Cross-Border Mobility of Self-Initiated and Organizational Expatriates

Globalization in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries has been marked by an increase in cross-border mobility of the highly skilled. Though self-initiated expatriation is a widespread phenomenon, it has received relatively little attention in the academic literature. Furthermore, large-scale studies that track self-initiated and organizational expatriates together, over time and across geographies, are noticeably absent from the literature. Consequently, our understanding of these two forms of mobility is relatively limited. This study, which is the first large-scale analysis of the trends in and patterns of the mobility of organization-initiated expatriates and self-initiated expatriates, attempts to fill this gap by analyzing the mobility patterns of 55,915 highly skilled individuals who made 76,660 cross-border moves between 1990 and 2006. Specifically, we analyze patterns of geographic mobility and then examine the rate, duration, and direction of self-initiated and organizational expatriation over time. Finally, we consider demographic differences in mobility between the two groups

Staffing of French MNCs in Asia: The Roles of Long-Term Expatriates Versus Short-Term Assignees

International audienceThe development of global travel and high-speed communication technologies has considerably changed the way people work across borders. This contribution investigates the roles and functions of short-term assignees compared with long-term expatriates. Face-to-face interviews with 77 expatriated managers in charge of the subsidiaries of 47 French multinational companies (MNCs), located in 11 Asian countries, reveal that French expatriation to Asia is contained but not declining, with no signs of disappearing soon. In specific cases, French MNCs continue to use expatriates extensively. Although the use of short-term assignments is increasing, this trend is not systematic in all MNCs. Finally, expatriates have more strategic, long-term oriented roles, whereas short-term assignees complement expatriates by taking over more operational and functional roles. These findings produce some key managerial recommendations for managing and promoting short-term assignments, as well as implications for further research

The influence of pre-departure training on expatriate adjustment: an empirical investigation with portuguese international assignees

This chapter examines the cross-cultural influence of training on the adjustment of international assignees. We focus on the pre-departure training (PDT) before an international assignment. It is an important topic because in the globalized world of today more and more expatriations are needed. The absence of PDT may generate the failure of the expatriation experience. Companies may neglect PDT due to cost reduction practices and ignorance of the need for it. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews to 42 Portuguese international assignees and 18 organizational representatives from nine Portuguese companies. The results suggest that companies should develop PDT programs, particularly when the cultural distance to the host country is bigger and when there is no previous experience of expatriation to that country in the company. The study is original because it details in depth the methods of PDT, its problems, and consequences. Some limitations linked to the research design and detailed in the conclusion should be overcome in future studies

Inpatriate career profiles: a historical review and future outlook

The infectious need to globalize has ostensibly led firms to increasingly appoint inpatriates, although their defined value and impact across contexts such as country location and hierarchical levels remain largely unexplored (Maley and Kramar 2010; Moeller and Reiche 2017; Reiche et al. 2009). Recent research suggests that inpatriates are progressively used to a similar extent as expatriates (Collings et al. 2010; Harzing et al. 2016) as a way to achieve a global core competency at headquarter (HQ) locations (Harvey and Novicevic 2000b; Harvey and Buckley 1997; Tungli and Peiperl 2009). Mirroring the growth in corporate interest in inpatriate staffing is survey data which observes a relatively high percentage (57%) of employees being relocated either to or from the HQ country (BGRS 2015), although this non-discerning relocation percentage includes estimated inpatriate (to HQ) and expatriate (from HQ) statistics. Parallel to the discussion of inpatriate value and impact at HQ and beyond, the pattern of inpatriate career lifecycles which could possibly impact their value proposition remains inconclusive at best