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The purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of career satisfaction of professional accounting returnees who have studied and/or worked abroad and then returned to work in different types of international workplaces in their home country.

A survey of professional accounting returnees in Vietnam was undertaken and multiple regression analysis was applied to test the proposed relationships.

This study finds that career satisfaction is affected by career fit, career sacrifice, types of international workplaces (domestically headquartered firms versus globally headquartered firms) and cross-cultural work readjustment. Further, cross-cultural work readjustment partially mediates the effect of career fit and career sacrifice on career satisfaction.

The research provides the basis for designing career-related employee experiences to support career satisfaction of professional accounting returnees.

This study integrates dimensions of career embeddedness with cross-cultural work readjustment and employee experiences, which are normally studied separately, in different types of international workplaces. It contributes to the limited research on contributors to well-being in the form of career satisfaction among professional returnees in an emerging economy.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Emerging market firms can improve the prospects of repatriating professional workers by increasing their career satisfaction in their home country. This can be achieved through measures to provide opportunities that fit their career aims and offer benefits that these employees would be unwilling to sacrifice. Moves to help them readjust back into a different cultural environment should include recognition of skills acquired abroad, provision of organizational support and improved working conditions.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

This conceptual review paper aims to extend the human resource (HR) management literature by introducing a holistic employee experience (EMX) framework to conceptualize the relationship between EMX entities and employee well-being. Thus, the EMX framework stimulates future research in HR and organizational studies by incorporating a transformative impact of experiences designed by organizations on the overall well-being of their employees.

The paper draws on the customer experience literature in the marketing literature and reviews the existing conceptualizations of the EMX construct in HR management studies, along with other disciplines through an extensive and in-depth analysis of the academic and business literature that examines EMX.

The EMX framework provides a comprehensive outlook on the relationship between EMX and well-being, where the latter is considered both a driving force and an outcome of the overall EMX. EMX is a multilevel model offering a big-picture view of how the three entities – personal, social and cultural – of the organization referring to different levels of the EMX can affect employees' well-being in terms of their functional, emotional, hedonic and eudaimonic needs.

The EMX framework utilizes a richer definition of the EMX and highlights the need for research that bridges other disciplines and paradigms outside of and within HR management. This research develops the understanding of each component of the EMX framework with the ultimate goal of moving the field towards the EMX approach. This research identifies some unanswered questions related to a new management tool that enhances employee well-being, improves the delivered customer experience and contributes in making the current body of knowledge on the EMX more organized. The analysis of the different issues addressed by the literature suggests avenues for future research.

The paper contributes to the HR literature and the emerging research on the EMX by presenting a comprehensive framework that incorporates a holistic understanding of the concept in the HR field. The paper offers scholars and organizations that struggle with engaging employees, a modern and practical perspective – one that helps organizations develop an in-depth understanding of today's workplaces in a globalized context to implement successful and engaging customer and EMXs.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors influencing work readjustment of Vietnamese returnees who used to study and/or work in a developed country and are currently working in different positions in their home country.

Data for this study were collected through a survey of 433 returnees using both paper-based and online surveys. Multiple regression was used to test the relationships in the model.

The findings show that while the length of time spent overseas, work expectations and subjective norm significantly affect work readjustment, the influences of age, gender and length of time since return on work readjustment are not supported.

The findings provide useful insights for home country government and managers of returnees developing repatriation programs that help returnees deal with the issue of poor work readjustment.

Empirical studies on cross-cultural re-entry adjustment of both self-initiated repatriates and international students are scarcely investigated. Most prior studies focused on individual factors (such as gender, age, duration in overseas and since return), research on the effect of work expectation on work readjustment is still scant. Most prior studies focused on examining the relationship between work expectation and work readjustment of company repatriates, however, this relationship in the context of returnees, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, has not been investigated. Furthermore, this study is the first to examine the influence of subjective norm on work readjustment of returnees.

The purpose of this study is to understand the multiple aspects of readjustment of repatriates and to identify determinants relating to the readjustment, to enable MNEs (multinational enterprises) to utilize the advantages and retain the valuable knowledge that repatriates offer to the organization for talent management.

This study conducted a quantitative work involving questionnaire responses of 192 repatriates who returned to Japan after international assignments in MNEs.

