Influenced by the climate of globalization, today more Westerners travel to Taiwan countries to expand their business or for advanced study. In a new cultural context, these people face the issue of cultural adaptation. This study presents findings of an investigation into the volunteering experience of Westerners in Taiwan. The population studied is Western migrants who work in Taiwan and who engage in volunteering as a leisure activity. This is an explorative study investigating a group of volunteers from two Taiwanese non-profit organizations, Animals Taiwan and Taiwan Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The study first examines the motivation of foreigners to become volunteers. Then it proceeds to discuss cultural adaptation of the volunteers. Cultural adaptation is assumed to consist of psychological and sociocultural adaptation and the findings of the study are divided into these two groups. Although the study examines the issue of cultural adaptation from an individual perspective, it is expected, however, that the findings improve the understanding of the issue of foreign volunteer management in NPOs.

Adam, F., Roncevic B. (2002). Social capital as a useful scientific metaphor. In N. Genov (Ed.), Advances in Sociological knowledge over half a century (pp. 207-234). Paris: International Social Science Council.
Adler, P. S., Kwon, S. (2002). Social capital: Prospects for a new concept. Academy of Management Review, 27(1), 17-40.
Anderson, B. (2006). Imagined communities (New Ed.). London, New York: Verso.
Anderson, E. P. (2008). The powerful bond between people and pets: Our boundless connections to companion animals. New York: Praeger.
Anderson, W. (1943). The family and individual social participation. American Sociological Review, 8, 420-424.
Basit, T. N. (2003). Manual or electronic? The role of coding in qualitative data research. Educational Research, 45(2), 143-154.
Bekkers, R., Voelker, B., Gaag, van der, M., Flap, H. (2008). Social networks of participants in voluntary associations. In B. Erickson, & L. Nan (Eds.), Social Capital: An international research program (pp. 185-205). New York: Oxford University Press.
Berry, J. W. (1980). Social and cultural change. In H. C. Triandis, & R. W. Brislin (Eds.), Handbook of Cross-Cultural Psychology: Social Psychology (pp. 211-279). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
Berry, J. W. (1997). Immigration, acculturation and adaptation. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 46, 5-34.
Berry, J. W. (2003). Conceptual approaches to acculturation. In K. M. Chun, P. B. Organista, & G. Marín (Eds.), Acculturation: Advances in theory, measurement and applied research (pp. 17-37). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.
Berry, J. W. (2010). Immigration and integration: The Canadian experience. In C.H. Leong & J.W. Berry (Eds.), Intercultural relations in Asia: Migration and work effectiveness, (pp. 151-176). World Scientific: Singapore.
Berry, J. W., & Kalin, R. (1982). The social ecology of ethnic attitudes in Canada. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 14, 97-109.
Berry, J. W., Kim, U., Minde, T., & Mok, D. (1987). Comparative studies of acculturative stress. International Migration Review, 21, 491-511.
Bochner, S. (2003). Culture shock due to contact with unfamiliar cultures. In W. J. Lonner, D. L. Dinnel, S. A. Hayes, & D. N. Sattler (Eds.), Online Readings in Psychology and Culture.
Bochner, S., Furnham, A., & Ward, C. (2001). The psychology of culture shock. (2nd Ed.). Hove, UK: Routledge.
Bourdieu, P. (2001). The forms of capital. In M. Granovetter, R. Svedberg (Eds.), The sociology of economic life, (pp. 96-111). Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press.
Brown, S. (2004). The human-animal bond and self psychology: Toward a new understanding. Society & Animals, 12(1), 67-86.
Brudney, J.L. (1994). Designing and managing volunteer programs. The Jossey-Bass handbook of nonprofit leadership and management. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc.
Bryen, L, & Madden K. (2006). Bounce-back of episodic volunteers: What makes episodic volunteers return (Working Paper No. CPNS 32). Brisbane, Australia: Queensland University of Technology, Centre of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies.
Caulkins, D. D. (2003). Voluntary Associations. In Encyclopeadia of Community. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Chayko, M. (2002). Connecting: How we form social bonds and communities in the internet age. New York: SUNY Press.
Clark P. B., & Wilson, J. Q. (1961). Incentive Systems: A theory of organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly, 6(2), 129-166.
