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Serving two masters: Managing the dual allegiance of expatriate employees
... And he is not the only author to implicitly prefer this possibility. Black & Gregersen (1992) proposes a similar typology, now at the individual level, for "forms of expatriate allegiance". Table 3 about Black & Gregersen (1992) claim that, from the perspective of the firm, "dual citizens" ("integration") is the most desirable mode. ...
... Black & Gregersen (1992) proposes a similar typology, now at the individual level, for "forms of expatriate allegiance". Table 3 about Black & Gregersen (1992) claim that, from the perspective of the firm, "dual citizens" ("integration") is the most desirable mode. Bird et al. (1999: 159) refers to it as "you become a chameleon but […] remain yourself". ...
... Again, the preferred output is the "positive-positive" one ("mediating"). And, as a second identified trend, all "jigsaw puzzle" perspectives include a dysfunctional category, which is here represented by the "marginal" one ("deculturation" in Berry [1980], and "free-agency" in Black & Gregersen"s [1992]) representing a stage of "bicultural alienation" (Brannen, 1996: 128). ...
This essay aims to disclose some possible new research directions to the study of cultural change. It revisits four different perspectives: acculturation curve, modes of acculturation, measuring versus interpreting debate, and culture as undiscussable space. It identifies areas of natural complementarily, areas of irreconcilable epistemological debates, and some ground to debate inspired by philosophical arguments. As contribution, this essay presents four sets of propositions aiming to indicate new research possibilities to cultural change in management studies.
... However, the evidence is not altogether convincing, as researchers have begun to question whether expatriates indeed view their role this way. In fact, many expatriates seem torn between their allegiance to HQ and their allegiance to the subsidiary (Black & Gregersen, 1992;Harzing, 2001;Richardson & McKenna, 2006;Sanchez, Spector, & Cooper, 2000). Rather than assuming this preconceived notion by asking expatriates how much control of the subsidiary they exert on behalf of HQ, we resorted to an interpretive approach. ...
... As we pointed out in the introduction, Edström & Galbraith (1977) attributed the role of HQ's control agent to many expatriates almost 50 years ago. The validity of such an attribution is often taken for granted in spite of emerging evidence suggesting that expatriates do not pre- cisely conceive their role along these lines (Black & Gregersen, 1992;Lee, Masuda, Fu, & Reiche, 2018;Richardson & McKenna, 2006;Sanchez et al., 2000). Given the mixed support for this attribution, we felt the need for a moratorium in which we should suspend our judgment and instead, as the phenomenological approach suggests, return to examining the phenomenon as it is lived by expatriates. ...
... They described their attempts to establish bidirectional communications and contacts to ensure that the interests and concerns of both parties were taken into account, much in line with what Harzing (2001) termed the bumble-bee and spider roles of expatriates. Similarly, virtually no expatriate appeared to have "gone native" by expressing the intention to act solely on behalf of the subsidiary (Black & Gregersen, 1992). In fact, a majority of expatriates expressed firm intentions to represent the interests of both HQ and subsidiary, as if they professed a dual allegiance to the two sides (Lee et al., 2018;Richardson & McKenna, 2006;Sanchez et al., 2000). ...
We illustrated how multi-paradigm research that combines the phenomenological interpretive and the positivist paradigms in sequential studies helps problematize questionable assumptions in international business research. While observing the phenomenological principle of epoché (i.e., suspension of researchers’ pre-conceived categories), we interpreted accounts of their lived experience amongst expatriates working in foreign subsidiaries. A follow-up positivist study further led us to conclude that, unlike Edström and Galbraith's (1977) reasons for an international assignment, expatriates hardly see themselves as headquarters’ control agents, but as dual agents in charge of balancing both headquarters and subsidiary's interests.
... In a frequently cited article, Black and Gregersen (1992) explored the allegiance of expatriates to the home organization and to the local operation. They argue that it can be detrimental if an expatriate takes his/her allegiance to far in either direction and that the most beneficial allegiance pattern, for both the individual and the organization, is what they call "dual citizens", being highly committed to both organizations. ...
... The longer the employee has been with them, the more his, or her, identity becomes entangled with the company. On the opposite side are those that "go native" that often spent a lot of time abroad and therefore identified less with the home organization and more with the local culture (Black and Gregersen, 1992). What they call "free agents", with a low commitment to both the home and host organization, either acted as hired guns, first and foremost committed to their own careers, or were disenchanted employees who felt their careers were going nowhere at home. ...
... What they call "free agents", with a low commitment to both the home and host organization, either acted as hired guns, first and foremost committed to their own careers, or were disenchanted employees who felt their careers were going nowhere at home. The hired guns were committed to their own careers abroad and were not interested in repatriating; while having demonstrated that they were capable in an international setting they were more likely to leave the company (Black and Gregersen, 1992). The hired guns described by Black and Gregersen (1992) are reminiscent of the international itinerants in this study that work for several different organizations in their global careers. ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to report on a thesis on global careers; a topic relevant to many project managers working internationally. The main purpose of the thesis was to contribute to the understanding of global careers through applying an identity construction perspective on narratives of global careerists' working lives.
Design/methodology/approach
Through a narrative approach, 20 interviews with Swedish global careerists were analyzed and comparison of two types of global careerists was made – repeat expatriates and international itinerants.
Findings
The repeat expatriates and international itinerants are shown to have different patterns in their identity construction and there are differences in their career orientations, in their identifications with the organizations they work for, with their careers and with what they do. They also differ in how they identify with their home country and culture and the countries and cultures in which they live. Circumstances such as the type of location, the time abroad, and if the work abroad is perceived as temporary, are significant in their identity construction.
Practical implications
Both organizations and individuals benefit from understanding the implications of such careers. The results of this study can lead to the development of HRM practices to attract and maintain the relationship with these individuals and draw on their skills.
Originality/value
By considering individuals' subjective experiences of global careers through an identity construction perspective, new understanding can be reached on individuals undergoing multiple transitions over the course of their careers.
... As a result there is a financial benefit to the host organisation compared to hiring an alternative employee. The contractual arrangement also means that SNEs have obligations to both organisations which may lead to conflicting allegiances for the individual (Black and Gregersen, 1992;Suvarierol, Busuioc and Groenleer, 2013). Whilst research findings have not supported this to date it has been argued that SNEs may be used 13 deliberately to influence the activities at the host to the benefit of the home (Sundström, 2016;Suvarierol, Busuioc and Groenleer, 2013). ...
