the well-being of the organization, so they tend to stay in the organization [81]. From this viewpoint, we propose the following hypothesis:

Hypothesis 1 (H1).

Perceived organizational support (POS) positively influences the intentions of international students with work experiences to stay in the host country of Hungary.

2.5.2. Role of Conflict Management Climate and Intercultural Adjustment

Giao et al. [75] on the Vietnamese banking industry shows that perceived organizational support can effectively reduce employees’ work-family conflict and turnover intention. Organizations should keep in mind that self-initiated expatriates are more concerned with their personal development than organizational development, which can lead to conflicts and employee turnover [82]. Therefore, the conflict resolution strategies used by foreigners are different from those used by locals, which may lead to cognitive disharmony and have a negative impact on cultural adjustment [48]. Additionally, organizations can provide different types of support, such as job adjustment, including guidance on business practices and cross-cultural training, as well as non-work support to help them address general adjustments, such as family, tax, and legal issues [61]. Giorgi et al. [83] and Khedher and Asadullah’s [26] research on self-initiated expatriates show that organizational support plays an important role in their successful adjustment in the host country. In contrast, the adequate adjustment of expatriates will make them more likely to accept support from host organizations [83]. Therefore, we suggest the following hypothesis:

Hypothesis 2 (H2).

Perceived organizational support (POS) positively influences conflict management climate (CMC).

Hypothesis 3 (H3).

Perceived organizational support (POS) positively influences intercultural adjustment (IA).

According to Tanova and Ajayi [23], among faculty members in North Cyprus, organizational climate plays an important role in determining their intentions to stay in the host country. These results are also proven in another study indicating the role of organizational climate in encouraging the intention to stay among practicing teachers in India [84]. CMC is considered one of the most essential dimensions of organizational climate [28]; therefore, this study focuses on it as an important predictor of intention for one to stay in the host country. According to Black and Stephens [85], one of the most pivotal factors affecting the intentions of employees to stay or leave a country where they are assigned to work abroad is the conflict management climate at the workplace. Moreover, regardless of people’s ability to migrate, the impact of an individual’s perceived coercion in a conflict climate plays a role in that person’s intention to stay or leave [86]. Cross-cultural conflicts and poor conflict management climate are among some of the reasons listed in the study by Jassawalla et al. [87] for expatriate managers to return from the host country, as these reasons could be translated into exhaustion and frustration with the workplace climate in the host country. Thus, we propose the following:

Hypothesis 4 (H4).

Conflict management climate (CMC) positively influences the intentions of international students with work experiences to stay in the host country of Hungary.

Adjustment is a key concept in management literature about the intention of foreign employees to stay or leave the job [88]. More in detail, Tanova and Ajayi [23] show that interaction adjustment is the strongest predictor of one’s intention to stay in the host country for a longer time. Successful interaction adjustments can reduce the uncertainty of SIE’s work and life in the host culture. It can promote positive work outcomes, thereby reducing the intention to resign [52]. Furthermore, the influence of general adjustment and work adjustment on stay intention is mediated by interaction adjustment [23]. Expatriates with a high degree of work adjustment are considered to be able to use their own resources to successfully overcome work pressure so as to adapt to the foreign working environment, resulting in a reduction in turnover intention [39]. Thus, work adjustment is seen as a direct indicator of how long someone wants to stay in the host country [73].

As the survey samples in this paper are from international students, further literature is as follows. International students also fall into the category of foreigners, who are considered well-adjusted, meaning that they need a new working environment, the locals of the host country, as well as new cultural and living conditions [89]. Culture shock and intercultural adjustment are most likely to occur when they first enter the host country and, to a large extent, are managed during their studies [90]. Nghia [67] contends that the intentions of international students to stay or return are influenced by their personal experiences of social, cultural, and work practices in their homes and host countries and how they adjust to these practices. International students who can successfully adjust to the benefits of the host country may be willing to stay in environments where they feel welcome [66]. In light of the findings, it may extensively depend on their social experiences, including interactions and relationships with the people of the host country or their home countries [4]. This supported the results of international graduates in South Korea, showing that life and academic satisfaction, as well as social adjustment, are positively correlated with their intentions to stay in the host country (to work or study after graduation) [91]. From this perspective, we suggest the hypothesis:

Hypothesis 5 (H5).

Intercultural adjustment (IA) positively influences the intentions of international students with work experiences to stay in the host country of Hungary.

