TOWARDS THE BOUNDARYLESS CAREER: A CLOSER LOOK AT THE EXPATRIATE CAREER CONCEPT AND THE PERCEIVED IMPLICATIONS OF AN INTERNATIONAL ASSIGNMENT

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1 Working Papers R & D TOWARDS THE BOUNDARYLESS CAREER: A CLOSER LOOK AT THE EXPATRIATE CAREER CONCEPT AND THE PERCEIVED IMPLICATIONS OF AN INTERNATIONAL ASSIGNMENT by G. K. STAHL * E. L. MILLER** and R. L. TUNG 2001/76/ABA * Assistant Professor of Asian Business at INSEAD, 1 Ayer Rajah Avenue, Singapore ** University of Michigan Business School, Department of Management, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. Simon Fraser University, Faculty of Business, Burnaby, B.C., Canada, V5A 1S6. A working paper in the INSEAD Working Paper Series is intended as a means whereby a faculty researcher's thoughts and findings may be communicated to interested readers. The paper should be considered preliminary in nature and may require revision. Printed at INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France.

2 Toward the Boundaryless Career: A Closer Look at the Expatriate Career Concept and the Perceived Implications of an International Assignment Günter K. Stahl INSEAD Asian Business Area SINGAPORE guenter.stahl@insead.edu Edwin L. Miller University of Michigan Business School Department of Management Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA elmiller@umich.edu Rosalie L. Tung Simon Fraser University Faculty of Business Burnaby, B.C., CANADA, V5A 1S6 tung@sfu.ca

3 2 Abstract Based on survey questionnaire data of 494 German expatriate managers on assignment to 59 countries, this study explored the nature of the expatriate career concept, the perceived impact of an international assignment on career advancement and personal development, and the effectiveness of corporate expatriate career management systems. The findings revealed that the majority of expatriates view their international assignment as an opportunity for personal and professional development and career advancement, despite perceived deficits in corporate career management systems and a widespread skepticism that the assignment will help them advance within their companies. The findings thus support the emerging notion of boundaryless careers. The implications for theory and practice of international human resource management are discussed. Key words: expatriation, boundaryless careers, international human resource management

4 3 Toward the Boundaryless Career: A Closer Look at the Expatriate Career Concept and the Perceived Implications of an International Assignment Expatriate assignments play an increasingly critical role in the execution of international business strategies and the development of global managers (Mendenhall, 2001; Stroh & Caligiuri, 1998). However, despite their strategic importance, international assignments do not always enhance managers careers. In a study of management succession in U.S. companies with annual revenues in excess of $1 billion, over 93 percent of responding executives did not consider international experience one of the top three criteria for promotion into the ranks of senior management (Tung & Miller, 1990). As a consequence, managers are often reluctant to accept the offer of an international assignment for fear that it may result in a negative career move (Selmer, 1998; Tung, 1988). Although relatively little is known about the long-term impact of international assignments on managers careers, empirical research corroborates such fears. In a survey of U.S. companies, while 65 percent of HR executives thought an international assignment had a positive career impact, 77 percent of expatriates felt it had a negative effect on their careers (Black, Gregersen, Mendenhall & Stroh, 1999: 193). A study of German expatriate managers found that respondents perceived career-related problems, such as anticipated difficulties finding a suitable reentry position, lack of long-term career planning, and inadequate advancement opportunities after reentry, as the most troublesome problems in their international assignments (Stahl, 2000). In fact, research has shown that the majority of returning expatriates feel their overseas assignment had a neutral, and sometimes negative, impact on their careers (Adler, 2001; Hammer, Hart & Rogan, 1998). Not surprisingly, a substantial percentage of expatriates resign upon return and seek employment elsewhere; others become professionally unproductive and personally