... This extrinsic condition clearly affects the value to both home and host. Yet this 'dual allegiance' construct has seen little empirical investigation in IA literature since Black and Gregersen (1992). This case study has organisations in a structure distinctly different to the classic MNC subsidiary-parent relationship. ...
International assignments continue to be a significant part of global organisational life. Yet evidence for the organisational value they create is mixed and contradictory. This research uses a public sector case study to investigate the value of international assignments as microfoundations of dynamic capabilities. Findings indicate that the value organisations derive from international assignments is a function of their impact on sensing, seizing and reconfiguring capabilities. Furthermore, this value should be determined through a separate assessment of the host and home organisations affected given that what is valuable to one party may be detrimental to another. The research strengthens our theoretical understanding of value and global mobility and outlines a range of practical implications.
... First, senior managers at headquarters are more inclined to think that opportunities championed by expatriates will be aligned with the corporate interests. Expatriates combine a perceived stronger commitment to corporate strategy (Black and Gregersen, 1992;Kobrin, 1988) with strong ties to headquarters through personal connections and cultural identification (Manev and Stevenson, 2001). Expatriates should thereby be less feared to engage in self-interested actions when they pursue subsidiary initiatives. ...
The allocation of financial resources to entrepreneurial initiatives in subsidiaries of multinational corporations is crucial to their realization. When allocating resources to these initiatives, senior headquarters managers face uncertainty that they attempt to address using various heuristics, which may bias allocation. Name‐based heuristics—cognitive shortcuts based on names associated with a decision‐making situation—have been shown to influence financial decisions ranging from food purchase to stock investment. Yet little is known about name‐based heuristics in the allocation of financial resources to entrepreneurial initiatives. We analyze 1308 resource allocation decisions made by 109 senior managers in an experiment in which we vary subsidiary country and subsidiary manager names. We find that psychic distance to the subsidiary country is negatively related to resource allocation when subsidiary managers’ names express a potential expatriate status. In contrast, this relationship is positive when subsidiary managers’ names express a potential local status. We contextualize our results by interviewing senior managers and discuss how reliance on name‐based heuristics to infer the context of an initiative or the interests and competences of subsidiary managers can lead to biased decisions.
... Moreover, asFarmer et al. (2015) argue, a graphical format provides a cognitive "speed bump" in surveys to help combat respondent fatigue and better illustrate the underlying logic. In line withBlack and Gregersen (1992) and, we showed respondents four different graphics and asked them to indicate the one best reflecting their organizational identification: primarily with the home, the host, both entities or neither. ...
In the context of international assignments, this study investigates the psychological contract breach‐violation relationship from a multi‐party employment perspective. Multi‐party employment refers to arrangements where employees have concurrent psychological contracts with more than one party. Drawing on two‐waves of survey data from 221 expatriates, we find both direct relationships and asymmetric spillover effects of psychological contract breach on violation. Psychological contract breach by either the home or host organization is directly linked to psychological contract violation by the breaching party. Additionally, spillover effects occur such that a breach by the host predicts psychological contract violation by the home organization, though not the reverse. These relationships are shaped by the expatriates’ organizational identification. Identification with the host buffers the direct effect between breach and violation by the host, while dual organizational identification mitigates the direct effect between breach and violation by the home organization. Identification with the home organization diminishes the spillover effect from host breach to home organization violation. The opposite, identification with the host, amplifies the spillover effect of host breach to home organization violation. By examining the distinct dynamics of home and host organization contract breach and violation, we develop theoretical implications for understanding PCs in multi‐party work arrangements.
... Regarding both job satisfaction and commitment, expatriates are a somewhat special case in that their evaluations may refer to their home as well as their host country (see Black & Gregersen, 1992, for a detailed discussion on the dual allegiance of expatriates). For example, an expatriate may report directly to a supervisor in the host country while having to report to a second supervisor at home; satisfaction with both may differ significantly. ...
... However, as stated previoulsy, research with regard to the usefullness or approptiateness of expatriate versus local managers for the MNE or the subsidiary remains inconclusive. Black and Gregersen (1992) suggest that expatriates could be loyal to the MNE, the subsidiary, both the subsidiary and the MNE or they may be loyal to none. ...
Purpose
Multinational enterprises (MNEs) encourage their subsidiaries to develop and transfer their unique knowledge and expertise back to the MNE as it is critical for the development of the MNE as a whole. However, what underlies the subsidiary ability to create such specialized knowledge that can be transferred to the MNE is less clear. The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of MNE entrepreneurial strategy, subsidiary initiatives and expatriation on reverse knowledge transfers in a cross-country comparative context.
Design/methodology/approach
Data are gathered through surveys from 429 foreign subsidiaries operating in New Zealand and 164 subsidiaries in Brazil, and these are analyzed using variance-based structural equation modeling.
Findings
Subsidiary initiatives partially mediate the relationship between MNE entrepreneurial strategy and reverse knowledge transfers in case of subsidiaries operating in Brazil, but they fully mediate in case of New Zealand. Furthermore, expatriation, in case of the latter, has a negative interaction in the relationship between subsidiary initiative and reverse knowledge transfers, but, in case of the former, it has no moderating role. Overall, the results suggest that the influence of MNE entrepreneurial strategy and expatriation on reverse knowledge transfers can be explained by contingencies such as the subsidiary host economy and the heterogenous HQ–subsidiary relationships.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to literature by identifying some contingencies with regard to the occurrence of reverse knowledge transfers. It addresses some research calls with regard to examining reverse knowledge transfers and the role of expatriation across different empirical contexts.
... Lastly, a social identification perspective may drive a similar pattern as suggested above. In MNCs, subsidiary managers and employees, on average, express stronger identification with their local unit than with the global corporation (Vora & Kostova, 2007; see also Black & Gregersen, 1992), and a more extensively shared identity with, and allegiance to, the subsidiary may result in more commonly held values and stronger loyalty (Ashforth & Mael, 1989), which may strengthen the more positive evaluations of HRM capabilities from subsidiary GM. Although our variables did not allow us to delve more deeply into these important aspects, they would provide a fruitful avenue for future inquiry. ...
