Noeleen Doherty

Why do they go? Individual and corporate perspectives on the factors influencing the decision to accept an international assignment

This article explores the motives of individuals to accept international assignments. It uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods to further our understanding of how important a variety of items are in the decision to work abroad. Employing a mutual dependency perspective it contrasts individual motives and organizational perspectives. Organizations significantly underestimate the importance of career, work/life balance and development considerations and overestimate the financial imperative and some family motives. The analysis showed that for individuals some of these factors significantly relate to outcome variables in terms of the perceived career capital accrued from assignments. The study presents a more nuanced picture of influence factors on the decision to go and advocates the use of context-sensitive, multiple perspectives. Practical implications for multinational organizations are discussed.

Exploring the motives of company-backed and self-initiated expatriates

Few studies have investigated the range of issues considered important to the decision to move abroad for expatriates, particularly comparing the company-backed and self-initiated expatriate experiences. This study contributes to an important gap in current research about the drivers of both company-backed and self-initiated expatriation. It reveals details about the diverse motivations to undertake an expatriation and the similarities and differences between these two groups. Through a web-based study, the structure of the motivational components considered influential to the decision to move abroad was explored and quantitatively assessed. Principal component analysis (PCA) suggested an eight-factor model. Scales developed from the model highlighted significant differences between the motivations of the self-initiated and company-backed across three key areas. Location and host reputation motives were significantly more important to the self-initiated suggesting that the desire to move to a particular country and characteristics of that country were primary drivers. Company-backed individuals placed significantly more emphasis on specific career motives including job, skills and career impact. Discussion focuses on the motivational gestalt of the two groups providing a better understanding of the underlying attitudes and actual vocational choices of self-initiated and company-backed individuals. The paper poses a theoretical distinction between the self-initiated and company-backed expatriate, exploring the implications for career and international management theory. Practical implications are rehearsed, exposing areas for further research.

The Meanings of Career Revisited: Implications for Theory and Practice

In everyday conversation, the term ‘career’ is generally understood to refer to the sequence of work-related experiences one has over the course of ones working lifetime. For many people, a career is distinct from a job, since it also conjures up images of steady, even logical, progression up organizational hierarchies. It is not simply about what one does for a living, but about what one has done, does now and might do in the future; the notion of career therefore embraces the dimension of time. In light of widespread organizational restructuring and economic uncertainty since the late 1980s, many of the taken-for-granted assumptions which have underpinned traditional notions of career, and in particular the organizational career, no longer seem valid. Both individuals and organizations are finding it increasingly difficult to conceptualize the idea of a logical, long-term sequence of work-related experiences; there is thus no longer a clear and mutual understanding of what the career means to both. This paper argues that individuals and organizations can meaningfully redefine the notion of career by reconsidering its broader, theoretical underpinnings.

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...

Exposing the symbolic capital of international assignments

This paper explores the symbolic capital attributed to international assignments (IAs). The concept of symbolic capital has been proposed as pivotal in the development and utility of career capital. Although the use of IAs remains a key strategy for global organizations and has been posed as a career advantage for individuals, there is a lack of research which attempts to explore the accumulation and utilization of the capital acquired from such experiences. This paper contributes to the current debate on international careers by examining the symbolic capital of IAs as a key element in international careers. Data from a case study within the financial services sector are used to explore some of the recently highlighted challenges of implementing and experiencing international assignment programmes. Areas for further exploration are proposed.

Measuring the return on investment in international assignments: an action research approach

This article progresses the debate on the under-researched topic of return on investment (ROI) in international assignments by complementing and extending recent research streams on the conceptual understanding and challenging nature of measuring ROI. The study reported in this article applies an action research methodology. Working in close collaboration with nine multinational companies, a set of metrics were developed to explore and gauge the ROI of international assignments. An in-depth exploration of the assignment purpose and individual and organizational outcomes over time highlights the importance of context and the dynamic nature of the task of assessing ROI. These themes have significant implications for international assignment strategy policy and practice. Insights from an action research perspective are discussed.

A Positive Policy? Corporate Perspectives on Redundancy and Outplacement

The management of the job‐loss situation is becoming of central importance to top management and human resource executives in the current climate of redundancy. The current nature of severance packages and the provision of outplacement may be interpreted as a move towards normative practices within the policy making of many UK organizations. Reports on the results of a recent survey of over 600 UK organizations. The survey covered organizational perspectives on redundancies and the use of outplacement in the event of redundancy. The results indicated a change in corporate values in the 1990s. There appeared to be a move towards normative practices in the management of redundancy and in particular in the use of outplacement as a moderator of the potentially detrimental impact of the redundancy situation.

Paradoxes of fast‐track career management

Explains that fast‐track programmes have traditionally been the preferred mechanism for recruiting and developing high potential graduates to become the senior management cadre of the future. However, many recent changes within organizations have led to more fluid structures that no longer support traditional hierarchical career progression opportunities. Presents a qualitative study of 20 major fast‐track recruiters which was designed to explore the philosophies, strategies, and human resource management policies and practices used to manage the careers of the fast‐track population, within the current context. Demonstrates that for many organizations, owing to internal and external changes, there has been a shift in career philosophy. Organizations are revising their career management policies and practices, to reflect the “new deal” offered to fast‐track graduates. Highlights some apparent paradoxes between organizations’ career philosophies, policies and practices and the fast‐track philosophy.

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...

Rhetoric or Reality: Shifts in Graduate Career Management?.

The current rhetoric about the demise of traditional concepts of “career” poses a challenge to organizations which rely on the development of managerial talent through fast‐track programmes. Reports on the career management philosophy, strategy, policy and practice of 20 organizations which are major graduate recruiters. Human resource and career management specialists responsible for fast‐track recruitment and career development within these companies provided information via semi‐structured interviews. Data were analysed using content and thematic analysis with the aid of a qualitative data analysis package to elicit patterns and trends in the approaches being used. Organizations varied in the extent to which they were attempting to achieve a shift in the employment relationship offered to graduates. Symbolic shifts were being generated through both cultural and process changes in an attempt to move from a traditional notion of career to a transactional‐type relationship with graduates, based on opportunities for development.