Despite that the role of conflict management climate has not been studied before as a mediator in the same context as in our study, some previous studies have used it as a mediator between other variables. For example, Alshaabani and Rudnák [92] have found that CMC can mediate the relationship between trust and employee engagement among foreign employees in Hungary. Soieb et al. [93] elucidate that CMC mediates the relationship between leadership styles and employee engagement. Zhang et al. [94] find that conflict management styles significantly mediate the relationship between cross-cultural intelligence and expatriate adjustment. CMC could mediate the relationship between innovative behaviors and employee engagement, it also could mediate partially the relationship between interpersonal trust and employee engagement [95]. CMC mediates the relationship between different variables that, in the end, reflect the employees’ behaviors.

In the same vein, Cao et al. [96] ascertain that intercultural adjustment could greatly mediate the positive relationship between protean career attitude and the intention to stay in the host country. Jyoti and Kour [97] reveal that cultural adjustment plays a mediator role between cultural intelligence and task performance. In more detail, Wang and Takeuchi [98] demonstrate that both work adjustment and interaction adjustment mediate the relationship between POS and expatriate job performance, and general adjustment mediates the relationship between POS and the intention to return. However, by referring to Isakovic and Whitman [73], work adjustment is proven to partly mediate the relationship between POS and stay intention. Therefore, these mediating hypotheses have been expressed:

Hypothesis 6 (H6).

Conflict management climate (CMC) mediates the relationship between perceived organizational support (POS) and the intention to stay (IS) in the host country of Hungary.

Hypothesis 7 (H7).

Intercultural adjustment (IA) mediates the relationship between perceived organizational support (POS) and the intention to stay (IS) in the host country of Hungary.

The study’s model and hypotheses are presented in Figure 1.

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. Sample and Procedures

The sample consisted of international students who study in Hungary and work part-time or internship jobs in Hungary. These students mainly studied under two programs, namely Stipendium Hungaricum and Erasmus, which target students from mostly third-world and Asian countries for the first program and European students for the second. Hungary has been witnessing a steady growth in the number of international students who are able to work part-time jobs or even full-time in some cases, and most of these students are working in the service sector [7], which means that the number of foreign employees can be more and more, as they are expected to exceed the threshold of 40,000 by 2023 [99].

A self-administrated online questionnaire was sent online through the private email systems of Hungarian universities, which allowed us to send the questionnaire to more than 1000 students in different programs and campuses. The students were asked to indicate if they worked (or had worked) in Hungarian companies first; those who did not have any work experience were eliminated. After that, out of 1000 emails sent, the researchers obtained 433 answers, of which only 366 were valid, completed properly, and suitable for analysis. The percentage of responses was nearly 43.3%, which is considered representative of the community [100]. The demographic profile of the sample is displayed in

Table 1. Demographic profile of the sample (N = 366).

Variables	Item	Count	%
Gender	Male	194	53
	Female	172	47
Education	Preparatory course	5	1.4
	Exchange students	6	1.6
	Bachelor	199	54.3
	Master	130	35.6
	Ph.D.	26	7.1
Age	18–24	205	56
	25–34	148	40.5
	35–44	13	3.5
Ethnicity	Arab	90	24.6
	African	63	17.2
	Asian	105	28.7
	Turk	55	15
	Latin American	24	6.5
	European	29	8

.

Table 1 shows that the sample was relatively balanced between the males and females while bachelor’s students were in the lead compared to other educational levels, with a percentage of around 54%. The majority of the students were aged between 18 to 24, with a percentage of 56%, while the ethnic background of the students varied as they all came from different countries and nations, and Asian students could be the major respondents. Followed by Arabs, with nearly 28% of the respondents.

3.2. Measures

The study’s model is based on previously published and validated scales. The questionnaire consisted of 31 items divided into 4 different sections, in addition to one section related to a personal profile.

Perceived organizational support: The construct used an 8-item scale adapted from Eisenberger et al. [101], which originally had 17 items. However, the 8-item scale was used by the recommendation of Rhoades and Eisenberger [33] (p. 699), who state that “because the original scale is unidimensional and has high internal reliability, the use of shorter versions does not appear problematic”. Hence, the researchers used the abbreviated version. It is based on the 5-point Likert scale. The scale validity and reliability have been reported in many previous studies [21]. A sample item includes, “The organization cares about my general satisfaction at work”.

