Despite assumptions of automatic benefits, sending people abroad can sometimes be bad for business, while working abroad can be as much of a pain, as a perk or privilege.Over the last 3 years, we have managed and participated in a major international staff exchange programme supporting research and innovation, funded by the European Commission. A consortium of 16 partner organizations of varying size, in different industries and across five countries in Europe and Asia undertook to complete 270 months of international secondment between them.The results have been overwhelmingly positive and successful: new and fruitful relationships between individuals and institutions, a diverse network growing in size and stability, increasing confidence, creativity and innovation within the project, a rapidly developing international profile and significant new skills sets, international experience and effectiveness for all involved. We have navigated stormy geopolitical waters involving Brexit and US-intra-Korean relations. The development of such capacity is a key aim of our project.However, we have arguably learned more from our failures than our success. In this opinion piece we want to take the rare opportunity reflect on the mistakes we have made and how we rectified them, recovered and thrived. By the end of our staff exchange project, we believe we will have perfected the creation of value from international mobility and everyone can learn from our experience and the solutions we have developed

Dziewanowska, Katarzyna

Pearce, Alison

Quan, Rose

Wu, Szu-Hsin

English

Despite assumptions of automatic benefits, sending people abroad can sometimes be bad for business, while working abroad can be as much of a pain, as a perk or privilege. Over the last 3 years, we have managed and participated in a major international staff exchange programme supporting research and innovation, funded by the European Commission. A consortium of 16 partner organizations of varying size, in different industries and across five countries in Europe and Asia undertook to complete 270 months of international secondment between them.The results have been overwhelmingly positive and successful: new and fruitful relationships between individuals and institutions, a diverse network growing in size and stability, increasing confidence, creativity and innovation within the project, a rapidly developing international profile and significant new skills sets, international experience and effectiveness for all involved. We have navigated stormy geopolitical waters involving Brexit and US-intra-Korean relations. The development of such capacity is a key aim of our project.However, we have arguably learned more from our failures than our success. In this opinion piece we want to take the rare opportunity reflect on the mistakes we have made and how we rectified them, recovered and thrived. By the end of our staff exchange project, we believe we will have perfected the creation of value from international mobility and everyone can learn from our experience and the solutions we have developed

