Kaye Thorn

The relative importance of motives for international self‐initiated mobility

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the relative importance of the motives and sub‐motives which influence a highly educated individuals decision to move across global boundaries.Design/methodology/approach – The approach takes a multi‐dimensional perspective of mobility, resulting in the development of a range of motives for self‐initiated mobility. The paper employs a quantitative methodology, with over 2,600 internet survey responses from highly educated New Zealanders living and working around the world.Findings – The importance of the cultural and travel opportunities and career motives are highlighted as the most important motives in a decision to be mobile. Within these motives, opportunities for travel and adventure and for career development were central. Economics was ranked as the third most important motive, contrary to the extant literature, followed by relationships, quality of life and the political environment. The priority accorded to each of these motives varies according to gender, lo...

Self‐initiated expatriation and self‐initiated expatriates: Clarification of the research stream

Purpose – This paper aims to move towards clarification of the self‐initiated expatriate/expatriation construct with the aim of extending and deepening theory development in the field.Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on Suddabys think piece on construct clarity, this paper applies his proposed four elements; definitional clarity, scope conditions, relationships between constructs and coherence, in order to clarify the SIE construct.Findings – The discussion examines the “problem of definition” and its impact on SIE scholarship. The spatial, temporal and value‐laden constraints that must be considered by SIE scholars are expounded, and the links between SIE research and career theory are developed. From this, potential research agendas are proposed.Research limitations/implications – This is a conceptual piece which, rather than giving precise research data, encourages further thinking in the field.Originality/value – Although the definitional difficulties of SIEs have been identified in previous lit...

Towards sustainable tourism planning in New Zealand: Public sector planning responses

This paper examines the concept of sustainable tourism planning in New Zealand and its relationship to the Resource Management Act. The paper considers the public sector planning responses towards tourism development issues within the context of New Zealands Resource Management Act, and the ability of these organisations to respond to tourism issues. It argues that the absence of a national vision for tourism is a major constraint on achieving sustainable tourism options at the regional and local level because the Resource Management Act s principles of sustainable planning are not guided by any national policy or strategy. By using a postal questionnaire, the paper provides the first in-depth analysis of planners responses to tourism and their ability to integrate tourism into the planning process within New Zealand. The paper also expands the arguments initially developed by Dredge & Moore (1992) on the lack of integration in relation to tourism and planning.

Self‐initiated expatriation: Career experiences, processes and outcomes

Purpose – This special issue seeks to scope the past, present and future study of those individuals who independently journey abroad for work – the self‐initiated expatriate – a topic which is now attracting increasing attention among management scholars and practitioners alike.Design/methodology/approach – This introductory paper takes the form of a brief commentary of the development of the field and a synthesis of the papers in this special edition.Findings – Beginning in the late 1990s with a slow trickle of papers exploring the experiences of individuals who had initiated their own expatriation, our understanding of self‐initiated expatriates (SIEs) and self‐initiated expatriation (SIE) has developed exponentially. This development has given rise to a growing awareness of this form of mobility as a potentially powerful force in the increasingly varied global labour market. Yet, as this special issue will argue, there is still a range of conceptual, theoretical and empirical challenges in the study of...

Towards Sustainable Tourism Development and Planning in New Zealand: The Public Sector Response Revisited

This paper reports the findings of a monitoring survey of the extent to which principles of sustainability embodied in New Zealands Resource Management Act have been addressed by public-sector planners dealing with tourism. The survey extends the earlier research by Dymond (1997) and Page and Thorn (1997) on public-sector planning responses to tourism and sustainability in New Zealand. The study shows that many of the issues raised by these authors have not been addressed, and that the scale and pace of change in tourism is such that planners have seen an escalation of resource consent applications.

Mobility and Careers

A career has been defined as “the evolving sequence of a person’s work experiences over time”. In this chapter we argue that the time-based nature of careers, and their longevity, make mobility inevitable, and a key characteristic of careers. Careers are most commonly metaphorized as “journeys”, which have both physical and psychological elements. Careers make transitions between jobs, organizations, occupations, industries and locations, thus defining multiple dimensions through which careers move. This mobility is typically the result of the interplay, and often conflict, between institutional and individual forces. Attention has been focused in recent times on “boundary-less careers” unfolding across multiple settings due to more open, flexible institutional structures and increased personal agency, particularly among professional workers with in-demand skills. One way of understanding career mobility is through the concept of “career capital”, the motivation, expertise and network connections that individuals accumulate through their career engagements, which make the career a repository of knowledge that can be used to cross-pollinate the organizations that receive these mobile careerists. The issue of geographical career mobility is neglected in career studies, and we note some of the dynamics involved in temporary self-expatriation, permanent new settlement, and career “globe-trotting”, illustrating with case examples, and noting particularly the benefits and drawbacks of mobile careers to those involved. Focusing on the issue of “talent flow”, in which individual mobile careers coalesce into international currents of expertise and economic potential, we consider evidence from the country of New Zealand as a case in point. Finally, we note likely future economic and social stimuli for, and constraints on, career mobility, and argue for more and better research.

