Exploring global careers : Individual mobility and organizational management

This chapter explores individual careers that involve living and working in different countries. Such international careers are increasingly common among global professionals. The management of global careerists is a challenge for organizations and global mobility (GM) departments due to the many micro- and mesoelements that have an influence on the outcomes of working abroad. Career counselors would benefit from understanding the key determinants of working in GM in order to refine suggested career interventions. Therefore, the chapter discusses organizational considerations, the roles of GM professionals, and their particular challenges. Moreover, it proposes a framework for GM work and presents reflections on the impact of COVID-19 on GM, delineating recent substantial changes to global careers and their impact on those who manage GM. The chapter predominantly focuses on the micro- and mesolevel perspectives and, at times, depicts the wider context.© American Psychological Association, 2023. This paper is not the copy of record and may not exactly replicate the authoritative document published in the APA journal. The final article is available, upon publication, at: https://doi.org/10.1037/0000339-022fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Reward Package Design: How are multinational corporations weathering the storm?

Working abroad is about going outside of your comfort zone, accepting challenges, growing personally and professionally and, in the case of internationally assigned employees, showing exceptional commitment to an employer

Programme management and compliance: the backbone of a successful Global Mobility Function?

“It is not enough to take good decisions and make good choices. It is necessary to take heed and comply with whatever you plan.” Israelmore Ayivor’s quote perfectly captures the challenges of global mobility (GM) programme management; especially if one factors in the frequently changing legal regulations of governments around the world which, by their nature, increase the complexity that GM departments have to handle. This article investigates the trends in GM programme and compliance management and is based on research amongst RES Forum members in 65 large multinationals across a wide crosssection of industries

Exploring the development and transfer of career capital in an international governmental organization

This study investigates global career self-management behaviors of staff in an international governmental organization (IGO). The literature on global careers argues that individuals should maximize their career capital, operationalized in the intelligent careers (IC) concept as competencies, social networks, and motivations of persons related to their careers. The IC concept implies that career capital is transferable and argues that IC components are interrelated and self-reinforcing. We explored these assumptions through a case study in a United Nations (UN) organization. Using the IC framework we undertook 29 semi-structured interviews with international assignees, HR, and operational experts and conducted one focus group discussion with seven staffing coordinators. We found that the UN organization had high barriers to career capital transfer between head office and field stations. Therefore, the IGO staff experienced conflicting demands in terms of their career capital behaviors. Many staff did not focus on maximizing their career-relevant capabilities or social networks. Instead, they pursued international careers that intentionally sacrificed internal career progression in favor of their humanitarian aid duties. The research adds to the insights of the global careers literature and refines our understanding of the relationship of the organizational center to its foreign affiliates. The findings expose potentially contradictory behavioral implications of elements of the IC concept and call for a context-sensitive refinement. Managerial implications for resourcing, development, career management, and retention are discussed

“I might be shot at!” exploring the drivers to work in hostile environments using an intelligent careers perspective

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors which influence individuals to take up international assignments in hostile environments (HEs). Using an intelligent careers (IC) perspective, an expanded framework of expatriation drivers to work in hostile contexts is developed that comprises individual, organizational and location-specific factors. In addition, the understanding of career capital acquisition and transfer is refined. Design/methodology/approach A “deviant” case study method to challenge the underlying assumptions of career capital maximization and transfer in global careers is used. To investigate the case, 25 individuals in an international development organization who had to decide whether to work in HEs were interviewed. Findings Five insights into decision drivers and career capital effects associated with postings to HEs are presented. These span all three levels of individual, organizational and location-specific decision factors. Research limitations/implications Due to the case study approach, the usual limitations of qualitative case-based research with respect to generalizability apply. In the conclusions three theoretical implications for the IC framework with respect to career capital acquisition, utilization and temporal effects are outlined. Practical implications A range of practical implications in relation to the selection, talent management, performance and reward approaches as well as repatriation and family considerations in global mobility are explored. Social implications The insights help organizations to design global mobility policies for HEs. In addition, individuals and their families benefit from greater clarity of global mobility drivers in the context of high risks. Originality/value The drivers of individuals to accept assignments to HEs are under-researched. This paper operationalizes and applies a holistic decision to work abroad framework, expands the literature on of the motivations of individuals and develops valuable insights to nuance the IC framework

Short-term Assignees, International Business Travellers and International Commuters

© Cambridge University Press 2020. This material has been published in revised form Global Mobility and the Management of Expatriates edited by Bonache, J., Brewster, C. & Froese, F.J. [http://doi.org/10.1017/9781108679220]. This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution or re-use.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Typologies of internationally mobile employees

When counting the number of internationally mobile employees (IMEs) and analyzing the consequences of international mobility in order to improve the management of different kinds of IMEs, who counts as an expatriate (and its variants) is of crucial importance. Yet there is no consensus on a single definition of, for example, a “selfinitiated expatriate” or a “migrant” (Anderson and Blinder 2015). Tharenou (2015), in a comparative review of the literatures on assigned expatriates (AEs), self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) and skilled immigrants, recently warned not to combine these conceptually distinct groups of globally mobile individuals, as doing so contaminates the results, posing a threat to the validity of our findings. In pursuit of exactness, preciseness and completeness, we find many authors who seek to define (new) types of IMEs based on an increasing number of criteria. We want to question the added value of doing so and formulate a plea for a sound theory of expatriation types.fi=vertaisarvioitu|en=peerReviewed

Localization of staff in a hostile context: An exploratory investigation in Afghanistan

Hostile environments pose a distinct threat to international organizations and their staff and yet they are under researched within the literature on IHRM. Localization of staff may present a means to manage some of the risks and also to provide the resources needed to achieve competitive advantage. Drawing on the resource-based view and institutional theory, we explored resource- and capability-based and institutional influences in relation to the decision of whether to localize professional staff in a hostile environment (Afghanistan). Using in-depth semi-structured interviews with representatives from four organizations in Afghanistan, our investigation identified new influences on localization at the societal and organizational level. These include ongoing security issues as well as influences on localization such as corruption, impartiality and the need for outside experiences as well as perspectives not identified in previous work. In addition, we emphasize the importance of both picking appropriate valuable local human resources and using appropriate internal capabilities to develop and deploy them in such a way to build firm-specific assets which are also rare, inimitable and non-substitutable, thus leading to sustainable competitive advantage