University of Dundee Online Publications

                                                                    University of DundeeOpinionPearce, Alison; Dziewanowska, Katarzyna; Quan, Rose; Wu, Szu-HsinPublished in:International Journal of Human Resource Development: Practice, Policy and ResearchDOI:10.22324/ijhrdppr.4.210Publication date:2019Licence:CC BY-NCDocument VersionPublisher's PDF, also known as Version of recordLink to publication in Discovery Research PortalCitation for published version (APA):Pearce, A., Dziewanowska, K., Quan, R., & Wu, S-H. (2019). Opinion: Can working abroad ever be worthwhile?International Journal of Human Resource Development: Practice, Policy and Research, 4(2), 127-132.https://doi.org/10.22324/ijhrdppr.4.210General rightsCopyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in Discovery Research Portal are retained by the authors and/or othercopyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated withthese rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from Discovery Research Portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain. • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal.Take down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediatelyand investigate your claim.Download date: 19. Apr. 2023International Journal of HRD Practice, Policy and Research 127Global Entrepreneurial Talent Management  challenges and opportunities for HRDOpinion: Can Working Abroad  Ever be Worthwhile?Alison Pearce, Northumbria University Newcastle Katarzyna Dziewanowska, University of Warsaw Rose Quan, Northumbria University Newcastle Szu-hsin Wu, Dublin City UniversityIntroductionDespite assumptions of automatic benefits, sending people abroad can sometimes be bad for business, while working abroad can be as much of a pain, as a perk or privilege.Over the last 3 years, we have managed and participated in a major international staff exchange programme supporting research and innovation, funded by the European Commission. A consortium of 16 partner organizations of varying size, in different industries and across five countries in Europe and Asia undertook to complete 270 months of international secondment between them.The results have been overwhelmingly positive and successful: new and fruitful relationships between individuals and institutions, a diverse network growing in size and stability, increasing confidence, creativity and innovation within the project, a rapidly developing international profile and significant new skills sets, international experience and effectiveness for all involved. We have navigated stormy geopolitical waters involving Brexit and US-intra-Korean relations. The development of such capacity is a key aim of our project.However, we have arguably learned more from our failures than our success. In this opinion piece we want to take the rare opportunity reflect on the mistakes we have made and how we rectified them, recovered and thrived. By the end of our staff exchange project, we believe we will have perfected the creation of value from international mobility and everyone can learn from our experience and the solutions we have developed. International Journal of HRD Practice, Policy and Research 2019, Vol 4 No 2: 127-132 doi: 10.22324/ijhrdppr.4.210HRD Forum — Viewpoint128 International Journal of HRD Practice Policy, and ResearchInternationalization Through Staff MobilityMany businesses are engaged in internationalization strategies which rely on staff mobility. Many policy makers insist on the need for companies to internationalize in order to function in a globalized world. The need for intercultural understanding and international knowledge has become an urgent priority, while international literacy has become critical to cultural, technological, economic and political health. In the current political atmosphere in Europe, the USA and beyond, it is more important than ever to build understanding between both people and organizations. When governments pursue isolationist, nationalistic policies then companies must be self-reliant in developing their business abroad and co-operating with international partners. Despite all technological development so far, there is still no substitute for face-to-face communication, spending time together and experiencing another country ‘on the ground’. Even so-called ‘born-global firms’ will find this more challenging if freedom of movement decreases. There is widespread evidence in a substantial field of academic research and the constant flow of published advice that business trips abroad, foreign assignments or periods of expatriation often fail to create value. Worse still, such activities can even destroy value for business and individuals. Potential international partners can be alienated. People who travel report scepticism and even hostility from colleagues at home. However you define them, encounters with “foreigners” can be disastrous for both parties and their employers.What do we mean by value? It depends on the aim of the international work for the people involved and their employers. It can be short or long-term, quantitative or qualitative, more or less commercial. Value is therefore somewhat subjective and accumulated on multiple levels. We use the broadest possible definition: participants must deliberately discover or create it, then construct and interpret it through active engagement, individually or collectively. Value can emerge in participants’ ordinary or extraordinary, expected or unexpected activities during international mobility. Working out how to create and interpret these value creating activities is vital. So how do we ensure the creation of value by those mobilized staff? What is the right balance between individual and organizational effort and attitude? In this reflection we challenge the simplistic assumption that all mobility is automatically a force for good and suggest some realistic ways to ensure value-creation through pro-active management of sound processes and policies. Our experience is specific to the aims and constraints of our project, but the learnings are universal. How to Find the Right People to Go to the Right PlacesFor the Global Entrepreneurial Talent Management project, we have used two different approaches to identify candidates to send abroad: first, selecting people who had the right qualities, experience, attitude, knowledge, and skills. We chose people whom we and our colleagues trusted and judged to be dependable. Second, volunteers self-selected, arguing that they were suitable. We used Vygotsky’s concept of ‘zones of proximal development’ in order to judge how individuals would cope or benefit. We sent our most experienced people first, and to the most culturally distant destinations. We accepted offers from those who considered themselves particularly experienced. Both of these approaches have proved to be fallible. On International Journal of HRD Practice, Policy and Research 129occasion, incorrect assessments have been made by both recruiters and volunteers, resulting at times in inappropriate behaviour, emergency interventions, less productive secondments, premature returns, and strained organizational relations.Early on, we made a significant strategic change. At first, we aimed to maximize value by expatriating as many different individuals as possible. After several challenges and even failures, in which value was actually destroyed, we aimed to maximize value by repeatedly expatriating a smaller number of individuals, often to multiple destinations. This has proved to be much more successful: past performance is a clear indicator of future value. We deliberately made the secondment opportunities financially constrained in order to avoid attracting volunteers motivated for the wrong reasons e.g. to “fill their boots”. We believe this has worked in places, with participants keener to create alternative value for themselves. However, we have found that more senior staff are less likely to travel under these circumstances. Attitudinal differences to the use of public funding and accountability have meant this has not been consistently successful. Varying purchasing power, cost of living, travel cost variables and salary levels between countries have made a consistent approach impossible.Uncertainty has made the establishment of a pipeline of secondees challenging. Plans are constantly fluid, with individuals changing jobs, starting a family, or suddenly having other obligations or priorities. Then they sometimes just get cold feet. The humanity involved in international work has been at the fore. Geopolitical events such as Brexit and changes in North Korean-US foreign policy have affected attitudes and confidence in a project involving the UK, Ireland and South Korea.We have worked with two types of people in fulfilling these secondments: passive dependants and active independents. All wanted access to organizational resources (e.g. information, accommodation, facilities, funds). However, some of them over-emphasized these tangible resources and ignored intangibilities. Some felt emotionally isolated and perceived a lack of support from the sending and hosting organizations. In contrast, others believed that their value was created actively by them as an individual and that learning how to access resources — tangible and intangible — was part of the challenge. Many companies consider family accompanying expatriates a problem. In contrast, we