Guest Editors’ Introduction: CEOs’ Careers: Emerging Trends and Future Directions

The field of career studies is increasing in prominence and relevance for modern life in general and working life in particular. CEOs’ careers, especially, have received growing attention because their impact goes far beyond their personal sphere. Not surprisingly, this topic has been at the intersection of multiple literatures. In this introduction for the special issue on CEOs’ careers, we first review the different perspectives in studying CEOs’ careers, and then offer several directions to integrate those multiple perspectives. The articles in this special issue not only provide us with comprehensive new knowledge on CEOs’ careers, but also represent valuable examples of how to integrate different perspectives on this topic. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The benefits of global teams for international organizations: HR implications

Abstract

In this special issue we aim to advance the theoretical, conceptual and empirical knowledge about the relationship between global teams and human resource management in international organizations. We argue that although the prevalence of global teams in international organizations is rapidly rising, simultaneously affecting the management of firms on global, regional and local levels, the response of firms and scholars alike to such changes has been slower, especially in the area of IHRM. The HR function in organizations could play a vital role in understanding, managing and leveraging the benefits of global teams to ensure that they contribute positively to the performance of firms, organizational units, and people. We demonstrate that there is still a disconnect in this respect and we highlight several areas in which the increasing use of global teams may challenge our conventional understanding of IHRM issues, and at the same time offer solutions for improvement in international organizations. The selected articles in this special issue provide both theoretical and practitioner implications by highlighting the need to explore the relationship between global teams and IHRM more generally and fully, as well as the need for HR practitioners and IHRM scholars to focus more on the ‘human’ and less on the ‘resources’ aspect. We trust that readers of this issue will agree that the articles all offer novel insights into key issues that open new avenues for further research in this nascent yet promising area.     

Exploring the development and transfer of career capital in an international governmental organization

Abstract

This study investigates global career self-management behaviors of staff in an international governmental organization (IGO). The literature on global careers argues that individuals should maximize their career capital, operationalized in the intelligent careers (IC) concept as competencies, social networks, and motivations of persons related to their careers. The IC concept implies that career capital is transferable and argues that IC components are interrelated and self-reinforcing. We explored these assumptions through a case study in a United Nations (UN) organization. Using the IC framework we undertook 29 semi-structured interviews with international assignees, HR, and operational experts and conducted one focus group discussion with seven staffing coordinators. We found that the UN organization had high barriers to career capital transfer between head office and field stations. Therefore, the IGO staff experienced conflicting demands in terms of their career capital behaviors. Many staff did not focus on maximizing their career-relevant capabilities or social networks. Instead, they pursued international careers that intentionally sacrificed internal career progression in favor of their humanitarian aid duties. The research adds to the insights of the global careers literature and refines our understanding of the relationship of the organizational center to its foreign affiliates. The findings expose potentially contradictory behavioral implications of elements of the IC concept and call for a context-sensitive refinement. Managerial implications for resourcing, development, career management, and retention are discussed.     

Lost in time and space: temporal and spatial challenges facing older workers in a global economy from a career capital perspective

This paper develops a conceptual framework to enhance our understanding of the career challenges facing older workers in a global economy. A distinction between ‘high’ and ‘low’ career capital of older workers is made. This distinction is then used to highlight potential temporal and spatial challenges for older workers in their later life careers. We draw on empirical evidence from existing studies of older workers and their careers. The contribution of this paper to human resource management debates is threefold. Firstly, we contribute to debates in the HRM(Human Resource Management) literature about intelligent careers and career capital by distinguishing between high and low career capital to explain the polarisation of older workers’ careers. Secondly, we synthesise career capital issues with spatial and temporal aspects of international labour markets to conceptualise the key issues and challenges which create potential boundaries for older workers when navigating later life careers thereby contributing to ‘boundary-focused scholarship’ (Inkson, K., Gunz, H., Ganesh, S., & Roper, J. (2012). Boundaryless careers; Bringing back boundaries, Organization Studies, 33, 323–340). Finally, we develop a series of propositions to provide a basis for further research into the issues of space and time relevant to older ‘high’ and ‘low’ career capital workers, their careers and HRM.     