5 4 dissatisfied because their companies fail to capitalize upon their overseas experiences (Black et al., 1999; Caligiuri & Lazarova, 2001). Thus, from the individual manager s point of view, an expatriate career may appear as an increasingly unattractive and risky alternative (Selmer, 1998). Then, why do managers continue to accept offers of international assignments? While few systematic attempts have been made to examine the nature of the expatriate career concept, the findings of a study conducted by Tung (1998) indicate that managers increasingly view an international assignment as enhancing their internal, rather than external, careers. The emerging notions of internal or boundaryless careers (Arthur & Rousseau, 1996; Parker & Inkson, 1999) suggest that managers value an international assignment for the opportunity it brings for skill acquisition, personal development, and career enhancement, even though it may not help them advance within their company. The purpose of this study is to explore the nature of the expatriate career concept, in particular the motivation of managers to accept an international assignment, and to examine how the nature of the expatriate career concept affects International Human Resource Management [IHRM] theory and practice. Expatriate Career Transitions and the Management of International Assignments There has been a tremendous increase in research dealing with the selection, training, careerpathing, and repatriation of expatriates (see Black et al., 1999; Brewster, 1991; Dowling et al., 1999 for reviews). However, relatively little is known about whether expatriates perceive an international assignment as having a positive or negative impact on their long-term career advancement and what motivates expatriates in their decision to accept an international assignment.

6 5 In one of the first studies that had a closer look at the decision to accept an overseas position, Miller and Cheng (1978) found that advancement in the organization hierarchy was the primary motive influencing managers to accept an international assignment. Other important motives were the appeal of increased pay, the opportunity to obtain greater job responsibility, and the opportunity to improve one s management skills and to gain international experience. The results also suggested that there are certain risks associated with an overseas assignment, including missed opportunities for advancement in the home office and difficulties finding a suitable position upon return. The findings of a more recent study also found that managers consider the opportunity to go abroad to be a mixed blessing (Yurkiewicz & Rosen, 1995). International assignments provide expatriates with an opportunity to improve their general management skills and intercultural competencies, assets important at higher organization levels (Gregersen, Morrison & Black, 1998; Mendenhall, 2001). Some scholars and senior executives even believe that international assignments are the most powerful experience in shaping the perspective and capabilities of effective global leaders (Black et al., 1999, p. 2). Given that the development of global leaders is key to success in today s highly competitive and rapidly changing global business world, one would expect that companies should reward managers for pursuing an overseas assignment and developing an international perspective. Yet, empirical research indicates that the majority of repatriates feel their international assignment had a negative impact on their careers, and that the company does not value their overseas experience and their newly acquired skills (Adler, 2001; Hammer et al., 1998). Thus, there seems to be a discrepancy between the stated strategies of most companies to internationalize their businesses and their actual IHRM policies and practices.

7 6 Toward the Boundaryless Career: A Closer Look at the Expatriate Career Concept If companies usually fail to reward managers for acquiring international expertise and to integrate expatriate assignments into long-term career paths, as the preceding literature review indicates, why do managers accept an international assignment? To explain this apparent contradiction, Tung (1998) suggested that for many expatriates, the internal career has taken precedence over the external career. According to Schein (1996), the internal career involves a subjective sense of where one is going in one s work life, whereas the external career essentially refers to advancement within the organizational hierarchy. For individuals pursuing internal careers, one s work life may no longer be perceived as a progression of jobs within a single organization. Rather, individuals will move from one company to another to pursue the best opportunities for their professional development. Thus, career progress comes not from intra-company hierarchical advancement, but rather from inter-company self-development (Parker & Inkson, 1999). Under this perspective, careers can be viewed as boundaryless (Arthur & Rousseau, 1996). Tung (1998), in a survey of U.S. expatriate managers in more than 50 countries, found that managers increasingly view international assignments as enhancing their internal, rather than external, careers. Most expatriates surveyed were seriously concerned about repatriation, yet an overwhelming majority of them perceived the international assignment as essential to their subsequent career advancement either in their current organization or elsewhere. Further, most of the expatriates in the sample viewed their overseas position as an opportunity to acquire skills and expertise usually not available at home. These findings suggest that expatriates value an overseas assignment primarily for the experience and the opportunities it brings for personal development and career enhancement, even though it may not be with their current company. The

