What makes them move abroad? Reviewing and exploring differences between self-initiated and assigned expatriation

Only in recent years have self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) been distinguished from assigned expatriates (AEs). But there is still a lack of empirically based comparative results. Statistical analysis, performed on data from 193 expatriates (N AE  = 67; N SIE  = 126), indicates that self-initiated f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of human resource management 2015-04, Vol.26 (7), p.932-947
Main Authors: Andresen, Maike, Biemann, Torsten, Pattie, Marshall Wilson
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
assigned expatriation
boundaryless career
Careers
Comparative analysis
Expatriate employees
Expatriates
Gender
Human capital
Migration
Occupational choice
Occupational mobility
Organizational behavior
Preferences
protean career
self-initiated expatriation
Statistical analysis
Studies
Work experience
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Summary:Only in recent years have self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) been distinguished from assigned expatriates (AEs). But there is still a lack of empirically based comparative results. Statistical analysis, performed on data from 193 expatriates (N AE  = 67; N SIE  = 126), indicates that self-initiated foreign work experience is significantly more likely to be chosen by women and those having lower job levels. Furthermore, boundaryless and protean career orientation only partially predicted which career path is chosen. SIEs have higher organizational mobility preferences, but do not differ from AEs in their boundaryless mindset and protean career attitude. Implications of these findings for research in expatriation are discussed.
ISSN:0958-5192
1466-4399
DOI:10.1080/09585192.2012.669780