Self-initiated expatriation: a career perspective through a social chronology lens

Abstract

PurposeThis is a conceptual paper, intended to link the constructs self-initiated expatriation (SIE) and career. The author suggests that regarding SIE as an episode in a career allows one to use ideas from the careers literature to suggest novel areas for research on SIE, thereby contributing to the SIE literature. The author employs a particular perspective on career – the social chronology framework (SCF) – to show how the framework can suggest these novel areas of research on self-initiated expatriation. The SCF views careers through three perspectives related to the space within which the career takes place, the career actor who “has” the career, and the time over which the career plays out. By looking at SIEs through each of these perspectives in turn a number of research questions are suggested that have the potential to enrich the SIE literature.Design/methodology/approachThe paper first considers the construct of career and shows how self-initiated expatriation fits with it. Next, it introduces the SCF, and finally shows how it can be used to derive ideas for research on self-initiated expatriation.FindingsThere are none, given that this is a conceptual paper.Research limitations/implicationsThe paper suggests future directions for research on SIEs.Originality/valueThe author believes that the application of the SCF to the study of self-initiated expatriation is novel.