8 7 positive attitude that many expatriates have toward their international assignments, despite problems with repatriation, support the emerging notion of boundaryless careers. Other authors (Caligiuri & Lazarova, 2001; Inkson, Pringle, Arthur, & Barry, 1997) have also suggested that boundaryless careers are becoming the pattern for international assignees as with other high demand professionals, such as management consultants or information technology engineers. Since international experience is a competitive asset that makes managers more valuable for the external labor market, companies that do not provide adequate opportunities for professional growth and career advancement upon repatriation may lose a valuable human capital investment to a competitor (Caligiuri & Lazarova, 2001). Research done by Black et al. (1999: 237) has shown that the retention of internationally experienced professionals is in fact a major challenge for companies. These authors found that some European and U.S. companies have lost between 40 and 55 percent of their repatriates within three years after repatriation through voluntary turnover. The emerging notion of boundaryless careers suggests that many of these repatriates have deliberately chosen to leave for a better job offer elsewhere, and that they did not perceive the organizational exit as a negative career move. Research Questions Because of the exploratory character of this study, no hypotheses were generated. Instead, several research questions were formulated to guide the empirical research process. Previous research suggests that professional motives such as increased prospects of future promotion and monetary considerations are the primary reasons influencing managers to accept an international assignment (Miller & Cheng, 1978; Yurkiewicz & Rosen, 1995). Although this research has increased our understanding of the expatriate job choice process, it has offered relatively little insight into the personal and professional tradeoffs associated with the decision to

9 8 accept an international assignment, and the potential negative consequences of refusing such an offer. Moreover, in light of recent findings that the expatriate career concept is undergoing significant change (Inkson et al., 1997; Tung, 1998), previous research dealing with the motives for accepting an international assignment may be outdated. Therefore, the following research question was addressed: Research Question 1: What motivates managers to accept an international assignment and what factors influence them in their decision to go abroad? Prior research has shown that there is a discrepancy between the stated strategies of most companies to internationalize their businesses and their actual IHRM policies and practices. Corporate expatriate management systems have been characterized as insufficient (Feldman & Thomas, 1992), haphazard (Mendenhall et al., 1987), and irrelevant (Selmer, 1998). As a consequence, expatriates may perceive a disconnection between their international assignments and their long-term career plans. Therefore, a question can be raised as to whether expatriates perceive corporate IHRM policies and practices, in particular those related to the development and career-pathing of international managers, as enhancing their career advancement. Research Question 2: Do expatriates perceive corporate IHRM policies and practices as enhancing their career advancement? Are they satisfied with how their companies approach the expatriation and repatriation process? In explaining why managers continue to accept offers of international assignments, despite the lack of systematic career planning in most companies, it has been argued that managers increasingly view international assignments as a chance to enhance their internal, rather than their external, careers (Tung, 1998). Accordingly, expatriate managers may value an international assignment for the opportunities it brings for skill development and career advancement, even

10 9 though it may not be with the same company. Up to this point, however, few attempts have been made to empirically examine the nature of the expatriate career concept and the significance that the notion of boundaryless careers has in motivating managers to accept an international assignment. Therefore, the following research question was addressed Research Question 3: What is the nature of the expatriate career concept? Specifically, are boundaryless careers becoming the pattern for international assignees? Method Organizational Context and Sample Characteristics In attempting to better understand what motivates expatriates to accept an international assignment, whether they perceive corporate IHRM policies and practices as enhancing their careers, and what the nature of their career concept is, we surveyed expatriate managers of 30 German companies in 59 countries. Among the companies were seven of the 20 largest German firms. They represented a variety of industries, including electronics, cars, pharmaceuticals, consumer products, and financial services. We selected expatriates of German companies for this study because we were interested in exploring expatriate career issues in a non-u.s. sample. Germany is one of the major economic players in the world, with large numbers of managers working abroad. By studying expatriate career issues in a non-u.s. sample, it is possible to assess potential cross-cultural differences when the findings are compared against those obtained from U.S. subjects (e.g., Tung, 1998; Tung & Arthur Andersen, 1997). A survey questionnaire, along with self-addressed envelopes for return, were sent to HR executives working in the corporate head offices in Germany. The HR executives then forwarded the questionnaires to the expatriates abroad. The completed questionnaires were returned directly