suggest that the family contributes to a positive experience by providing social and emotional support and thereby making an assignment less risky. The value of the family seems to be closely connected with cultural difference: the greater the distance between the home and host cultures, the more important the role of family as support mechanism. We have heard family responsibilities described as ‘speed-bumps’ — i.e. hindrances to professional development and performance. This encourages people to keep them hidden, adding to the stress of being away from home. There are few people so isolated that they have no-one to care about. In other words, this affects everyone. We suggest that these concerns are made explicit and family embraced as a potential point of communality with other human beings. In our experience, discussing and dealing with issues outside of work has deepened, broadened and strengthened relationships while simultaneously encouraging others to take part. This in turn diversifies the mobilized group beyond the ‘usual suspects’ for international work. Expertise is developed and shared between secondees.130 International Journal of HRD Practice Policy, and ResearchHow to Ensure that Things get Done and People End Up Wiser From a standing start, we have rapidly realized the value in good processes around the communication and organization on both sides of any international secondment and have rushed to set them up. Pre-departure explicit discussion of aims, activities and responsibilities mitigate the risks inherent in implicit assumptions about different cultures. We then use social media and other on-line channels to update, report and record events and actions. This facilitates ongoing monitoring, spots issues arising, aids swift and often informal resolution. The interactivity of social media encourages ‘approval’ from colleagues, builds team spirit, shares experience, and demonstrates visibility.Nevertheless, issues have included unclear roles and differing organizational cultures and politics. Secondees have vastly different motivations for participating, so flexibility is key. Universally, a secondment abroad is considered an optional extra by an employer and so work accumulates beforehand and afterwards, with most participants having to maintain responsibilities at home while working abroad. Even experienced travellers have realized that actually trying to achieve things in a foreign country or unfamiliar organization is impossible in a short time — it’s not like being on holiday or even at an international event. Pressure of time makes cultural assumptions more likely and dangerous. Even predictable issues such as jet lag, time zones, language barriers, climate, and lifestyle differences have taken some by surprise when they try to progress their work rather than relaxing. These issues often apply to the hosts too. Underestimating the work involved in hosting a series of incoming employees is common. The ultimate irony is that the most convenient times to travel are exactly the times no-one is available to host.Most important is deliberate and structured review of lessons learned. We have done this both formally and informally. Along with face-to-face conversations at hosts and on return, secondees complete a learner record and write reports about their achievements and challenges. Seminars and focus groups have been held as well as larger groups reviewing arrangements and suggesting developments. It is important to realize that some more profound lessons take time to learn — it is only months after return that secondees start to realize and appreciate what they have really learned, often about themselves.Expatriate assignments’ success or failure is normally attributed to the organization while the role of the person involved can be underplayed. Independent overseas experience might outstrip formal expatriation as a source of human resource development for organizations. Expertise might better be developed by individuals acting independently than through some corporate policy, which robs the initiative of some of its learning opportunities. There is a considerable difference between a company-led expatriation and an autonomous working abroad experience. The level of responsibility felt by the organization is completely different.ConclusionThe assumption that all international experience is positive is an overly simplistic assertion. Indeed, the nature and extent of value creation through international mobility is very largely down to the individual and particular context of the experience. This makes it less controllable International Journal of HRD Practice, Policy and Research 131by organizations and more reliant upon the selection of individuals, with previous performance clearly indicative of the future. Managers can rely neither on institutional policy and process nor entirely on the individual. Rather, a combination of the two should be developed for maximum value creation. Value is more likely to be created and ensured by repeated exposure to international experience and so this should be reflected in the strategy. However, an individual’s ability to assess their own capacity or efficacy for international work is limited, and sometimes based on erroneous measures such as holidays abroad or international events. Great care should be taken to assess this more objectively and assignments planned accordingly.A key idea is to avoid motivating participation in mobility using the wrong levers, such as financial gain, which will not drive value creation for your organization. Meanwhile, keep an open mind regarding what value can be created and how. It can come from unexpected sources and take time. Recruit and select ‘active independents’ and embrace rather than reject or ignore their family circumstances — everyone has significant others and family members can provide support and motivation.Establish robust processes and policies around pre-departure preparation and ongoing communication. Yet maintain flexibility towards individuals and their motivations. Ensure you understand them. Structured debrief and post-return review are priceless in building organizational knowledge and individual expertise. Ideally, review immediately and after a few months to capture superficial and deeper learnings.Working abroad can often be worthwhile and, properly managed with a reliance on the individual, it can create great value for your business. The AuthorsDr. Alison Pearce is Associate Professor of Strategic Entrepreneurship at Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University, UK, Affiliate Professor at Grenoble Ecole de Management, France and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. One of the original cohort of British Erasmus students sent abroad in 1987 she spent 15 years living and working internationally in marketing, design and product development culminating in Head of Innovation and Business Development and running her own marketing and design consultancy. She is now the convenor of a faculty Research Interest Group and her work has been published in academic journals, industry magazines, books, blogs, and news media. An original member of the GETM3 team, Alison led the funding bid and now leads the project’s overall implementation, undertaking secondments in Ireland, Poland, Slovenia, and Korea.Dr. Katarzyna Dziewanowska is Assistant Professor in Marketing at the Faculty of Management, University of Warsaw, Poland. She is a member of the European Marketing Academy and Polish Scientific Association of Marketing. She received her PhD in marketing from the University of Warsaw. She was a visiting researcher at Centre for Studies on Higher Education at University of California, Berkeley, and holds the position of visiting fellow at Northumbria University. Her research interests focus on consumer behaviour, value co-creation, consumer experiences, and experiential marketing, as well as customer satisfaction, loyalty, and relationship marketing. Katarzyna was an original member of the GETM3 project team and leads the research workstream 132 International Journal of HRD Practice Policy, and Researchfocused on young people. She has undertaken secondments in Ireland, the UK, Slovenia, and Korea.Dr. Rose Quan is Associate Professor in International Business and Strategy at Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University, UK. Her research interests include international entrepreneurship, international student and staff mobility, and international market entry strategy for MNEs and SMEs from both developed and developing countries. She has been responsible for the development of UK-Chinese partnerships. Rose is co-lead of the GETM3 workstream managing networking, communication, dissemination, and training activities. She has completed secondments in Korea, Ireland, Poland, and Slovenia.Szu-Hsin Wu is a PhD student in Marketing at Dublin City University Business School, Ireland. She is also a Research Fellow at Trinity College Dublin, working on a multidisciplinary project ‘Dŵr Uisce’ funded by the ERDF INTERREG Ireland-Wales Co-operation Programme 2014-2020. She has a Master’s degree in Design Management from the University of Southampton and expertise in graphic design. Her current research interests focus on actor engagement, green innovation and value co-creation. Szu-hsin has undertaken a GETM3 secondment in Slovenia and works mainly in the young people workstream. 

