Self-Initiated Expatriates

Shenzhen is one of China’s new cities which has grown into an archetypal megacity in only three decades. The existing literature about expatriates has predominantly investigated the influence of expatriates at the global level, paying less attention to the local experiences of these mobile employees. Furthermore, the current literature uses a vague definition of ‘expat’, as nowadays they can be divided into several sub-groups. This study focusses on the everyday practices of Self-Initiated Expatriates (SIEs). Drawing on an empirical study of SIEs living in Shenzhen, China, this paper investigates the ways in which SIEs create their ‘home’ and how this is influenced by activities, places and social networks. In particular, this study brings together literatures on expatriates, homemaking, adjustment and globalization to provide insight into the local homemaking process of SIEs in a Chinese context. The aim of this study is to gain better understanding of how the context of reception challenges the homemaking process of SIEs living in Shenzhen

События последнего десятилетия, ввергшие народы Кавказа во взаимные распри и в вооруженное противостояние с великим северным соседом, являются во многом последствиями той далекой войны, которая, как представлялось еще недавно, была завершена в середине прошлого столетия. Признавшие свое поражение горцы сочли тогда наиболее достойным для себя выходом из сложившейся ситуации переселение в единоверную Турцию. Так началось движение мухаджиров, так в Турции оказался Темырболат Мамсуров.

Abstract
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate foreign executives appointed into cultural contexts distant from their country of origin and headquarters of organisations to which host-country nationals (HCNs) they supervise and HCN superiors they report to attribute a “local” national identity.
Significant differences of these foreign executives in local organisations (FELOs) from other forms of expatriation, including assigned and self-initiated expatriates, are identified and discussed.
Design/methodology/approach – The research utilises a qualitative exploratory approach based on triangulated multiple data sources. Data are sourced from in-depth semi-structured interviews with foreign executives (n¼46) from 13 countries and their host-country peers (n¼25) in organisations founded and headquartered in Malaysia. Dyadic data from the two sample groups are used to triangulate findings, while non-dyadic and socio-biographical data add further insight.
Findings – The data analysis identifies issues surrounding allegiance, trust, and control, assumptions about income levels, and exposure to heightened local scrutiny as components of the distinct nature of the FELO experience.
Research limitations/implications – Implications for future research on new types of international cross-cultural workplaces are discussed. While construct definitions for self-initiated expatriation (SIE) in the wider mobility and migration literature are still in flux, international management research may be at
risk of neglecting local workplaces and perspectives.
Practical implications – The FELO phenomenon differs significantly from expatriate assignments between headquarters and foreign subsidiaries of multinational corporations, and can be viewed as a rare and specific form of SIE. Its occurrence indicates an increasingly global market for individuals with career capital and global mobility.
Originality/value – The findings elucidate the situation of FELOs and provide comparisons to other types of expatriates. The research contributes to extant literature on global mobility as it explores a specific cross-cultural phenomenon that has not been systematically investigated in the academic literature, but is described in the media and executive search firm publications as “fairly new, highly visible, and sometimes controversial” with demand for FELOs “likely to continue”.
Keywords Cultural distance, Expatriates, Global mobility, Career capital, Differences, Foreign executives, Local organizations, Self-initiated expatriation
Paper type Research paper

Purpose – The family and specifically, the partners of expatriates are unfortunately the major cause of expatriate maladjustment. Drawing from and extending the concept of relational demography, the purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of the nationality of expatriates' partners, conceptualized as host, home or third country nationality, on expatriates' cross-cultural adjustment. Design/methodology/approach – Survey data from 299 expatriate academics in China, Japan and South Korea were analysed. The authors used confirmatory factor analyses to validate the scales and ANCOVA to test the hypotheses. To further understand the interactions effects the authors conducted simple slopes analysis. Findings – Results show that differences in expatriate academics' cross-cultural adjustment are not per se based on the different nationality of their partners, but are mainly due to an interaction effect of partner nationality and length of stay in host country. Expatriates with host country national partners perceived the highest increase in cross-cultural adjustment over time, followed by those with third country national partners, whereas those with home country partners did not experience any increase in cross-cultural adjustment. Research limitations/implications – The study was based on a cross-sectional survey of expatriate academics in Asia. Thus, longitudinal, multisource data from various contexts would increase validity and generalizability of findings. Despite these limitations, the study provided new and intriguing findings. The theory and empirical evidence underscore the importance of expatriate partner nationality and thereby, relational demography between expatriate partners and expatriates. Practical implications – The research aims to emphasize the important role that expatriate partners can play concerning the success of expatriate cross-cultural adjustment. Greater attention should be paid to the adjustment processes of expatriates and their partners to facilitate expatriate cross-cultural adjustment. Originality/value – The authors are among the first to study the influence of nationality, conceptualized as host, home country or third country nationality, of expatriates' partners on expatriates' cross-cultural adjustment by applying the concept of relational demography. Moreover, the authors look at the role that time in the host country has on the partner's influence on expatriate adjustment.