11 10 to the first author to ensure confidentiality of responses. Of the 1058 survey questionnaires mailed, 549 were returned; 494 were usable, for a response rate of 47 percent. As Table 1 indicates, the typical respondent in this study was a college-educated male, between 30 and 40 years old, married, occupying a middle management position, had been posted to a North-American, Western-European, or South-East-Asian country, and had been on the expatriate assignment between 6 to 18 months. Since some of the research questions focused on aspects of the expatriate job choice process prior to the international assignment (e.g., motives for going abroad), the sample for this study was drawn from expatriates who had been posted to their overseas locations no longer than two years. It was hoped that this group of expatriates would be able to provide more reliable retrospective accounts of the job choice process prior to their international assignments than expatriates who had been living abroad for many years. Interestingly, the demographic profile of respondents suggests that there is a slow but steady increase in the use of women in international assignments. In the early 1990s, less than 3 percent of German expatriates were women; this figure increased to 5 percent in the mid-1990s, to 7 percent in the late 1990s (Stahl, 2000), and to 10 percent in the present study. A similar trend has been observed for U.S. expatriates (Adler, 2001; Tung, 1998). Instruments and Measures Table 1 about here Based on an extensive review of the expatriate career literature and previous research conducted by the authors, a survey questionnaire was developed to examine expatriates attitudes toward their international assignments and their experience abroad, including the perceived career implications of an international assignment.

12 11 The survey questionnaire comprised five sections. The first section contained demographic questions, including those related to spouse and family characteristics. The second section contained questions related to the expatriate job choice process. A sample item in this section presented expatriates with a list of motives for going abroad and asked them to rank order the five most important considerations in their decision to accept an overseas assignment. The third section contained questions regarding career expectations, including the perceived impact of an overseas assignment on the career. A sample item in this section measured opportunities for career advancement within the company. The fourth section contained questions related to satisfaction with corporate expatriation policies and practices, including perceived discrepancies between the company s stated strategy to internationalize its business and its actual policies and practices. A sample item in this section measured satisfaction with the compensation and benefits package. The final section contained questions regarding repatriation. A sample item in this section measured concern about reduced responsibility and autonomy upon repatriation. In addition, expatriates were asked to respond to several open-ended questions. A sample item asked expatriates if and why they believed that their international assignment had a positive impact on their overall career. Responses to the open-ended questions were extracted from the questionnaires and analyzed by using content analytical techniques. Results In this section, the findings of descriptive statistical analyses are presented to address the main research questions under investigation. 1 Expatriate Job Choice The first research question sought to examine what motivates managers to accept an international assignment and what factors influence expatriates career decisions. Table 2 presents the various

13 12 motives for accepting an international assignment, rank ordered according to their perceived importance. The findings indicate that career-related motives such as opportunities for professional development and future opportunities for career advancement are among the primary reasons influencing managers to accept an international assignment. However, rather than merely viewing the overseas assignment as a prerequisite for subsequent career advancement, the findings suggest that expatriates also place a high intrinsic value on the challenge of living and working overseas. Table 2 about here The notion of intrinsic motivation refers to the sense that something is worth doing it for its own sake, e.g., because it is interesting and creates a learning opportunity, and not because it is rewarded with money or praise (Deci, 1975). The expatriates in this study ranked personal challenge a clearly intrinsic motive as the most important reason why they had accepted the assignment. In contrast, monetary reasons were considered only moderately important in the decision to go abroad. Interestingly, compared to U.S. managers who consistently rank financial rewards as one of the top reasons for accepting an international assignment (Tung & Arthur Andersen, 1997; Yurkiewicz & Rosen, 1995), German expatriates seem to put a higher emphasis on intrinsic motives. This finding may be explained by the fact that most German companies have reduced the sizes of compensation packages for expatriates in recent years. Torbiörn (1982: 82) distinguishes between negative motives or push factors that drive employees toward an international assignment (e.g., dissatisfaction with the situation in the home country) and positive motives or pull factors (e.g., the expectation that an overseas assignment could provide great satisfaction). In order to find out more about the push factors, expatriates were asked whether they anticipated any negative consequences if they had refused the overseas