... At the moment, I am fully embedded in the HC (a situation that pulls SIEs to remain rather than to leave) and I have no plans to repatriate to my home country. One may say that I have "gone native," i.e., I have a strong relationship with my HC but a weak one with the home country (Black and Gregersen 1992), but I do not yet consider myself to be at the final stage of adjustment (Black 1988), i.e., calling myself "Canadian." I am proud of initiating my own expatriation to Canada and taking responsibility for my own career development. ...
International students can be a source of skilled workers for many industrialized countries with an aging population. However, it is unclear if international students would stay after completing their studies, given booming economies in their home countries. The present paper explores the decision processes international students make when contemplating whether to stay or return home after completing their studies. The paper is based on an autoethnographic account of an international student who studied in Canada, and follows her journey as an international student through to settlement as a self-initiated expatriate. Initially, personal factors (such as family encouragement), public policy, and employer practices "pushed" the student to repatriate back to her country of origin after her studies. However, personal ambitions (such as travel and career development opportunities) and prospects for a better life "pulled" her back to Canada. Personal agency and positive experiences also contributed to her adjustment and success as a self-initiated expatriate. The present paper adds to existing literature on the "push" and "pull" dynamic of international student retention in the host country. It further enhances our understanding of why international students decide to remain in the country following the completion of their studies. Résumé Pour de nombreux pays industrialisés dont la population vieillit, les étudiants internationaux peu-vent fournir une source de travailleurs qualifiés. Cependant, compte-tenu de l'essor économique dans leur pays d'origine, il n'est pas toujours évident que les étudiants internationaux restent à l'is-sue de leurs études. Cet article analyse les processus décisionnels des étudiants internationaux ayant terminé leurs études, lorsqu'ils envisagent soit de rester dans leur pays hôte soit de rentrer chez eux. Cette étude est basée sur un compte-rendu auto-éthnographique d'une étudiante inter-nationale au Canada, et suit son parcours jusqu'à sa décision d'immigrer. Au départ, des facteurs personnels (tel que l'encouragement de sa famille), les politiques publiques, et les pratiques de ses employeurs ont «poussé» l'étudiante à retourner dans son pays d'origine à l'issue de ses études. Cependant, ses ambitions personnelles (telles que les possibilités de voyage et d'avancement pro-fessionnel) ainsi que le rêve d'une vie meilleure l'ont "attiré" vers le Canada. L'autonomie et les expériences positives ont également contribuées à son ajustement et à son succès en tant qu'im-migrante. Cette étude contribue à la littérature existante sur la dynamique des facteurs d'incitation et d'attraction associés à la rétention internationale des étudiants dans le pays hôte. Cela améliore encore notre compréhension de la raison pour laquelle les étudiants internationaux décident de rester dans le pays hôte à l'issue de leurs études.
... It is the degree to which an expatriate feels comfortable about their new job environment and its requirements (Shimoni et al., 2005). Due to similarities in procedures, policies and requirements on international operations, work adjustment is considered to be the easiest of the three facets (Black, 1992). ...
Today’s internationalized business demands global mindset, intercultural sensitivity and the ability to skilfully negotiate through cross-cultural interactions. Therefore, the overall aim was to investigate the influence of emotional intelligence (EI) on cross-cultural adjustment (CCA) of British expatriates working on International Architectural, Engineering and Construction assignments in Sub-Saharan Africa, China, Middle East and Indian Sub-Continent. Specifically, the causal relationship between EI and three facets of CCA i.e. work, general and interaction adjustment was explored. A sequential exploratory mixed methods design was adopted. These include extensive review of existing literature, eighteen unstructured interviews, and questionnaire survey of 191 British expatriates operating in 29 different countries from the four regions under investigation. Structural equation modelling was used to assess the causal relationship between EI and CCA. Results show that EI accounted for 91, 64 and 24% of the variance in work, interaction and general adjustment respectively. Overall, the model was able to explain 60% variance in CCA, suggesting that EI competencies play a huge role in facilitating an expatriate understand and adapt to host country culture. The findings would help decision-makers (HR managers) during expatriate selection process, in understanding that along with technical skills, it is the emotional competencies that are crucial in assisting expatriates adjust to foreign way of life.
... Finally, our study provides insights into how not only expatriates (TCNs and PCNs) but also HCNs build and preserve their allegiance to the three entities that constitute key elements of their work environment. Black and Gregersen (1992) argued that allegiance can be dual; that is, directed toward two entities at the same time. This applies both at the unit level and the individual level. ...
This article analyzes allegiances of three groups of employees in foreign subsidiaries of multinational enterprises—parent country nationals, host country nationals, and third country nationals. Building on, but different from existing work, we broaden the focus of inquiry from expatriates at the managerial level to (a) include other categories of subsidiary employees and (b) incorporate in our analysis host country nationals rather than focus exclusively on expatriates. We explore the notion that the allegiances of subsidiary employees may be conceptualized as being split among three potential objects of allegiance, namely the focal subsidiary, the headquarters, and the subsidiary host country. Our key arguments are summarized in a framework, complemented with a set of theoretical propositions and implications for future research and practice are discussed.
... Th e confl icts that are examined are rooted in diff erent degrees of competing or integrated organizational identifi cations. Th e work of and on the dual identifi cation of subsidiary managers in an MNC supports this recent stream of research (see also Black andGregersen's 1992 early contribution andReade's ( 2001 ) work on dual organizational identifi cation in MNCs). Drawing on social identity theory (e.g. ...
The objective of this chapter is to provide a critical overview over recent theory-based research on multinational corporations (MNC) conflict. In particular, we seek to understand and explicate the contributions of the various theoretical approaches and perspectives applied in international business (IB) research towards the analysis of conflictual situations and processes in MNC contexts. In modeling conflict in MNC international business, authors draw on diverse theoretical traditions, including psychology, sociology and economics as well as organizational conflict theory. We wish to critically fathom their respective potential for the description and explanation of MNC conflict and, in addition, provide some insights into the theoretical lacunae remaining within the IB conflict research: where and how can we better integrate and extend conflict research in the IB field in order to fully capitalize on the theoretical advancements in conflict research at large? And where do we need to adjust concepts and constructs drawn from related fields to better account for the complex context of MNC conflicts? For reasons expounded upon below, the critical review concentrates on conflicts arising in the MNC headquarters–subsidiary relationship. Since the MNC as an organization has become an object of study in its own right, it has been characterized as an inherently conflictual arena (Bartlett and Ghoshal 1989; Doz and Prahalad 1991; Gladwin and Walter 1980; Pahl and Roth 1993; Prahalad and Doz 1987).
