Expatriate management “best practices” in Canadian MNCs: a multiple case study

Abstract

Provides an in‐depth description of the expatriate management practices of four Canadian multinationals in order to determine how closely Canadian practices correspond to the “best practices” described in the international HRM (IHRM) literature. Toward that end, reviews the IHRM literature. A qualitative study design was employed, in the form of a holistic multiple case study with four Canadian MNCs. Results indicated that, contrary to trends noted in the literature, the Canadian firms studied do not neglect expatriate management practices, although they do not fully implement such practices either – at least not to the extent advocated in the literature. The key explanation put forth is the lack of any systematic evaluation of these practices, which might have enabled shortcomings to be more readily recognized. The other key finding was that the participating firms relied extensively on expatriates to be proactive in managing various aspects of their own careers. Discusses implications.