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The Impact of International Experience on the Career Success of Managers
Abstract
There is scarce empirical evidence on the long-term impact of international experiences on the career success of expatriate managers and the existing results are inconsistent. Therefore, the objective of this study is to empirically compare managers with and without international experience to analyze the consequences of international experience on their career success. Results show that managers with international experience have more successful subjective (career stafisfaction) and objective (income, number of subordinates, hierarchical level) careers. In addition, working abroad in specific functional areas as well as working in an important subsidiary increases the positive effect of international experience on career success.
... Short-term impacts examined include: the role of job embeddedness and repatriation adjustment (Shen & Hall, 2009); antecedents of turnover intentions in specific international assignments (Stahl, Chua, Caligiuri, Cerdin, & Taniguchi, 2009); and organizational career support (van der Heijden, van Engen, & Paauwe, 2009). Long-term effects have been examined by studying expatriates' careers (Benson & Marshall, 2008; Biemann, 2009; Bolino, 2007; Cerdin & Le Pargneux, 2009; Kraimer, Shaffer, & Bolino, 2009). Compensation and benefits arrangements play an important role both during the process of selection and the assignment. ...
In today's globalized world, the demands of organizations on future managers have changed, as they need the skills and competences to act efficiently in various cultural environments. Even though education, and in particular business education, is becoming more and more internationalized to meet these needs, little is known about whether and how international business education influences careers, and in particular career success. With the subjective dimension of career success being the focus of our study, we explore whether international business education has a direct impact on career success. We suggest a conceptual framework, which posits global identity and international experience as mediators in this relationship. Based on the results of an investigation into the alumni of a cross-border, multi-campus European business school, we provide empirical support for our conceptual framework.
The conceptualisation and definition of vocational success is equivocal. The present paper attempts to clarify the
construct. We suggest a model that distinguishes vocational success with respect to three parameters: 1) the criterion to be
assessed with the extremes of specific work and task vs. global career, 2) the data content with the distinction of external
records, comparative judgements and satisfaction ratings, and 3) the data source, i.e., documents and ratings by others (both
external measures) and self-report data (internal measures). We then take a closer look at career success and give an overview
of current operationalizations with respect to data source and data content. Subsequently, we report findings of a metaanalysis
on the relationship between external measures and internal measures of career success. The analysis yields an
estimated population correlation of ρest = .28, which is homogeneous for the correlation of external measures and career
satisfaction (ρest = .30), but not for external measures and self-rated career success. Suggestions for the measurement of
career success are given.
Key words: vocational success, career, work, satisfaction, external measures, internal measures, self report, meta-analysis
EO succession and career issues have received increasing attention in both the popular business press and scholarly journals. This article explores whether observable patterns exist between industry features and career specialization of CEOs. We define "career specialization" as the proportion of a CEO's career spent in a particular industry, organization, or func-tional area. Industry characteristics will dictate the degree to which narrow versus broad functional, organizational, and industry experience is valuable. Consistent with arguments, we find that CEOs' indus-try, firm, and functional backgrounds vary predictably as a function of industry settings. We conclude by calling for a heightened role for HR expertise in the CEO selection process and greater consideration of the "fit" between industry characteristics and poten-tial CEOs. "An earlier version of this lulicle was presented iit the Human Resources Division of the Academy of Management. Washington. D.C, August, 2001. This article was also selected as a "Best Paper" for inclusion in the Best Papers Proceedings. Authors are listed alphabetically and contributed equally to the article.
The papers that comprise this Special Issue represent a variety of attempts at exploring the potential contributions to careers scholarship that might emerge from applying concepts and models from the so-called "new sciences," a term widely used to denote a large area of enquiry in the physical and complexity sciences. This article introduces the special issue. It explains its origins, and defines the territory that it covers, specifically, the kinds of career on which the articles focus, the meaning of the term "new science," and the kind of connections that we believe can be made between the two. Finally, we briefly introduce each of the papers in the Special Issue.
