Expatriation: Challenges and recommendations

Abstract

The globalization of market competition and the coordination of international activities are among the most important issues facing today's multinational organizations. In order to deal with these issues, companies have to recruit, select, and develop an adequate supply of qualified staff able and willing to oversee the contracts between the parent firm and its international operations. This article gives an overview of the current state of knowledge with respect to the topic of expatriation. This is done in an effort to identify the factors associated with expatriate success and to examine determinants of expatriate failure. Based on the factors included in the model, the article then goes on to look at the specific human resource management practices that may help multinational companies and their expatriates deal effectively with the challenges of expatriation.