Based on the results of the analysis using this Japanese data, the discussion is summarized in the following three points. First, it is important to seek determinants for the readjustment by focusing on all the aspects of ‘repatriation adjustment’ because the determinants of subordinate aspects are not always identical. Second, ‘organizational factors — work duties’ play a vital role in the readjustment to the organization different from the readjustment to daily life. Further, organizations benefit from providing assistance to both the repatriates and the family of the repatriates to ensure that they are able to successfully readjust to life in the home country.

This study performed a comprehensive analysis of the subordinate concepts of the ‘repatriation adjustment’ dividing it into four aspects of job and private life. Factors related to the readjustment were classified into three factors by using a framework that analyses issues repatriates face by classifying these into changes occurring over time and changes due to cultural differences, and show a logical framework that elucidates the repatriation adjustment factors.

The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into international career motives, repatriation and career success of Indian women in Science and Technology.

In total, 30 semi-structured interviews were conducted with (upper) middle-class Indian women in Science and Technology in Bangalore and New Delhi, India.

Thematic analysis resulted in four themes – International career motives, Theme 1: cross-cultural and scientific exposure; Repatriation reasons and experiences, Theme 2: family reunion, career prospects and readjustment; Career success, Theme 3: international experience; and career growth, Theme 4: social responsibility. Motives for international career mobility of Indian women were: exposure to foreign cultures, international collaboration in science and personal and professional development. Family formation and reunion and career prospects were reasons for repatriation and positively influenced repatriation experiences of Indian women. Readjustment to people and conditions in India impacted their repatriation experiences negatively. The meaning women attribute to career success is grounded in recognition from peers in science, career growth, satisfaction and contribution to science and Indian society.

The sample of Indian female scientists may limit generalization of the findings to global career professionals in other professions from other countries with different socio-cultural and economic contexts.

HR policies that foster international careers of women scientists as well as women's networks in science to share and apply knowledge, and their contribution to the Indian economy and society will enhance global career success of women and strengthen the sustainable competitive position of organizations.

The study provides new insights into motivation for international career mobility and repatriation of women professionals from a developing country and their career success in the home country, and contributes to the development of theoretical frameworks on international career mobility and career success.

With increasing interest in overseas business expansion, particularly in the Asia‐Pacific region, expatriate management, including repatriation readjustmenst, has become a critical international human resource development (HRD) issue for multinational enterprises (MNEs). This empirical study therefore aims to investigate the use of HRD interventions relating to training and development for effective readjustment of international managers on repatriation.

The data were collected through a field survey conducted on repatriation experience of international managers from more than five countries, who are working in Singapore.

The study provides valuable insights about repatriation training programmes, training contents, programme duration, delivery modes, and providers of effective training programmes.

HRD professionals and senior executives of MNEs will benefit from the findings of this study in making decisions on effective design and implementation of training and career development programmes.

The findings have significant implications for career development of managers involved in international business operations.

This paper discusses readjustment problems of the repatriating managers and suggests how realistic HRD programmes, mainly based on training, can be developed and implemented for retaining international managers. These findings from the dynamic region of Asia will also help in developing appropriate career development programmes.

Repatriation continues to be a current challenge for many international firms. While this topic has received only limited attention in literature in the past, it has aroused an increased academic interest since the 2000s. Until now, however, thorough analyses of advancements in this field, which go beyond a pure content-related review, are still scarce in research. To address this gap, this study provides a systematic and comprehensive literature review of repatriation from an ecological systems perspective. The purpose of this paper is threefold: to analyze where and when repatriation research has been published, what aspects (e.g. topics, theories, and contexts) have been considered in the repatriation literature, and how the research has been conducted (e.g. employed methodologies). Based on the findings implications for future research are developed.

This study is based on a systematic literature review of 96 peer-reviewed articles from 1973 to 2016.

