Expatriates

Book Review: Migration and Mobility in Europe: Trends, Patterns and Control, H. Fassman, M. Haller, D. Lane. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham (2009)

by Kevin Daniells

Available online 20 December 2011.

The perspective of host country nationals in socializing expatriates: The importance of foreign-local relations

by Geoffrey Leonardelli

Toh, S.M., DeNisi, A.S., & Leonardelli, G.J. (2012). The perspective of host country nationals in socializing expatriates: The importance of foreign-local relations. In C. Wanberg (Ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Organizational Socialization. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Failure to adapt is one of the most often cited reasons for the premature return of expatriate assignees. This chapter... more Failure to adapt is one of the most often cited reasons for the premature return of expatriate assignees. This chapter reviews and builds on research that suggests that the expatriate socialization process involves multiple stakeholders. We introduce new theory on the process of expatriate socialization by adopting the host country national’s perspective, and taking into consideration social cognitions and organizational practice as important interactive influences on host country coworkers’ decision to act as potentially important socializing agents for expatriate newcomers. We discuss the consequences for multiple stakeholders when the socializing potential of host country nationals is overlooked. Our research has significant implications for how organizations and expatriates should approach expatriate socialization, particularly that the host country nationals’ role in the process needs to be taken more seriously.

Strategising impression management in corporations: Cultural knowledge as capital

by Caroline Kamau

Kamau, C. (2010).

Impression management is a powerful psychological phenomenon with much unexplored potential in corporate settings.... more Impression management is a powerful psychological phenomenon with much unexplored potential in corporate settings. Employees or corporations can deploy impression management strategies in order to manipulate others’ perceptions of them. Cultural knowledge is powerful capital in impression management, yet this has not been sufficiently explored in previous literature. This chapter argues that impression-motivated employees or corporations need to perform a three-step knowledge audit: (i) knowing what their impression deficits are; (ii) knowing what impression management strategy is needed to address that deficit, based on the taxonomy of impression management strategies tabulated here; (iii) knowing what societal (e.g. collectivist culture or individualist culture) or organization-specific cultural adjustments are needed. A cultural knowledge base can thus be created through cross-cultural training of and knowledge transfer by expatriates. Multinational corporations can also benefit from utilising the knowledge presented in this chapter in their international public relations efforts.

Ramboarison-Lalao, L., Al Ariss, A., & Barth, I. 2012. Careers of Skilled Migrants: Understanding the Experiences of Malagasy Physicians in France. Journal of Management Development, 31(2).

by Akram AL ARISS

Purpose – France is a country that widely relies on a skilled labour force. Nevertheless, very little is written in... more Purpose – France is a country that widely relies on a skilled labour force. Nevertheless, very little is written in the management literature on the career experiences of skilled migrants, in particular from
developing countries, in France. This paper argues that in order to understand the management of skilled migrants in France, there is a need to better understand their career experiences. Therefore, the
objective of this paper is to fill this knowledge gap by offering an enhanced understanding of the career experiences of Malagasy migrant physicians in France.

Design/methodology/approach – Based on the life story of 17 Malagasy migrant physicians and an interview with a Malagasy director of a private clinic who recruited Malagasy physicians to work
in France, the paper sheds light on their career choices and challenges that they face in the French job market.

Findings – The results clearly highlight two career profiles: firstly, those who succeeded in working as physicians either directly upon their graduation, or throughout an “interstitial” career in nursing,
a way to eventually reach their profession of physician. Second, findings show that there were participants who definitively switched to a nursing profession. For this second group, migration
emerges as a challenging experience leading to talent waste and therefore to downward career mobility.

Originality/value – While literature on international careers frequently describe international mobility as being beneficial for skilled migrants, the findings yield limited support for this assumption. Instead, human capital was insufficient in explaining the career outcome of migrant physicians in France. Beyond the assumption that human capital is sufficient for undertaking a successful international experience, the paper contribute’s to the literature on international careers by focusing on an under-researched group (i.e. Malagasy physicians in France) and demonstrating the complex nature of their career experiences.

