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The International Human Resource Management literature has paid less attention to the selection of expatriates and the decision-making criteria with regard to such selection, than to issues relating to expatriates’ role, performance, adjustment, success, and failure. Yet, before expatriates commence their assignments, they need to be selected. The purpose of this book chapter is to provide an overview of issues related specifically to expatriate selection. In particular, the chapter traces the chronological development of selection over the last five decades or so, from prior to 1970 until present. The chapter subsequently identifies five expatriate selection criteria that have been applied in regard to traditional international assignments, but are also relevant to alternative assignments.

We begin by reviewing expatriate selection historically and its position within expatriate management based on changing business environments. Then, drawing from over five decades of literature on international assignments, we identify and discuss five organizational, individual, and contextual level criteria for selecting expatriates.

Emphasis on different issues tends to characterize expatriate selection during the various decades since the literature has taken up the topic. The chapter describes those issues, following a chronological perspective. In addition, the chapter organizes the various selection criteria in five clusters: organization philosophy, technical competence, relational abilities, personal characteristics, and spouse and family situation.

While there are studies on expatriate selection, there is more to be understood with regard to the topic. Provided all other expatriation phases are subsequent, if selection is not understood in detail, the foundations of studying phases and processes that take place once expatriates are selected may not be sound. While the scholarly conversations of other expatriate-related issues should continue, the international human resource management literature can absorb more analyses on selection. A better understanding of expatriate selection will assist its better management. The chapter provides a basis for human resource management professionals to be able to map the various criteria for selection, and decide, under particular circumstances, which ones to prioritize and why.

The chapter brings clarity to a topic that has remained less researched when compared to other areas of interest related to expatriates and their international assignments by tracing the historical development of this important phase of the expatriation process. In addition, the chapter organizes a number of selection criteria along five core areas and discusses each of them to gain insights that help explain expatriate selection in greater detail.

As organizations globalize their operations, there is a heightened need to identify and select qualified managers for overseas assignments. The increased complexity of these foreign assignments necessitates a recalibration of the traditional selection procedures and processes used in the past. In particular, there is some evidence that expatriation becomes strategic as organizations increasingly grow and compete globally. Therefore, the critical issues, which arise as expatriates’ assignments evolve into a global assignment scope, must be viewed in a systematic manner. This paper develops a unique theory‐based expatriation selection process based upon a systemic assessment of potential expatriate candidates’ multiple IQs, learning styles, thinking styles, and the nature of the expatriate assignment. In addition, a practical step‐by‐step managerial process is developed that can be used in the selection of expatriate managers for global assignments.

A major problem facing organisations when they operate subsidiaries in host countries is the need to maximise the cross‐cultural performance of expatriate employees. Achieving adaptability and sensitivity involves a significant amount of attention being given to selecting expatriates who are culturally prepared and adaptive in the host nation culture and provided with ongoing support by their organisations. China is the country for analysis in this research, that examines the consideration given to selection and in‐post support provided to Australian expatriates. China is a significant site for examination of the cultural adaptability skills of expatriates as it looms large in the current and future trading and expansion plans of many Western corporations and yet very little attention has been given to recognising or developing the cultural skills necessary to effectively operate in this demanding market. This study is based on information gathered through a series of semi‐structured interviews conducted with expatriate managers in 1999. Results indicate attention being given to the expatriate selection process but a serious deficit in in‐post support.

In the last two decades we have seen a rapid increase in both the number and size of multinational corporations (MNCs). These organisations typically have their headquarters (HQs) in a parent country, and branches, subsidiaries or joint ventures of different types in host countries. Although their international personnel policies are very diverse, most MNCs send parent‐country managers and professionals to work in the host countries for limited periods of time.

Expatriate management is a popular theme in the field of international human resource management in light of the fact that expatriates play a crucial role in a MNC’s global operations. The purpose of this paper is to explore how MNCs select, train, deploy and support expatriate managers during and after their international assignment in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

This qualitative study is based on in-depth interviews with 22 Western expatriate managers who are presently based in the UAE. However, in order the ensure a diverse sample among the participants with regards to their age, professional experience, gender and nationality, purposeful sampling was utilized while selecting the participants.

The results of the present study cast light on many shortcomings of the overall expatriation process as they are implemented by MNCs in the UAE. Accordingly, there is a pressing need for MNCs in the UAE to develop strategic expatriation processes, involving the following critical factors: the selection of the right person for the right job; specific and relevant pre-departure and post-arrival cross-cultural training (CCT); practical support for the expatriate employees and their trailing spouses in the host country; and lastly, a clear repatriation strategy to mark a successful conclusion of foreign assignments in the UAE.

It is acknowledged that the results of this purely qualitative study, based on a relatively small sample size, cannot claim to represent the management theories, practices and realities of all the Western MNCs in the UAE. Moreover, these findings narrate the views and perceptions of this particular cohort of expatriate executives with relation to their selection, pre-departure CCT, adjustment in the UAE and the support and repatriation policies utilized by their companies for doing business in the UAE.

This study points to the fact that technical skills are mostly considered to be the predominant selection criteria for the expatriate selections in the MNCs. Other abilities, such as language skills and relational and perceptual adjustability are considered to be less important and do not feature overtly in the selection criteria for expatriate positions. The results demonstrate that distinctive features of adjustability, which include expatriates’ willingness to communicate, their social orientation, dynamic anxiety resistance and openness ability are all critical to the adjustment in the host country and should be given more emphasis.

Regardless of the presence of numerous MNCs in the UAE, it is indeed surprising to see that the topic of the expatriation management process in MNCs in the UAE has received little research attention. The objective of this study is to address this deficiency. Additionally, it is hoped that these findings may also be valuable to MNCs and consultants who are preparing expatriates for international assignments, especially in the Middle East and in particular in the UAE.

