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1 – 10 of over 2000Jan Selmer, Jakob Lauring, Ling Eleanor Zhang and Charlotte Jonasson
In this chapter, we focus on expatriate CEOs who are assigned by the parent company to work in a subsidiary and compare them to those who themselves have initiated to work abroad…
Abstract
Purpose
In this chapter, we focus on expatriate CEOs who are assigned by the parent company to work in a subsidiary and compare them to those who themselves have initiated to work abroad as CEOs. Since we do not know much about these individuals, we direct our attention to: (1) who they are (demographics), (2) what they are like (personality), and (3) how they perform (job performance).
Methodology/approach
Data was sought from 93 assigned expatriate CEOs and 94 self-initiated expatriate CEOs in China.
Findings
Our findings demonstrate that in terms of demography, self-initiated CEOs were more experienced than assigned CEOs. With regard to personality, we found difference in self-control and dispositional anger: Assigned expatriate CEOs had more self-control and less angry temperament than their self-initiated counterparts. Finally, we found assigned expatriate CEOs to rate their job performance higher than self-initiated CEOs.
Originality/value
Although there may not always be immediate benefits, career consideration often plays a role when individuals choose whether to become an expatriate. For many years, organizations have used expatriation to develop talented managers for high-level positions in the home country. Recently, however, a new trend has emerged. Talented top managers are no longer expatriated only from within parent companies to subsidiaries. Self-initiated expatriates with no prior affiliation in the parent company are increasingly used to fill top management positions in subsidiaries.
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Liisa Mäkelä, Vesa Suutari, Anni Rajala and Chris Brewster
This study explores whether expatriation type (assigned expatriates (AEs) versus self-initiated expatriates (SIEs)) is linked to job exhaustion via possible differences in…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores whether expatriation type (assigned expatriates (AEs) versus self-initiated expatriates (SIEs)) is linked to job exhaustion via possible differences in required efforts for their jobs and the rewards they gain from them, and/or the balance between efforts and rewards. Adopting effort–reward imbalance (ERI) and job demands/resources (JD-R) theories, the authors study the possible role of ERI as a mediator between expatriation type and job exhaustion.
Design/methodology/approach
An online survey was carried out in co-operation with two Finnish trade unions, providing representative data from 484 assigned and SIEs. The authors test this study’s hypotheses through latent structural equation modelling, and the analysis was conducted with Stata 17.0 software.
Findings
The results show that ERI between them are correlated with the job exhaustion of expatriates in general and there are no direct links between expatriation type and job exhaustion. The required effort from AEs was higher than that from SIEs though no difference was found for rewards, and the match between effort demands and rewards is less favourable for AEs than SIEs. AEs experienced higher job exhaustion than SIEs because of the higher effort demands and greater imbalance between efforts and rewards.
Originality/value
The study examines the work well-being of two types of expatriates and explores the underlying mechanisms that may explain why they may differ from each other.
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Marian van Bakel, Vlad Vaiman, Charles M. Vance and Arno Haslberger
To enlarge the focus on international mentoring beyond traditional company-assigned expatriates, this conceptual paper examines important contexts and dynamics of intercultural…
Abstract
Purpose
To enlarge the focus on international mentoring beyond traditional company-assigned expatriates, this conceptual paper examines important contexts and dynamics of intercultural mentoring involving traditional expatriates and host country nationals (HCNs), with both as mentors and mentees.
Design/methodology/approach
This conceptual paper explores how intercultural mentoring in different contexts can guide the individual professional development of expatriates and HCNs, and in doing so, contributes to MNC knowledge management and organization development.
Findings
Major contributions of this paper include increased attention to the role of culture in mentoring, and an illumination of important intercultural mentoring opportunities and imperatives involving traditional company-assigned expatriates and HCNs, who are key global talent players in MNC knowledge management and overall operations performance. This paper also provides practical recommendations on how organizations can facilitate mentoring within a global context, as well as suggestions for viable avenues for future research, including further extending the global talent reach of international mentoring.
Originality/value
This paper emphasizes the importance of taking the intercultural context into account when planning and managing mentoring in MNCs and outlines how culture can affect mentoring relationships involving traditional company-assigned expatriates and HCNs. This contextual aspect has often been neglected in the extant literature, yet can be crucial for the success of mentoring relationships that cross cultural borders. With its inclusion of HCNs, this paper also expands the picture of international mentoring beyond the traditional focus on company-assigned expatriates.
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Antonios Georgopoulos, Eleftherios Aggelopoulos, Elen Paraskevi Paraschi and Maria Kalogera
In an environment of intensive global mobility, this study aims to investigate the performance role of staffing choices within diverse MNE subsidiary strategies. Incorporating the…
Abstract
Purpose
In an environment of intensive global mobility, this study aims to investigate the performance role of staffing choices within diverse MNE subsidiary strategies. Incorporating the integration-responsiveness (IR) framework with a contingency perspective, this study proposes that the performance success of distinct MNE subsidiary strategies depends on staffing choices. This study argues that performance differences of staffing choices such as assigned expatriates, self-initiated expatriates, former inpatriates and host-country nationals derive from their different knowledge/experience advantages regarding the intra-firm environment and local market conditions.