Shows that, with reference to promotion, several features from an employee's educational biography will influence his or her rate of advancement. It is also shown that the returns to years of schooling vary with organizational rank; indeed, employers do not reward educational attainment indiscriminately, but only when it is likely to contribute to productivity. In conclusion, it is noted that whereas the "job-matching' literature argues that the rate of mobility is greatest when the fit between an individual's resources and a job's requirements is poor, the results with regard to promotion suggest that the converse is true. -from Authors
The need for developing a cadre of global managers who are capable of working in international key positions wherever the needs of companies require it, has been widely stressed. Typically, the literature on international careers still deals with international assignments as “once-in-a-lifetime” experiences and thus as a continuum from selecting the right candidates to repatriating them back to the home country. Less attention has been devoted to so-called global managers who are committed to international careers for a longer term. In the present study, career orientations, career tracks, career commitment and life-style implications of global managers are analysed. The results indicate that the majority of managers were originally interested in an international career. In their career they typically vary between positions abroad and in the home country instead of moving from one international assignment to another. Typically they consider the positive implications to override the negative implications of such a career with respect to both themselves and their families. As a result, they are often firmly committed to working in international environments in the future.
New forms of organising and new forms of individuals private and professional life concepts have affected organisations as well as careers. The resulting new forms of careers are characterised by two major elements: organisations are no longer the primary arena for professional careers and the diversity of careers and career paths is sharply increasing. At the level of global careers similar developments can be observed. In addition, two specifics can be mentioned: a number of additional forms of working internationally supplement expatriation in its classic sense and there seems to be an increasing pressure on the speed and diversity of international assignments. There is comparatively little theoretical insight into these developments. Departing from a sociological perspective and using the theoretical framework of late French Sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, this paper takes a career field and habitus perspective of careers. Based on that, it tries to identify areas of contribution for the global career discussion that can emerge from such an approach.
This paper sheds light on an apparent paradox: managers continue to accept offers of international assignments even though they tend to view them as a risky career move. Based on a review of the literature and a survey of expatriate managers of 20 French and 30 German companies on assignment in 59 countries, the paper examines the nature of the expatriate career concept, the career development implications of international assignments, and the effectiveness of corporate expatriate career management and repatriation systems. Most of the research on the career implications of international assignments has been conducted using the US samples of expatriates. By exploring expatriate career issues in a cross-national sample of French and German expatriates, this study seeks to yield new and significant insights into whether the emerging concept of boundaryless careers is beginning to take hold in countries other than the US, and whether there are cross-national differences in the nature of the expatriate career concept. The findings show that many expatriates are frustrated with how their companies manage their international assignments, especially the long-range planning of their repatriation. However, there are clear differences between the French and German expatriates in terms of repatriation concerns. Despite widespread dissatisfaction in both groups, the German expatriates seem relatively nonchalant regarding their repatriation. This finding can be explained by the fact that the German expatriates are more willing to leave their companies upon return than their French counterparts, thus showing strong evidence of a “boundaryless career” orientation. An important finding is that companies that fail to take an integrated approach to international assignments and do not have effective international career development and repatriation systems, tend to end up with highly dissatisfied managers who, depending on their nationalities, may be quite willing to leave their companies upon repatriation.
Integrating work on international assignments and domestic stress, we conducted meta-analyses of over 50 determinants and consequences of expatriate adjustment using data from 8,474 expatriates in 66 studies. We also examined the trajectory of adjustment over time, and time as a moderator of adjustment effects. Results emphasize the centrality, criticality, and complexity of adjustment, strongly supporting Black, Mendenhall, and Oddou's (1991) model. Structural modeling of proposed model extensions showed that adjustment uniquely affects job satisfaction, withdrawal cognitions, and performance.
Little theory development has been done that accounts for the changes in the forms, actors and contexts of careers that we currently can see. Looking at careers from a ‘grand’ and unified theoretical perspective has a number of advantages. In particular, grand social theories allow the link between a well-elaborated and differentiated framework for social phenomena and for careers. Moreover, looking at careers from a unified perspective allows discussion of the great variety of aspects to careers in a single theoretical language. Based on the work of French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, this paper focuses on social fields as one major element of an effort towards a more comprehensive theoretical framework for professional and managerial careers. In particular, it discusses the constituting characteristics of career fields as social fields and the application of this concept to work-related careers. Rather than adopting or adapting a specific theory in order to illuminate a specific national context, this paper, by using Bourdieu's concepts, proposes a framework to illuminate particular aspects sometimes not sufficiently stressed by recent – and more especially Anglo-Saxon – career research. Avoiding a choice between objective or subjective career and macro- or micro-perspective, it allows the strengthening or re-introduction of themes like multi-level analysis, simultaneous actionstructure view, combining ‘objective’ and ‘subjective’ perspectives, power distribution, social hierarchy and thus social inequalities into career research.