Conflict management climate: The construct of CMC was adopted by Hamre et al. [29]. The CMC measure consisted of 4 items, with a 5-point Likert scale (1 was strongly disagree, and 5 was strongly agree). The scale was validated in a previous study. A sample item of the measure is “My superiors deal with conflicts in a good manner”.

Intercultural adjustment: This construct was adopted by Parker and McEvoy [102] dividing the measure into three dimensions. The measurement includes 14 items, and the measure uses a 7-point Likert scale where 1 = “not adjusted at all” and 7 = “very well adjusted”. The scale was used and validated in different previous studies. The sample items include “what do you think related to interacting with host nationals outside of work?”.

Intention to stay: The construct’s items were taken from a study [66] that used a five-item measure of intention to stay. The predictive validity and good reliability of the scale have been validated by different previous studies. This scale consisted of seven Likert points (1 totally disagree to 7 totally agree). The example items include: “I intend to return to my home country as soon as I finish my studies”.

4. Results

The model is estimated using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method, which works efficiently with complicated models, non-normal data, and small samples [103]. PLS-SEM (version 3.3.3, SmartPLS GmbH, Gewerbering, Germany) is used to analyze data [104]. PLS-SEM evaluates the model in two steps: analyzing the measurement model and assessing the structural model. This feature is considered a strength of PLS-SEM and one of its distinguishing characteristics from other statistical methods [103]. It is conceivable to use PLS-SEM for both reflective and formative measurement models [103,105]. As a result, these models are used in the evaluations. The former is validated by the CTA analysis (p-value > 0.05). Moreover, the latter evaluates the effects of the structural model as a whole on a predictor variable in comparison to the mean latent variable scores of several predictors [104]. There are significant variations in IS (M = 2.900, SD = 0.948), POS (M = 3.606, SD = 0.916), IA (M = 3.345, SD = 0.766), and CMC (M = 3.567, SD = 0.848). So, this sample is suitable for testing our hypotheses.

4.1. Evaluation of Measurement Model

Table 2. Convergent validity, measurement models, and reliability.

Study’s Variables	Outer Loadings	VIF	Model Type
POS (AVE = 0.734, CA = 0.94, CR = 0.95, rho_A = 0.95)			reflective
POS1: The organization values my contribution to its well-being.	0.848	3.483
POS2: The organization strongly considers my goals and values.	0.875	4.416
POS3: The organization would understand a long absence due to my illness.	0.786	2.264
POS4: The organization really cares about my well-being.	0.898	4.550
POS5: Help is available from the organization when I have a problem.	0.872	4.010
POS6: The organization cares about my general satisfaction at work.	0.843	3.130
POS7: The organization wishes to give me the best possible job for which I am qualified.	0.861	3.468
POS8: The organization takes pride in my accomplishments at work.	0867	3.993
IA (AVE = 0.643, CA = 0.95, CR = 0.94, rho_A = 0.93)			reflective
IA1: Living conditions in general	0.815	4.425
IA2: Housing conditions	0.818	4.249
IA3: Food	0.765	2.549
IA4: Shopping	0.762	2.827
IA5: Cost of living	0.785	2.939
IA6: Entertainment/recreation facilities and opportunities	0.793	3.080
IA7: Healthcare facilities	0.836	4.409
IA8: Socializing with host nationals	0.853	4.195
IA9: Interacting with host nationals in general	0.821	4.316
IA10: Interacting with host nationals outside of work	0.806	4.225
IA11: Speaking with host nationals	0.714	3.122
IA12: Specific job responsibilities	0.839	3.893
IA13: Performance standards/expectations	0.805	3.435
IA14: Supervisory responsibilities	0.804	4.054
CMC (AVE = 0.80, CA = 0.90, CR = 0.94, rho_A = 0.92)			reflective
CMC1: If I have a serious disagreement with someone at work, I know who I should talk to about it.	0.833	2.162
CMC2: The way we deal with disagreements between employees in my unit works well.	0.899	3.037
CMC3: My superiors deal with conflicts in a good manner.	0.930	4.354
CMC4: We have good procedures and methods for raising disagreements and conflicts in my workplace.	0.915	3.851
IS (AVE = 0.63, CA = 0.86, CR = 0.89, rho_A = 0.90)			reflective
IS1: I intend to return to my home country as soon as I finish my studies.	0.749	1.964
IS2: I intend to return to my home country after about a year of working.	0.764	2.974
IS3: I intend to return to my home country a few years after I graduate from my university.	0.734	2.162
IS4: I may consider staying in Hungary to further my career.	0.867	2.758
IS5: I intend to reside in Hungary.	0.858	2.577

