Abstract
Over the last few decades, the literature on corporate repatriation has stressed the importance of effective management of repatriation and has highlighted the fact that unsuccessful management of repatriation leads to employees suffering from problems of adjustment which result in stress and loss of motivation at work. Literature highlights that co-worker support help employees to get rid of their stress and establish certainty in an uncertain environment. However, co-workers' influence on repatriation adjustment has apparently been neither discussed nor empirically tested among academic repatriates so far. Given that, in this study researcher aims to find out the impact of academic repatriates' perceived co-worker support on repatriation adjustment. Data was collected from 102 Sri Lankan academic repatriates who had been attached to a foreign university or academic institution for more than one-year, had been involved in academic activities, and, at the survey date, had returned within the past four years. The data was analyzed using appropriate statistical tools. This study found that repatriates' perceived co-worker support had a positive impact on repatriation adjustment. Further, this study found repatriates' personal and situational variables has an influence on co-worker support but not on adjustment. The overall findings underline the essential role of co-worker in the adjustment process of academic repatriates. An in-depth discussion of findings, contributions, limitations, and implications for further research are presented.
Highlights
In recent years, an increasing number of academics view the international experience as an opportunity for career development and take steps to acquire such experience with the belief that this will increase their career prospects in their institution as well as in the global job market (Richardson & Zikic, 2007)
Over the last few decades, the literature on corporate repatriation has stressed the importance of efficient management of repatriation, and has highlighted the fact that unsuccessful management of repatriation leads to employees suffering from problems of adjustment which result in stress and loss of motivation at work (Black, Gregersen, & Mendenhall, 1992; Suutari & Brewster, 2003)
3.1 Sample and Procedures This study focuses on Sri Lankan academic repatriates who had been attached to a foreign university or academic institution for more than one-year, had been involved in academic activities, and, at the survey date, had
Summary
An increasing number of academics view the international experience as an opportunity for career development and take steps to acquire such experience with the belief that this will increase their career prospects in their institution as well as in the global job market (Richardson & Zikic, 2007). Universities consider providing an expatriate experience to academics is a long-term investment. Many universities invest large amounts of money to provide with international experience and to develop their talent pool. In Sri Lanka, government and universities are very keen to upgrade their universities to reach a high international standard and meet national needs. The Sri Lankan government has attempted to increase the World University rankings of Sri Lankan universities. Sri Lankan universities' rankings were within the range from the 2092 (University of Colombo) to 15,362 (Uva Wellassa University) according to Webometrics 2016. In an attempt to get universities to reach international recognition and make Sri Lanka a global knowledge hub in Asia, the Sri Lankan government has continued to invest much money in the development of human capital (HETC, 2013; Samaranayake, 2011)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