Opinion:Can working abroad ever be worthwhile?

Wu, Szu-hsin

Northumbria University Research Portal

Northumbria Research LinkCitation: Pearce, Alison, Dziewanowska, Katarzyna, Quan, Rose and Wu, Szu-hsin (2019) Opinion: Can Working Abroad Ever Be Worthwhile? International Journal Of Human Resource Development Practice, Policy and Research, 4 (2). pp. 127-132. ISSN 2397-4583 Published by: International Federation of Training and Development OrganisationsURL:  https://www.ijhrdppr.com/international-journal-of-...  <https://www.ijhrdppr.com/international-journal-of-hrd-practice-policy-and-research-volume-4-number-2-2019/>This version was downloaded from Northumbria Research Link: http://nrl.northumbria.ac.uk/42306/Northumbria University has developed Northumbria Research Link (NRL) to enable users to access the University’s research output. Copyright © and moral rights for items on NRL are retained by the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners.  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International Journal of HRD Practice, Policy and Research 127Global Entrepreneurial Talent Management  challenges and opportunities for HRDOpinion: Can Working Abroad  Ever be Worthwhile?Alison Pearce, Northumbria University Newcastle Katarzyna Dziewanowska, University of Warsaw Rose Quan, Northumbria University Newcastle Szu-hsin Wu, Dublin City UniversityIntroductionDespite assumptions of automatic benefits, sending people abroad can sometimes be bad for business, while working abroad can be as much of a pain, as a perk or privilege.Over the last 3 years, we have managed and participated in a major international staff exchange programme supporting research and innovation, funded by the European Commission. A consortium of 16 partner organizations of varying size, in different industries and across five countries in Europe and Asia undertook to complete 270 months of international secondment between them.The results have been overwhelmingly positive and successful: new and fruitful relationships between individuals and institutions, a diverse network growing in size and stability, increasing confidence, creativity and innovation within the project, a rapidly developing international profile and significant new skills sets, international experience and effectiveness for all involved. We have navigated stormy geopolitical waters involving Brexit and US-intra-Korean relations. The development of such capacity is a key aim of our project.However, we have arguably learned more from our failures than our success. In this opinion piece we want to take the rare opportunity reflect on the mistakes we have made and how we rectified them, recovered and thrived. By the end of our staff exchange project, we believe we will have perfected the creation of value from international mobility and everyone can learn from our experience and the solutions we have developed. International Journal of HRD Practice, Policy and Research 2019, Vol 4 No 2: 127-132 doi: 10.22324/ijhrdppr.4.210HRD Forum — Viewpoint128 International Journal of HRD Practice Policy, and ResearchInternationalization Through Staff MobilityMany businesses are engaged in internationalization strategies which rely on staff mobility. Many policy makers insist on the need for companies to internationalize in order to function in a globalized world. The need for intercultural understanding and international knowledge has become an urgent priority, while international literacy has become critical to cultural, technological, economic and political health. In the current political atmosphere in Europe, the USA and beyond, it is more important than ever to build understanding between both people and organizations. When governments pursue isolationist, nationalistic policies then companies must be self-reliant in developing their business abroad and co-operating with international partners. Despite all technological development so far, there is still no substitute for face-to-face communication, spending time together and experiencing another country ‘on the ground’. Even so-called ‘born-global firms’ will find this more challenging if freedom of movement decreases. There is widespread evidence in a substantial field of academic research and the constant flow of published advice that business trips abroad, foreign assignments or periods of expatriation often fail to create value. Worse still, such activities can even destroy value for business and individuals. Potential international partners can be alienated. People who travel report scepticism and even hostility from colleagues at home. However you define them, encounters with “foreigners” can be disastrous for both parties and their employers.What do we mean by value? It depends on the aim of the international work for the people involved and their employers. It can be short or long-term, quantitative or qualitative, more or less commercial. Value is therefore somewhat subjective and accumulated on multiple levels. We use the broadest possible definition: participants must deliberately discover or create it, then construct and interpret it through active engagement, individually or collectively. Value can emerge in participants’ ordinary or extraordinary, expected or unexpected activities during international mobility. Working out how to create and interpret these value creating activities is vital. So how do we ensure the creation of value by those mobilized staff? What is the right balance between individual and organizational effort and attitude? In this reflection we challenge the simplistic assumption that all mobility is automatically a force for good and suggest some realistic ways to ensure value-creation through pro-active management of sound processes and policies. Our experience is specific to the aims and constraints of our project, but the learnings are universal. How to Find the Right People to Go to the Right PlacesFor the Global Entrepreneurial Talent Management project, we have used two different approaches to identify candidates to send abroad: first, selecting people who had the right qualities, experience, attitude, knowledge, and skills. We chose people whom we and our colleagues trusted and judged to be dependable. Second, volunteers self-selected, arguing that they were suitable. We used Vygotsky’s concept of ‘zones of proximal development’ in order to judge how individuals would cope or benefit. We sent our most experienced people first, and to the most culturally distant destinations. We accepted offers from those who considered themselves particularly experienced. Both of these approaches have proved to be fallible. On International Journal of HRD Practice, Policy and Research 129occasion, incorrect assessments have been made by both recruiters and volunteers, resulting at times in inappropriate behaviour, emergency interventions, less productive secondments, premature returns, and strained organizational relations.Early on, we made a significant strategic change. At first, we aimed to maximize value by expatriating as many different individuals as possible. After several challenges and even failures, in which value was actually destroyed, we aimed to maximize value by repeatedly expatriating a smaller number of individuals, often to multiple destinations. This has proved to be much more successful: past performance is a clear indicator of future value. We deliberately made the secondment opportunities financially constrained in order to avoid attracting volunteers motivated for the wrong reasons e.g. to “fill their boots”. We believe this has worked in places, with participants keener to create alternative value for themselves. However, we have found that more senior staff are less likely to travel under these circumstances. Attitudinal differences to the use of public funding and accountability have meant this has not been consistently successful. Varying purchasing power, cost of living, travel cost variables and salary levels between countries have made a consistent approach impossible.Uncertainty has made the establishment of a pipeline of secondees challenging. Plans are constantly fluid, with individuals changing jobs, starting a family, or suddenly having other obligations or priorities. Then they sometimes just get cold feet. The humanity involved in international work has been at the fore. Geopolitical events such as Brexit and changes in North Korean-US foreign policy have affected attitudes and confidence in a project involving the UK, Ireland and South Korea.We have worked with two types of people in fulfilling these secondments: passive dependants and active independents. All wanted access to organizational resources (e.g. information, accommodation, facilities, funds). However, some of them over-emphasized these tangible resources and ignored intangibilities. Some felt emotionally isolated and perceived a lack of support from the sending and hosting organizations. In contrast, others believed that their value was created actively by them as an individual and that learning how to access resources — tangible and intangible — was part of the challenge. Many companies consider family accompanying expatriates a problem. In contrast, we suggest that the family contributes to a positive experience by providing social and emotional support and thereby making an assignment less risky. The value of the family seems to be closely connected with cultural difference: the greater the distance between the home and host cultures, the more important the role of family as support mechanism. We have heard family responsibilities described as ‘speed-bumps’ — i.e. hindrances to professional development and performance. This encourages people to keep them hidden, adding to the stress of being away from home. There are few people so isolated that they have no-one to care about. In other words, this affects everyone. We suggest that these concerns are made explicit and family embraced as a potential point of communality with other human beings. In our experience, discussing and dealing with issues outside of work has deepened, broadened and strengthened relationships while simultaneously encouraging others to take part. This in turn diversifies the mobilized group beyond the ‘usual suspects’ for international work. Expertise is developed and shared between secondees.130 International Journal of HRD Practice Policy, and ResearchHow to Ensure that Things get Done and People End Up Wiser From a standing start, we have rapidly realized the value in good processes around the communication and organization on both sides of any international secondment and have rushed to set them up. Pre-departure explicit discussion of aims, activities and responsibilities mitigate the risks inherent in implicit assumptions about different cultures. We then use social media and other on-line channels to update, report and record events and actions. This facilitates ongoing monitoring, spots issues arising, aids swift and often informal resolution. The interactivity of social media encourages ‘approval’ from colleagues, builds team spirit, shares experience, and demonstrates visibility.Nevertheless, issues have included unclear roles and differing organizational cultures and politics. Secondees have vastly different motivations for participating, so flexibility is key. Universally, a secondment abroad is considered an optional extra by an employer and so work accumulates beforehand and afterwards, with most participants having to maintain responsibilities at home while working abroad. Even experienced travellers have realized that actually trying to achieve things in a foreign country or unfamiliar organization is impossible in a short time — it’s not like being on holiday or even at an international event. Pressure of time makes cultural assumptions more likely and dangerous. Even predictable issues such as jet lag, time zones, language barriers, climate, and lifestyle differences have taken some by surprise when they try to progress their work rather than relaxing. These issues often apply to the hosts too. Underestimating the work involved in hosting a series of incoming employees is common. The ultimate irony is that the most convenient times to travel are exactly the times no-one is available to host.Most important is deliberate and structured review of lessons learned. We have done this both formally and informally. Along with face-to-face conversations at hosts and on return, secondees complete a learner record and write reports about their achievements and challenges. Seminars and focus groups have been held as well as larger groups reviewing arrangements and suggesting developments. It is important to realize that some more profound lessons take time to learn — it is only months after return that secondees start to realize and appreciate what they have really learned, often about themselves.Expatriate assignments’ success or failure is normally attributed to the organization while the role of the person involved can be underplayed. Independent overseas experience might outstrip formal expatriation as a source of human resource development for organizations. Expertise might better be developed by individuals acting independently than through some corporate policy, which robs the initiative of some of its learning opportunities. There is a considerable difference between a company-led expatriation and an autonomous working abroad experience. The level of responsibility felt by the organization is completely different.ConclusionThe assumption that all international experience is positive is an overly simplistic assertion. Indeed, the nature and extent of value creation through international mobility is very largely down to the individual and particular context of the experience. This makes it less controllable International Journal of HRD Practice, Policy and Research 131by organizations and more reliant upon the selection of individuals, with previous performance clearly indicative of the future. Managers can rely neither on institutional policy and process nor entirely on the individual. Rather, a combination of the two should be developed for maximum value creation. Value is more likely to be created and ensured by repeated exposure to international experience and so this should be reflected in the strategy. However, an individual’s ability to assess their own capacity or efficacy for international work is limited, and sometimes based on erroneous measures such as holidays abroad or international events. Great care should be taken to assess this more objectively and assignments planned accordingly.A key idea is to avoid motivating participation in mobility using the wrong levers, such as financial gain, which will not drive value creation for your organization. Meanwhile, keep an open mind regarding what value can be created and how. It can come from unexpected sources and take time. Recruit and select ‘active independents’ and embrace rather than reject or ignore their family circumstances — everyone has significant others and family members can provide support and motivation.Establish robust processes and policies around pre-departure preparation and ongoing communication. Yet maintain flexibility towards individuals and their motivations. Ensure you understand them. Structured debrief and post-return review are priceless in building organizational knowledge and individual expertise. Ideally, review immediately and after a few months to capture superficial and deeper learnings.Working abroad can often be worthwhile and, properly managed with a reliance on the individual, it can create great value for your business. The AuthorsDr. Alison Pearce is Associate Professor of Strategic Entrepreneurship at Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University, UK, Affiliate Professor at Grenoble Ecole de Management, France and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. One of the original cohort of British Erasmus students sent abroad in 1987 she spent 15 years living and working internationally in marketing, design and product development culminating in Head of Innovation and Business Development and running her own marketing and design consultancy. She is now the convenor of a faculty Research Interest Group and her work has been published in academic journals, industry magazines, books, blogs, and news media. An original member of the GETM3 team, Alison led the funding bid and now leads the project’s overall implementation, undertaking secondments in Ireland, Poland, Slovenia, and Korea.Dr. Katarzyna Dziewanowska is Assistant Professor in Marketing at the Faculty of Management, University of Warsaw, Poland. She is a member of the European Marketing Academy and Polish Scientific Association of Marketing. She received her PhD in marketing from the University of Warsaw. She was a visiting researcher at Centre for Studies on Higher Education at University of California, Berkeley, and holds the position of visiting fellow at Northumbria University. Her research interests focus on consumer behaviour, value co-creation, consumer experiences, and experiential marketing, as well as customer satisfaction, loyalty, and relationship marketing. Katarzyna was an original member of the GETM3 project team and leads the research workstream 132 International Journal of HRD Practice Policy, and Researchfocused on young people. She has undertaken secondments in Ireland, the UK, Slovenia, and Korea.Dr. Rose Quan is Associate Professor in International Business and Strategy at Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University, UK. Her research interests include international entrepreneurship, international student and staff mobility, and international market entry strategy for MNEs and SMEs from both developed and developing countries. She has been responsible for the development of UK-Chinese partnerships. Rose is co-lead of the GETM3 workstream managing networking, communication, dissemination, and training activities. She has completed secondments in Korea, Ireland, Poland, and Slovenia.Szu-Hsin Wu is a PhD student in Marketing at Dublin City University Business School, Ireland. She is also a Research Fellow at Trinity College Dublin, working on a multidisciplinary project ‘Dŵr Uisce’ funded by the ERDF INTERREG Ireland-Wales Co-operation Programme 2014-2020. She has a Master’s degree in Design Management from the University of Southampton and expertise in graphic design. Her current research interests focus on actor engagement, green innovation and value co-creation. Szu-hsin has undertaken a GETM3 secondment in Slovenia and works mainly in the young people workstream. 