Note: POS, perceived organizational support; CMC, conflict management climate; IA, intercultural adjustment; IS, intention to stay; AVE, average of variance extracted; CA, Cronbach’s alpha; CR, composite reliability; rho_A, reliability indices for each construct; VIF, variance inflation factor in item level.

displays the results of the evaluation of the study’s model. The findings also demonstrate that the values of Cronbach’s alpha, CR (“Composite reliability”), and rho A (Dillon–Goldstein’s rho) are above the 0.70 threshold, indicating internal reliability and consistency. According to Hair et al. [105], the outer loadings should be above 0.70 for each item, which is achieved as shown in

Table 3. Discriminant validity (Fornell–Larcker criterion).

Construct	CMC	IS	POS	IA
CMC	0.895
IS	0.279	0.796
POS	0.756	0.296	0.857
IA	0.607	0.348	0.684	0.802

Note: POS, perceived organizational support; CMC, conflict management climate; IA, intercultural adjustment; IS, intention to stay. The numbers in bold are AVE square root values of each variable.

. The AVE values are also exceeding the threshold of 0.50, indicating the internal consistency of the study’s model [105]. The values of outer loadings and AVE revealed the convergent validity of the model. Prior to conducting the analysis, it is crucial to establish that collinearity is not a major issue [103]. The results show that VIF values are all under the value of 5, confirming that collinearity is not an issue; values below 3 are considered optimal [105].

As suggested by Hair et al. [105], it is important to evaluate the discriminant validity of the constructs, which is used to evaluate the constructs’ validity and ensure their distinctions from other constructs. Both the Fornell–Larcker criterion [106] and the heterotrait–monotrait ratio are used to evaluate discriminant validity [107]. According to Fornell and Larcker [106], if the “square root of AVE” value is greater than the correlations between the construct correlation values, this suggests that the research instrument is valid. Hence, the results are achieved as shown in Table 3.

Following the criterion of Henseler et al. [107], as shown in

Table 4. Heterotrait–monotrait ratios (HTMT).

Construct	CMC	IS	POS	IA
CMC	-
IS	0.299	-
POS	0.807	0.312	-
IA	0.633	0.341	0.704	-

Note: POS, perceived organizational support; CMC, conflict management climate; IA, intercultural adjustment; IS, intention to stay.

, all HTMT ratios are less than 0.85, which indicates that the measurement model has discriminant validity.

4.2. Structural Model Evaluation

Outlier data were evaluated prior to proceeding with the assumptions in order to obtain accurate results. The FIMIX method was employed to assess the unobserved heterogeneity of the statistical population and the robustness of the PLS-SEM method. FIMIX-PLS assisted in determining the model selection criteria and the number of segments that may be retained from the data [108,109], entropy statistic normed (EN), whose value of 0.74 was satisfactory and acceptable in our study [105,109], is the most effective method for achieving this objective.

The structural model evaluates the causal connection between the constructs. The bootstrapping method with resampling (5000 resamples) is proposed by Hair et al. [105] for assessing the statistical significance of the hypothesized model. The findings of the structural model assessment are shown in

Table 5. The results of the study hypotheses and the model’s fitness.

	Path	β	SD	T-Value	p-Value	Low CL	High CL	Result
Direct effect
H1	POS → IS	0.067	0.087	0.770	0.441	−0.098	0.239	Rejected
H2	POS → CMC	0.756	0.031	24.263 ***	0.000	0.686	0.809	Accepted
H3	POS → IA	0.685	0.033	20.953 ***	0.000	0.614	0.743	Accepted
H4	CMC → IS	0.072	0.082	0.874	0.382	−0.092	0.232	Rejected
H5	IA → IS	0.284	0.068	4.159 ***	0.000	0.283	0.484	Accepted
Indirect effect
H6	POS → CMC → IS	0.057	0.061	0.889	0.347	−0.061	0.180	Rejected
H7	POS → IA → IS	0.237	0.051	3.475	0.000	0.098	0.380	Accepted
	Model fit	R2	R2 Adjusted	Q2
	CMC	57.1%	57%	0.454
	IA	46.9%	46.8%	0.290
	IS	14.4%	13.3%	0.10

Note: t > 3.29 at *** p < 0.001; two-tailed test.

