Expatriate Management: A New Perspective, an Exploratory Case Study

Abstract

Multinational corporations are rapidly expanding worldwide, and in order to perform successfully in a global environment, there is a need to employ talents with the right skills. Usually, the organization's international footprint strategy involves expatriate employees performing business operations internationally. Expatriation is challenging due to a high level of failure, resulting in high costs, high turnover rates, and underperformance. This qualitative exploratory case study included the investigation of senior leaders' perceptions of overcoming expatriate failure. Interviews were conducted with 16 senior leaders from oil and gas organizations, which historically have a prominent presence in international markets, to obtain insight into how to overcome expatriate failure and manage international assignment strategies. The conceptual framework that underpins this study is related to three main theories, the global mindset, cultural intelligence, and cultural agility. The global mindset theory contains concepts related to cognitive, emotional, and social capital. Cultural intelligence is the ability to consider differences in a multidimensional environment behaving appropriately. Cultural agility theory is the ability to work in different countries effectively and with people from different cultures, understand the environment, and respond properly. The results included opportunities for improvement in international assignments related to talent management strategy. Recommendations include (a) defining hiring protocols, considering an assessment of employees to understand the appropriateness of the international assignment, (b) establishing solid support

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