Rethinking Expat Management - A Systematic Literature Review of Sustainability in Global Mobility

Abstract

Against the backdrop of VUCA and BANI environments, climate change, and the pandemic, academic coverage of the topic of sustainable development as a potential new economic paradigm has been introduced to various fields, including international human resource management. This article aims to explore sustainable development-related topics in global mobility (GM) or expatriate management. In a comprehensive systematic literature review, relevant articles published in top IB, management, and CSR journals within the last 20 years were screened according to sustainable GM facets and matched to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Although some social aspects were somewhat overrepresented in comparison (e.g., SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being and SDG 5 Gender Equality), we find that other elements, primarily environmental, have not been addressed adequately and thus deserve more attention. Lastly, we draw up a model of how GM departments may impact how to make a change towards a more sustainable GM program.