. The results show that POS does not have any significant direct impact on the intention of students to stay (H1: β = 0.067, p > 0.05, LL: −0.098, UL: 0.239) which leads us to reject the hypothesis. In contrast, the results show that POS has a strong positive influence on the CMC (H2: β = 0.756, p < 0.001, LL: 0.686, UL: 0.809) and on intercultural adjustment (H3: β = 0.685, p < 0.001, LL: 0.614, UL: 0.743). While the results show that CMC is not associated positively with the intention to stay (H4: β = 0. 072, p > 0.05, LL: −0.092, UL: 0.232), consequently, confirming H3 and rejecting H4. On the other hand, the intercultural adjustment displays a positive impact on the intention to stay (H5: β = 0.284, p < 0.001, LL: 0.283, UL: 0.484), which confirms H5.

Using the suggested mediating procedures of Hair et al. [105], the mediation hypotheses (H6 and H7) are tested. The results in Table 5 show that CMC does not play a significant role as a mediator (H6: β = 0.057, CI [−0.061; 0.180]), while intercultural adjustment positively mediates the relationship between POS and intention to stay (H7: β = 0.237, CI [0.098; 0.380]). This result leads us to accept H7 and reject H6. The direct impact of POS on one’s intention to stay was not significant, although it was significant in the basic full model (β = 0.313, p < 0.001), meaning that the mediation is a full mediation [105]. The results are displayed in Figure 2.

Model fit indices are presented in Table 5. The R² is assessed to measure model fit within the sample. The model could explain 14.4% of the variation in intention to stay. Furthermore, the predictive power outside of the sample is calculated with ten folds and ten repetitions of the PLS predict method [110]. As the Q² predict value of intention to stay is greater than zero, the model has predictive validity considering that intention to stay is considered a target construct. The applied model provides proper fit measures. SRMR is 0.068, whereas NFI is 0.899. According to Hair et al. [105], a good fit is often characterized by a standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) value below 0.08 and a “normed fit index” (NFI) value over 0.9.

4.3. Importance-Performance Map Analysis

The IPMA distinguishes between significance (the total influence of predecessor constructs on determining a target construct) and performance (i.e., average latent variable scores). Therefore, IPMA is an effective method for identifying antecedents that are not very efficient but are crucial for the target structures [108]. In this research, three antecedents serve as predictors of the intention to stay.

Table 6. Importance-performance map analysis.

Latent Variable	Importance	Performance
POS	0.312	65,190
CMC	0.077	64,200
IA	0.336	60,884

Note: all total effects (importance) larger than 0.10 are significant at an α ≤ 0.10 level.

reveals that “IA” has the greatest important score of 0.336, indicating that the total “IS” will rise by 0.336 when one unit’s employees are more interculturally adjusted. Moreover, the findings demonstrated that “POS”, with a score point of 0.312, was extremely close to intercultural adaptation in boosting “IS”. Moreover, our data indicate that the lowest performance (60884) is associated with the “IA”, indicating a significant growth possibility in this area. Figure 3 demonstrates the IPMA matrix.

5. Discussion

This study focused on international students who came to Hungary for the purpose of studying and who later obtained a part-time job or internship during (or at the end of) their studies. The primary purpose of this study was to find out how the current organizational support that is perceived by these segments of employees is reflected in their intention of staying in Hungary. The study also attempted to figure out what role conflict management climate and intercultural adjustment play in this relationship, since these two variables may have direct effects on how long employees want to stay in the country where they are currently staying.

The findings of this study show that perceived organizational support does not have any direct effect on the intentions of employees to stay in the country where they work after university. This result contradicts the previous study [73], which finds that POS is positively impacting the intention to stay among the females that work in the service sector in the UAE. On the other hand, our results are in line with the study of Cao et al. [25], who also found that there is no direct relationship between POS and the intentions of employees to stay in their host countries (in German companies).

The results further reveal that POS has a direct positive impact on CMC and that impact is significantly strong, indicating the important role POS plays in building a positive climate for conflict climate among the employees in Hungary. This result is in line with previous studies that shed light on this relationship [75,111]. Therefore, our results confirm again the importance of POS in achieving a positive climate for conflict among the foreign employees that work in Hungary.

In addition, our results highlight the role of POS in promoting intercultural adjustment, which indicates that when employees perceive organizational support at work, they will feel better adjusted to work, general living, and interactions at work. These results are consistent with findings from prior research on the importance of POS for expatriate workers’ intercultural adjustment in the host country [26,83].