Based on signaling and motivation theories, this study investigates the impact of organizational practices on the formation and development of expatriates' psychological contracts in three stages. Stage 1: the impact of the selection process on psychological contract formation with the mediating role of perceived organizational justice. Stage 2: the impact of pre-departure training on psychological contract formation with the mediating role of individual absorptive capacity. Stage 3: the impact of perceived organizational support on psychological contract development with the mediating role of expatriates' adjustment.

By using a purposive sampling technique, the respondents were approached via e-mails and personal visits in three waves, each wave had 45 days gap. After three waves, a total of 402 complete questionnaires were received back. To test the hypotheses, the partial least squares-based structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach was used.

Stage 1: effective selection process and perceived organizational justice positively support the psychological contract formation. Stage 2: the pre-departure training and individual absorptive capacity have a positive influence on the psychological contract formation of expatriates. Stage 3: the perceived organizational support and psychological contract development have a positive direct association. However, expatriates' adjustment does not mediate the association between perceived organizational support and the psychological contract development of expatriates.

The implications of this study are supportive to the organizations that deal with expatriates. The organizations should adopt practices (i.e. effective selection process, pre-departure training and perceived organizational support) for effective formation of psychological contract formation and development. In addition, perceived organizational justice, individual absorptive capacity and expatriates' adjustment can help out in the formation and development of the psychological contract of expatriates.

This study highlights the role of organizational best practices in the formation and development of the psychological contract of expatriates.

The purpose of this paper is to show how the theory of researcher positionality can help international business researchers and human resource managers clarify the ideal position of the expatriate in relation to host country nationals (HCNs), so that selection and cross-cultural training (CCT) can be more targeted and assignment specific.

This is a conceptual paper linking positionality theory and the methodological practice of reflexivity from ethnographic research and other social sciences to the research of expatriate acculturation.

This conceptual paper outlines theory from ethnographic research that, when applied to expatriate selection and acculturation, increases the field’s understanding of the expatriate’s position in relation to HCNs. This theory practically informs selection criteria, CCT programs and support plans as they pertain to specific international assignments. A novel theoretical model is then proposed.

This paper is conceptual in nature. Empirical research is needed to test the value of this paper and its proposed positionality gap model (PGM) model.

The research and conceptual model proposed in this paper has the potential to improve how multinational enterprise (MNE) managers conceptualize expatriate assignments, expatriate selections and expatriate CCT leading to more effective work and value added to stakeholders.

The PGM model proposed in this paper highlights the value of HCN’s culture and preferences as input for selection and CCT of an expatriate worker and contributes to the body of literature that views expatriation with multiple stakeholder perspectives.

This paper’s originality stems from the application of a well-understood phenomenon in ethnographic research and other social sciences to expatriate acculturation. The common practice of reflexology and theory of positionality can clarify the ideal position for an expatriate in relation to the MNE and HCNs for both researchers and practitioners.

South Korean multinational enterprises (MNEs) have developed rapidly since the late 1950s. This chapter investigates South Korean MNEs’ talent management, more specifically international recruitment and selection policies and practices in their Chinese operations.

Using the snowball method through Chinese and Korean networks we recruited ten Korean MNEs to participate in this research. We conducted semi-structured interviews with key individuals within the organisations.

It reveals that South Korean MNEs tend to adopt the polycentric approach or a mixed approach of being polycentric and ethnocentric to international staffing, with the number of expatriates reducing gradually over time. South Korean MNEs adopt ‘one-way selection’ in recruiting and selecting expatriates and localise recruitment procedures and selection criteria for host-country nationals.

South Korean MNEs have paid inadequate attention to: firstly, expatriates’ career development; and secondly, personal and family issues emerging from expatriation and repatriation. This study highlights these issues.

The purpose of this paper is to first, synthesize employee characteristics that have been shown to help expatriate adjustment into best practices that can aid in expatriate selection. Second, the authors aim to identify training design variables that can be implemented to not only increase learning and expatriate adjustment, but also to maximize the benefits of employee characteristics. Finally, the authors point out environmental factors that are often overlooked, but yet important influencing forces of expatriate adjustment.

PsychINFO was searched using variations of the following terms: expatriate selection and expatriate training. For the selection criteria, the authors selected articles in which cross-cultural adjustment, expatriate performance, or learning was the dependent variable. Reference sections of these articles were then cross-referenced for additional support. Authors then double-coded every article independently to record variables, study methodology, and research results.

The authors have identified cultural intelligence, learning orientation, technical KSAO's, and language skills to be the most significant antecedents of expatriate adjustment. Furthermore, the authors have found environmental factors (i.e. organizational, family, and interpersonal support) to play a crucial role in the adjustment process. The authors have also identified training factors (i.e. content, process, and elements) to be crucial, and the authors propose how these design variables further facilitate learning and adjustment.

This manuscript contributes to the extant expatriate adjustment literature by providing a new, integrative framework. While the individual variables explored within the paper have been examined in past research, this manuscript is the first to offer a framework which integrates them to shape future research.

Discusses research in the literature about the expatriate manager as a unit of resource. The research to date has largely addressed concerns for the high failure rate and costs of expatriate assignments, suggestions for improving methods of personnel selection; comparative studies of expatriate and local managers; and recommendations for improving expatriate success. Notes that rarely are the problems of expatriate personnel addressed collectively, particularly with a focus on Asia. Discusses effectiveness of expatriate assignments within the totality of four distinctive phases: selection; preparation; acculturation; and repatriation. Provides a valuable foundation for providing organizational recommendations to enhance the success of future expatriate placements.