Keywords International careers, Skilled migration, Career development, Malagasy physicians, France, Talent waste

Paper type Research paper

Al Ariss, A., Koall, I., Özbilgin, M., & Suutari, V. 2012. Careers of skilled migrants: towards a theoretical and methodological expansion. Journal of Management Development, 31(2): 92-101.

by Akram AL ARISS

Purpose – The careers of skilled migrant workers is an under-theorised field of research. This paper proposes a... more Purpose – The careers of skilled migrant workers is an under-theorised field of research. This paper proposes a theoretical and methodological expansion of studies of careers of skilled migrants.

Design/methodology/approach – The paper offers a critical review of the literature on careers of skilled migrants from a multilevel approach including individual, organizational, and contextual
levels.

Findings – The review leads to two key theoretical and methodological expansions: first, it demonstrates that migrant careers need to be understood as a relational construct that is at the
interplay of individual and institutions and as a multi-layer and multi-faceted phenomenon. This approach requires the authors to explore careers in temporal and spatial contexts. The second
expansion made requires the adoption of relational methodologies, as well as more reflexive methods which encourages researchers to recognize a wider range of vested interests when framing their
research questions and designing their studies.

Originality/value – This paper has two key values: first, it questions the central assumptions in the management and organizational literature regarding the topic of international mobility; second, it
offers a theoretical and a methodological model for future research on this topic.

Keywords International careers, Skilled migration, Self-initiated expatriation, Career development, Skilled workers, Reflexivity

Paper type Research paper

"Lusitanian" (poem).

by Nathanael O'Reilly

"Lusitanian." Transnational Literature 3. 1 (Nov. 2010). Web.

Zero to hero

by Donell Holloway

Zero to hero: global love in provincial Japan

by Donell Holloway

The Legal Adaptation of British Settlers in Turkey

by Prakash Shah

Co-authored with Dr. Derya Bayir

This article is based on a fieldwork project conducted by the authors in the Muğla region of western Turkey. The... more This article is based on a fieldwork project conducted by the authors in the Muğla region of western Turkey. The region is the locale for a significant level of settlement by British people, within the wider context of settlement by groups of other EU nationals in western Turkey. Based on a series of interviews with British settlers and Turkish locals, it examines the factors which affect the process of legal adaptation of the former group. It identifies and discusses the place of British settlers within the larger Turkish legal order, their integration into Turkish life, and the extent to which different socio-legal disabilities and advantages affect this process. The article also casts some light on the extent to which, given the level of British immigration into the area, Turkish officialdom is prepared for their presence.

Organizational learning in China The role of returners

by Ariane Berthoin Antal

co-authored with Jing Wang Bartz,
a revised version of this paper was published in:
Journal of Asia-Pacific Business, Vol. 7, No. 1, 2006:53-79

The Chinese authorities have launched a range of policies and incentives at the national and regional level to attract... more The Chinese authorities have launched a range of policies and incentives at the national and regional level to attract citizens who have studied and worked abroad to return in order to contribute to upgrading the competitiveness of the Chinese
economy, particularly in light of China’s entrance to the World Trade Organization. In other words, the returners are expected to stimulate organizational learning in existing organizations and in new companies. This article provides an overview over what has been done to date and points out that simply increasing the number of returners is not enough to achieve organizational learning. Drawing on research findings about the dynamics of organizational learning from returned expatriate managers in international companies, the article develops recommendations for government policies, corporate strategies and Chinese returners.