explores how the diversity of theoretical perpectives that share the career concept can be brought together to promote cross-fertilization and new career theory development
discuss definitions of career and career theory, the range of social science perspectives relevant to career studies, and the characteristics that guide career theory to highlight how career theory can serve as a nexus for transdisciplinary study
move on to consider how new career theory develops, by describing a cycle of new theory generation and mapping out the mix of philosophies of knowledge that career theory reflects (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The challenge of the management of expatriates and repatriates has never been more timely nor urgent: globalization has forced expatriation into the corporate agenda, confronting us with an array of questions on HRM strategy and practice. We propose that a wide range of current thinking and practice may be conveniently grouped into a taxonomy of five organizational options, each advancing a different set of expatriation relationships: Global, Emissary, Peripheral, Professional, and Expedient. A framework outlining the main configurations of these options generates a generic model for expatriation at the organizational level. This forms the principal part of the article, followed by a comprehensive discussion and implications for practice. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A model integrating competing theories of social capital with research on career success was developed and tested in a sample of 448 employees with various occupations and organizations. Social capital was conceptualized in terms of network structure and social resources. Results of structural equation modeling showed that network structure was related to social resources and that the effects of social resources on career success were fully mediated by three network benefits: access to information, access to resources, and career sponsorship.
This essay reviews recent theory and research on organizations and social stratification, focusing on two dimensions of inequality that are affected by organizations and their environments: (a) how rewards and opportunities vary as a function of organizational attributes and (b) how enterprises differ in their criteria for matching workers and jobs. The effects of reward structures and sorting processes on workers, organizational performance, and interorganizational relations are also considered briefly. Since many hypotheses about labor markets concern links between organizations and socioeconomic achievement, there is a need for comparative organizational research to complement analyses at the individual and aggregate levels. Moreover, the interdependence of career outcomes within and among enterprises is widely recognized but requires explicit study. Future research will benefit immeasurably from the development and testing of hypotheses about how organizations and environments influence labor market processes.
In der Folge zunehmender Globalisierung wirtschaftlicher Aktivitäten mit einer Zunahme der wirtschaftlichen Verflechtungen in Produktion und Handel, der internationalen Finanzströme und Investitionen sowie des raschen Wandels auf den weltweiten Absatzmärkten und der Zunahme des Innovationstempos, steigt in vielen Unternehmen der Bedarf an geeignetem Personal. Gefordert wird der internationale Manager, im engeren europäischen Rahmen der Euro-Manager. Dies gilt in besonderem Maße für deutsche Unternehmen, deren Ergebnisse im Vergleich zu denen anderer Länder zu einem hohen Prozentsatz durch Export oder Aktivitäten von Tochterfirmen im Ausland erwirtschaftet werden. Mit der Öffnung des europäischen Marktes 1993 und der rapiden Umwandlung der osteuropäischen Volkswirtschaften hat sich dieser Trend noch verstärkt. Es besteht insbesondere Bedarf an qualifizierten Führungskräften, die für Tochterfirmen oder Niederlassungen im Ausland tätig werden. Diesen im Ausland tätigen Mitarbeitern kommt eine Schlüsselrolle bei der Entwicklung internationaler Unternehmenstätigkeit zu. Sie müssen vielfältigen Anforderungen gewachsen sein. Ihre Entsendung ist zwar kostenintensiv, gleichzeitig liefern viele so genannte Expatriates einen wichtigen Beitrag zum Erfolg des Gesamtunternehmens. Aus diesen Gründen ist es für Unternehmen entscheidend, den Erfolg ihrer Mitarbeiter im Ausland sicherzustellen (Deller, 1996).
