Self-initiated expatriation: implications for HRM

摘要

The decision of an employee to move from their home country in order to work inanother country/culture will create a myriad of issues for the employees to face. Everyyear, many employees take the decision to migrate. So far the literature has focused onthe motivation to expatriate, on the one hand, or Human Resource Management (HRM)for international assignments within an organization, on the other hand. Little regard ispaid to the opportunities HRM can play in supporting the adjustment of self-initiatedexpatriates to the new organization and culture. The paper derives assumptions basedon Black, Mendenhall and Oddou's (1991) model of adjustment to help self-initiatedexpatriates to adjust and reach their performance potential more quickly. We argue thatorganizations should consider whether their current practices enhance or hinder thesuccessful employment of self-initiated expatriates. Besides work-related HRMpractices, HRM for self-initiated expatriates should consider expanding supportinto non-work areas, such as supporting partner relocation or helping to find accommodation.