The results of the study reveal that repatriation has found its way into journals of different disciplines. By employing an ecological systems theoretical perspective, the study shows that research on repatriation covers a broad set of ecological systems to explain repatriation outcomes. Quantitative approaches are fairly prominent in repatriation research, whereas the use of qualitative approaches has increased lately. Mixed-methods approaches, however, are still scarce in the repatriation literature. Moreover, the results outline that the majority of scholars collected data on the individual level. With regard to methodological rigor (both design and analysis), a steady use of linear regression modeling in quantitative articles was found, whereas more sophisticated methodological approaches such as structural equation modeling and longitudinal studies have only recently found their way into repatriation research. Finally, by considering that the expatriate literature addresses a variety of types of expatriation, this study highlights that research on repatriation should differentiate more thoroughly between types of repatriates to provide target-group-oriented recommendations and to deepen the understanding of the repatriation phenomenon.

This study contributes to the repatriation research in several ways. First, it provides a systematic analysis of the repatriation literature from an ecological systems theoretical lens. By combining this content-related analysis with an investigation of methodological issues, the study outlines which ecological systems have been covered in the literature on repatriation, where the strengths and weaknesses of this literature stream lay, and in which direction future avenues of research should move. Moreover, the study highlights which methodological shortcomings are still existent in the repatriation literature and shows that a differentiated viewpoint on repatriates like in the expatriation literature is still in an embryonic stage in repatriation research. Finally, it contributes to the repatriation research by deducing valuable recommendations for future research.

While there is a burgeoning literature on self-initiated expatriates (SIEs), the emphasis has been on expatriation not repatriation. The purpose of this paper therefore is to explore how repatriating SIEs perceive the experience of repatriation compared with their pre-repatriation expectations. Further, we examine the seminal work of Black et al. (1992) in the light of current day realities.

This qualitative research draws on interviews with SIE New Zealanders returning home. It is an exploratory longitudinal study, based on interview data collected prior to (n = 32), and after (n = 27) repatriation, comparing expectations and experiences of repatriation.

Findings show that there is a strong level of congruence between the expectations of the return and their experience of repatriation. This congruence eases the transition and mitigates the impact of reverse culture shock. We revise Black et al.'s framework of repatriation adjustment to more accurately reflect the expectations and experiences of repatriating SIEs, recognising the importance of individual agency and the impact of today's technological advances on repatriation.

The contributions of this paper include clarification of repatriating SIEs. Further, through the revision of the framework, we identify new areas of research that would aid our understanding of repatriating SIEs and lead to the development of a more detailed model. We highlight the interplay between variables showing how these might mitigate the shock of repatriation.

Repatriation is an under-researched phase of the SIE, and this study provides empirical data that contributes to our understanding of the construct. Black et al.'s framework of repatriation adjustment is revised in the context of contemporary SIE, highlighting the holistic nature of self-initiated expatriation and repatriation, viewing the events not as discrete, but as a continuum of time.

The family and specifically, the partners of expatriates are unfortunately the major cause of expatriate maladjustment. Drawing from and extending the concept of relational demography, the purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of the nationality of expatriates’ partners, conceptualized as host, home or third country nationality, on expatriates’ cross-cultural adjustment.

Survey data from 299 expatriate academics in China, Japan and South Korea were analysed. The authors used confirmatory factor analyses to validate the scales and ANCOVA to test the hypotheses. To further understand the interactions effects the authors conducted simple slopes analysis.

Results show that differences in expatriate academics’ cross-cultural adjustment are not per se based on the different nationality of their partners, but are mainly due to an interaction effect of partner nationality and length of stay in host country. Expatriates with host country national partners perceived the highest increase in cross-cultural adjustment over time, followed by those with third country national partners, whereas those with home country partners did not experience any increase in cross-cultural adjustment.

The study was based on a cross-sectional survey of expatriate academics in Asia. Thus, longitudinal, multisource data from various contexts would increase validity and generalizability of findings. Despite these limitations, the study provided new and intriguing findings. The theory and empirical evidence underscore the importance of expatriate partner nationality and thereby, relational demography between expatriate partners and expatriates.

The research aims to emphasize the important role that expatriate partners can play concerning the success of expatriate cross-cultural adjustment. Greater attention should be paid to the adjustment processes of expatriates and their partners to facilitate expatriate cross-cultural adjustment.

The authors are among the first to study the influence of nationality, conceptualized as host, home country or third country nationality, of expatriates’ partners on expatriates’ cross-cultural adjustment by applying the concept of relational demography. Moreover, the authors look at the role that time in the host country has on the partner’s influence on expatriate adjustment.