Drawing on ethnographic data from fourteen in-depth interviews with individuals who have either taught or plan to teach English abroad, this study uses the English as a foreign language teacher (EFLT) as a departure point with which to examine and challenge the traditional dichotomies of work-leisure, host-guest, and home-away that are found in migration and tourism studies. A broad range of literature, including studies of backpackers; expatriates; study abroad students; working and volunteer tourists; and migrants is woven together to demonstrate that figures of mobility such as the EFLT are not separate, but rather overlap and merge in a multitude of ways. Many aspects of the lived experience of teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) are explored, including travel motivation; recruitment; relationship to time and space; identity formation; and the return home.

This paper offers a critical, systematic review of the literature on the professional experiences of expatriate academics published since the year 2000. It provides both thematic analysis and assessment of research quality in an attempt to draw conclusions about the current state and future directions of this steadily growing field. Universities around the globe are becoming progressively more internationally focused, and one aspect of this internationalisation process is the more frequent employment of an international faculty. This presents both opportunities and challenges for internationalised universities, whose HR-related tasks must increasingly account for cultural diversity amongst academic staff members. Equally, the life of an expatriate academic seems also to be filled with uncertainty, and this is experienced by this unique cohort as both a positive challenge and a threat to be minimized.  In addition, this paper demonstrates areas of continued uncertainty and opportunity in the research of expatriate academics.

Purpose: The objectives of this conceptual chapter are to examine the host country's institutional and cultural characteristics that have an impact on SIE's career success, and to propose a research model and agenda. Scope/method: Since there is almost no research on the impact of host country characteristics on SIE's career success, we reviewed the general literature on expatriate career success and identified the specific factors that will affect SIEs career success. Results. The major host country institutional characteristics that have an impact on SIEs' career success include compensation levels, quality of life, labor markets characteristics, employment regulations, and SIEs' skills utilisation level. The major host country cultural characteristics are cultural distance, language, diversity climate and preferred organisational culture. We add the concept of host country's reputation. Conclusion. We propose a research model on the impact of host country institutional and cultural characteristics on SIE career success and satisfaction, adding the host country reputation and using a few moderating variables.

Purpose: The objectives of this conceptual chapter are to examine the host country's institutional and cultural characteristics that have an impact on SIE's career success, and to propose a research model and agenda. Scope/method: Since there is almost no research on the impact of host country characteristics on SIE's career success, we reviewed the general literature on expatriate career success and identified the specific factors that will affect SIEs career success. Results. The major host country institutional characteristics that have an impact on SIEs' career success include compensation levels, quality of life, labor markets characteristics, employment regulations, and SIEs' skills utilisation level. The major host country cultural characteristics are cultural distance, language, diversity climate and preferred organisational culture. We add the concept of host country's reputation. Conclusion. We propose a research model on the impact of host country institutional and cultural characteristics on SIE career success and satisfaction, adding the host country reputation and using a few moderating variables.

Cet article montre que les managers expatriés accumulent divers capitaux lors d’une expatriation dans un pays à risques. Cependant, le développement de ces capitaux dépend notamment du pays d’origine des expatriés et de leur statut social avant l’expatriation. Les expatriés issus de pays émergents et des classes moyennes de pays développés voient leurs niveaux de capitaux augmenter plus fortement que les autres proportionnellement à leur dotation de départ, mais sont confrontés à un « plafond de verre » qui limite leur mobilité ascendante au sein de l’entreprise comme de la communauté des « managers globalisés ».