... headquarters and subsidiaries and assist headquarters' staff to understand the local business environment (Boyacigiller, 1990;Nohria and Ghoshal, 1994). Effective control and co-ordination across the companies' international operations has often been mentioned as the principal purpose for expatriate assignments (Beamish and Inkpen, 1998;Black and Gregersen, 1992;Harvey et al., 2001;Harzing, 1999). Third, there is a growing recognition that employees with international expertise do make a difference in contributing to achievement of competitive advantage in the international business environment (Stroh and Caligiuri, 1998;Taylor et al., 1996). ...
Multinationals that are moving abroad for its subsidiary operation may use any one of the typology such as Global, Multi-domestic,Transnational, and International strategy in order to manage and maintain their business abroad. International staffing is a critical elementof the implementation of the four strategies for doing business globally. In staffing the international operation, the organization mayfollow one of the three staffing approaches or a combination of three approaches (PCN, HCN, TCN) depending on their domesticcircumstances and the life cycle of the MNC. In all the three staffing approaches (Ethnocentric, Polycentric, Geocentric) PCNs, HCNs andTCNs are used. But they will differ in relative proportions. There is little evidence in support of the utilization of HCNs and TCNs. Most ofthe research focused on expatriates (PCNs) than HCNs and TCNs. Therefore we want to explore on what situations multinationals useHCNs and TCNs. Further the study investigates the alignment between international business strategy and executive staffing. Theoreticalfoundations are drawn basically from existing literature.Primary data were collected from top executives of 22 multinationals. In depth interviews were conducted and open ended questionswere used to examine the alignment between international business strategy and executive staffing for subsidiary operation, expatriateroles during organization’s different life cycle. The multinationals participated in our sample are from Singapore, Dubai, India, France,Netherlands, and Belgium. The data analysis is based on interpretative philosophy. The analysis of the proposed research expectationrevealed that the pattern of result is consistent when higher the pressure for standardization, utilization of ethnocentric staffing (PCNs) ismore. Whereas the pressure for standardization is low, then multinationals used other staffing approaches - polycentric staffing (HCNs).The pattern is partially consistent with strategy staffing alignment when the higher the local responsiveness then the utilization ofpolycentric staffing should be more. But in the given situation, ethnocentric staffing is slightly more than polycentric even when the localresponsiveness is high. The findings extend the application of the underpinned theories and their beliefs in explaining the businessstrategy and executive staffing relationship and contribute to the body of knowledge. Implications of the results and direction for futureresearch are recommended.
... Escape from complexity, institutionalised marginality, illusion and heightened visibility have all been seen as part of the expatriates' subjective interpretation of reality (Ambuske, 1990). Expatriates' dual loyalty to the home or host organisation has also been explored as a transformation process, in some cases described as leading ideally to the identification halfway between the cultures involved (Black and Gregersen, 1992;Sanchez, Spector & Cooper, 2000;Richardson & McKenna, 2006). For 'international itinerants' (Banai & Harry, 2004) like academics, who are moving between organizations as well as between several countries and cultures, this identification often becomes blurred (Richardson & McKenna, 2002;Richardson & McKenna, 2006;Katrinli & Penbek, 2010). ...
This article discusses the de/construction of liminal identities in relation to translocal patterns of work. Through a phenomenological analysis of three autobiographical narratives, it informs management and organization studies, discussing liminality and translocality as embedded and embodied phenomena experienced in relational, spatio-temporal, and inter-corporeal levels. In particular, the article proposes that a post-dichotomous conceptualization of place and non-place, self and other, and fixity and mobility unveils the complexities of studying identity, liminality, and translocality as interrelated phenomena. Liminal identities are explored as socio-spatial, temporary crystallizations of translocal bodily experiences, disrupted by differentially embodying displacements and emplacements across space–time. Finally, we suggest that translocal socio-spatial scales are inter-corporeal performances that challenge both material and immaterial boundaries. The article concludes with the contributions of this work to identity, liminality, and translocality studies and a discussion of future research directions.
... The reason for selecting these work-related outcomes is that they cover results of the job as well as fit with the job (see Table 1). The reason that both results and fit have to be considered when dealing with expatriates is that an individual can provide results that are favorable considered from the home country context but the way they are produced may not fit the new situation well (Black & Gregersen, 1992;Zølner, 2012). This divide is generally greater for expatriates than for domestic employees. ...
Research on various outcomes of foreign assignments has seldom involved the specific organizational context. This study examines the acculturation of self-initiated expatriates in local and foreign-owned organizations. Based on the choice-within-constraints framework in new institutional theory, we propose that self-initiated expatriate academics in local organizations are better adjusted to general life and interaction with host country nationals than their counterparts in foreign-owned organizations. We also suggest that, due to limited available human cognitive capacity, the adjustment of expatriate academics with regard to general life and interaction in the two types of organizations has different consequences for work-related outcomes. Specifically, we hypothesize that for expatriates in foreign organizations, general adjustment is positively associated with work-related outcomes while, for expatriates in local organizations, interaction adjustment is instead positively associated with their work-related outcomes. Based on 210 self-initiated expatriate academics in China and Taiwan, our findings generally provide support for these hypothesized relationships. By demonstrating the role of organization type in expatriate adjustment we contribute to the use of social learning theory in this area) arguing that acculturation should not be perceived to occur in a vacuum. Rather the adjustment patterns of expatriates are affected by the social and institutional context.
... International assignees therefore often face identification dilemmas that need resolving. Black and Gregersen, 1992;Sanchez, 2000). This resembles the four acculturation strategies of biculturals (e.g., Berry,1997). ...
Globalization brings new challenges that individuals and leaders need to address. This chapter examines global leadership challenges from the perspective of cosmopolitanism and multicultural identities. It argues that an increasing global need for individuals and firms to cross multiple cultural boundaries requires leaders to become multiculturally dexterous and globally responsible. It suggests that the quality and capabilities of leaders who can transcend their conventional local cultural boundaries, and can bridge individuals and cultures of different origins, are the key competencies for the 21st-century global business.