This analysis considers the impact of the top managers in an organization on the organization's outcomes, specifically strategic choices and performance levels. The focus is not on the chief executive alone, but rather on the entire top management team. Using a macro view, these organizational outcomes are perceived to be related to the values and cognitive bases of those high-power individuals in the organization. In developing the model, emphasis is on the background characteristics of the top managers as opposed to the psychological dimensions. A series of propositions that should be tested to support the upper echelons theory are presented. The topics of these propositions include age, functional track, other career experiences, education, socioeconomic roots, financial position, and group characteristics. The creation of this model is just the beginning of the work that is necessary to evaluate and understand the upper echelons theory. Further input is needed from areas such as the executive recruiting industry. Additionally, clinical and statistical studies are both necessary to fully develop this theory. (SRD)
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/35919/2/b1411962.0001.001.pdf http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/35919/1/b1411962.0001.001.txt
This paper seeks to understand the dynamics of career systems by exploring how the study of other complex systems can shed light on the complex careers that are becoming increasingly the norm. We begin by defining career systems as a set of work roles and the influx of people occupying those roles, within an organization or in "boundaryless" industries. Then, we explain numerous patterns in career systems-described as "self-organization"- through rigorous metaphors drawn from studies of "self-organized criticality" (Bak, 1995) and adaptation in interconnected networks (Kauffman, 1993). Implications for strategic human resource management and careers research are identified.
Interest in the problem of method biases has a long history in the behavioral sciences. Despite this, a comprehensive summary of the potential sources of method biases and how to control for them does not exist. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to examine the extent to which method biases influence behavioral research results, identify potential sources of method biases, discuss the cognitive processes through which method biases influence responses to measures, evaluate the many different procedural and statistical techniques that can be used to control method biases, and provide recommendations for how to select appropriate procedural and statistical remedies for different types of research settings.
International assignments have become an important part of managers' careers and are considered one of the most effective leadership development tools. Yet, studies consistently show that companies fail to integrate international assignments with long-term career development and succession planning and that a substantial percentage of expatriates leave the company upon completion of the international assignment. A total of 1,779 international assignees participated in a study that examined the factors associated with expatriate turnover intentions. The results indicate the importance of differentiating between two types of international assignments—developmental (or learning-driven) and functional (or demand driven)—to understand expatriates' turnover intentions. While we found turnover intentions to vary depending on whether assignments are developmental or functional, the three sets of predictors of turnover intentions are similar. They are (1) lower satisfaction with company support, (2) higher repatriation concerns, and (3) lower career advancement opportunities within the company (relative to opportunities available outside the company). We discuss the implications for research and practice.
Building on the domestic multiple commitment literature, recent international research found that upon repatriation, U.S. expatriates exhibited dual commitments to the parent corporation and local work unit. These results, however, may have been a function of specific cultural values of American managers and may not be generalizable to other samples. Thus, this study examines theoretically and empirically the degree to which Japanese expatriates returning home from international assignments exhibit single or dual commitments; it also analyzes the antecedents of such commitments upon repatriation. Initially, factor analysis indicated that in contrast to U.S. repatriates, Japanese repatriates in this study exhibited a single, global commitment to the organization. Next, multiple regression analysis found that a firm's valuing international experience was the primary correlate of organizational commitment for Japanese repatriates. Finally, this study's results raise important questions about the generalizability of multiple commitments and their potential antecedents across cultural boundaries.
Based on a study of 409 expatriates on assignment to 51 countries around the world, this study examines: (1) Expatriates' perceptions of the importance of international assignments to their overall career development; (2) the modes of acculturation in interacting with host country nationals; (3) the mechanisms used to cope with stress abroad; (4) attributes that facilitate interaction abroad; and (5) the relationship between performance and country difficulty. The study yielded some new trends in expatriate assignments.
This study examines the impact of expatriate assignments on career growth and the external marketability of US employees of a large professional services firm. We use survey and archival data to compare expatriates currently overseas, repatriates, and domestic US employees on compensation, recent promotions, and external recruiting contacts. We then examine how actual pay, promotions, and external recruiting influences anticipated salary growth within the firm and external employment opportunities. We find that despite little or no impact on their current careers, employees with overseas work experience perceived greater internal and external opportunities than domestic US employees. Implications for managers and researchers are discussed.