Cnaan, R. A., Handy, F., & Wadsworth, M. (1996). Defining who is a volunteer: Conceptual and empirical considerations. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 25(3), 364-383.
Coleman, J. S. (1990). Foundations of social theory. London, UK: Bellknap Press of Harvard University Press.
Cox, D. R. (1989). Welfare practice in a multicultural society. Sydney, Australia: Prentice Hall.
Cresswell, J. W. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Dasgupta, P. (2000). Social capital and economic performance analytics. In P. Dasgupta, & I. Seragaldin (Eds.), Social capital: A multifaceted perspective (pp. 1-31). Washington, DC: World Bank Institute.
Dudwick, N., Kuehnast, K., Nyhan Jones, V., & Woolcock, M. (2006). Analyzing social capital in context: A guide to using qualitative methods and data (Stock No. 37260). Washington, DC: World Bank Institute.
Dumont, J. C., & Lemaitre G. (2005). Counting immigrants and expatriates in OECD countries: A new perspective (OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers No. 25). Paris, France: OECD Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs.
Erickson, B., & Lin, N. (2008). Theory, measurement, and the research enterprise on social capital. In B. Erickson, & L. Nan (Eds.), Social Capital: An international research program (pp. 1-24). New York: Oxford University Press.
Farmer, S. M., & Fedor, D. B. (1999). Volunteer participation and withdrawal: A psychological contract perspective on the role of expectations and organizational support, Nonprofit management and Leadership, 9(4), 349-367.
Flap, H. (2001). No man is an island. In O. Favereau and E. Lazega (Eds.), Conventions and structures in economic organizations. Markets, networks and hierarchies (pp. 29-59). London, UK: Edward Elgar.
Francis, G. R. (1983). The volunteer needs profile: A tool for reducing turnover. Journal of Volunteer Administration, 1(4). 17-33.
Ghaffarian, S. (1998). The acculturation of Iranian immigrants in the United States and the implications for mental health. Journal of Social Psychology, 138, 645-654.
Granovetter, M. (1973). The strength of weak ties. American Journal of Sociology, 78(6), 1360-1380.
Greenspan, I., & Handy, F. (2008). Immigrant volunteering: A stepping stone to integration? Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. 20(10), 1-27.
Haji, S., & Neichin, G. (2005). Building successful online communities. In T. Hart, J. M. Greenfield, M. Johnston (Eds.), Nonprofit internet strategies. Best practices for marketing, communication, and fundraising success (pp. 84-99). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Chapter.
Hodgett, S. L. (2003). Community, Sense of. Encyclopedia of Community. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Halpern, D. (2005). Social capital. Cambridge, UK: Polity.
Johnson, B. R. (1997). Examining the validity structure of qualitative research. Education, 118(3), 282-292.
Kelly, G. (1963). A theory of personality: The psychology of personal constructs. New York: W. W. Norton.
Lin, N. (2001). Building a network theory of social capital. In N. Lin, R. S. Burt, K. Cook (Eds.), Social Capital: Theory and research (pp. 3-31). New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
Macduff, N. (2005) Societal changes and rise of the episodic volunteer. Emerging Areas of Volunteering, ARNOVA Occasional Paper Series, 1(2). Indianapolis.
Marshall, C. & Rossmann, G. B. (1989). Designing Qualitative Research. Newbury Park, Calif.: Sage.
Mayo, M., & Craig, G. (1995). Community participation and empowerment: The human face of structural adjustment or tools for democratic transformation? In G. Craig, M. Mayo (Eds.), Community Empowerment: A Reader in Participation and Development (pp. 1-11). London, UK: Zed Books.
McFarland, B. (2005). Volunteer management for animal care organizations. Gaithersburg, MD: Humane Society Press.
McMillian D., & Chavis, D. (1986). Sense of community: A definition and theory. Journal of Community Psychology. 14(1), 6-23.
Merriam, S. B. (2002). Qualitative research in practice: Examples for discussion and analysis. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Mertens, D. (2005). Research methods in education and psychology (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Ministry of Social Development (2008). Diverse communities: Exploring the refugee and migrant experience in New Zealand. Wellington: Ministry of Social Development.
Nagel, T. (1994). Consciousness and objective reality. In R. Warner, T. Szubka (Eds.), The mind-body problem (pp. 63-68). Hoboken, NJ: Blackwell.