... this new breed of cosmopolitan expatriates are said to be much more likely to have prior international experience, lived in other countries as children, to speak more than one language, to have studied and/or experienced foreign cultures, or be the children of mixed race marriages; all of which it is suggested results in greater cross-cultural affinity and openness to different and new experiences (Howe-Walsh and schyns 2010). it has been further suggested that expatriates focused on career capital development (see suutari and Mäkelä 2007) may be likely to indicate greater openness to new experiences at an earlier point in their careers than expatriates of earlier generations who were likely to have only one international posting, often at the end of a career or, in some cases, when they have reached a plateau in their career at home (Black and Gregersen 1992). ...
This research examined Western women in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and whether they perceived there to have been gender and cultural stereotyping towards them, and if they exemplified a new breed of cosmopolitan expatriates or the more traditional experience of living within expatriate bubbles.
The study was based on semi-structured interviews with 27 expatriate females from Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States working in the UAE.
The female expatriates studied did not perceive gender and cultural stereotyping at work, but identified stereotyping as occurring in the non-work context; some of which resulted from the women engaging in auto-stereotyping. Additionally, the women neither lived within ghettoes in the UAE but nor could they be viewed as truly cosmopolitan; suggesting that expatriates’ working and living experiences need to be understood as operating on a continuum.
... Geographical distance creates serious communication problems between the staff which undertake a foreign task and home country managers (Sherman and others, 1996:708). Local conditions and cultural differences must be analysed carefully in the performance evaluation of host country and third-country citizens (Blacks and Gregersen, 1992). The most complex function of the human resources functions of international companies is pricing. ...
management practices of International SEBAT Educational Schools (ISES) which is one of the important educational institutions
in Turkey and Kyrgyzstan, will be examined. The purpose of this study was to investigate the practices of human resource
management in the International Sebat Education Institutions. The research was carried out in International Sebat Education
Institutions in Kyrgyzstan, with the managers by the use of in- depth interview method. In addition, information was obtained
from the primary sources. In the first years of the organizations, said to be having the dominant ethnocentric policies. To do this,
adequate technical and managerial knowledge of managers and teachers from Turkey had to be chosen. In the following years,
Bishkek, Osh and Issyk-Kol schools administrators will be preferred in Kyrgyzstan. For this reason, polycentric policies began to
be implemented. International SEBAT Educational Schools (ISES) periodically organizes seminars and meetings and teaching
the Kyrgyz, English and Russian for the Turkish teachers and administrators. Successful teachers and students are rewarded with
gifts and appreciation. If they are under the overall achievement levels, their lack of performance is being resolved by the
consultations of the managers. In a globalized world, International Sebat Education Institutions are working efficiently,
regardless of language, religion and ethnic discrimination. International Sebat Education Institutions are still investing in human
resources in spite of the some deficiencies and were observed to have implemented successful policies.
... After the assignment, the outcome receiving most attention was career success. Research from the 1980s and 1990s consistently showed that, for repatriates who stayed in the same organization, international assignments did not always have a positive impact (Harvey 1989;Black and Gregersen 1992). Lack of respect for acquired skills, loss of status and reverse culture shock were reported to be recurring problems for repatriates. ...
This editorial article introduces this special issue of the International Journal of Human Resource Management devoted to the outcomes of expatriate assignments. We set the topic in context. We start by summarizing the traditional view on expatriate outcomes. We then argue that recent developments in the field suggest the need to build a more sophisticated and complex analysis on the topic that incorporates different perspectives (e.g. the organization, the expatriate, their co-workers and their families) and additional types of international experiences and organizations. We then present some difficulties in developing such an analysis. Specifically, using a new typology of complementary relationships among outcomes (i.e. temporal, among-group and among-outcome consistencies), we point out some complications to achieve those relationships. We conclude by introducing the papers in the special edition that all in some way aim to contribute to our understanding of expatriate outcomes.
... Lastly, a social identification perspective may drive a similar pattern as suggested above. In MNCs, subsidiary managers and employees, on average, express stronger identification with their local unit than with the global corporation (Vora & Kostova, 2007; see also Black & Gregersen, 1992), and a more extensively shared identity with, and allegiance to, the subsidiary may result in more commonly held values and stronger loyalty (Ashforth & Mael, 1989), which may strengthen the more positive evaluations of HRM capabilities from subsidiary GM. Although our variables did not allow us to delve more deeply into these important aspects, they would provide a fruitful avenue for future inquiry. ...
This paper examines how functional and line-management stakeholders evaluate operational human resource management capabilities in multinational corporation (MNC) subsidiaries. We suggest that such evaluations are a function of two key structural factors: (1) that focal subsidiary human resource (HR) departments respond differentially to the expectations of differently located stakeholders; and (2) that the structural position of the stakeholder determines what cues he or she relies upon to construct the evaluation. Our findings show that the focal HR subsidiary department is likely to exert more effort towards meeting the expectations of line-management stakeholders, and we suggest that this is a function of line management’s co-location with the focal HR department. Second, we find that co-located line-management stakeholders are more likely to rely on experience-based cues when constructing evaluations, whereas headquarters-located functional stakeholders tend to rely on cognition-based evaluation, driven by their ability to compare across different subsidiary HR departments. We contribute to the literature by going beyond existing research that has tended to focus on evaluation from the perspective of organizational behavior, by providing a structural perspective on capability evaluation in MNCs that combines the insights of role theory and cognitive choice heuristics.
This study employs a dynamic rather than a static and contextual rather than cultural conceptual framework for expatriate managers’ cross-cultural adjustment. It applies theories of learning-unlearning and of role behavior to explain what expatriates’ values, attitudes and behavior are being adjusted, how they are being adjusted and why they are being adjusted. A dynamic and contextual conceptualization of the process of cross-cultural adjustment refines theory by presenting adjustment as a continuous rather than as sporadic process; by providing a framework for identifying and prioritizing sources of the “push” and “pull” to adjust; and by generalizing theory of cross-cultural adjustment to include sojourners other than expatriates. Data were collected using an intensive literature search of publications in the English language. The study’s conceptual framework has the potential to enhance the development of a general theory of cross-cultural adjustment and to provide organizations with knowledge of how to define, measure and manage expatriate-managers’ adjustment, and, therefore, the ability to develop and employ tools to assist in the selection, training, performance management and evaluation and compensation of expatriates.