Expatriation as an underused resource for organizational learning

by Ariane Berthoin Antal

co-authored with Kathrin Böhling
In: H. Albach, M. Dierkes, A. Berthoin Antal, K. Vaillant (eds.), Organisationslernen – institutionelle und kulturelle Dimensionen. WZB Yearbook 1998, edition sigma: Berlin, 1998:215-238

In order to explore the ways in which expatriates can contribute to organizational learning, three bodies of... more In order to explore the ways in which expatriates can contribute to organizational learning, three bodies of literature are tapped: theories of organizational learning, studies on expatriation processes, and conceptualizations about internationalization strategies in companies. The literature on organizational learning provides a number of suggestions as to how individual learning on the part of expatriate managers can be linked to organizational learning. The studies on expatriation processes highlight different points at which the connection between individual and organizational learning can take place and indicates how such a transfer can be supported or hindered. The literature on internationalization processes distinguishes between several types of international strategies, each having different implications for expatriation policies and for organizational learning needs. By drawing together the threads from these three bodies of literature, this article seeks to offer an overview of the largely unrecognized potential that expatriates represent for organizational learning.

Types of knowledge gained by expatriate managers

by Ariane Berthoin Antal

a revised version of this paper was published in:
Journal of General Management, Vol. 26, No. 2, Winter 2000:32-51

Expatriates' contributions to organizational learning

by Ariane Berthoin Antal

Organizational Learning from Chinese Returners: An Exploratory Study of the Role of Cross-Cultural Interactions

by Ariane Berthoin Antal

co-authored with Eva Maria Walker, published in S. Mariano, M. Mohamed & Q. Mohiuddin (eds.) The Role of Expatriates in MNCs Knowledge Mobilization, Vol 27 in series International Business and Management. Emerald Publishers: Bingley, UK. 2011:151-175

Purpose –– The People's Republic of China has introduced policies to encourage Chinese who have worked or studied... more Purpose –– The People's Republic of China has introduced policies to encourage Chinese who have worked or studied abroad to return and bring back the knowledge and skills they have gained. This chapter reports on the experiences of these returners as agents of organisational learning.

Methodology –– The exploratory qualitative study is based on a written questionnaire and telephone interviews with 24 returners in diverse organisations and industries in China.

Findings –– The study identifies a type of returner not yet addressed in the literature, ‘experienced self-internationalisers’, which we expect will grow significantly. We find that despite expecting returners to contribute to organisational learning, management does not organise the process. It depends on the individuals themselves, who develop various strategies for sharing their knowledge with local colleagues. Organisational learning is a cross-cultural process and requires bridging a gap between the kinds of knowledge the local employees are interested in gaining and what the returners feel the organisation needs. We note that organisational learning is more likely when the returners recognise their own need to learn rather than just to teach.

Research limitations –– The sample is relatively small; we describe how to take the research forward to more organisations and additional kinds of respondents.

Practical implications –– We formulate recommendations for policymakers, returners and human resource managers seeking to stimulate organisational learning more effectively.

Value –– The chapter generates new insights into organisational learning in China, and it shows how to addresses a phenomenon at the crossroads between the fields of organisational learning, intercultural communication and international human resource management.

Official chronicles of corporate globalization and unofficial stories of international mobility: Resisting patronage of meaning?

by Hugo Gaggiotti

Narratives of Latin American global managers: making sense of the failure

by Hugo Gaggiotti

Forthcoming

Constructing Central Asia from potential European expatriates during delocalization contexts

by Hugo Gaggiotti

in Robertson, R., Gaggiotti, H., ed. (2006). Business Leadership in Central Asia. Almaty: Caspian Publishing House.

Narrating expatriation and making sense of globalization experience impressions from the fieldwork

by Hugo Gaggiotti

"The Voice of the Teller: A Conversation with Peter Carey"

by Nathanael O'Reilly

Interview. Antipodes: A North American Journal of Australian Literature 16.2 (December 2002):164-67. Print.

Van Vianen, A. E. M., De Pater, I. E., Kristof-Brown, A. L., & Johnson, E. C. (2004). Dimensions of cultural experiences affecting expatriates’ cross-cultural adjustment: Cultural similarity and values fit. Academy of Management Journal, 47, 697-709.

by Irene De Pater