Issue Information

The international human resource management (IHRM) field naturally lends itself to spotlighting the importance of internal and external organizational contexts to help understand how to manage employees in organizations effectively. However, we argue that the range of opportunities that the field creates to understand this context has not yet been fully embraced by IHRM scholars. To address this gap, this special issue explores: (a) the variety of approaches to theorizing how contexts promote or constrain organizational practice; and (b) relevant methodologies that might allow us to unearth novel context-dependent theory in international HRM. We propose a distinction between variable-oriented theorizing (that explains the effects of internal and external contexts on the phenomena under study) and context-dependent theorizing (that requires researchers become intimately familiar with the setting under study to understand context as a shaper of meaning). This editorial also highlights how the articles in the special issue contribute to stimulating further context-dependent IHRM research.     

The Effect of International Work Experience on the Career Success of Expatriates: A Comparison of Assigned and Self‐Initiated Expatriates

This article is one of the first to examine the long‐term effect of expatriation on careers, comparing the impact of international work experience on the career success of assigned and self‐initiated expatriates. Our sample consists of employees who were working abroad in 2004, and we examine their subjective and objective career success eight years later. Despite the “dark side of international careers” arguments associated with the repatriation literature, we find that the long‐term impacts of international work experience on career success are generally positive and mainly unrelated to whether the work experience was acquired as an assigned or self‐initiated expatriate. Companies recruit employees with international experience externally but are much more likely to offer further internal jobs to assigned expatriates. This reinforces the need for further research and for companies to see all those with international experience as important elements of the workforce. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Resilience,wellbeing and HRM: a multidisciplinary perspective

Abstract

Research on resilience has accumulated a vast body of knowledge which has assisted in comprehending complex HRM issues in diverse organizational settings. Yet, the existing studies have hitherto not paid sufficient attention to the multifaceted aspects of resilience and occupational contexts. We join the conversation with resilience, wellbeing and HRM by suggesting that investigating resilience from a multidisciplinary perspective situated in varying occupational contexts can advance our collective understandings of the phenomena in important ways. This paper has three general objectives. First, we show that resilience has been a long-standing issue in organizational behavior and organization studies and provide an overview of the puzzles that underpin and trigger this special issue. Second, we highlight the key insights and contributions of the papers included in this special issue by reviewing their theoretical underpinnings, methodological approaches and findings. Finally, we outline a future research agenda on resilience in organizations that can help advance international HRM research.     

An investigation into international assignment directions of R&D MNE employees: evidence from Greece

In this study, we explore the effects of the roles of research and development (R&D) laboratories, roles of subsidiaries and level of technological intensity of the sector in which multinational enterprise (MNE) subsidiaries operate on international assignment directions of R&D employees. International assignments are an underinvestigated issue in the international human resource management literature despite its significant research and managerial importance. In particular, to the best of our knowledge, no prior research on international assignments of R&D employees has been undertaken and so the current study aims at filling this void in the literature. Based on a large quantitative research on MNE subsidiaries operating in Greece, the findings suggest that variables of the aforementioned categories of factors influence different international assignment directions, with roles of the R&D subsidiary exerting the most crucial effect. Researchers may examine the unexplored issue of R&D employee international assignments to a larger extent, while MNE management can particularly take into account the micro (laboratory) context of R&D international assignees when developing effective international human resource management programmes.     