Knowledge transfer within multinational enterprises is a source of competitive advantage. However, we know little about repatriates’ role in reverse knowledge transfer upon their return to headquarters (HQ). Using an organizational embeddedness perspective, we conceptualized how embeddedness fit – individuals’ perceived match between their knowledge and skills and the job requirements – during the expatriation assignment and upon repatriation predicts repatriate knowledge transfer. To test the hypotheses, we collected multi-wave survey data from 129 repatriates and their supervisors and developed a repatriate knowledge transfer scale. The results show that perceived organizational support from HQ positively influences embeddedness fit, both in the host unit during expatriation and in the HQ upon repatriation. Further, embeddedness fit in the HQ upon repatriation has a direct effect, while embeddedness fit in the host unit during expatriation has an indirect effect on repatriate knowledge transfer via increased communication frequency with the former host unit. In addition, we found that knowledge transfer is particularly pronounced for repatriates with both high levels of embeddedness fit in the HQ upon repatriation and frequent communication with colleagues in their former host unit. Our results highlight the critical importance of helping expatriates increase their perceived embeddedness fit for reverse knowledge transfer to occur.
The theoretical development of cross-cultural adaptation research has been closely related to the empirical studies on cross-cultural immigrants’ experiences. Considering the diversity of immigrants and their practices and experiences in different cultural contexts, cross-cultural adaptation research has long been an interdisciplinary research field, sharing overlaps with psychology, communication, education, management, medical research, and so on.
This working paper presents a contemporary human resources management practice - organizational expatriation - as a relevant field for sociological research. Organizational expatriation practices are conceived as specific, contingent work contexts, typically observed in international firms and organizations. This paper reports results of an on-going PhD research project, that aims to study existing practices and co-existing individual experiences of expatriation in five different business contexts – four Portuguese national firms with significant internationalization trajectories and one multinational firm with a local presence in Portugal. Using secondary statistical data, exploratory interviews insights and expatriation management case study results as empirical references, three analytical directions are conceptually explored, and suggested to be used in research programs that aim to analyze contemporary organizational expatriation practices using a sociological perspective.
As práticas de desempenho de trabalho em contexto internacional vieram trazer novas condições de ação e de interação para indivíduos e organizações, para a gestão nas e das organizações. O presente working paper apresenta a expatriação organizacional como modalidade específica de exercício de trabalho global, definidora de contextos de integração social particulares que propiciam a diferenciação de trajetórias e a personalização do desempenho de papéis atribuídos. Partindo da análise de estudos de caso e de fontes estatísticas secundárias, a dificuldade do momento de regresso do indivíduo expatriado é equacionada como ilustração empírica da especificidade dos quadros de socialização constituídos por práticas organizacionais de expatriação.
Expatriation research has been intrigued by the question of how to prevent the unplanned return of expatriates to their home country. Although a majority of studies have focused on assigned expatriates (AEs), only recently have researchers expanded the scope of analysis by focusing on self-initiated expatriates (SIEs). For SIEs, research has identified job embeddedness as a key explanatory concept for early repatriation without yet acknowledging its potential to also explain the early expatriation of AEs. However, because AEs and SIEs differ in important motivational and behavioural aspects, the lack of comparative studies prohibits a deeper understanding of the mechanisms through which job embeddedness influences early repatriation. We build on belongingness theory to conceptualize early repatriation as a compensatory reaction of expatriates to an inhibited need to belong. Using a unique sample of 345 expatriates from 40 countries, we show that off-the-job embeddedness is more important for explaining the repatriation intention of AEs than of SIEs, whereas on-the-job embeddedness is more important for explaining the repatriation of SIEs compared to AEs. Our integrative model carries important theoretical implications for expatriation research and provides managerial implications for recruiting and retaining AEs and SIEs.
This article applies a social relations discourse to examine the use of expatriates in Chinese multinational companies (MNCs). Expatriates are analyzed based on two sets of social relations: the social functions of expatriates (which include the global function of capital and the collective function of labor) and the pathways of expatriation (which include intra‐ and interfirm transfers). In particular, the framework incorporates the collective function of labor into the analysis of expatriation, which has received limited attention in the existing international HRM literature. Conceptually, the social relations discourse allowed us to frame staffing in an open system in which HR practices involving expatriation are shaped by the intersections between the choices of MNCs, the actions of workers, and the mediation of institutional players. Empirically, this article presents three case studies of Chinese MNCs in Europe to illustrate the tiered expatriation of managerial staff, technicians, and operational workers from interchangeable sources of labor. The HR policy implications suggest greater diversity in the formation of international staffing for MNCs.
On the basis of the observation that today’s executives increasingly possess significant international experiences, this study of foreign subsidiary executive staffing strategies looks beyond the local/expatriate dichotomy and shifts the theoretical and empirical focus from executive nationality to a more nuanced examination of subsidiary executives’ international experience portfolios. The intended contribution of this study is to explore the relationship between home country–host country institutional differences and the quantity and quality of subsidiary executives’ previous international experience. I draw on executive cognition theory and the literature on international experience to hypothesize that variety and specificity of previous educational and professional international experiences facilitate subsidiary executives’ abilities to manage liabilities of foreignness arising from institutional distance. The findings indicate a positive relationship between home country–host country institutional distance and the presence of subsidiary executives with higher duration, count, and variety of international experiences. However, the findings provide no statistical evidence of higher levels of institutional distance being associated with a higher presence of subsidiary executives with specific international experiences that are relevant to the home country–host country pair.
Expatriation research has been intrigued by the question of how to prevent the unplanned return of expatriates to their home country. Although a majority of studies have focused on assigned expatriates (AEs), only recently have researchers expanded the scope of analysis by focusing on self-initiated expatriates (SIEs). For SIEs, research has identified job embeddedness as a key explanatory concept for early repatriation without yet acknowledging its potential to also explain the early expatriation of AEs. However, because AEs and SIEs differ in important motivational and behavioural aspects, the lack of comparative studies prohibits a deeper understanding of the mechanisms through which job embeddedness influences early repatriation. We build on belongingness theory to conceptualize early repatriation as a compensatory reaction of expatriates to an inhibited need to belong. Using a unique sample of 345 expatriates from 40 countries, we show that off-the-job embeddedness is more important for explaining the repatriation intention of AEs than of SIEs, whereas on-the-job embeddedness is more important for explaining the repatriation of SIEs compared to AEs. Our integrative model carries important theoretical implications for expatriation research and provides managerial implications for recruiting and retaining AEs and SIEs.