The aim of this study is to understand the challenges related to the cross-cultural adaptation of organisational expatriates (OEs) and self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) in Brazil and to explore the tactics that OEs and SIEs use to improve their adaptation to the country. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 20 OEs and 24 SIEs with executive professional profiles, and content analyses were performed. The results indicate that foreignism, formalism, personalism and jeitinho are interconnected, and, in general, both types of expatriates face similar problems when adapting to Brazil. However, the two types of expatriates use different strategies for resolving these problems. SIEs are less critical and more willing than OEs to emulate typical Brazilian behaviours for resolving problems related to adaptation to the country. Suggestions regarding the practical implications of this study and potential future research directions are provided.

Organisations today generally have a more diverse workforce, in terms of country of origin, than in the past. As the capital and labour markets continue to globalise, growing numbers of people move across national boundaries to work in different parts of the world. The aim of this chapter is to introduce and explore the conditions and dynamics that characterise this self-initiated expatriation (also known as self-initiated migration). We start by discussing the concepts of migration and self-initiated expatriation. Next, we explore the factors affecting mobility decisions and identify the challenges of moving and working abroad. In the final part of the chapter, we offer two case studies from different national contexts: the United States and South Africa. The case studies focus attention on the perspectives and lived experiences of globally mobile workers themselves and highlight the challenges of cross-border migration and the barriers to integration both within and outside the workplace.

This paper describes the policies of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) for attracting skilled migrants and uses ethnographic fieldwork to discuss the actual employment situations of non-Chinese skilled migrants. Employing the concept of social fields, it describes skilled migrants in three employ- ment sectors in the PRC: (1) Chinese academic and research institutions, (2) managerial work in multinational corporations, and (3) skilled culinary work in international restaurants. The discussion shows that ideas of “skill” are constructed with reference to cultural and ethnic traits perceived as assets in particular economic fields or ethnic capital. Moreover, migrants’ ability to adjust to their professional contexts depends both on their cultural and ethnic capital and on their structural positions in the relevant field of work.

ABSTRACT

AMERICAN EXPATRIATE RETENTION FACTORS IN SAUDI ARABIA

by

Ryan Texas Staveley


International assignment experiences assist personnel over time by helping them acquire new business skill sets, global perspectives, and essential intermediate- and advanced-level cross- cultural competencies, which collectively benefit all stakeholders. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of organizational culture, compensation practices, and job designations during the American expatriate’s career process to maximize retention rates within the Saudi nonacademic local-clientele training sector. The cultural dimensions theory, the model for expatriate selection, and the model for expatriate training framed this study. A qualitative multiple-case research methodology featured a 10-question survey and a 10-question interview with 15 American expatriates representing 11 Saudi organizations. Themes were developed for each research question. Findings for less experienced expatriates showed more career development opportunities and leadership from experienced section managers were needed.
Findings for more experienced expatriates showed more active employment policy adaptations were needed. The findings of this study suggested retention is impacted significantly when American expatriates are valued, encouraged to grow career prospects, and inspired to recruit additional personnel to accept foreign mission assignments. A ten-phase career process (TPCP) was developed to identify the exact phase expatriates considered departure. The results of this research will assist organizational decision makers and support level personnel in understanding the most urgent requirements and provide insight into techniques to properly support expatriates most efficiently and cost-effectively.

ملخص



عوامل استمرار وجود المغترب االمريكي في المملكة العربية السعودية



دراسة: راين تكساس ستيفيلي



تساعد الخبرات العاملين من خالل العمل خارج الدولة االم على اكتساب مھارات جديدة في مجال االعمال, واكتساب الكفاءات

االساسية على المستوى المتوسط والمتقدم في بيئة متعددة الثقافات التي تفيد كل اصحاب العمل بصورة جماعية. الھدف من ھذه

الدراسة ھو استكشاف تأثير الثقافة التنظيمية، ممارسات التعويض والتدرج الوظيفي خالل نھج العملية المھنية للمغترب

االمريكي لزيادة معدل االستمرار ضمن قطاع التدريب السعودي للعمالء المحليين غير األكاديميين. بنيت ھذه الدراسة على

نظرية االبعاد الثقافية، نموذج اختيار المغترب و نموذج تدريب المغترب. نوعية تعدد الحاالت كمنھجية للبحث تضمنت استبيانا

من عشر اسئلة ومقابلة من عشر اسئلة مع خمسة عشر من المغتربين األمريكيين  الذين يمثلون إحدى عشرة منظمة سعودية