Building on the domestic multiple commitment literature, recent international research found that upon repatriation, U.S. expatriates exhibited dual commitments to the parent corporation and local work unit. These results, however, may have been a function of specific cultural values of American managers and may not be generalizable to other samples. Thus, this study examines theoretically and empirically the degree to which Japanese expatriates returning home from international assignments exhibit single or dual commitments; it also analyzes the antecedents of such commitments upon repatriation. Initially, factor analysis indicated that in contrast to U.S. repatriates, Japanese repatriates in this study exhibited a single, global commitment to the organization. Next, multiple regression analysis found that a firm’s valuing international experience was the primary correlate of organizational commitment for Japanese repatriates. Finally, this study’s results raise important questions about the generalizability of multiple commitments and their potential antecedents across cultural boundaries.
Concepts drawn from models of the employee turnover process have been neglected as explanatory variables in the study of expatriate turnover. The study presented here attempted to provide a partial validation of turnover models in the international environment. The results indicated that several categories of predictor variables hypothesized as important in domestic situations are also strongly related to expatriate job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Additionally, a variety of unique international variables are also related to the expatriate's attitudes. Both job satisfaction and organizational commitment were also strongly related to the expatriate's intention to quit.
Purpose
– International assignments, which are used as an integral part of global management development, are challenging in terms of one's managerial competencies and self‐concept. However, not much is known about how managers develop during international assignments, or about the process of their identity construction. The purpose of this paper is to show the need for studying international assignments from an identity construction perspective and to build up an interdisciplinary framework for this kind of study.
Design/methodology/approach
– The paper offers a new and an eclectic approach on expatriation by reviewing and combining current literature on expatriation, identity and career.
Findings
– As a result of the theoretical discussion the paper notes that more empirical research is needed about the consequences of foreign assignments on individual managers’ identity and subjective career and suggests narratives as a promising strategy to capture the fluid process of identity construction during expatriation.
Originality/value
– The value of the paper for academics is that it opens up new avenues for research on international management development and international assignments in particular.
Conscious fulfilling of formally defined offices distinguishes institutions from elementary collective behavior. In office, personal role and social status meet. In some offices, ritual is dominant; in others, judgment and enterprise are called for. A career is the person's sequence of role and realized status and office. In rigid societies, careers are of standard type; and each person's is somewhat predetermined. In a freer society, they are less so; but nevertheless, types of careers appear. The institutions of a society may not be understood without understanding offices and careers.
It has become widely accepted that correlations between variables measured with the same method, usually self-report surveys, are inflated due to the action of common method variance (CMV), despite a number of sources that suggest the problem is overstated. The author argues that the popular position suggesting CMV automatically affects variables measured with the same method is a distortion and oversimplification of the true state of affairs, reaching the status of urban legend. Empirical evidence is discussed casting doubt that the method itself produces systematic variance in observations that inflates correlations to any significant degree. It is suggested that the term common method variance be abandoned in favor of a focus on measurement bias that is the product of the interplay of constructs and methods by which they are assessed. A complex approach to dealing with potential biases involves their identification and control to rule them out as explanations for observed relationships using a variety of design strategies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).
I talk about how I came to write this paper here: https://managementink.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/truth-or-urban-legend/
The importance of understanding the careers of global leaders, who typically have careers including various international positions and assignments, has increased due to the globalization of business. One relevant approach to such careers is the internal career approach. Here the career anchor is seen as a person's self-concept, consisting of self-perceived talents, values, and the evolved sense of motives as they pertain to the career. The present study provides new evidence regarding such career anchors of global leaders through a qualitative research setting. The results of the study indicate that most managers saw that their decisions are based on two or even three career anchors instead of one dominating anchor. The most typical career anchors of the original career anchor classification were managerial competence and pure challenge. The key conclusion is the importance of the new internationalism anchor among the global leaders: the clear majority of them ranked the internationalism anchor as their major anchor or among the few major anchors.