Design/methodology/approach
The study utilizes a unique sample of 169 foreign subsidiaries located in Greece that faced the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic (in 2020). For robustness reasons, this study also captures the imposition of capital controls (in June 2015).
Findings
This study finds important mediating performance effects of a diversified human resource portfolio across distinct subsidiary strategies in difficult times. Integration strategy tends to use more assigned expatriates, locally responsive strategy tends to utilize more host-country nationals, whereas multi-focal strategy favors self-initiated expatriates and former inpatriates, with positive subsidiary performance effects accordingly. So, staffing policies that are suitable to balance the needs of Human Resource Management (HRM) portfolio differ from strategy to strategy. Moreover, this study finds that managing HRM diversity is crucial in turbulent times.
Originality/value
While the empirical evidence has been predominantly accumulated from large economies, largely neglecting performance effects of MNE subsidiary staffing in crisis contexts, the analysis sheds light on a small open economy (i.e. the Greek context) emphasizing rapidly environmental deterioration. The findings extend existing theorizing on international performance and HRM management by providing an integrative conceptual framework linking integration-responsiveness motivated strategies with distinct groups of high-quality human resources under contingency considerations, so creatively synthesizing largely fragmented IB and HRM research streams. The study provides valuable insights into the performance role of non-conventional staffing choices such as self-initiated expatriates and former inpatriates, given that relevant studies examine either exclusively expatriates or compare expatriates with host country nationals, reaching inconclusive results.
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Jan Selmer, Jakob Lauring and Markus Kittler
The purpose of this study is to assess differences between the adjustment of expatriates in Germany and France. Most research has focused on the individual in relation to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to assess differences between the adjustment of expatriates in Germany and France. Most research has focused on the individual in relation to expatriate adjustment. The general conditions of the host country, however, could represent an important contextual factor that needs to be explored further.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on an empirical study of 130 expatriate managers on foreign assignments in France (61) and Germany (69), the authors take a comparative perspective and examine differences for sociocultural and psychological adjustment as well as time to proficiency in both countries.
Findings
The authors found that expatriates assigned to France show higher degrees of work adjustment and general adjustment than those in Germany. This was unexpected as Germany is generally described as a more transparent, open and welcoming country. Results may thus challenge stereotypical conceptions of national differences and indicate that globalization processes are gradually changing country-specific conditions.
Originality/value
Only scant research has dealt with expatriates adjusting to Western European countries and no other studies have compared the adjustment of expatriates in Germany and France.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the views and experience of cross‐cultural training (CCT) of experienced Western business expatriates (“China Hands”) assigned…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the views and experience of cross‐cultural training (CCT) of experienced Western business expatriates (“China Hands”) assigned to China.
Design/methodology/approach
Data for this study were extracted from a mail questionnaire that targeted business expatriates assigned by Western firms to China. A net‐targeted sample of 651 respondents produced 165 usable questionnaires, following the extraction of questionnaires from respondents who were no longer in China or who were not engaged in business.
Findings
Findings of this study further highlight the need for more CCT for business expatriates destined for China. A clear majority of respondents preferred pre‐departure training a few weeks before departing for China and only a few of them claimed that CCT would not have been useful at any time. Most of the China Hands thought that CCT improved core managerial activities and therefore could have helped them to become better managers in China.
Practical implications
The views of experienced China Hands will be of use to a wide variety of management practitioners, given the competitive nature of the Chinese business environment.
Original/value
The paper offers the view of experienced management practitioners concerning the Chinese business environment. The findings will be of value to both Western business people in China as well as business people considering an expatriate positing to China.
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Yvonne McNulty and Charles M. Vance
Most studies of expatriates have explored global careers as unfolding within assigned or self-initiated expatriation contexts in a predominantly linear fashion. The purpose of…
Abstract
Purpose
Most studies of expatriates have explored global careers as unfolding within assigned or self-initiated expatriation contexts in a predominantly linear fashion. The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize that expatriates’ career progression is facilitated by frequent moves between domains, with an increasing overlap among assigned-expatriate (AE) and self-initiated expatriate (SIE) contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
Underpinned by findings from extant literature, the authors review and integrate studies of expatriation and careers to conceptualize an AE-SIE career continuum.
Findings
The authors debunk the idea that AEs and SIEs are a type of expatriate per se, but instead is indicative only of their career orientation in terms of where they choose to sit on the AE-SIE career continuum at any point in time. Specifically, individuals pursuing global careers in international labor markets include up to eight types of expatriate who retain varying degrees of AE vs SIE characteristics dependent on the point they choose along the continuum.
