Self‐initiated expatriation and self‐initiated expatriates

Noeleen Doherty (School of Management, Cranfield University, Cranfield, UK)
Julia Richardson (School for Administrative Studies & School of Human Resource Management, York University, Toronto, Canada)
Kaye Thorn (School of Management, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand)

Career Development International

ISSN: 1362-0436

Publication date: 15 February 2013

Abstract

Purpose

–

This paper aims to move towards clarification of the self‐initiated expatriate/expatriation construct with the aim of extending and deepening theory development in the field.

Design/methodology/approach

–

Drawing on Suddaby's think piece on construct clarity, this paper applies his proposed four elements; definitional clarity, scope conditions, relationships between constructs and coherence, in order to clarify the SIE construct.

Findings

–

The discussion examines the “problem of definition” and its impact on SIE scholarship. The spatial, temporal and value‐laden constraints that must be considered by SIE scholars are expounded, and the links between SIE research and career theory are developed. From this, potential research agendas are proposed.

Research limitations/implications

–

This is a conceptual piece which, rather than giving precise research data, encourages further thinking in the field.

Originality/value

–

Although the definitional difficulties of SIEs have been identified in previous literature, this is the first attempt to clarify the boundaries of SIE and its interconnectedness with other related constructs.

Keywords

Citation

Doherty, N., Richardson, J. and Thorn, K. (2013), "Self‐initiated expatriation and self‐initiated expatriates", Career Development International, Vol. 18 No. 1, pp. 97-112. https://doi.org/10.1108/13620431311305971

Download as .RIS

Publisher

:

Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2013, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Please note you might not have access to this content

You may be able to access this content by login via Shibboleth, Open Athens or with your Emerald account.
If you would like to contact us about accessing this content, click the button and fill out the form.
Contact us
To rent this content from Deepdyve, please click the button.
Rent from Deepdyve