14 13 assignment. The findings revealed that 69 percent of respondents believed that a manager can never or can only once turn down an international assignment without it negatively affecting his/her subsequent career advancement; 61 percent believed that rejection of the job offer would have limited their subsequent career opportunities within the company. Thus, although the expatriates in the sample were positively and intrinsically motivated to go abroad, they also anticipated serious negative consequences if they had refused the international assignment. Satisfaction with IHRM Policies and Practices Prior research has found that corporate IHRM policies and practices are often non-strategic and ad hoc (Mendenhall et al., 1987; Selmer, 1998). Asked whether they see a discrepancy between their company s stated strategy to internationalize its business and its actual IHRM policies and practices, 65 percent of the expatriates in this study felt there was such a discrepancy, while 35 percent said there was no such discrepancy. Table 3 summarizes the reasons given by those expatriates who saw a discrepancy. Note that the percentage data likely provide conservative estimates of the actual figures, because few expatriates provided more than one explanation. The results indicate that a lack of long-term career planning and company support during the overseas assignment are the most important reasons why expatriates perceive a discrepancy. Table 3 about here In order to find out more about the perceived career implications of an international assignment, respondents were asked to indicate to what extent their company rewards its employees for acquiring international expertise. Table 4 shows that respondents were rather skeptical that their company will reward them for pursuing an international assignment, for developing an international perspective, for developing a worldwide network of associates, and for acquiring fluency in a foreign language. Expatriates who perceived a discrepancy between

15 14 their company s stated strategy to internationalize its business and its actual IHRM policies and practices were much more pessimistic that their company will reward them for pursuing an international assignment, for developing an international perspective, for developing a worldwide network of associates and for acquiring fluency in a foreign language than were respondents who saw no such discrepancy. Apparently, expatriates who perceive corporate IHRM policies and practices as non-strategic do so because they see a disconnection between their overseas assignment and their subsequent career advancement within the company. Table 4 about here Given the prevailing doubts among expatriates that they will be rewarded for acquiring international expertise, how satisfied are respondents with the way their company approaches the expatriation and repatriation process? Table 4 indicates that the majority of expatriates in this study were not very satisfied with how the HR department handled their overseas assignment, especially the long-range planning of their repatriation. This finding is consistent with prior research indicating that repatriation may be the most problematic stage in the expatriation cycle (Adler, 2001; Hammer et al., 1998; Tung, 1998). In order to find out more about the anticipated reentry difficulties of expatriates, several items addressed concerns about different aspects of the repatriation process. Table 4 indicates that relatively few respondents were concerned about different aspects of their repatriation, such as career advancement, degree of autonomy and responsibility, size of the compensation package, and opportunities for using the newly gained international expertise upon return. Thus, although the majority of expatriates were dissatisfied with how their company approached the repatriation process, many of them were relatively nonchalant regarding the outcomes of their repatriation.

16 15 There are several possible interpretations of this finding. First, the expatriates in the sample had been on their overseas assignments for less than two years. Despite their dissatisfaction with how the company planned for their reentry and future careers, it is plausible that they were not highly concerned about repatriation at such an early stage of their overseas assignment. Second, 83 percent of expatriates were guaranteed a reentry position upon completion of the overseas assignment. This figure is much higher than the 40 percent found in a study of U.S. expatriates conducted by Tung (1998), who also found that most expatriates were seriously concerned about repatriation. Having a guaranteed position upon return may have resulted in a higher degree of job security and less concerns about repatriation. Finally, the changing nature of the expatriate career concept may explain respondents nonchalance regarding their repatriation. Issues related to the career orientation of expatriates will be addressed in the following section. Expatriate Career Concept and Career Aspirations In order to find out whether boundaryless careers are in fact becoming the pattern for international assignees, expatriates were asked to indicate the likelihood that successful performance in their current overseas assignment will advance their career within or outside the company. Table 5 indicates that an overwhelming majority of respondents believed that their international assignment will have a positive impact on future career opportunities among other possible employers, while considerably fewer expatriates were confident that it will help them advance within their current company. Also, expatriates were highly optimistic that their overseas assignment will help them improve their professional and management skills, and they firmly believed that it will enhance their intercultural skills as well. The finding that the vast majority of expatriates viewed their international assignment as an opportunity for skill development and

