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.     

Career advancement in large organizations in Europe and the United States: do international assignments add value?

We look at the relationship between the number of assignments, the length of international assignment experience, the type of employer commissioning the international assignment, the individual's career stage at the first assignment, and career advancement: the time that the executives took to be appointed to the CEO position from the start of their career. Our sample of 1001 chief executives, based in 23 countries and affiliated with the 500 largest corporations in Europe and the 500 largest in the United States, allows us to examine important individual- and organization-level contingencies that affect the relationship between international assignment experience and career advancement. We find that international experience slows the executives' ascent to the top, longer assignments and a larger number of assignments being detrimental to their speed of ascent to top corporate positions. Further, international assignments at corporations other than the CEOs' current employer and assignments taken at later stages of executives' careers damage career advancement.     

Flexpatriate assignments: a neglected issue in global staffing

The demands of managing international assignments are major considerations within strategic IHRM theory and most frequently considered within long-term employment choices between parent-country expatriates or host-country nationals. Yet recent studies from the Centre for Research into the Management of Expatriation (CReME) (Harris, ; Petrovic, ) have highlighted the frequency of alternative types of international assignment, which they classify as ‘short-term’, ‘commuter’ and ‘frequent flyer’ assignments, which are now a regular part of global business life. This paper reports on a case study of one Austrian multinational organization and highlights management issues in terms of incidence, purpose, management and personal impact for assignments involving frequent travel without relocation (flexible expatriation) compared with traditional expatriate assignments. It begins by reviewing the emphasis on expatriate assignment before presenting evidence regarding the extent of alternative forms of international assignment. The research method and background to the study are then discussed before the findings are presented and discussed.     

The ‘expat factor’: the influence of working time on women's decisions to undertake international assignments in the oil and gas industry

This article examines the effect of working time on women's willingness to go on expatriate assignments in the oil and gas exploration and production sector. The research draws upon an analysis of two case study firms' international assignment and working time policies, semi-structured interviews with 14 human resource staff responsible for policy design and implementation, and a survey of the views of 71 women expatriates, supported by in-depth interviews with 26 of the survey respondents. The research identifies an ‘expat factor’: assignees state that long hours are inherent in expatriation and necessary to further their careers. However, in practice, working time is not excessive and flexible working practices are utilised. Hours of work have little effect on women's decisions to undertake long-term assignments but alternatives such as short-term and commuter assignments are unpopular as their working patterns are disruptive to family life. This article contributes to theory development by linking two discrete frameworks that explain women's career choices when they strive to balance their career goals with their families and by identifying a career compromise threshold when expatriation is rejected in favour of family considerations. A model is proposed to link working time/patterns to women's international assignment participation.     

The implications of turning down an international assignment: a psychological contracts perspective

Previous research has generally focused on employees’ willingness to accept international assignments and the rewards that are often associated with them. Little is known, however, about the potential career consequences of declining an international assignment. In this conceptual paper, psychological contract (PC) theory is used to develop propositions outlining factors that are likely to determine whether employees who turn down an international assignment will be viewed as having failed to live up to their obligations, by both the organization and themselves. Our theoretical model suggests that when the PC is breached due to the refusal of an international assignment, it may lead to reduced investments in the employee and, in turn, lower levels of objective and subjective career success for those who have spurned the offer to work abroad. We also address how the consequences of declining international assignments will affect perceptions of choice and international assignment refusal rates within organizations. We close by discussing directions for future research that can further examine the ideas and propositions developed in this paper.     

