Research Handbook of Expatriates

An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country other than that of their citizenship. During the latter half of the 20th century, expatriation was dominated by professionals sent by their employers to foreign subsidiaries or headquarters. Starting at the end of the 20th century globalisation created a global market for skilled professionals and levelled the income of skilled professionals relative to cost of living while the income differences of the unskilled remained large. Many corporations are sending expatriates to their overseas operations. In fact, expatriates have and the need for internationally competent managers is expected to rise as more and more firms face global competition. Research Handbook of Expatriates is a compilation of contributions that provides a comprehensive discussion of expatriates and significant insights into emerging areas of research. This book will appeal to advanced graduate students and scholars in the field of expatriate research, international management, global human resource management and business administration. It will also provide a comprehensive guidance for executives and recruiters along with emigrants and professionals who may emigrant. The text highlights the importance of personal characteristics of expatriates that are often underestimated in companies' selection procedures. Moreover, the connection between the parent company's strategy and the pattern of institutionalization of HRM practices should make the company management reflect upon the preferred pattern before taking the basic decisions. Organisations need to understand the dynamic relationships between staffing and outcomes, and how these relationships change over time. Understanding expatriates on international assignment helps in improving the strategic initiatives by the corporates and the government in retaining them. Expatriates provide a number of benefits for companies, including greater parent control and particular expertise. International experience is also seen as providing opportunities for personal and professional development and career advancement. Expatriates are very expensive, however, and this can discourage extensive use of expatriates. Many companies have also experienced relatively high failure rates, with failure often being attributed to the family's inability to adapt. Several characteristics determine an expatriate's expected level of success: job skills, motivational state, language skills, relationship skills, and family situation. Technical competency is most often used as the selection criteria for expatriates, but that is rarely the best selection technique. The technical skills of an expatriate are of course important, but other skills can be as important.