Opinion: Can Working Abroad Ever Be Worthwhile?

                                                                    University of DundeeOpinionPearce, Alison; Dziewanowska, Katarzyna; Quan, Rose; Wu, Szu-HsinPublished in:International Journal of Human Resource Development: Practice, Policy and ResearchDOI:10.22324/ijhrdppr.4.210Publication date:2019Document VersionPublisher's PDF, also known as Version of recordLink to publication in Discovery Research PortalCitation for published version (APA):Pearce, A., Dziewanowska, K., Quan, R., & Wu, S-H. (2019). Opinion: Can working abroad ever be worthwhile?International Journal of Human Resource Development: Practice, Policy and Research, 4(2), 127-132.https://doi.org/10.22324/ijhrdppr.4.210General rightsCopyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in Discovery Research Portal are retained by the authors and/or othercopyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated withthese rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from Discovery Research Portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain. • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal.Take down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediatelyand investigate your claim.Download date: 20. Apr. 2021International Journal of HRD Practice, Policy and Research 127Global Entrepreneurial Talent Management  challenges and opportunities for HRDOpinion: Can Working Abroad  Ever be Worthwhile?Alison Pearce, Northumbria University Newcastle Katarzyna Dziewanowska, University of Warsaw Rose Quan, Northumbria University Newcastle Szu-hsin Wu, Dublin City UniversityIntroductionDespite assumptions of automatic benefits, sending people abroad can sometimes be bad for business, while working abroad can be as much of a pain, as a perk or privilege.Over the last 3 years, we have managed and participated in a major international staff exchange programme supporting research and innovation, funded by the European Commission. A consortium of 16 partner organizations of varying size, in different industries and across five countries in Europe and Asia undertook to complete 270 months of international secondment between them.The results have been overwhelmingly positive and successful: new and fruitful relationships between individuals and institutions, a diverse network growing in size and stability, increasing confidence, creativity and innovation within the project, a rapidly developing international profile and significant new skills sets, international experience and effectiveness for all involved. We have navigated stormy geopolitical waters involving Brexit and US-intra-Korean relations. The development of such capacity is a key aim of our project.However, we have arguably learned more from our failures than our success. In this opinion piece we want to take the rare opportunity reflect on the mistakes we have made and how we rectified them, recovered and thrived. By the end of our staff exchange project, we believe we will have perfected the creation of value from international mobility and everyone can learn from our experience and the solutions we have developed. International Journal of HRD Practice, Policy and Research 2019, Vol 4 No 2: 127-132 doi: 10.22324/ijhrdppr.4.210HRD Forum — Viewpoint128 International Journal of HRD Practice Policy, and ResearchInternationalization Through Staff MobilityMany businesses are engaged in internationalization strategies which rely on staff mobility. Many policy makers insist on the need for companies to internationalize in order to function in a globalized world. The need for intercultural understanding and international knowledge has become an urgent priority, while international literacy has become critical to cultural, technological, economic and political health. In the current political atmosphere in Europe, the USA and beyond, it is more important than ever to build understanding between both people and organizations. When governments pursue isolationist, nationalistic policies then companies must be self-reliant in developing their business abroad and co-operating with international partners. Despite all technological development so far, there is still no substitute for face-to-face communication, spending time together and experiencing another country ‘on the ground’. Even so-called ‘born-global firms’ will find this more challenging if freedom of movement decreases. There is widespread evidence in a substantial field of academic research and the constant flow of published advice that business trips abroad, foreign assignments or periods of expatriation often fail to create value. Worse still, such activities can even destroy value for business and individuals. Potential international partners can be alienated. People who travel report scepticism and even hostility from colleagues at home. However you define them, encounters with “foreigners” can be disastrous for both parties and their employers.What do we mean by value? It depends on the aim of the international work for the people involved and their employers. It can be short or long-term, quantitative or qualitative, more or less commercial. Value is therefore somewhat subjective and accumulated on multiple levels. We use the broadest possible definition: participants must deliberately discover or create it, then construct and interpret it through active engagement, individually or collectively. Value can emerge in participants’ ordinary or extraordinary, expected or unexpected activities during international mobility. Working out how to create and interpret these value creating activities is vital. So how do we ensure the creation of value by those mobilized staff? What is the right balance between individual and organizational effort and attitude? In this reflection we challenge the simplistic assumption that all mobility is automatically a force for good and suggest some realistic ways to ensure value-creation through pro-active management of sound processes and policies. Our experience is specific to the aims and constraints of our project, but the learnings are universal. How to Find the Right People to Go to the Right PlacesFor the Global Entrepreneurial Talent Management project, we have used two different approaches to identify candidates to send abroad: first, selecting people who had the right qualities, experience, attitude, knowledge, and skills. We chose people whom we and our colleagues trusted and judged to be dependable. Second, volunteers self-selected, arguing that they were suitable. We used Vygotsky’s concept of ‘zones of proximal development’ in order to judge how individuals would cope or benefit. We sent our most experienced people first, and to the most culturally distant destinations. We accepted offers from those who considered themselves particularly experienced. Both of these approaches have proved to be fallible. On International Journal of HRD Practice, Policy and Research 129occasion, incorrect assessments have been made by both recruiters and volunteers, resulting at times in inappropriate behaviour, emergency interventions, less productive secondments, premature returns, and strained organizational relations.Early on, we made a significant strategic change. At first, we aimed to maximize value by expatriating as many different individuals as possible. After several challenges and even failures, in which value was actually destroyed, we aimed to maximize value by repeatedly expatriating a smaller number of individuals, often to multiple destinations. This has proved to be much more successful: past performance is a clear indicator of future value. We deliberately made the secondment opportunities financially constrained in order to avoid attracting volunteers motivated for the wrong reasons e.g. to “fill their boots”. We believe this has worked in places, with participants keener to create alternative value for themselves. However, we have found that more senior staff are less likely to travel under these circumstances. Attitudinal differences to the use of public funding and accountability have meant this has not been consistently successful. Varying purchasing power, cost of living, travel cost variables and salary levels between countries have made a consistent approach impossible.Uncertainty has made the establishment of a pipeline of secondees challenging. Plans are constantly fluid, with individuals changing jobs, starting a family, or suddenly having other obligations or priorities. Then they sometimes just get cold feet. The humanity involved in international work has been at the fore. Geopolitical events such as Brexit and changes in North Korean-US foreign policy have affected attitudes and confidence in a project involving the UK, Ireland and South Korea.We have worked with two types of people in fulfilling these secondments: passive dependants and active independents. All wanted access to organizational resources (e.g. information, accommodation, facilities, funds). However, some of them over-emphasized these tangible resources and ignored intangibilities. Some felt emotionally isolated and perceived a lack of support from the sending and hosting organizations. In contrast, others believed that their value was created actively by them as an individual and that learning how to access resources — tangible and intangible — was part of the challenge. Many companies consider family accompanying expatriates a problem. In contrast, we