摘要：Those managing unit retails sectors in Saudi Arabia face the challenge of adapting to varied and often uncertain task environments. Unit retail sectors in Saudi Arabia are changing by increasing their linkages with the external environment to boost their sales and also to ensure viability in the current shifting environments, especially the Saudi vision 2030. Given the emerging research interest in the boundary spanning role played by expatriates in supporting unit retails adaptation which is as similar as international settings. This exploratory research article tries to explore the nature of the expatriate boundary role and to explore the conditions for individual effectiveness in the role. The objective was to examine the role of boundary spanner concerning language known, food habits, product familiarization, and cultural awareness various people in business with their caravans would pass through Saudi Arabia bringing in the spices and musk from India, silk cookery and pickles from China and various other commodities. In the modern world, the flow of expatriates in huge numbers was in 1938 after the discovery of oil. Findings recommended that language known, food habits, product familiarization, and cultural awareness & confidence had a significant impact on boundary spanners and boundary spanner plays a significant role in increasing sales. Further interpersonal working relationships in the retail unit sector comprised a central dimension of the local as well as the expatriate boundary spanning role and were the cornerstones and enablers of other resource exchanges. Familiarity with the local context, in terms of the likes and dislikes of the local as well as the expatriate’s customers are the expectations for the boundary role currently in Saudi Arabia.