The Purpose of Expatriation: Why Women Undertake International Assignments

Women international assignees have historically been successful, but they make up a relatively low proportion of organizationally assigned expatriates. By appreciating the factors that encourage women to undertake internationally mobile careers, organizations can widen their talent pool. Using a triangulated, qualitative research approach set within two case study firms in the oil and gas exploration and production industry, this article identifies contrasting views between female assignees and their organizations with respect to the purpose of expatriation and the factors women take into consideration in their decision to undertake it. This research is based on analysis of organizational policy; a survey of 71 women expatriates and in‐depth, semistructured interviews with 26 female assignees (selected from the survey returns using stratified sampling); and interviews with 14 human resource professionals responsible for international mobility policy design and implementation. Career, family, and financial precondition effects are identified. From these, a model is proposed to link stated organizational assignment purpose with women's participation rationales, and recommendations for practice to increase expatriate gender diversity are set out. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

How and when do prior international experiences lead to global work? A career motivation perspective

While research suggests a link between individuals' prior international experiences and their future participation in global work, we know little about how and the conditions under which this relationship occurs. Drawing on career motivation theory, we conceptualize global identity as a mediator between individuals' density of prior international experiences—defined as the extent to which time spent in culturally novel countries has provided individuals with developmental opportunities—and their global work aspirations, which in turn leads to their global work involvement. Further, this multi-stage mediation model holds mainly when individuals receive positive feedback regarding their intercultural competencies (i.e., cultural intelligence) from their peers. We test our model using a multi-wave multi-source dataset spanning 6 years. We discuss implications for the literatures on prior international experiences and global careers.     

The career competencies of self-initiated and assigned expatriates: assessing the development of career capital over time

Abstract

Building on a modern careers approach, we assess the effects of working abroad on individuals’ career capital. Given the dearth of longitudinal studies, we return to a sample of economics graduates in Finland eight years later. We measure changes in three dimensions of career capital; ‘knowing how’, ‘knowing whom’, ‘knowing why’ and find that company assigned expatriates learn more than self-initiated expatriates. All three career capital areas benefit from international experience and all are increasingly valued over time. Based on our findings, we conclude that a dynamic notion of career capital acquisition and use is needed. Managerial implications include the need for a wider view of talent management for international businesses.     

International human resource management in the 21st century: emerging themes and contemporary debates

This article introduces the special issue of Human Resource Management Journal on International Human Resource Management in the 21st Century. We begin by considering some of the key aspects of the changing landscape of international business and the key emergent issues for IHRM at the beginning of the 21st century. Key themes which we consider include: the changing nature of the global economic landscape, with a particular focus on India, China and Central and Eastern Europe; increasing global terrorism in the post‐9/11 world; the changing nature of careers; and, finally, changing patterns of global staffing. We then conclude by outlining the content of the special issue.     

Exploring career advantages of highly skilled migrants: a study of Indian academics in the UK

We draw on Bourdieu's theory of practice to examine a group of Indian academics' accounts of their careers in a research-intensive university. Using the concepts of habitus and capital, we argue that international staff are very well placed to craft a career in the increasingly market driven UK academic context, challenging the discourse of disadvantage associated with the careers of international academics as well as other highly skilled migrants. Central in our analysis is the transferability of capitals between different fields and the importance of understanding capital as part of the multiple fields that agents belong to. However, drawing attention to the changing rules of the research-intensive university system, we also suggest that these academics' career trajectory may not continue to yield positive results.     

论世界贸易规则与国际环境法的关系

在1947年制定的关税与贸易总协定（GATT）中，环境保护并不是一个很令人重视的问题。然而，环境污染与环境退化却成了当今世界各国所面临的共同问题，各国政府和人们都意识到了保护环境的重要性并采取了许多措施来保护环境。同时，贸易与环境问题也得到了世界各国的普遍的关注。但是，由于各国所处的经济发展阶段不同、各国在自然资源方面存在差异以及各国的具体国情不同等原因，各国对贸易与环境问题的看法并不相同，在如何采取措施协调贸易与环境的关系方面也存在很大的分歧。因此，对世界贸易规则和国家环境法及其关系进行研究具有较大的现实意义。文章拟对此问题展开研究，并试图作一些探讨。     

产业国际竞争力研究进展述评

产业国际竞争力研究是当前经济领域的热点研究问题,国内外学者对其进行了大量研究,然而对其理论与分析模型的全面系统回顾却不多见。文章全面回顾了产业国际竞争力的研究现状并详细评述了其分析模型,为今后的进一步研究奠定了基础。     