This essay reviews recent theory and research on organizations and social stratification, focusing on two dimensions of inequality that are affected by organizations and their environments: (a) how rewards and opportunities vary as a function of organizational attributes and (b) how enterprises differ in their criteria for matching workers and jobs. The effects of reward structures and sorting processes on workers, organizational performance, and interorganizational relations are also considered briefly. Since many hypotheses about labor markets concern links between organizations and socioeconomic achievement, there is a need for comparative organizational research to complement analyses at the individual and aggregate levels. Moreover, the interdependence of career outcomes within and among enterprises is widely recognized but requires explicit study. Future research will benefit immeasurably from the development and testing of hypotheses about how organizations and environments influence labor market p...
We present a theoretical model of international assignments in which we examine the alignment or nonalignment of the organization's and the individual's expectations of an assignment and its effect on assignment success. We consider four basic configurations in our model-mutual loyalty, mutual transaction, agent opportunism, and principal opportunism - and present a matrix of organization-individual alignment to help predict varying degrees of success in expatriate assignment and in repatriation. Finally, we apply this matrix as a framework for understanding changes in the employment contract over time.
This article addresses the question of whether international assignment experience in the top management team makes a bottom-line difference. Based on the premise and observations that executive international assignment experience is rare, valuable, and hard to imitate, we suggest that in the right organizational context, it can create competitive advantage. The authors show how such experience can benefit companies and executives financially and discuss how companies can help ensure a supply of internationally seasoned candidates for future executive positions. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
This introductory article briefly reviews the current state of research into expatriation, focusing on the critical issues of strategy, selection and predeparture, compensation, performance management, repatriation, and career management. The burgeoning research in the field is set into context and a plea made for a more varied and imaginative research agenda. The articles in the rest of this special issue are located in this context. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
One of the newer areas of research in the field of international human resource management concerns the repatriation of international assignees at the end of their time abroad. This paper is one of the first examples of a longitudinal cohort analysis of repatriates. Tracking the same group of well-qualified Finnish expatriates from their time abroad to after they return home, we are able to compare their views while abroad with their experience on return. We find that, as anticipated in the literature, many expatriates change employer as, or soon after, they return, but that they are in general satisfied with the effects of the foreign experience on their careers. Among this cohort at least, their expectations were met more often than not, though this was less because the organization made use of their international experience than because they were personally successful.
Purpose
– This paper introduces this special issue.
Design/methodology/approach
– The paper examines some of the key themes in global human resource management.
Findings
– By reviewing, briefly, the existing literature in these areas, the paper outlines a limited but crucial research agenda and sets the papers in this special issue in context.
Originality/value
– This paper presents some new empirically‐based work on human resource development.
The article applies evolutionary theory to the concept of career success, to argue the primacy of ‘objective’ outcomes, utilities such as status and wealth, and to analyze why the relationship with subjective career success is not stronger. Although there are grounds for expecting subjective evaluations to be sympathetic secondary accompaniments of objective success and failure, there are substantial numbers of paradoxically ‘happy losers’ and ‘unhappy winners’ in the career game. These are explored theoretically as adaptive outcomes of self-regulation and sense-making processes. The nature of that game is then explored by a closer examination of the interrelations and decay functions of the major objective success outcomes. This is undertaken as a theoretical exercise, and also by reference to the evidence in the literature. Both approaches support the existence of close linkages among most of these outcomes, though empirical data reveal variations that highlight the importance for careerists to be aware of trade-offs and risks in career strategies. Context mediates these relationships, especially key contingencies such as individual differences, gender, career stage, culture, and business sector. The implications are discussed; in particular the role of careers theory and research in helping to cut through some of the ideological aspects of ‘subjective’ careers in order to help raise the awareness of actors in the labor market about objective career realities. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Attention is increasingly focused on the potential individual career and firm-level benefits of international experience for upper level executives. This research examines the relationships between CEO international experience, CEO tenure, firm internationalization, succession events, and corporate financial performance. Results indicate a significant interactive effect between CEO tenure and outside succession on CEO international experience. In addition to a relationship with CEO international experience, there are two additional interactive effects in the examination of corporate financial performance: (1) CEO international experience and the degree of firm internationalization, and (2) CEO international experience and CEO succession. These interactive effects are evident in accounting and market indicators of corporate financial performance. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.