Self-Initiated Expatriation

Maike Andresen, Akram Al Ariss, Matthias Walther, Maike Andresen, Akram Al Ariss, Matthias Walther

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781136278754
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Negocios y empresa
• Subtopic: Negocios internacionales

Globalization and the development of multinational organizations have led to an increase in the number of people spending part of their lives living and working in foreign countries. While the contemporary literature has focused on organizational expatriates sent overseas by their employers, self-initiated expatriation is becoming an important area of study in its own right. Studies on self-initiated expatriation explore the labor market positions of individuals who have relocated under their own initiative. However, no comprehensive book exists on the dynamics that underlie this type of mobility. This edited volume offers a holistic picture of self-initiated expatriation and the groups that pursue it, emphasizing many aspects for departure including career development and career capital. It is the first book on the market to explore the issues pertaining to self-initiated expatriation from a variety of perspectives with important theoretical and practical implications.

In an era of global war for talent, companies face difficulties in finding highly skilled employees. Self-initiated expatriates have the potential to fill this talent gap. National economies thus have an interest in creating favorable conditions to attract self-initiated expatriates and provoke their repatriation, and this book explores the conditions that achieve the return of employees with skills that are in demand outside of their home countries.

Part I

Understanding the Concept

1 Introduction

Self-Initiated Expatriation—Individual, Organizational, and National Perspectives

Maike Andresen, Akram Al Ariss¹, and Matthias Walther

WHY THIS BOOK ON SELF-INITIATED EXPATRIATION?

Globalization and the development of multinational organizations have led to an increase in expatriation (e.g. Richardson & McKenna, 2000; United Nations, 2011). While for a long time, the contemporary expatriate literature has focused on the classical ‘Assigned Expatriates’ (AEs) sent overseas by their employers (e.g. Thomas, 2002), there is now a growing interest in the potentially larger segment of ‘Self-Initiated Expatriates’ (SIEs) (Inkson & Myers, 2003; Myers & Pringle, 2005) of whom many thousands are travelling around the global economy (e.g. Howe-Walsh & Schyns, 2010). SIEs decide on their own to live and work abroad (Andresen, Bergdolt, & Margenfeld in this book; Suutari & Brewster, 2000; Thorn, 2009) and cross both national (Crowley-Henry, 2007; Inkson, Arthur, Pringle, & Barry, 1997) as well as organizational frontiers (Banai & Harry, 2004; Carr, Inkson, & Thorn, 2005). Therefore, AEs and SIEs represent two different types of internationally mobile employees, and research results cannot be transferred between these distinct groups.

Inkson et al. (1997) were among the first to address this group of expatriates in their research. Fifteen years have now passed by, and the research interest in this field is increasing steadily. Recently, around 50 papers about SIEs have been published in academic journals. Research on SIEs has addressed a wide variety of professional groups and nationalities. While, for example, Andresen and Biemann (Biemann & Andresen, 2010; Andresen & Biemann, forthcoming) focused on German managers, Suutari and Brewster (2000) investigated Finnish engineers, and Al Ariss (Al Ariss, 2010) put emphasis on highly skilled SIEs from Lebanon. Richardson and colleagues (McKenna & Richardson, 2007; Richardson, 2006; Richardson & Mallon, 2005; Richardson, McBey, & McKenna, 2008; Richardson & McKenna, 2000; 2001; 2006) or Selmer and Lauring (2011) focused their research on academics, whereas Bozionelos (2009) investigated selfinitiated expatriated nurses in Saudi-Arabia. Existing studies were, for example, about motives (e.g. Tharenou & Caulfield, 2010; Thorn, 2009), cultural adaptation (Peltokorpi & Froese, 2009), or career-related issues (e.g. Andresen, Biemann, & Pattie, 2012; Biemann & Andresen, 2010; Begley, Collings, & Scullion, 2008; Cerdin & Le Pargneux, 2010) of SIEs.

With the growth of interest and research in this field being, beyond doubt, encouraging, many authors have called for further investigations (e.g. Brewster & Suutari, 2005; Jokinen, Brewster, & Suutari, 2008) since this field of research is still only rudimentarily understood. The need for a greater understanding of self-initiated expatriation has also been repeatedly raised in symposiums and other scholarly meetings, such as at the Academy of Management or the European Academy of Management. So far, a holistic picture about the area of self-initiated expatriation is missing as investigations have mostly been conducted from one single perspective. Furthermore, no comprehensive book exists on the dynamics that underlie self-initiated expatriation. Hence, we believe it is time for an edited book studying this type of international mobility from a multi-level perspective. As this is the first book about SIEs, it has a unique and initiative character. Contributors include not only established academics from all over the world who have already made major contributions to highly ranked journals and who are leading experts in the field of self-initiated expatriation but also young researchers at the beginning of their scientific career. This gives this book an exclusive diversity of authors, which should make it all the more interesting.