Global mobility is an expanding field of academic research, which identifies an increasing range of modern variants of people working abroad. The community of Seconded National Experts (SNEs) in the institutions, bodies, and agencies of the European Union (EU) is a distinct category of internationally mobile employees, which has so far been neglected. This article assesses the features of this influential group of people and compares them to other communities within the generally recognized expatriate community. The unique nature of SNEs and hence the challenges that need to be considered by human resource (HR) practitioners to ensure they achieve their desired goals at organizational and individual levels are identified. The findings suggest that expatriate typologies should be extended to include this unique community and provide further guidance to HR practitioners. Finally, areas for additional research are offered, with the aim of learning from SNEs to extend international assignment theory.
As práticas de expatriação vieram trazer novas questões para indivíduos e para as organizações. A expatriação, perspectivada enquanto prática organizacional, uma modalidade de exercício de trabalho global accionada, em particular, em contexto de internacionalização de empresas, pode delimitar oportunidades de aprendizagem e, em simultâneo, o questionamento de relações de pertença pré-existentes. O presente artigo apresenta a expatriação como contexto de integração social particular, de natureza liminar, produtor de diferenciação de práticas, de trajectórias, de experiências individuais. Partindo da análise de fontes secundárias e de estudos de práticas organizacionais de gestão de repatriação, a dificuldade do momento do regresso é apresentada como caso empírico que ilustra a especificidade do acento disjuntivo dos quadros de socialização e de acção (re)constituídos por práticas organizacionais de expatriação.
As organizations expand internationally and their foreign operations become more dispersed, differences in “natural” languages start to influence communication within and beyond their boundaries. In order to cope with these challenges, multinational companies (MNCs) have implicit or explicitly formulated language policies for corporate communication, documentation, and interaction (Marschan-Piekkari, Welch, & Welch, 1999). Empirical research on MNCs has highlighted various communication, staffing, and training-related challenges that accompany language policies (Tietze, 2008). However, less is known about the implementation of language policies and practices in foreign subsidiaries (Kingsley, 2010; Sharp, 2010). In particular, there is a paucity of knowledge of the ways in which contextual factors affect this implementation and the associated dynamics.
In the global quest for competitiveness, researchers, and practitioners alike have increasingly started to explore new staffing alternatives for multinational companies (MNCs) as traditional forms of expatriation begin to fade in prominence. This is partly a result of the recognition that global human talent has become increasingly complex in both their motivations and expectations for seeking international employment opportunities. Against these trends it is not surprising that self-initiated expatriates (SIEs), those who take their careers into their own hands (Inkson, Arthur, Pringle, and Barry, 1997; Suutari and Brewster, 2000; Myers and Pringle, 2005; Scullion, Collings, and Gunnigle, 2007), are and will be a population that have started to attract serious attention among scholars in the field of international human resource management (IHRM). Additionally, firms operating in emerging markets appear to deal with particular challenges in meeting the demand for qualified expatriate talent due to the difficulty in convincing suitable candidates to undertake such foreign assignments (Scullion et al., 2007). Underlying each of these issues is the fact that women remain an underutilized resource for global assignments (e.g., Caligiuri and Cascio, 1998; Mercer, 2006). Global talent managers, consequently, are experiencing increasing challenges as changing dynamics on both the supply and demand side of expatriate management require that human resource (HR) managers develop new ways in which to adequately staff global positions. Identifying different forms of suitable human capital and understanding their particular needs and ambitions are therefore paramount to address this gap (Harrison and Michailova, 2012). In line with the overall theme of the present edited volume, this chapter addresses a few selected issues in regard to an understudied but potentially valuable group of expatriates — female SIEs in emerging countries.
Konzerninterner Wettbewerb ist ein höchst sensibles Thema in Multinationalen Unternehmen (MNU). Die Drohung, Produktion, Forschung und Entwicklung (FuE) oder andere Wertschöpfungsaktivitäten zu einer konkurrierenden Schwestergesellschaft zu verlagern, ruft in aller Regel heftige strategische und politische Reaktionen der betroffenen Konzerneinheiten hervor, und nicht selten entzünden sich daran Konflikte, die weit über die Unternehmensgrenzen hinausreichen. Konzerninterner Wettbewerb kann dabei zum einen von den Konzernzentralen und ihren Wünschen nach Effizienzsteigerung ausgelöst werden (Geppert/Matten 2006). Er kann aber zum anderen die Folge von Tochtergesellschaftsinitiativen sein, etwa wenn eine Tochtergesellschaft versucht, auf Kosten ihrer Schwestergesellschaften Mandate auszuweiten bzw. neue zu gewinnen.
The main question of this paper is ‘What are the attitudes of self-initiated expatriate academics towards their host culture?’ This question was explored in terms of whether the expatriates view themselves as separate from or part of the new cultural environment. The question was examined empirically with a qualitatively structured study.. Eighteen participants from 13 countries who are expatriate academics living and working in Turkey were interviewed, and thematic analysis was used to interpret the qualitative data. Communication, religion, food culture, daily life, social relations and structure are the main cultural themes that directly influence the expatriates. The results reveal that participants’ attitude towards each cultural issue can be categorized as being adjusted, exploring or missing home. Self-initiated expatriate academics who feel at home, those who learn new things from the host culture and those who have difficulties, feel themselves as a native, an explorer or a stranger, respectively.
Many firms have not made special efforts for their repatriates despite growing evidence indicating high levels of dissatisfaction and high attrition rates because of problems encountered in repatriation adjustment. This paper discusses the nature of these problems and the reasons why such efforts are typically not made. It further describes a theoretical framework, combining adjustment and individual control theories, which can be used to analyze and integrate recent research. Based on this theoretical framework and recent research findings, recommendations are made for future research and for managing reintegration into the home culture and organization.
Purpose
– Although research has shown differences between self-initiated experiences and expatriation, this differentiation has rarely been made when it comes to more long-term global careers. The purpose of this paper is to identify similarities and differences between repeat expatriates and international itinerants in their career paths, subjective experiences, and narratives of how they relate to their context.