Subsequently, the findings reveal that the conflict management climate does not have any impact on the intention to stay among international employees in Hungary. That means that CMC does not effectively change the intentions of employees to stay in their host countries. This result is contrary to some previous studies that indicate the role of organizational climate in motivating employees to stay in their host countries (e.g., [23]). While the employees’ intercultural adjustment is positively associated with higher levels of the intention to stay in the host country, this result is in line with previous studies that have given attention to this relationship [23,73].

When testing mediation, the results show that only intercultural adjustment could be a mediator between POS and the intention to stay. This means that if employees have a positive perception of organizational support, they are likely to be more interculturally adjusted inside and outside of the organization, which in turn reflects their intentions to stay in the host country. The results also showed that although POS alone, with the absence of any mediator, could be a predictor of the intention to stay in Hungary, when intercultural adjustment is effective, the role of POS is weak and not very important in the intention to stay in Hungary.

6. Conclusions and Limitations

With the increasing number of students going abroad for further study, their career development choices and directions may also change greatly. Among them, the important impacts of this change are the internships or part-time work experiences these students obtain while studying (or at the end of their courses), which enable international students to gain work experiences and subsidize the cost of living. They can also greatly enhance international students’ perceptions of the organizational climate of the host country’s enterprises. This study mainly examined the possible roles of conflict management climate (CMC) and intercultural adjustment (IA) in the relationship between perceived organizational support (POS) and the intention to stay (IS) in Hungary to work after graduation.

The results of the analysis show that, unlike what was expected, perceived organizational support does not have a direct impact on international students’ intention to stay in Hungary. However, the perceived organizational support of international students could promote their intercultural adjustment, which further has a great impact on their intentions to stay and work abroad. In addition, it is also worth noting that the intercultural adjustment of international students is the only factor that has a direct and significant effect on the intention to stay and work in Hungary in this study. Thus, by providing more help from organizations’ management to international students, they are more likely to stay and work in the host country as they will be more interculturally adjusted. Besides the aforementioned findings, the results also show that POS is directly enhancing CMC and intercultural adjustment among the students, which could be important for maintaining a healthy work environment for organizations.

6.1. Theoretical Contributions

The study contributed to the relatively scarce literature on international students from Hungarian-based contexts, which, for the first time, specifically combines international students’ part-time or internships with their post-graduation mobility intentions. In this sense, the study identifies the factors affecting the intention to stay of international students in Hungary from a new perspective, the organizational climate of the enterprise. This undoubtedly expands the important factors affecting the intention to stay in the literature and also opens up a new path for related research in the future.

6.2. Practical Contributions

This study has implications for helping to deepen international students’ understanding of the factors affecting their staying in the host country after graduation. For international students, it is imperative to focus on enhancing the ability to interculturally adjust during their studies. This involves linking the awareness of self-adjustment with actual internship and part-time experience to consciously develop and adapt to the organizational environment of the host country’s enterprises. For companies interested in strengthening employee diversity, given the link between intercultural adjustment and the retention of international students, understanding the changes in their adjustment and their determinants is essential to developing appropriate recruitment and retention strategies.

The study also connected the organizational context with the intention to stay in the country, indicating the role of organizations in affecting the decisions of those foreign talents to stay in the host country. The study can also be important for managers in Hungary as it showed that when there are employees with good intercultural adjustment, the importance of POS is insignificant. This is significant because if organizations can ensure positive intercultural adjustment among their foreign employees, they may be less stressed in providing support for these employees, potentially saving organizations’ resources in the long run.

6.3. Limitations and Future Research Directions

There are several limitations to this study. First, the study samples are only from international students in Hungary, thus reducing the generalizability of our study. As noticed by the researchers, Hungarian companies prefer to recruit and retain Hungarian-speaking employees; language has become a great obstacle for international students to stay in Hungary after graduation, which in turn could be a hidden factor for students not staying in the host country that impacts their intentions to stay indirectly, which could be considered another limitation. Second, the study examined the possible impact of POS on the intention to stay in the host country through two variables. However, only one of them has a direct impact on it. Based on these limitations, the researchers suggest that future research studies test more factors that impact the intention to stay in the host country and focus more on language knowledge as a moderator in the relationship, which eventually may produce more comprehensive and in-depth results.