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Knowledge transfer is an important global leader (GL) competency, given their role as knowledge brokers and capacity builders. However, knowledge transfer skills and the transfer process itself have received scant attention from both global mobility and leadership scholars. Similarly, multinationals have seldom systematically collected and utilized repatriate knowledge, despite the competitive advantage it represents in a global knowledge economy. To fill this gap, an exploratory qualitative study employing critical incidents and interviews with a multi-country sample of 47 German, Japanese, and US repatriates identified variables that facilitate knowledge transfer attempts to the work unit. Our findings corroborate the proposed variables in a conceptual model of the transfer process and articulate the transfer skills that help explain their ability to transfer. Most importantly, our findings introduce an interactive transfer model that explicates the microprocess of transfer in the repatriate–work unit relationship. We conclude with implications for global leadership research and HRM practice.

This paper examines how informal knowledge transfer processes unfold during the repatriation of Malaysian executives. The goal is to develop a repatriate knowledge transfer process model, explaining the informal process through which repatriates make decisions about and transfer newly acquired knowledge.

Given the unexplored nature of the informal knowledge transfer process the study investigates, this research adopts an exploratory qualitative research approach using interview data from 10 Malaysian corporate executives over a period of 14 months, covering prerepatriation and postrepatriation stages.

The findings indicate that from the repatriates' perspectives, the process flows during repatriates' knowledge transfer depend on the ability and motivation of repatriates, as well as their opportunity to communicate the newly acquired knowledge to their home country organization. We likewise learned that the repatriates' ability to overcome repatriate adjustment and knowledge transfer challenges is crucial in order for them to proactively initiate informal knowledge transfer.

This research is significant as it will assist current and future expatriates to plan and prepare for repatriation and eventual knowledge transfer. The findings will also be useful to organizations that employ repatriates in preparing action plans for repatriation rather than solely focusing on expatriation.

Research and practice formally argue that expatriates are expected to transfer knowledge from the home country organization to the host country organization. While on assignment, expatriates become exposed to various types of new knowledge during the assignment, setting them up to disseminate this newly acquired knowledge to their home country organization upon repatriation – however, knowledge transfer upon repatriation is largely informal. This paper examines how this informal knowledge transfer process unfolds in the repatriation context over a period of 14 months by qualitatively tracing the experiences of 10 Malaysian corporate executives.

This paper aims to explore the moderation effect of person-organization fit and perceived career and repatriation support on the relationship between knowledge governance and knowledge transfer intention of repatriates at multinational corporations.

Survey data were collected from 243 repatriates who had been contacted beforehand from MNCs in China. Hierarchical regression, AMOS, and PROCESS tools were used to examine the data.

The results revealed that the repatriate knowledge governance mechanism was positively related to repatriate knowledge transfer intentions. What's more, person-organization fit and perceived career and repatriation support significantly moderate the effect of knowledge governance mechanisms on repatriate knowledge transfer intention.

This is the initial empirical research on the influence of person-organization fit and perceived career and repatriation support on the relationship between knowledge governance and repatriate knowledge transfer; it may help readers understand the complex process and relationships associated with repatriate knowledge transfer, and the results may be useful for repatriate knowledge governance in multinational corporations.

The purpose of this paper is to add a process perspective to the literature on repatriate knowledge transfer (RKT) and to understand how the knowledge transfer process unfolds in the repatriation context. Thus, this qualitative study uses existing knowledge transfer process models to assess their applicability to the context of repatriation and explain the micro-processes during RKT.

To provide a rich understanding of these processes from the repatriate perspective, critical incidents reported by 29 German and US American repatriates were content-analyzed.

The findings are summarized in a proposed RKT process model, which describes the roles and knowledge transfer-related activities of repatriates, recipients and supervisors as well as their interaction during four transfer phases: assessment, initiation, execution and evaluation.

The experiences of repatriates from different geographic areas as well as the perspectives of knowledge recipients and supervisors were not studied but should be included in future research. In addition, future research could test the applicability of the identified micro-processes to different knowledge transfer contexts.

Managers can use the findings to facilitate the RKT process more effectively because the type of organizational support offered can be aligned with the changing needs of repatriates, recipients and supervisors during the four identified phases.

This is the first study that takes a process perspective to understand RKT. The integration of the current findings with the existing literature can enable a more nuanced view on RKT.

The purpose of this paper is to identify organizational support practices that facilitate repatriate knowledge transfer (RKT) in order to overcome the lack of strategic utilization of repatriate knowledge.

In Study 1, 134 repatriates responded to an online questionnaire and evaluated the organizational support that their organizations provided to facilitate RKT. In Study 2, 22 repatriates and human resource managers were interviewed. Interviewees were asked to assess to which extent the use of seven high-performance work practices – selection and staffing, training, career development, job design, performance appraisal, compensation and rewards, and internal communication – before, during, and after international assignments facilitated RKT. They also explained how these practices were implemented in their organizations.

The results of Study 1 showed that organizations primarily provide administrative repatriation support, while more strategic and knowledge transfer-related support is missing. Study 2 indicated that certain support practices are more important for the utilization of repatriate knowledge than others. Knowledge-related debriefing sessions after repatriation and targeted internal communication mechanisms were seen as important enablers of RKT. In contrast, selection and financial rewards were not seen as relevant facilitators of RKT.

Research on RKT reports that organizations still lack the right tools to harvest repatriate knowledge. This study indicates which organizational support practices appear to be most important for the facilitation of RKT, and provides some guidance regarding their implementation.