suggest that the family contributes to a positive experience by providing social and emotional support and thereby making an assignment less risky. The value of the family seems to be closely connected with cultural difference: the greater the distance between the home and host cultures, the more important the role of family as support mechanism. We have heard family responsibilities described as ‘speed-bumps’ — i.e. hindrances to professional development and performance. This encourages people to keep them hidden, adding to the stress of being away from home. There are few people so isolated that they have no-one to care about. In other words, this affects everyone. We suggest that these concerns are made explicit and family embraced as a potential point of communality with other human beings. In our experience, discussing and dealing with issues outside of work has deepened, broadened and strengthened relationships while simultaneously encouraging others to take part. This in turn diversifies the mobilized group beyond the ‘usual suspects’ for international work. Expertise is developed and shared between secondees.130 International Journal of HRD Practice Policy, and ResearchHow to Ensure that Things get Done and People End Up Wiser From a standing start, we have rapidly realized the value in good processes around the communication and organization on both sides of any international secondment and have rushed to set them up. Pre-departure explicit discussion of aims, activities and responsibilities mitigate the risks inherent in implicit assumptions about different cultures. We then use social media and other on-line channels to update, report and record events and actions. This facilitates ongoing monitoring, spots issues arising, aids swift and often informal resolution. The interactivity of social media encourages ‘approval’ from colleagues, builds team spirit, shares experience, and demonstrates visibility.Nevertheless, issues have included unclear roles and differing organizational cultures and politics. Secondees have vastly different motivations for participating, so flexibility is key. Universally, a secondment abroad is considered an optional extra by an employer and so work accumulates beforehand and afterwards, with most participants having to maintain responsibilities at home while working abroad. Even experienced travellers have realized that actually trying to achieve things in a foreign country or unfamiliar organization is impossible in a short time — it’s not like being on holiday or even at an international event. Pressure of time makes cultural assumptions more likely and dangerous. Even predictable issues such as jet lag, time zones, language barriers, climate, and lifestyle differences have taken some by surprise when they try to progress their work rather than relaxing. These issues often apply to the hosts too. Underestimating the work involved in hosting a series of incoming employees is common. The ultimate irony is that the most convenient times to travel are exactly the times no-one is available to host.Most important is deliberate and structured review of lessons learned. We have done this both formally and informally. Along with face-to-face conversations at hosts and on return, secondees complete a learner record and write reports about their achievements and challenges. Seminars and focus groups have been held as well as larger groups reviewing arrangements and suggesting developments. It is important to realize that some more profound lessons take time to learn — it is only months after return that secondees start to realize and appreciate what they have really learned, often about themselves.Expatriate assignments’ success or failure is normally attributed to the organization while the role of the person involved can be underplayed. Independent overseas experience might outstrip formal expatriation as a source of human resource development for organizations. Expertise might better be developed by individuals acting independently than through some corporate policy, which robs the initiative of some of its learning opportunities. There is a considerable difference between a company-led expatriation and an autonomous working abroad experience. The level of responsibility felt by the organization is completely different.ConclusionThe assumption that all international experience is positive is an overly simplistic assertion. Indeed, the nature and extent of value creation through international mobility is very largely down to the individual and particular context of the experience. This makes it less controllable International Journal of HRD Practice, Policy and Research 131by organizations and more reliant upon the selection of individuals, with previous performance clearly indicative of the future. Managers can rely neither on institutional policy and process nor entirely on the individual. Rather, a combination of the two should be developed for maximum value creation. Value is more likely to be created and ensured by repeated exposure to international experience and so this should be reflected in the strategy. However, an individual’s ability to assess their own capacity or efficacy for international work is limited, and sometimes based on erroneous measures such as holidays abroad or international events. Great care should be taken to assess this more objectively and assignments planned accordingly.A key idea is to avoid motivating participation in mobility using the wrong levers, such as financial gain, which will not drive value creation for your organization. Meanwhile, keep an open mind regarding what value can be created and how. It can come from unexpected sources and take time. Recruit and select ‘active independents’ and embrace rather than reject or ignore their family circumstances — everyone has significant others and family members can provide support and motivation.Establish robust processes and policies around pre-departure preparation and ongoing communication. Yet maintain flexibility towards individuals and their motivations. Ensure you understand them. Structured debrief and post-return review are priceless in building organizational knowledge and individual expertise. Ideally, review immediately and after a few months to capture superficial and deeper learnings.Working abroad can often be worthwhile and, properly managed with a reliance on the individual, it can create great value for your business. The AuthorsDr. Alison Pearce is Associate Professor of Strategic Entrepreneurship at Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University, UK, Affiliate Professor at Grenoble Ecole de Management, France and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. One of the original cohort of British Erasmus students sent abroad in 1987 she spent 15 years living and working internationally in marketing, design and product development culminating in Head of Innovation and Business Development and running her own marketing and design consultancy. She is now the convenor of a faculty Research Interest Group and her work has been published in academic journals, industry magazines, books, blogs, and news media. An original member of the GETM3 team, Alison led the funding bid and now leads the project’s overall implementation, undertaking secondments in Ireland, Poland, Slovenia, and Korea.Dr. Katarzyna Dziewanowska is Assistant Professor in Marketing at the Faculty of Management, University of Warsaw, Poland. She is a member of the European Marketing Academy and Polish Scientific Association of Marketing. She received her PhD in marketing from the University of Warsaw. She was a visiting researcher at Centre for Studies on Higher Education at University of California, Berkeley, and holds the position of visiting fellow at Northumbria University. Her research interests focus on consumer behaviour, value co-creation, consumer experiences, and experiential marketing, as well as customer satisfaction, loyalty, and relationship marketing. Katarzyna was an original member of the GETM3 project team and leads the research workstream 132 International Journal of HRD Practice Policy, and Researchfocused on young people. She has undertaken secondments in Ireland, the UK, Slovenia, and Korea.Dr. Rose Quan is Associate Professor in International Business and Strategy at Newcastle Business School at Northumbria University, UK. Her research interests include international entrepreneurship, international student and staff mobility, and international market entry strategy for MNEs and SMEs from both developed and developing countries. She has been responsible for the development of UK-Chinese partnerships. Rose is co-lead of the GETM3 workstream managing networking, communication, dissemination, and training activities. She has completed secondments in Korea, Ireland, Poland, and Slovenia.Szu-Hsin Wu is a PhD student in Marketing at Dublin City University Business School, Ireland. She is also a Research Fellow at Trinity College Dublin, working on a multidisciplinary project ‘Dŵr Uisce’ funded by the ERDF INTERREG Ireland-Wales Co-operation Programme 2014-2020. She has a Master’s degree in Design Management from the University of Southampton and expertise in graphic design. Her current research interests focus on actor engagement, green innovation and value co-creation. Szu-hsin has undertaken a GETM3 secondment in Slovenia and works mainly in the young people workstream. 