The family in the center of international assignments: a systematic review and future research agenda

Over the past 30 years, the number of studies investigating the family interface of international assignments has risen substantially. While alternative forms of international assignments have been gaining importance, this article focuses specifically on the family interface of traditional organization assigned expatriation as the most prominent and most researched form of global work. Thus far, research has investigated a broad array of topics ranging from the family’s willingness to relocate over family adjustment to work-family balance and utilized a large variety of theoretical foundations. Given this variety in the literature, the field is fragmented and lacks a consistent theoretical argumentation. As a first step to provide some organization, we synthesize the family expatriation literature by developing a comprehensive multi-level framework of the determinants and dimensions of family outcomes. To achieve this objective, we critically assess publications between 1985 and 2017 in peer-viewed international journals, examine theoretical foundations and review the extant literature based on our framework. With this we uncover similarities and inconsistencies in the field, which allows us to deduce an agenda for future research and offer recommendations for practice.     

Emerging issues and challenges in global staffing: a North American perspective

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) recognize that human resources play an important role in gaining a competitive advantage in today's highly competitive global business environment. While all aspects of managing human resources are important, staffing, continues to be an essential IHRM activity that helps MNEs in their need for coordination and control across widely dispersed units. As such, researchers and practitioners alike are interested in addressing the key issues and challenges in staffing the several types of employees that comprise the global or multinational workforce. We focus on three issues that have emerged in recent years regarding how MNEs staff their multinational workforce including: 1) managing different types of employee groups; 2) selection and management of employees posted to international assignments; and, 3) receptivity to international careers among early career individuals. We review these and then describe an empirical study conducted on the third issue.     

The Bridging Role of Expatriates and Inpatriates in Knowledge Transfer in Multinational Corporations

Drawing on the knowledge‐based view of the firm, this article provides the first empirical study that explicitly investigates the relationship between different categories of international assignees and knowledge transfer in multinational corporations (MNCs). Specifically, we examine (1) the extent to which expatriate presence in different functional areas is related to knowledge transfer from and to headquarters in these functions and (2) the extent to which different categories of international assignees (expatriates vs. inpatriates) contribute to knowledge transfer from and to headquarters. We base our investigation on a large‐scale survey, encompassing data from more than 800 subsidiaries of MNCs in 13 countries. By disaggregating the role of knowledge transfer across management functions, directions of knowledge transfer, and type of international assignees, we find that (1) expatriate presence generally increases function‐specific knowledge transfer from and, to a lesser extent, to headquarters; and that (2) the relevance of expatriates and former inpatriates varies for knowledge flows between headquarters and subsidiaries. Additionally, we discuss implications for research and practice, in particular regarding different management functions and different forms of international assignments, and provide suggestions for future research. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Capital gains: expatriate adjustment and the psychological contract in international careers

This paper argues that the notion of adjustment to careers involving international assignments needs to be developed further than the current literature reflects. An expatriate assignment is an expatriate's opportunity to build career capital and a company's opportunity to generate social and intellectual capital. The extent of the capital gains will depend considerably on the expatriate's adjustment during and after the assignment, which is influenced by the psychological contract. We argue that our understanding of the career impact of expatriation will be enhanced by a more refined picture of the adjustment that expatriates experience during the assignment and during repatriation. In particular, we examine adjustment as process rather than as event. We propose a broad conception of expatriate adjustment and its link to careers. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Managing the HR dimension of international project operations

While much is known about the role of HRM in achieving positive outcomes in foreign subsidiary and international joint venture contexts, there has been a paucity of research into HRM issues in international project operations. In this paper, we develop an analytical framework to demonstrate the HR activities of each stage of the international project lifecycle, drawing upon supporting data from a study of Australian firms in international development projects. The discontinuous, complex and unique characteristics of international projects produce distinct IHRM challenges: for the supplying firm, particularly staff deployment and HR planning; and for project workers, in terms of career trajectory and job security.