17 16 future career advancement, even though it may not be with their current company, clearly supports the notion of boundaryless careers. Table 5 about here Additional evidence comes from the finding that a considerable number of expatriates were willing to resign upon return and seek employment elsewhere. Asked whether they would leave their company for a better job in another firm, 51 percent of respondents said they were willing to do so, whereas only 25 percent indicated that they were unwilling to leave their company. Given the traditionally high loyalty of German professionals toward their employers, this finding provides strong support for the notion of boundaryless careers. It may also explain why the expatriates were only moderately concerned about career advancement upon return. Apparently, respondents were confident that the demand for their international expertise on the labor market was high and, therefore, they would be able to find better jobs elsewhere. Additional insight into the expatriate career concept comes from responses to an openended question. Respondents were asked to indicate to what extent they agreed with the statement that their international assignment will have a positive impact on their overall career, even if it does not enhance their advancement within their company, and to explain their answer in detail. The findings revealed that 89 percent of respondents agreed with this statement, while only 11 percent disagreed. Table 6 indicates that expatriates who were confident that their international assignment had a positive impact on their overall careers mainly believed so because they felt it enhanced their personality development, enabled them to develop a global mindset, and enriched their personal lives. In addition, many expatriates believed that an overseas assignment will help them improve their managerial, interpersonal, and communication skills, and enable them to

18 17 create a valuable network of personal relationships. However, only few expatriates believed that their overseas assignment will have a direct effect on their subsequent career advancement. Table 6 about here These findings suggest that expatriates perceive an international assignment as having an impact on their internal career, to borrow Schein s (1996) terminology, through the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and experiences that are usually not available in the home country. Further, expatriates seem to place a high intrinsic value on the overseas assignment per se, rather than merely viewing it as a prerequisite for hierarchical career advancement. Discussion This study extended the current research on expatriation and repatriation in several ways. First, while empirical research on the antecedents of expatriate and repatriate adjustment abounds, few systematic attempts have been made to examine the career development aspects of international assignments. This study focused on the nature of the expatriate career concept, in particular the significance of boundaryless careers in motivating managers to accept an overseas assignment, and explored how this notion of careers affects the attitudes of expatriate managers toward their international assignments. Building on prior research on U.S. expatriates (e.g., Feldman & Thomas, 1992; Tung, 1998), this study is one of the few to examine the career implications of international assignments in a non-u.s. sample of expatriates. The findings clearly support Tung s (1998) conclusion that boundaryless careers are becoming the pattern for international assignees. Although the majority of expatriates in this sample were clearly dissatisfied with how their company rewarded its employees for pursuing an international assignment and how it approached the repatriation

19 18 process, they firmly believed that their overseas assignment will help them improve their professional and management skills and enhance their careers, though not necessarily within their current company. However, rather than merely viewing international mobility as a prerequisite for subsequent career advancement, the expatriates placed a high intrinsic value on the overseas experience per se, especially on the opportunities it brings for personality development and enrichment of their personal lives. Implications for Practice One of the most striking findings of this study was the positive attitude that expatriates had toward their international assignment, despite a widespread dissatisfaction with how their company rewarded international experience and approached the repatriation process. While there is a growing recognition that managers working for companies perceived to deal unsympathetically with career development concerns will be more reluctant to accept offers of international assignments (Selmer, 1998), the fact that expatriates place a high intrinsic value on the overseas experience suggests that companies will continue be able to recruit capable managers for international assignments in the future. However, this does not imply that companies will also be able to retain these managers upon repatriation. This study found that the majority of expatriates were confident that the demand for their international expertise on the external labor market was high, and they were willing to leave their company for a better job elsewhere. These findings have important implications for IHRM practice. In terms of organizational career development programs, the notion of integrating international assignments into logical career paths seems to be the most critical variable in facilitating expatriation and repatriation success (Feldman & Thomas, 1992; Oddou & Mendenhall, 1991). Organizational career