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Citation: Pearce, Alison, Dziewanowska, Katarzyna, Quan, Rose and Wu, Szu-hsin (2019) Opinion: 
Can Working Abroad Ever Be Worthwhile? International Journal of Human Resource Development 
Practice, Policy and Research, 4 (2). pp. 127-132. ISSN 2397-4583 
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International Journal of HRD Practice, Policy and Research 127
Global Entrepreneurial Talent Management  
challenges and opportunities for HRD
Opinion: Can Working Abroad  
Ever be Worthwhile?
Alison Pearce, Northumbria University Newcastle 
Katarzyna Dziewanowska, University of Warsaw 
Rose Quan, Northumbria University Newcastle 
Szu-hsin Wu, Dublin City University
Introduction
Despite assumptions of automatic benefits, sending people abroad can sometimes be bad for 
business, while working abroad can be as much of a pain, as a perk or privilege.
Over the last 3 years, we have managed and participated in a major international staff exchange 
programme supporting research and innovation, funded by the European Commission. A 
consortium of 16 partner organizations of varying size, in different industries and across five 
countries in Europe and Asia undertook to complete 270 months of international secondment 
between them.
The results have been overwhelmingly positive and successful: new and fruitful relationships 
between individuals and institutions, a diverse network growing in size and stability, increasing 
confidence, creativity and innovation within the project, a rapidly developing international 
profile and significant new skills sets, international experience and effectiveness for all involved. 
We have navigated stormy geopolitical waters involving Brexit and US-intra-Korean relations. 
The development of such capacity is a key aim of our project.
However, we have arguably learned more from our failures than our success. In this opinion 
piece we want to take the rare opportunity reflect on the mistakes we have made and how we 
rectified them, recovered and thrived. By the end of our staff exchange project, we believe we 
will have perfected the creation of value from international mobility and everyone can learn from 
our experience and the solutions we have developed. 
International Journal of HRD Practice, Policy and Research 2019, Vol 4 No 2: 127-132 
doi: 10.22324/ijhrdppr.4.210
HRD Forum — Viewpoint
128 International Journal of HRD Practice Policy, and Research
Internationalization Through Staff Mobility
Many businesses are engaged in internationalization strategies which rely on staff mobility. 
Many policy makers insist on the need for companies to internationalize in order to function 
in a globalized world. The need for intercultural understanding and international knowledge 
has become an urgent priority, while international literacy has become critical to cultural, 
technological, economic and political health. In the current political atmosphere in Europe, the 
USA and beyond, it is more important than ever to build understanding between both people 
and organizations. When governments pursue isolationist, nationalistic policies then companies 
must be self-reliant in developing their business abroad and co-operating with international 
partners. Despite all technological development so far, there is still no substitute for face-to-face 
communication, spending time together and experiencing another country ‘on the ground’. Even 
so-called ‘born-global firms’ will find this more challenging if freedom of movement decreases. 
There is widespread evidence in a substantial field of academic research and the constant flow of 
published advice that business trips abroad, foreign assignments or periods of expatriation often 
fail to create value. Worse still, such activities can even destroy value for business and individuals. 
Potential international partners can be alienated. People who travel report scepticism and even 
hostility from colleagues at home. However you define them, encounters with “foreigners” can 
be disastrous for both parties and their employers.
What do we mean by value? It depends on the aim of the international work for the people 
involved and their employers. It can be short or long-term, quantitative or qualitative, more or 
less commercial. Value is therefore somewhat subjective and accumulated on multiple levels. 
We use the broadest possible definition: participants must deliberately discover or create it, 
then construct and interpret it through active engagement, individually or collectively. Value 
can emerge in participants’ ordinary or extraordinary, expected or unexpected activities during 
international mobility. Working out how to create and interpret these value creating activities is 
vital. 
So how do we ensure the creation of value by those mobilized staff? What is the right balance 
between individual and organizational effort and attitude? In this reflection we challenge the 
simplistic assumption that all mobility is automatically a force for good and suggest some 
realistic ways to ensure value-creation through pro-active management of sound processes and 
policies. Our experience is specific to the aims and constraints of our project, but the learnings 
are universal. 
How to Find the Right People to Go to the Right Places
For the Global Entrepreneurial Talent Management project, we have used two different 
approaches to identify candidates to send abroad: first, selecting people who had the right 
qualities, experience, attitude, knowledge, and skills. We chose people whom we and our 
colleagues trusted and judged to be dependable. Second, volunteers self-selected, arguing that 
they were suitable. We used Vygotsky’s concept of ‘zones of proximal development’ in order 
to judge how individuals would cope or benefit. We sent our most experienced people first, 
and to the most culturally distant destinations. We accepted offers from those who considered 
themselves particularly experienced. Both of these approaches have proved to be fallible. On 
International Journal of HRD Practice, Policy and Research 129
occasion, incorrect assessments have been made by both recruiters and volunteers, resulting 
at times in inappropriate behaviour, emergency interventions, less productive secondments, 
premature returns, and strained organizational relations.
Early on, we made a significant strategic change. At first, we aimed to maximize value by 
expatriating as many different individuals as possible. After several challenges and even failures, 
in which value was actually destroyed, we aimed to maximize value by repeatedly expatriating a 
smaller number of individuals, often to multiple destinations. This has proved to be much more 
successful: past performance is a clear indicator of future value. 
We deliberately made the secondment opportunities financially constrained in order to avoid 
attracting volunteers motivated for the wrong reasons e.g. to “fill their boots”. We believe 
this has worked in places, with participants keener to create alternative value for themselves. 
However, we have found that more senior staff are less likely to travel under these circumstances. 
Attitudinal differences to the use of public funding and accountability have meant this has not 
been consistently successful. Varying purchasing power, cost of living, travel cost variables and 
salary levels between countries have made a consistent approach impossible.
Uncertainty has made the establishment of a pipeline of secondees challenging. Plans are 
constantly fluid, with individuals changing jobs, starting a family, or suddenly having other 
obligations or priorities. Then they sometimes just get cold feet. The humanity involved in 
international work has been at the fore. Geopolitical events such as Brexit and changes in North 
Korean-US foreign policy have affected attitudes and confidence in a project involving the UK, 
Ireland and South Korea.
We have worked with two types of people in fulfilling these secondments: passive dependants 
and active independents. All wanted access to organizational resources (e.g. information, 
accommodation, facilities, funds). However, some of them over-emphasized these tangible 
resources and ignored intangibilities. Some felt emotionally isolated and perceived a lack of 
support from the sending and hosting organizations. In contrast, others believed that their value 
was created actively by them as an individual and that learning how to access resources — 
tangible and intangible — was part of the challenge. 
Many companies consider family accompanying expatriates a problem. In contrast, we 
suggest that the family contributes to a positive experience by providing social and emotional 
support and thereby making an assignment less risky. The value of the family seems to be 
closely connected with cultural difference: the greater the distance between the home and host 
cultures, the more important the role of family as support mechanism. We have heard family 
responsibilities described as ‘speed-bumps’ — i.e. hindrances to professional development 
