The persistent myth of high expatriate failure rates

Abstract

This paper provides a critical analysis of research and notably quotations in the field of expatriate failure rates. Over the last three decades it has become almost ‘traditional’ to open an article on expatriate management by stating that expatriate failure rates are (very) high. Virtually every publication on the topic defines and measures expatriate failure as the percentage of expatriates returning home before their assignment contract expires. Of course, premature re-entry might be a very inadequate way to measure expatriate failure. One can easily argue that those expatriates who stay on their assignment but who fail to perform adequately are (potentially) more damaging to the company than the ones who return prematurely. Furthermore, successful completion of a foreign assignment does not mean that the possibility of expatriate failure has been avoided. Sometimes, returning home poses even larger problems than the foreign assignment itself. The repatriate must face re-establishing himself within the...