20 19 development programs and repatriation practices, such as managing expatriates career expectations, providing career-path information, organizing participation in networking activities that allow expatriates to stay in touch with key people in the organization, providing ongoing coaching or mentoring, continuously reviewing performance during the international assignment, and improving expatriates career self-management skills can facilitate the career-pathing and repatriation of international managers (Caligiuri & Lazarova, 2001; Selmer, 1999). While well meaning organizational career development programs and repatriation practices are necessary for managing expatriates career expectations, there are preparatory activities and commitments the organization must undertake. If the organization fails to meet these requirements, there is little chance that its career development and repatriation programs will be able to successfully respond to the growing boundaryless career orientation of expatriates and the increasing turnover rates among repatriates. If the organization expects to develop a well-meaning career development program and implement effective repatriation practices several preliminary steps must be undertaken. It will be critical for the IHRM function and management to seek a thorough understanding and explanation to the following questions: (1) Who is leaving or recently left, and who is staying? (2) Are there professional and personal characteristics of those repatriates who are preparing to leave or have left the organization within a year or two after repatriation which differentiate them from their repatriate peers who have chosen to remain with the organization over the same time period? With a better understanding of the dimensions of repatriate turnover, the IHRM function will be able to propose steps to rectify the problem. Typically turnover data are reported in the aggregate and little attention has been directed toward a more fine-grained analysis of repatriate turnover. Clearly some turnover upon repatriation is functional and beneficial to the firm because

21 20 the repatriate s skills and experiences are no longer needed by the organization as it competes in the global marketplace. Consequently, there may be no available job for the repatriate, and termination is the best personnel decision for the repatriate and for the organization. In other cases repatriate turnover maybe dysfunctional to the organization because it inflicts a costly expense in terms of lost investment in human resources if the repatriates had been members of the firm s managerial and professional elite or if they had joined companies which are considered to be the firm s competitors in the global marketplace. Examples of dysfunctional turnover if the repatriate had completed an assignment that was intended to: (1) develop his/her leadership skills, (2) to groom him/her for high-level organizational assignments, or (3) capitalize upon a unique combination of technical and interpersonal skills considered to be critical to longer term organizational success (Caligiuri & Lazarova, 2001). An in-depth understanding of who is leaving and who is staying will provide the basis for designing career development programs and repatriation practices that will address the needs of repatriates who are motivated by a boundaryless career orientation and whose skills and talents the organization seeks to retain. As Caligiuri and Lazarova (2001) forcefully argue, honesty is the best recommendation for building a repatriation system. Organizational honesty in terms of the positive contribution of international experience, requires the firm to be honest and forthright in terms of its personnel decisions, positive expressions and actions of senior management and continuous support, commitment and communication with its expatriates during and upon completion of their global assignments. Lazarova and Caligiuri (2000), in a recent study of the antecedents of turnover intentions among repatriates, found that rather than choosing any specific type of repatriation assistance, repatriates rated visible signs that the company values overseas experience and that

22 21 international expertise is beneficial to one s career as the most important element in the IHRM system. Specifically the company s leadership must aggressively demonstrate that it values international expertise, and such experience will enhance one s career advancement and prestige within the organization. Unfortunately, only one third of the expatriates surveyed in this study felt that their international experience was appreciated by their companies. While well designed career development programs can be helpful in repatriating and retaining managers after an international assignment, companies will not be able to capitalize on the overseas experience of their workforce unless they have developed a truly global corporate culture. As more and more companies are moving away from multinational organizations toward more global ways to organize and manage, the development of global leaders is becoming increasingly important for companies in order to succeed in the business world (Adler, 2001; Stroh & Caligiuri, 1998). An effective way to develop this new breed of managers is to send them on international assignments where they can assume a broader range of duties and improve their general management skills and intercultural competencies (Gregersen et al., 1998; Mendenhall, 2001; Tung, 1998). As the findings about the changing nature of the expatriate career concept indicate, companies need to do a much better job at leveraging and rewarding the global skills of the managers in whom they have invested a lot of money during their international assignments if they want to retain them upon repatriation. Future Research This study provided some new insights into the career development aspects of international assignments. However, its inherent limitations have to be considered, as well as avenues for future research. First, the results have to be replicated using different samples and research methodologies to establish their generalizability. While the results corroborate those of a large-