وتم تطوير الموضوعات لكل سؤال بحثي. واظھرت النتائج وجود المزيد من فرص التطوير الوظيفي والقيادة للمغتربين االقل

خبرة مقارنة بمدراء االقسام ذوي الخبرة. واظھرت النتائج الخاصة بالمغتربين االكثر خبرة أن ھناك حاجة إلى مزيد من التأقلم

الفعال مع سياسة التوظيف. كما اشارت نتائج ھذه الدراسة إلى أن االستمرار يتأثر بشكل ملحوظ عندما يتم تقييم المغتربين

االمريكيين وتشجيعھم على تنمية آفاقھم الوظيفية والھامھم لتوظيف موظفين اضافيين لقبول مھام البعثات االجنبية. كما تم

تطوير عملية من عشر مراحل لتحديد المرحلة التي يقرر فيھا المغتربون المغادرة. نتائج ھذا البحث ستساعد صناع القرار

التنظيمين وموظفي الدعم على فھم المتطلبات االكثر الحاحا وتوفير نظرة ثاقبة للتقنيات الالزمة لدعم المغتربين بشكل اكثر

كفاءة وفاعلية من حيث التكلفة.

Structured Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of SIEs' career development through international assignment. In particular, the research focus is on career capital acquirement and development of SIEs through their international assignment in China. Design/methodology/approach: We review studies on SIEs and comparative studies between SIEs and OEs. We apply the career capital theory to discuss SIEs' career capital development in terms of knowing-how, knowing-why and knowing-whom through expatriation assignment in China. Findings: This chapter focuses on SIEs' career capital accumulation through international assignments in China, and we develop three propositions that will guide future studies: the knowing-whom career capital development of SIEs through expatriation is increased more in network quantity than network quality in China; the knowing-why career capital development of SIEs through expatriation is influenced by the age and career stage of SIEs; and the knowing-how career capital development of SIEs through expatriation-task-related skills and local engagement skills-is influenced by the SIE's intercultural ability and organization support respectively. Research and practical implications: SIEs' career development is related to their cross-cultural adjustment and has impacts on the completion and success of the expatriation assignment. In practice, a better understanding of SIEs' career capital in terms of knowing-how, knowing-why and knowing-whom development help company make the decision on choosing the staffing patterns. This study also has practical implications in relation to the design and selection of the training, learning and development activities provided to the employees. Originality/value: The chapter contributes to the expatriate management literature by focusing on SIEs' career development through their international assignment in China.

This article investigates teacher recruitment in the Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) industry in China. It reviews literature on the subject, considers survey responses from 1220 teachers who either accepted or rejected offers of a job at a language teaching organization (LTO) in China and attempts to explain the results and consider the implications for language teaching institutions.

Despite growing interest in self-initiated expatriates (SIEs), we know little about how SIEs develop the aspiration to leave both home employers and home countries behind. Based on rich empirical data from Western European SIEs, who migrated to North America, we explored key dynamics of identity work leading up to their decision to expatriate. We found that an SIE's self-concept as a talented professional is initially negatively impacted by interactions with their home employers. However, through elevating conversations with "trusted outsiders", SIEs engage in re-crafting a more positive sense of self. SIEs associate the trusted outsiders' foreign professional background with idealized future work environments, the "promised land", in which they see their elevated selves fulfilled. Our findings have important implications for research on drivers of self-initiated expatriation, voluntary turnover and talent management.

Human resource management literature pays little attention to the agency of skilled ethnic minorities in Europe in terms of explaining their career choices and outcomes. As a step towards addressing this gap, we draw on two field studies based on qualitative interviews. One of these studies draws on interviews with 49 participants in France, and the other is based on interviews with 30 participants in Germany. Through a Bourdieuan analysis, we contribute to the human resource management literature, and demonstrate the varied forms that the agency of highly skilled ethnic minorities takes, in terms of their work experiences, in the context of structures of inequality in both countries.

