Marian van Bakel is Associate Professor at the University of Southern Denmark, where she conducts research in international human resource management, with an emphasis on expatriate management. She is passionate about bridging the gap between theory and practice to make sure practitioners benefit from her research. She is from the Netherlands and lived in France and the United Kingdom. She has been living in Denmark for 10 years now.

Foreword. Preface. Introduction. Part I: Building a new social network abroad. Chapter 1: A dive into the deep end of the social pool. Chapter 2: How do expats make new friends abroad. Chapter 3: Developing competences for making intercultural friends. Part II: Connecting with locals. Chapter 4: The benefits of expat contact with locals. Chapter 5: Connecting with locals in the workplace. Chapter 6: Intercultural mentoring. Part III: How to bridge the gap. Chapter 7: The value of buddy systems. Chapter 8: The importance of the quality of the contact. Chapter 9: How to set up a buddy system. Chapter 10: Recommendations for expats, organisations, and societies