23 22 scale study of U.S. expatriates (Tung, 1998), and, therefore, suggest that findings on expatriate careers are to some degree generalizable across different national samples, future studies should replicate and elaborate these findings by collecting data from nationally more diverse samples. Second, quantitative studies that focus on hypothesis testing have to be combined with more qualitative methodologies to better understand the changing nature of the expatriate career concept. Because of the exploratory character of this study, no hypotheses were generated. However, from the findings of this and other studies (e.g., Feldman & Thomas, 1992; Tung, 1998), as well as from theoretical research dealing with the changing nature of the expatriate career concept (e.g., Inkson et al., 1997), it is now possible to derive hypotheses and empirically test them. In addition, qualitative methodologies such as in-depth interviews and case studies should be employed to find out more about the career implications of expatriate assignments. Third, an interesting question concerns the career orientation of those managers who have dismissed an overseas assignment because they believe it is not instrumental for the development of their careers. Are those managers any less internally oriented in terms of their career development than their expatriate counterparts? These questions can provide the source for future investigations aimed at exploring other dimensions and complexities of the boundaryless career orientation. Fourth, from a broader perspective, non-work related issues such as family situation, dualcareers, support of the spouse, etc., are important, yet understudied aspects of expatriate careers. For example, the trailing spouse s career orientation and job opportunities overseas may play an important role in the decision to accept or reject an international assignment, and may also influence the level of work performance and satisfaction overseas (Harvey, 1996). Future

24 23 research and IHRM practice as well would probably benefit from a closer examination of non-work related variables that enhance or constrain expatriate careers. Fifth, greater attention has to be devoted to the analysis of expatriate turnover. Disaggregating turnover into functional and dysfunctional turnover based on the goals of the assignment, the firm s intention for assigning an individual to a global job and repatriate s career expectations will help to improve our understanding of the determinants of turnover and possible organizational responses for coping with it. In-depth study and knowledge will contribute to the construction of expatriate turnover models as well as insights and practical recommendations to global corporations and their management cadres about how to manage the career expectations of repatriates. Conclusion This study represents an incremental advance in terms of the perceived dynamics of expatriate career development, and it contributes to an understanding of the internal or boundaryless career notion. For the academic researcher interested in IHRM, the results of this study make two contributions. First, rather than replicating what is known about how firms go about selecting individuals for overseas assignments, this study examined expatriate perceptions concerning the reasons why they accepted an overseas assignment. Given the results of this study, one can conclude that at least with respect to this sample of German expatriates their career orientation becomes an important factor in their motivation to accept an overseas assignment. Traditionally, loyalty to the firm and blind acceptance of the firm s decision had been the basis for acceptance of the overseas assignment: the firm decided where and when an employee was to be assigned abroad. This study indicates that for many of the expatriates the assignment was evaluated in terms of what it would contribute to their personal and professional development and their

25 24 subsequent career advancement. Second, the notion of the boundaryless career concept of expatriates provides new insights into the emerging body of knowledge on career orientations. The basis for early and excessive turnover among repatriates has been expanded to include the career orientation of the repatriate as another factor that contributes to repatriation failure. Fortunately the firm can work on this problem, and it can seek to take corrective action to deal with dysfunctional IHRM policies and practices. Some of the organizational actions have been discussed earlier in the paper. For the firm it is important to know that there is something that it can do, and that is to clearly demonstrate that it appreciates and values the expatriate s experience and that it will capitalize on that experience upon return. Note 1 The results of additional data analyses (e.g., significance tests on the basis of region of assignment, position level, and gender) can be obtained from the first author. Acknowledgment We would like to thank the editor and two anonymous reviewers of the Journal of World Business for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this paper.

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28 27 Table 1 Demographic Profile of Expatriate Sample Demographic variables Frequency Percentage Gender male female % 10% Age < > % 62% 28% Marital status married not married % 35% Position level senior management middle/lower management professional/technical other % 55% 20% 2% Region of assignment North-America South- and Latin-America Western-Europe Eastern-Europe South-East-Asia Africa and Middle East % 8% 25% 9% 22% 3% Length of stay in host country < 6 months 6 months - 12 months 12 months - 18 months 18 months - 24 months % 37% 40% 16%

29 28 Table 2 Motives for Accepting an International Assignment Motives Among five most important Most important a Personal challenge 83% 39% Professional development 78% 17% Importance of the job itself 68% 22% Future opportunities for advancement 61% 7% Geographic location of the assignment 54% 4% Monetary considerations 50% 5% Anticipated job success 39% 2% Normal career advancement pattern 21% 1% Family considerations 18% 2% Encouragement from spouse or partner 15% 1% Encouragement from colleagues and superiors 6% 0% Fear of restricted career opportunities within the home office 3% 1% a Respondents were asked to rank order the five most important considerations in their decision to accept an international assignment (n = 435)