Though expatriation has become common in today's corporate world and the majority of expatriates are self-initiated rather than assigned by business organizations to work abroad, many authors have treated these two groups of expatriates (self-initiated and organizational) as homogeneous. The objective of this study was to differentiate, conceptually and empirically, self-initiated and organizational expatriates, by examining differences in the adaptation of individuals from both groups in Brazil. The study was qualitative, conducted through semi-structured interviews with 21 organizational and 24 self-initiated expatriates living in Brazil, using content analysis. The theoretical perspective adopted in this study was the model of transcultural adaptation of expatriates of Black, Mendenhall and Oddou (1991). The results emphasize the importance of a conceptual and empirical separation of the two types of expatriates, as they showed different characteristics in the three dimensions of transcultural adaptation used in this study. For Human Resources professionals that work with expatriation processes, the authors suggest that self-initiated expatriates are an advantageous option for the creation of a global workforce, since they tend to adapt better than the organizational ones. For academics, the authors recommend that both types of expatriates be considered in future research, given their specificities.

Drawing upon research regarding the complexities of family reunification migration and the migration of highly skilled individuals, this article outlines the experiences in mobility of highly skilled female professionals in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector. In turn, the focus lies on the impact of mobility on family life and how the family influences decision-making processes regarding transnational career trajectories. In migration studies, little attention has been given to family-linked migration among the highly skilled. This anthropological research contributes to filling this gap as the experiences and coping strategies of Indian ICT professionals and their accompanying spouses will be studied from their point of view. This article presents narrative biographical data on Indian ICT professionals, their dependants, and dual-career households, with or without children, who embarked on mobile career paths that led to Belgium. The data have been gathered through participant observation and in-depth, semistructured interviews, and were analysed in terms of exclusion and inclusion in a globalized knowledge economy. By looking at the intersection of female biographies and expatriation, this case study demonstrates the family dynamics in mobility decisions and the multidirectional characteristics of careers offered by the global ICT sector.

Outline the key debates and complexity of the process of self-initiated expatriation and the diversity of the experiences of SIEs. We summarise the key trends that affect the self-initiation process at multiple levels. We also discuss possible policy and practice solutions - using a multilevel framework.

An insightful anthology of 36 short stories written by non-Japanese who have called Japan their home. "Judging from the strong writing in this volume . . . the combination of Japanese reserve and the remote beauty of the country's art and landscape has intensified these writers' powers of observation," says Publishers Weekly.

本論は、「世界一豊かな飽食時代の子どもたち」であった1970年代から1980年代生まれの日本の若者たちが、バブル経済崩壊後の日本で「働きがい」を見いだせず、転々と転職を繰り返すものも多い中で、急成長する新興国の中国に渡り移住を決意し、起業するに至る人々のキャリア・ライフストーリーを描き探究するものである。“なぜ彼・彼女らは豊かな日本を飛び出し、未だ発展途上である中国社会に移住を決意するのか？”、“どのようにして彼・彼女らは異国の中国で起業するチャンスと遭遇するのか？”、“どのようにして彼・彼女ら若者たちは中国ビジネスで必要となる経営者資質や経営資源を手に入れることができるのか？”　本論のデータ、ならびに21世紀におけるあらたな国際移動に関する論考は、他の国際移動やグローバリゼーション、近年関心が高まっているSIE(Self-Initiated Expatriates）などの研究者に役立つものと考えられる。

Arp, Frithjof, Hutchings, Kate and Smith, Wendy Anne, "Different from Expatriates: Foreign Executives in Local Organisations (FELOs)" 2011 Academy of Management Annual Meeting, San Antonio, Texas, August 12-16, 2011.
ABSTRACT
This paper introduces an international cross-cultural workplace phenomenon that has not been systematically researched: Foreign Executives in Local Organisations (FELOs) of culturally distant countries. Significant differences to expatriates in the foreign subsidiaries of multinational organisations are identified and discussed. This research employs a qualitative exploratory approach using data sourced from in-depth semi-structured interviews with foreign executives (n=46) from 13 countries and their host-country colleagues (n=25), in organisations founded and headquartered in Malaysia. Dyadic data is used to triangulate findings, while nondyadic and socio-biographical data add further insight. The findings highlight that the FELO phenomenon is significantly different from expatriation in that, while issues of allegiance, trust and control are core to both, they also explain the rarity of FELOs. Only FELOs with significant levels of host-country involvement remain in their positions beyond temporary roles. The research makes a significant theoretical contribution to extant literature as it explores a cross-cultural workplace phenomenon that has been described in media and executive search firm publications as ‘fairly new, highly visible, and sometimes controversial’ with demand for FELOs in Asia ‘likely to continue’.

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