Boundarylessness as a dynamic construct: the case of Chinese early career expatriates

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamic nature of boundaryless careers of Chinese early career corporate expatriates. It also investigates the demographic and contextual factors influencing individual perceived career mobility. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 31 Chinese corporate expatriates were conducted and a template analysis approach was used to analyze the data. Findings – Results suggest that Chinese early career corporate expatriates’ perceptions of boundaries as facilitating or limiting career mobility change over time. Changing boundary properties are found to be linked to the salience of Chinese cultural values, demographics and career/life stages. Based on expatriates’ narratives, this study highlights how these demographic and contextual factors shape domains of career boundarylessness. Originality/value – Using an under-researched sample of Chinese corporate expatriates, this paper contributes to the conceptualization of bounda...

E-business in the New Zealand Tourism Industry: An Examination of Implementation and Usage

This article presents the findings of a web-based survey examining the extent of e-business uptake in the New Zealand tourism industry. It provides a snapshot of both the implementation and usage of e-business. The survey extends the earlier research on New Zealand e-business by Clark et al. (2001) and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (2000), focusing specifically on tourism. This study shows that the tourism industry is committed to the establishment of e-business, and recognises the competitive advantages of this. It also appears to be adopting e-business more quickly than other industries, reflecting the industry’s service and information bases. While this sounds positive, concern must be expressed at the superficial level of implementation of e-business, particularly from SMEs which constitute a large portion of the economy. The New Zealand tourism industry respondents seem to be basic users of the technology, rather than ‘champions’ of e-business. Unless the simple adoption of ICT can be developed into a sustained and dynamic acceptance of e-business, the New Zealand tourism industry risks missing the opportunities provided by the global marketplace, and thus, becoming increasingly marginalised.

Factors influencing online learning in an organisational context

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to understand the factors perceived to influence successful online learning in organisations. Design/methodology/approach Utilising an exploratory, qualitative approach, 20 participants were involved in semi-structured interviews before, during and after their involvement in an online development programme. Findings Key factors perceived to influence participants’ learning, in order of their perceived influence, are online considerations (such as time allocation and discipline), peer support and technical delivery. Organisational culture was also found to have some influence, however further research is required to establish the extent this influence. The compounding or mitigating effect of the interplays of these factors was highlighted. Research limitations/implications Although the study is limited by its small sample, it provides a basis for the further exploration of online learning in an organisational context and draws attention to the effect of the interplay of factors affecting learning. Research into the longitudinal influence of online learning in organisations, and particularly research which enables breakdown by learning style may assist in the development of programmes suitable for most participants. Originality/value Online learning is becoming a common tool for employee development in the workplace and yet little is known about the factors that influence learning in this environment. This paper offers new insights into that gap through a progressive evaluation of factors facilitating or inhibiting online learning.

Workplace stress in a foreign environment: Chinese migrants in New Zealand

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relevance of personal and organisational factors contributing to workplace stress among Chinese migrants in New Zealand. Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on surveys of 88 participants using the theoretical model of person-environment fit. Findings – The results reveal that perceived fit of organisational factors has a significant impact on workplace stress outcomes including emotional well-being, work-related health, job performance and intention to quit. Further analysis also shows that personal factors, some as a result of acculturation, play a moderating effect on the perceived relationship between the organisation and workplace stress. Education, advanced language skills and building networks in the new community are all important factors to minimise stress. Originality/value – From an organisational perspective, the study highlights the importance of understanding the factors that cause workplace stress, especially with a culturally diverse working population. This cross-sectional study could be furthered through the use of alternative cultural samples, and through the development of a longitudinal design. In short, this study of the work stress of Chinese migrants in New Zealand contributes to the field of knowledge providing exploratory insights for work stress research in human resource management.