FACTORS AFFECTING THE SUCCESS OF EXPATRIATE MANAGERS AND THEIR SPOUSE/PARTNER IN TAIWAN

Abstract

This paper aims to develop an understanding of the factors which are critical to the success of expatriates having been sent on assignment to Taiwan by European organizations. Through hearing their lived experiences, the author aims to identify and discuss some of the key factors influencing the success or failure of expatriates on international assignment. The literature review covers contemporary research in the field of International Human Resource Management including theories and models on cross-cultural adjustment. It also investigates some relevant issues in international assignment including performances of expatriates, failure rates, forms of support provided by multinational companies, and the latest trends. Focus groups have been used as the data collection technique, while phenomenology has been adopted as an analytical approach. In our assumption, the use of qualitative methods in our research can plausibly make a valuable contribution to better understand the issues and problems faced by expatriates. According to our literature review, the phenomenology approach has never been used in earlier studies published on expatriates. Our research assesses that the low success rates of expatriates continue to be a cause for concern and will be a key challenge for International Human Resource Managers over the coming years. The findings derived from this project provide the recommendations for developing strategies of improving the success rates of international assignees. They also provide a future research agenda in order to facilitate a continuous improvement in the future.