The purpose of this paper is to expand the research in knowledge management, by specifically examining knowledge transfer among expatriates, repatriates and top management teams. The relationships posited here should aid multinational firms in increasing their international assignment return on investment.

Based on previous literature, a theoretical model of the anticipated impact of feedback seeking behaviors and social networks among international assignees and top management teams is presented.

While this article expands the literature in knowledge transfer and encourages multinational enterprises to examine their knowledge management strategies among expatriate, repatriates and top management teams, the model presented is limited. It does not integrate some elements that may cause difficulties for expatriates and repatriates and hinder knowledge transfer.

Top management teams should take an active interest in increasing the knowledge transfer from expatriates and repatriates in the organization because of the expected positive impact it will have on global performance. In order to be more proactive, firms need to implement formal mechanisms, as well as encouraging informal mechanisms in order to transfer knowledge, which should aid the organization in such areas as their expatriation‐repatriation process and foreign subsidiary operations.

To date, no article has addressed how feedback‐seeking behaviors and social networks, together, can enhance knowledge transfer among expatriates, repatriates and Top Management Teams. Furthermore, evidence of effective knowledge transfer during international assignments is scant. Therefore this article fills a gap in the literature by expanding the research on knowledge management.

Several studies have explored the relationships among the multiple dimensions of knowledge governance mechanisms (KGMs) and knowledge sharing. However, knowledge governance issues and knowledge transfer processes remain under-researched. The empirical results of the relationships among KGMs, motivations to share knowledge and knowledge sharing behavior remain inconsistent. This paper aims at re-examining the mediating effects of knowledge sharing motivations and knowledge sharing opportunities on the relationship between KGMs and knowledge sharing behavior of repatriates at multinational corporations.

Survey data were collected from 140 repatriates from 66 multinational companies that operated in five different geographic locations. Structural equation modelling was used to assess the research model.

The empirical results indicate the mediating roles of knowledge sharing motivation and opportunity in the relationship between KGMs and the knowledge sharing behavior of repatriates. Two sets of KGMs – formal and informal mechanisms – have significant influence on knowledge sharing motivation and opportunity.

This investigation focuses on the functions of KGMs that facilitate the knowledge sharing behavior of repatriates. The contextual effects of task-level, firm-level, and external environmental characteristics on knowledge sharing may need further studies to substantiate.

This study argues that even when employees are encouraged and rewarded by extrinsic and intrinsic motivations to share knowledge, effective knowledge sharing would not necessarily be guaranteed. This paper offers a conceptual framework where knowledge sharing motivations and opportunities simultaneously play the mediating roles in a successful knowledge sharing. The framework associates KGMs with knowledge sharing behavior and echoes the growing acknowledgement of the need for additional research on micro-foundations of knowledge sharing to complement the macro research.

The purpose of this paper is to present a review of the topic of repatriation and the potential benefits of the use of repatriated employees to enhance global knowledge and organizational learning in multinational corporations.

The paper provides an integrative literature review of articles published on repatriation, knowledge transfer, and organization learning 1999‐2009.

The literature review revealed that repatriation is a growing field of study in international human resources, and must be addressed as a multidimensional phenomenon in order to capture a clear picture of the challenges and potential benefits resulting from repatriation.

This paper suggests practical measures to address repatriation and identify gaps for future research.

The purpose of this exploratory, empirical study is to gain insight into repatriation experiences and repatriate turnover intention of employees from India and The Netherlands who either were or had been on international assignments in the respective countries.

Interviews were conducted with 25 Dutch and 30 Indian international assignees (IAs) and repatriates in both India and The Netherlands. Thematic analysis resulted in four themes: met and unmet expectations of career advancement opportunities; knowledge transfer and labour marketability; economic growth versus economic recession and alternative employment opportunities; and boundaryless careers: adventure and entrepreneurship.

Repatriate expectations about the use of knowledge, skills and abilities gained in the host country moderate the relationship between the macro-economic situation of the home country and repatriate attrition/retention, such that met expectations of Indian respondents decreased their intention to leave the organisation, even in a conducive macro-economic context with ample alternative employment opportunities. Unmet expectations of Dutch respondents increased their intention to leave the organisation, even in an unfavourable macro-economic context with few alternative employment opportunities.

The sample of Indian and Dutch IAs and repatriates may limit generalisation of the findings to samples from other countries with distinct cultural contexts and macro-economic conditions.

Global organisations that set realistic expectations about re-entry career opportunities for repatriates, facilitate knowledge transfer after repatriation, and adequately respond to boundaryless career ambitions of repatriates, can reduce repatriate turnover intention and attrition.

This study shows that repatriate attrition versus retention is embedded in the macro-economic context of the home country, leading to three types of career mobility upon completion of an international assignment: intra-organisational mobility; organisational boundary-crossing; and geographical boundary crossing.

The objective of this study is to analyze the process of reverse knowledge transfer (RKT) occurring in multinational companies (MNCs), examining whether headquarters' absorptive capacity and the human resource management (HRM) practices developed by the parent unit influence success.

The data were collected through a questionnaire completed by the human resource manager of multinational company (MNC) headquarters. The analysis has been carried out on a sample of 115 Spanish MNCs by using structural equation models (SEM).

The results indicate that a parent firm's absorptive capacity positively influences RKT and that, in turn, this absorptive capacity is greater if headquarters implement certain practices of employee staffing, training, participation and performance appraisal.

This study extends existing research on RKT by examining the absorptive capacity of headquarters. Its main contribution is to provide evidence that MNCs can improve their RKT through HRM practices developed by the parent unit. This is original because most studies on RKT focus on HRM practices used by subsidiaries.