Practical implications
The tension that dynamic global careers cause for multinational enterprises (MNEs) is not necessarily “bad”, and that by accepting and accommodating changes in career orientation MNEs will be able to make clearer and more consistent global staffing decisions.
Originality/value
The authors provide a new, improved conceptualization of linear and non-linear global careers and of the challenges global career actors face throughout their career development both at home and abroad. They further show that while career orientation explains why expatriates engage in various types of international work experiences, their typology adds explication of the various types of expatriate who pursue global careers.
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Ying Zhang, Yuran Li, Mark Frost, Shiyu Rong, Rong Jiang and Edwin T.C. Cheng
This paper aims to examine the critical role played by cultural flow in fostering successful expatriate cross-border transitions.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine the critical role played by cultural flow in fostering successful expatriate cross-border transitions.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors develop and test a model on the interplay among cultural intelligence, organizational position level, cultural flow direction and expatriate adaptation, using a data set of 387 expatriate on cross-border transitions along the Belt & Road area.
Findings
The authors find that both organizational position level and cultural flow moderate the relationship between cultural intelligence and expatriate adaptation, whereby the relationship is contingent on the interaction of organizational position status and assignment directions between high power distance and low power distance host environments.
Originality/value
Previous research has shown that higher levels of cultural intelligence are positively related to better expatriate adaptation. However, there is a lack of research on the effect of position difference and cultural flow on such relationship. Our study is among the first to examine how the interaction between cultural flow and organizational position level influences the cultural intelligence (CI) and cultural adjustment relationship in cross-cultural transitions.
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International human resource management research has only recently started to recognize the many millions of people who engage with the international labor market as low-skilled…
Abstract
Purpose
International human resource management research has only recently started to recognize the many millions of people who engage with the international labor market as low-skilled self-initiated expatriates. In contrast to company-assigned expatriates, they predominantly come from less-developed countries (often from rural areas) and independently decide to pursue an international career. The aim of this study is apply an expatriate-centered perspective and explore how expatriates at the base of the pyramid perceive the conditions of their international employment.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper is based on a qualitative study among self-initiated expatriates in the tourism and hospitality industry in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Findings
Two theoretical categories that reflect the evaluation of expatriate employment were identified, namely the social comparison with friends and family who stayed at home as well as with other expatriates and locals and the temporal comparison to the situation before the expatriation and the prospective situation after the expatriation. Both categories largely differ from the concepts and categories prevalent in the expatriate literature.
Research limitations/implications
The study contributes to the understanding of the temporal and transitory dimensions of expatriation, which have been barely addressed in the academic literature. It shows that self-initiated expatriation often represents a break in the professional and personal biography. It is less perceived as linear continuation of a steadily advancing career path than a restart or springboard to the future. The results are situated in the tourism and hospitality sector in the UAE and cannot be generalized to other countries and industries.
Practical implications
The study emphasizes the relevance of social inclusion, equal opportunities, a safe work environment and a relaxed corporate culture for expatriates at the base of the pyramid.
Originality/value
While research about self-initiated expatriates usually compares them with company-backed assignees, this comparison is not salient in the narratives of the interviewees in this study. Instead, low-skilled self-initiated expatriates predominately compare their current foreign assignment with the situation in their home country. This social comparison reflects their perceived reality of life better than a fictional comparison with highly skilled and company-assigned expatriates that is prevalent in the academic expatriation literature. By emphasizing an expatriate-centered perspective, the study supports and extends Piore's (1979) application of segmented labor market theory.
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It is widely accepted that expatriates have career expectations and motivations for working abroad that differ according to whether their posting is self-initiated or assigned by…
Abstract
Purpose
It is widely accepted that expatriates have career expectations and motivations for working abroad that differ according to whether their posting is self-initiated or assigned by their employer. These factors also affect organisational embeddedness in the host country organisation. The purpose of this paper is to analyse job effort and career satisfaction in expatriates working for foreign organisations and investigates how these concepts depend on expatriates’ initial career plans and motivations for working abroad.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from two groups: managers of assigned expatriate workers and self-initiated expatriate workers. The surveys assessed workers’ motivations for going abroad, and differences between the two groups were compared by analysis of variance (ANOVA). A partial least squares (PLS) analysis was used to assess the effect of motivation on job performance.
Findings
There were positive relationships between the degree of organisational embeddedness in institutions abroad and job performance and career satisfaction. Perceptions of embeddedness depended on workers’ mindsets regarding their career ambitions.
Practical implications
This paper shows that self-initiated and assigned expatriates (AEs) require different staffing strategies, since variation in their motivations to go abroad are likely to affect their job effort in host organisations.
Originality/value
By linking expatriate motivation to go abroad with job performance and career satisfaction, contributions are made to the discussion of the differences between self-initiated and AEs.
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