Luisa Helena Pinto

Social networks of Portuguese self-initiated expatriates

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the social networks of Portuguese self-initiated expatriates (SIEs), in terms of composition, diversity and roles. Methodology – Semi-structured interviews with several Portuguese SIEs from diverse occupations and who were living and working in different locations were conducted, to explore the composition, diversity and roles performed by their social networks. Findings – The findings indicate that: first, surveyed Portuguese SIEs had both home and host social networks: while home networks fade over time, host networks were mainly work driven; second, most SIEs had an “anchor contact” prior to the relocation, which assisted in the decision to go abroad and the initial settlement; and third, surveyed Portuguese SIEs purposefully sough “fellow nationals” from a similar social status and background to get feedback and emotional support, while deliberately ignored Portuguese diaspora. Originality/value – Following the findings from this exploratory study, sev...

Making sense of expatriation

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to examine how international workers engage into and make sense of expatriation and how sense-making enacts further action. Design/methodology/approach – Given the corporate influence over expatriation, empirical data were collected from a single case study organization, a well-established Portuguese retail company. The primary data sources were the in-depth interviews with 13 international workers, while other secondary data sources included company documents that provided the background information required to understand the interviewees and describe the organization. The experiences of expatriation through the accounts and stories of these workers were subject to thematic content analysis. Findings – The findings demonstrate that international workers act as sense-makers and sense-givers vehicles about expatriation. By doing so, they enact a plausible and dominant story that ultimately bounds the perception of divergent cues and limit their own action. While this ...

Work-life interface of Portuguese international business travelers

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the narratives of the work-life interface (WLI) of Portuguese international business travelers. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews with 14 Portuguese international business travelers were conducted to expose the narratives of the WLI in terms of demands, resources, and coping and how these work-life events shape work-identity. Findings – The findings show that: work-life events are interconnected and are sources of conflict and enrichment; work-life boundaries are personally managed and socially enacted; and WLI shapes workidentity. The analysis shows that occupational travel can be both a source of positive self-regard and fulfillment that entails high work-identity and low boundary control or a source of conflict and identity threat. In either case, work-life coping is devised to prompt self-worth. Originality/value – Following the findings from this exploratory study, several research propositions are outlined for international business travelers, highlighting the interactions between work-life centrality, work-life boundary management and work-identity. In extending the work-life research to international business travelers this study reveals the extent to which the advancement of work-life research benefits from the theoretical and empirical contributions of the literature on work-identity.

Expatriates’ withdrawal intentions: The influence of organizational culture and satisfaction with the assignment

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of perceived home and destination organizational culture characteristics and general satisfaction with the assignment as antecedents of expatriates’ withdrawal intentions. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through a web survey of an international sample of expatriates with a broad representation of industries, organizations and countries of origin and destination. Findings The results indicate that home and destination organizational cultures affect expatriates’ withdrawal intentions, after controlling for demographics and national cultural differences, namely: home organizational culture has a stronger influence on withdrawal intentions from the organization, while host organizational culture affects withdrawal intentions from the assignment. Further, the relationship between host organizational culture and expatriates’ intentions to withdraw from the assignment is mediated by expatriates’ satisfaction with the assignment. Evidence was also found supporting a stronger and negative influence of the goal orientation dimension of organizational culture, thus suggesting that a collective orientation toward common business goals (i.e. solidarity) may help retain expatriates. Originality/value This study seeks to fill a gap in the literature by exploring the influence of organizational culture on expatriates’ withdrawal intentions, and the mediating role of expatriates’ satisfaction with the assignment, on that relationship.