and performance. This encourages people to keep them hidden, adding to the stress of being 
away from home. There are few people so isolated that they have no-one to care about. In other 
words, this affects everyone. We suggest that these concerns are made explicit and family 
embraced as a potential point of communality with other human beings. In our experience, 
discussing and dealing with issues outside of work has deepened, broadened and strengthened 
relationships while simultaneously encouraging others to take part. This in turn diversifies the 
mobilized group beyond the ‘usual suspects’ for international work. Expertise is developed 
and shared between secondees.
130 International Journal of HRD Practice Policy, and Research
How to Ensure that Things get Done and People End Up Wiser 
From a standing start, we have rapidly realized the value in good processes around the 
communication and organization on both sides of any international secondment and have rushed 
to set them up. Pre-departure explicit discussion of aims, activities and responsibilities mitigate 
the risks inherent in implicit assumptions about different cultures. We then use social media and 
other on-line channels to update, report and record events and actions. This facilitates ongoing 
monitoring, spots issues arising, aids swift and often informal resolution. The interactivity of 
social media encourages ‘approval’ from colleagues, builds team spirit, shares experience, and 
demonstrates visibility.
Nevertheless, issues have included unclear roles and differing organizational cultures and politics. 
Secondees have vastly different motivations for participating, so flexibility is key. Universally, 
a secondment abroad is considered an optional extra by an employer and so work accumulates 
beforehand and afterwards, with most participants having to maintain responsibilities at home 
while working abroad. Even experienced travellers have realized that actually trying to achieve 
things in a foreign country or unfamiliar organization is impossible in a short time — it’s not like 
being on holiday or even at an international event. Pressure of time makes cultural assumptions 
more likely and dangerous. Even predictable issues such as jet lag, time zones, language barriers, 
climate, and lifestyle differences have taken some by surprise when they try to progress their 
work rather than relaxing. 
These issues often apply to the hosts too. Underestimating the work involved in hosting a series 
of incoming employees is common. The ultimate irony is that the most convenient times to travel 
are exactly the times no-one is available to host.
Most important is deliberate and structured review of lessons learned. We have done this both 
formally and informally. Along with face-to-face conversations at hosts and on return, secondees 
complete a learner record and write reports about their achievements and challenges. Seminars 
and focus groups have been held as well as larger groups reviewing arrangements and suggesting 
developments. It is important to realize that some more profound lessons take time to learn — it 
is only months after return that secondees start to realize and appreciate what they have really 
learned, often about themselves.
Expatriate assignments’ success or failure is normally attributed to the organization while the 
role of the person involved can be underplayed. Independent overseas experience might outstrip 
formal expatriation as a source of human resource development for organizations. Expertise 
might better be developed by individuals acting independently than through some corporate 
policy, which robs the initiative of some of its learning opportunities. There is a considerable 
difference between a company-led expatriation and an autonomous working abroad experience. 
The level of responsibility felt by the organization is completely different.
Conclusion
The assumption that all international experience is positive is an overly simplistic assertion. 
Indeed, the nature and extent of value creation through international mobility is very largely 
down to the individual and particular context of the experience. This makes it less controllable 
International Journal of HRD Practice, Policy and Research 131
by organizations and more reliant upon the selection of individuals, with previous performance 
clearly indicative of the future. 
Managers can rely neither on institutional policy and process nor entirely on the individual. 
Rather, a combination of the two should be developed for maximum value creation. Value is 
more likely to be created and ensured by repeated exposure to international experience and 
so this should be reflected in the strategy. However, an individual’s ability to assess their own 
capacity or efficacy for international work is limited, and sometimes based on erroneous measures 
such as holidays abroad or international events. Great care should be taken to assess this more 
objectively and assignments planned accordingly.
A key idea is to avoid motivating participation in mobility using the wrong levers, such as 
financial gain, which will not drive value creation for your organization. Meanwhile, keep an 
open mind regarding what value can be created and how. It can come from unexpected sources 
and take time. Recruit and select ‘active independents’ and embrace rather than reject or ignore 
their family circumstances — everyone has significant others and family members can provide 
support and motivation.
Establish robust processes and policies around pre-departure preparation and ongoing 
communication. Yet maintain flexibility towards individuals and their motivations. Ensure 
you understand them. Structured debrief and post-return review are priceless in building 
organizational knowledge and individual expertise. Ideally, review immediately and after a few 
months to capture superficial and deeper learnings.
Working abroad can often be worthwhile and, properly managed with a reliance on the individual, 
it can create great value for your business. 
The Authors
Dr. Alison Pearce is Associate Professor of Strategic Entrepreneurship at Newcastle Business 
School at Northumbria University, UK, Affiliate Professor at Grenoble Ecole de Management, 
France and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. One of the original cohort of 
British Erasmus students sent abroad in 1987 she spent 15 years living and working internationally 
in marketing, design and product development culminating in Head of Innovation and Business 
Development and running her own marketing and design consultancy. She is now the convenor 
of a faculty Research Interest Group and her work has been published in academic journals, 
industry magazines, books, blogs, and news media. An original member of the GETM3 team, 
Alison led the funding bid and now leads the project’s overall implementation, undertaking 
secondments in Ireland, Poland, Slovenia, and Korea.
Dr. Katarzyna Dziewanowska is Assistant Professor in Marketing at the Faculty of Management, 
University of Warsaw, Poland. She is a member of the European Marketing Academy and Polish 
Scientific Association of Marketing. She received her PhD in marketing from the University of 
Warsaw. She was a visiting researcher at Centre for Studies on Higher Education at University 
of California, Berkeley, and holds the position of visiting fellow at Northumbria University. Her 
research interests focus on consumer behaviour, value co-creation, consumer experiences, and 
experiential marketing, as well as customer satisfaction, loyalty, and relationship marketing. 
Katarzyna was an original member of the GETM3 project team and leads the research workstream 
132 International Journal of HRD Practice Policy, and Research
focused on young people. She has undertaken secondments in Ireland, the UK, Slovenia, and 
Korea.
Dr. Rose Quan is Associate Professor in International Business and Strategy at Newcastle 
Business School at Northumbria University, UK. Her research interests include international 
entrepreneurship, international student and staff mobility, and international market entry strategy 
for MNEs and SMEs from both developed and developing countries. She has been responsible 
for the development of UK-Chinese partnerships. Rose is co-lead of the GETM3 workstream 
managing networking, communication, dissemination, and training activities. She has completed 
secondments in Korea, Ireland, Poland, and Slovenia.
Szu-Hsin Wu is a PhD student in Marketing at Dublin City University Business School, Ireland. 
She is also a Research Fellow at Trinity College Dublin, working on a multidisciplinary project 
‘Dŵr Uisce’ funded by the ERDF INTERREG Ireland-Wales Co-operation Programme 2014-
2020. She has a Master’s degree in Design Management from the University of Southampton 
and expertise in graphic design. Her current research interests focus on actor engagement, green 
innovation and value co-creation. Szu-hsin has undertaken a GETM3 secondment in Slovenia 
and works mainly in the young people workstream. 


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