Design/methodology/approach
– A narrative approach was used and interviews were conducted with ten repeat expatriates and ten international itinerants. The career paths of the 20 Swedish global careerists and how they narrate their careers are analyzed, and the two types of global careerists are compared.
Findings
– Results show that the repeat expatriates and international itinerants differ in their subjective experiences of global careers, and how they narrate them. Three broad domains are identified that integrate a range of issues that are important for global careerists. These domains are the organization and career domain, the country and culture domain, and the family, communities, and networks domain. The repeat expatriates and international itinerants differ in how they relate to these and what is important to them.
Practical implications
– The differences found have implications for organizations in terms of recruitment, management, and retention of a global talent pool.
Originality/value
– This research contributes to the understanding of subjective experiences of global careers and integrates a range of aspects in the context of global careerists that are important to them. Moreover, it contributes to the understanding of global careers by differentiating between those with intra- and inter-organizational global careers.
In this article we explore expatriate managers as international boundary spanners and problem solvers in promulgating knowledge exchange in multinational companies (MNCs). Theoretical perspectives on agency, expatriation and MNCs connect notions of individual volition with expatriation interactions and organizational outcomes. This conceptualization questions the exaltation of individual excellence in the earlier heroic perspective on the expatriate. Rather, interculturally competent, strategically localized expatriate managers address recurring global-local tensions in everyday interactions with the host country subsidiary staff. The expatriates' boundary spanning, problem solving and knowledge exchange enhance the global integration, national responsiveness, and worldwide innovation and learning concomitant with the transnational form of the MNC.
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to examine scholars’ proposal that self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) can provide an alternative to company-assigned expatriates (CAEs) for filling key positions in foreign subsidiaries at a lower cost.
Design/methodology/approach
– Underpinned by findings from empirical studies, this conceptual paper compares SIEs with CAEs and their traditional alternative, multinational corporation (MNC) local employees, to examine the suitability of SIEs as a replacement for CAEs.
Findings
– SIEs are likely not a suitable alternative to CAEs for purposes of control, transfer, running the foreign operation and management development (purposes requiring firm-specific competencies), but are likely suitable for filling technical and lower and middle management positions (requiring more generic, specialist competencies) and purposes of managing within the subsidiary and responding to the local environment (purposes requiring cross-cultural and host location-specific competencies).
Practical implications
– Guidance is provided for the recruitment of SIEs as an alternative to CAEs.
Originality/value
– The paper adds new insight in assessing whether SIEs provide an alternative to CAEs by proposing a framework that integrates: the identification of SIEs’ competencies relative to those of CAEs and MNC local employees, based on career capital theory; with the assessment of their value, based on human capital allocation theory, against the purposes for which CAEs are deployed.
International mobility and construction of identities. Cosmopolitan executives at the border of their culture
Nowadays, the strategies of big international firms rely on an organisational structure which is invigorated by an efficient management of employees movements abroad.
Even though the image of the cosmopolite manager at ease everywhere exists in the business world, the lived and repeated experience of international mobility brings the moving individual into opposition with his or her past identifications. In reality, nobody will stay for a long time in a situation of international mobility without running the risk of an important dissociation between the domestic, communitary and residential universe on one hand and the firms universe on the other.
Where the researcher expected to find a homogenous international elite, an executive international, he found that the heterogenous character of their identification strategies contradicts the myth of the big firm as a space of assimilation without return of its members.
The socialization of international executives: Identity strategies and the mobilization of ethnicity
The management of international mobility has become a key strategic consideration for large “globalized” firms. Although the notion of self-contained, cosmopolitan individuals who are clear about how they define themselves (they manage their own lives, assume responsibility for the choices they make, develop their own moral guidelines and translate them into ethical codes, etc.) is widespread in the business world, the actual and repeated experiences of internationally mobile individuals often place them at odds with their former self-definitions. In reality, no individual can be internationally mobile for any length of time without running the risk of encountering a high degree of dissociation between, on the one hand, place of origin, community and home, and on the other hand, the realm of business. This article is part of a long-term study focusing on the identity-construction process of the executives of a major French oil company. Although the social scientist who conducted this research expected to identify a “homogeneous” group of executives comprising a single international elite, the heterogeneity of the identity strategies of international executives belies the myth of multinational corporations as entities that irreversibly assimilate their members. As globalization continues apace, cultural identity and ethnicity may thus become resources that the emerging group of executives, referred to as “global” managers, can use to their advantage.
This study examines the importance of financial rewards on expatriation and its relationship to professional roles and behaviours amongst self-initiated expatriate faculty. Survey data obtained from 364 expatriate faculty in the UAE is analysed. Bluedorn's (1982) staying or leaving index (SLI), as a predictor for actual intention to leave, is contrasted with their motivations to stay or leave the host country. The findings show how respondents perceive salary as a key motivator to stay in the host country along with voice in decision making and contractual employment. While perceived low salary levels have a significant impact on the intention to leave we could not find evidence for salary having a direct influence on professional behaviours. Beyond re-affirming the importance of salary, only voice in decision making and contractual employment seem to be of serious consequence to expatriate academics in their decision to leave the host country. This demonstrates the complexity of the interplay between professional characteristics and financial rewards.
The relationship of an expatriate to his or her country of origin is complicated by reasons for leaving, ease of acculturation into the new country, nostalgia, loneliness and the ability to remain connected to his or her country of origin while abroad. Research on expatriate experiences has been limited to certain countries of origin and host countries, as well as a narrow definition of the term “expatriate”. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences and relationships with host and home countries of Syrian self-initiated expatriates, an underrepresented group in the literature. Phenomenological interviews were conducted with 13 Syrian self-initiated expatriates during an expatriate conference in Damascus, Syria. The results showed that Syrian self-initiated expatriates have left Syria to advance their education and their careers. For many of the men interviewed, Syria’s mandate of military service was a factor in leaving. When in their host countries, they faced adjustment issues such as language barriers and difficulty remaining connected to Syria. Relationships with both countries were fluid and changing, based on factors such as adjustment and ease of communication. I make recommendations for improving travel, communication and cultural maintenance to support the connection between Syrian self-initiated expatriates and Syrian society.
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