Northcraft, G., & Schneider S. (1999). The social dilemmas of workplace diversity in organizations: A social identity perspective. Human Relations, 52(11), 1145-1467.
Okun, M.A., & Michel, J. (2003). Sense of community and being a volunteer among the young-old. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 25, 173-188.
Patton, M.Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.), California: Sage Publications.
Pearce, L. (1993). Volunteers: The organizational behavior of unpaid workers. New York: Routledge.
Pettigrew, T. F., & Tropp, L. R. (2000). Does intergroup contact reduce prejudice? Recent meta-analytic findings. In S. Oskamp (Ed.), Reducing prejudice and discrimination: Social psychological perspectives (pp. 93–114). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Portes, A. (1998). Social Capital: Its origins and applications in modern sociology. Annual Review of Sociology. 24, 1-24.
Putnam, R. D. (1993). Making democracy work: Civic traditions in modern Italy. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Putnam, R. (2000). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Rappaport, J. (1995). Empowerment meets narrative: Listening to stories and creating settings. American Journal of Community Psychology, 23(5), 631-656.
Sarason, S. (1974). The psychological sense of community: Prospects for a community psychology. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Saxon, J., & Sawyer, H. (1984). A systematic approach for volunteer assignment and retention, Journal of Volunteer Administration, 2(4), 39-45.
Searle, W., & Ward, C. (1990). The prediction of psychological and sociocultural adjustment during cross-cultural transitions. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 14, 449-464.
Shibutani, Tamotsu (1955). Reference group as perspectives. American Journal of Sociology 60, 562-569.
Schneider, S. K., & Northcraft, G. B. (1999). Three social dilemmas of workforce diversity in organizations: A social identity perspective. Human Relations, 52, 1445-1468.
Singer, M. R. (1987). Intercultural communication: A perceptual approach. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Singer, P. (1975). Animal liberation. Sydney:Random House.
Smith, C., & Freedman, A. (1972). Voluntary associations: Perspectives on the literature. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Smith, D. H. (1972). The journal of voluntary action research: An introduction. Journal of
Voluntary Action Research, 1(1), 2–5.
Smyntyna, O. V. (2005). Adaptation, Cultural. In Encyclopaedia of Anthropology. Thousands Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Sonn, C. C. (2002). Immigrant adaptation: Exploring the process through sense of community. In A. T. Fisher, C. C. Sonn & B. J. Bishop (Eds.), Psychological Sense of Community: Research, Applications and Implications (pp. 205-222). New York, NY: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
Stebbins, R. A. (2004). Introduction. In M. Graham, R.A Stebbins (Eds), Volunteering as leisure: An international assessment (pp. 1-13). Cambridge, MA: Cabi Publishing.
Tajfel, H. (1981). Human groups and social categories. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Thomas, G. (2001). Human traffic: Skills, employers, and international volunteers. London, UK: Demos.
Tzeng, R. (2010). Work in Cultural Translation: Workplace Encounters in Taiwanese Firms with Western Migrant Employees. In C.H. Leong & J.W. Berry (Eds.), Intercultural relations in Asia: Migration and work effectiveness, (pp. 151-176). World Scientific: Singapore.
Ward, C., & Kennedy, A. (1996). Crossing cultures: The relationship between psychological and sociocultural dimensions of cross-cultural adjustment. In J. Pandey, D. & Sinha & D. P. S. Bhawuk (Eds.), Asian contribution to cross-cultural psychology, (pp. 289-306). New Delhi: Sage.
Ward, C., & Rana-Deuba, A. (1999). Home and host culture influences on sojourner adjustment. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 24, 291-306.
Weisinger, J. Y., & Salipante, P. F. (2005). A grounded theory for building ethnically bridging social capital in voluntary organizations. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 34(1), 29-55.
Wollebaek, D., & Selle, P. (2002). Does participation in voluntary associations contribute to social capital? The impact of intensity, scope, and type. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 31(1), 32-61.
Yakushko, O., Watson, M., & Thompson, S. (2008). Stress and coping in the lives of recent immigrants and refugees: Considerations for counselling. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 30, 167–178.
Young, D. R. (1987). Executive leadership in nonprofit organizations. In W. W. Powell (Ed.), The nonprofit sector, (pp. 180-194). New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.