THE CONTENT OF THE BOOK

This edited collection brings together 13 chapters dealing with self-initiated expatriation written by 21 researchers from eight countries representing four continents. It seeks to extend our understanding of the contribution of and exigencies surrounding self-initiated expatriation from an individual, organizational, and national perspective. The book is divided into three main parts: The first part sets the context of studies on self-initiated expatriation; the second part discusses the process of self-initiated expatriation; and, finally, the third part discusses different groups of individuals who undertake self-initiated expatriation as the population of SIEs was found to be very diverse.

Part I: General Introduction

In Chapter 2, What Distinguishes Self-Initiated Expatriates from Assigned Expatriates and Migrants? A Literature-Based Definition and Differentiation of Terms, Andresen, Bergdolt, and Margenfeld examine similarities and differences of using the terms ‘assigned expatriate,’ ‘self-initiated expatriate,’ and ‘migrant.’ By employing qualitative content analysis and a comprehensive review, they show that the criteria for demarcation are not very clear. They suggest that the term ‘migration’ is an umbrella term for ‘selfinitiated’ and ‘assigned expatriation.’ In this sense, a SIE is a migrant who embarks on an international career by his/her own means. By contrast, for an AE, the decision of undertaking an international career is rather made by the host country organization.

Chapter 3, Research on Self-Initiated Expatriation: History and Future Directions, emerges of key importance because of its visionary nature. Dorsch, Suutari, and Brewster review what research has taught us so far on self-initiated expatriation since the year 2000 and what we still need to know. The authors summarize some key findings by answering the following questions: What differentiates SIEs from AEs? What differentiates expatriates within the self-initiated category? What are the reasons for undertaking self-initiated expatriation? How well do SIEs adjust? What happens when they repatriate? And what is the impact of self-initiated expatriation on careers? In terms of future research, the authors point to several important issues including (1) a need to clarify terminology; (2) a need to explore some of the largely un-researched SIEs, such as those from certain parts of the world that remain a hidden aspect in the literature on self-initiated expatriation (e.g. from South America) or those who work for not-for-profit organizations; (3) a need for research about the different subgroups of SIEs; (4) a need for a better understanding of the impact of gender on self-initiated expatriation; (5) a need to establish a stronger link to migration studies, which could offer a very good basis for collaborative work; (6) a need to undertake studies with larger samples on the topic.

Part II: Understanding the Processes of Self-Initiated Expatriation

In Chapter 4, Motivation of Self-Initiated Expatriates, Cerdin explores SIEs’ motivation for their international mobility. Understanding their motivations is important for organizations in order to be able to attract talented internationally mobile employees. The author reports results from two studies. The findings show that the first three motivation factors for SIEs are (1) personal challenge, (2) professional development, and (3) importance of the job itself. The first three motivation factors for AEs are (1) professional development, followed by (2) importance of the job itself, and (3) personal challenge. As for some of the push factors, ‘desire to escape from personal problems at home’ was found to be more frequent for SIEs than for AEs. This same chapter further presents the career anchors of SIEs in order to understand their career orientations.

Chapter 5, Self-Initiated Expatriation and Talent Flow, is based on a case study in order to illustrate how expatriation can consist of a flow of moves across different countries. The authors, Thorn and Inkson, point to the importance of considering the relationship of international mobility to work-life events, including partnership and childbirth and to contextualize all mobility over the life course. The meanings of terms such as brain drain, brain gain, brain waste, and talent flow are examined. The authors conclude with a series of questions that are of interest to future studies on SIEs.

Chapter 6, Differences in Self-Initiated-and Organizational Expatriates’ Cross-Cultural Adjustment, is based on an empirical study of 124 SIEs and 55 organizational expatriates (OEs) in Japan. Peltokorpi and Froese examine how both groups differ in terms of their cross-cultural adjustment. Findings show that they were different in their proficiency of the host country language, overseas experience, job situations, and interaction adjustment. SIEs were more adjusted to interact with host country nationals than OEs due to their better Japanese language proficiency and longer stay in Japan. Some of the practical implications of this study include the fact that organizations need to pay more attention to SIEs in their recruiting efforts. This research also suggests that country-specific training is of great importance in Japan as it helps expatriates improve their adjustment.

In Chapter 7, Career Concept...