A strategic contingency approach to expatriate assignment management

• Published in: Human resource management journal Vol. 17; no. 4; pp. 393 - 410
• Main Authors: Caligiuri, Paula M., Colakoglu, Saba
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.2007
• Subjects: Expatriate employees; Expatriates; Human resource management; Integration; Leadership; Multinational corporations; Studies
• ISSN: 0954-5395; 1748-8583
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-8583.2007.00052.x

This exploratory study examines how expatriate management practices differ with respect to three international management strategies (local, centralised or global) in 27 mature multinational corporations. In particular, this study examines the categories of expatriate assignments, the strategic integration of expatriate assignments into leadership development and the types of human resource practices that firms utilise to manage expatriates. Results indicate that organisations differentially assign expatriates based on the firm's respective international management strategy. Firms with a global management strategy made greater use of developmental expatriates, had a greater number of senior managers with expatriate experience and had a stronger focus on leadership development through expatriation. Firms did not differ with respect to their use of expatriate management practices based on their international management strategy.