A discussion on international assignments performance and the constructing mechanism of career success development

With the trend of globalization, international human resource management has become more important than ever. In the globalization process, enterprises apply the approach of international assignment to firmly command the operating development of multinational enterprises and to improve operating performance. Therefore, how to select the core employees to carry out the international assignments for them is crucial. In addition, whether the international assignments succeed or not depends on the existence of a well-developed mechanism of career development in the organization, which is able to provide commitment to the employees before implementing international assignments; support the employees during international assignments; and have an arrangement for the employees after completing international assignments. This article adopts the resource-based viewpoint, systematic development viewpoint, and qualitative research method to discuss the dynamic cause-effect relationship between career development and international assignment performance. A career development mechanism is constructed for the international assignment personnel who can be used as a reference to draft and plan related practical operations for enterprises or conduct related research. This research aims to explore the cause-and-effect relation between career development and the performance of international assignments through resource-based view, system dynamics and case study. After a literature review, we construct three hypotheses and the successful mechanism of career development of international assigners. The mechanism can function as a reference for the business community to assist in the selection process and for further related academic study.     

高职国际商务专业课程体系开发研究

目前，高职国际商务专业学科本位思想的课程模式尚存，不能适应高等职业教育发展的需要。本文从理论与实践角度探讨了突出高等职业教育本质特征的国际商务专业课程体系开发模式、开发原则与开发方法。     

International assignments: is there a role for gender and race in decisions?

The authors argue that international managers and researchers need to avoid an ostrich-like attitude of ‘gender and race blindness’ when dealing with diversity in the workforce. This issue is addressed specifically in the case of international assignments. The paper draws on previous studies investigating gender, race and international assignment, and considers a sample of regulations pertaining to gender and race in the context of international assignment decisions. The authors present the results of a preliminary study focusing specifically on the interplay of these variables. Based on the issues discussed, the authors examine selection, preparation and support activities as important avenues for meaningfully incorporating gender and race into the international assignment process.     

When expatriates explore other options: Retaining talent through greater job embeddedness and repatriation adjustment

This paper introduces the concept of job embeddedness to research on international assignments to help explain how the processes of expatriation and repatriation might lead to such outcomes as strengthened personorganization fit or career exploration. It develops a model with a related set of theoretical propositions, based on a comprehensive literature review covering international assignments, adult development and career theories, job embeddedness, and career exploration. The paper also presents implications for future research, as well as practical implications for assignment practices and career interventions for organizations trying to retain their valued repatriate talents and, thus, secure a greater return on their investments in talent development. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Vietnamese State Budget Accounting With the Relationships Between the State Budget Law and International Public Sector Accounting Standards （IPSAS）＊ Pham Quang Huy University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

For a long time, Vietnam has modifications in all aspects in the society. For many years, Vietnam has improved features in administrative works as well as in different areas, such as public administration, finance, and accounting In the accounting content, budget accounting is an important thing which is worth noting. However, along with the achievements, Vietnam is also facing a number of limitations to be overcome for ensuring transparency in the state budget. Since then, the main purpose of the article is to provide a general picture of budget accounting in Vietnam and what has not been done through finding the relationships with budget regulations and international public sector accounting. The results showed that Vietnam will transform and issue the new law on budget and build up a new model for controlling information published by data accounting system in the future.     

基于高职国际贸易专业工学结合模式构建的创新研究

高职教育应当以就业为导向,注重其应用性,工学结合的本质是教育通过企业与社会需求紧密结合,人才培养模式改革的重点是教学过程的实践性、开放性和职业性,实验、实训、实习是三个关键环节。通过对国际贸易专业工学结合人才培养模式的研究,深刻认识国际贸易专业工学结合教学模式体系的重要性,旨在研究并构建国际贸易专业工学结合教学模式体系,有效促进国际贸易专业学生的学习效果,使之成为高素质、高技能的高等技术应用性人才。     

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.     

国际商科类应用型人才培养模式的探索与实践

培养具有国际视野,通晓国际规则,能够参与国际事务和国际竞争的国际化商科人才,以适应高等教育国际化趋势,这对于应用型人才培养模式的建构具有重要的理论意义和实践意义。     

Does congruence between espoused and enacted organizational values predict affective commitment in Australian organizations?

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.     

Examining the overseas staffing options utilized by Australian headquartered multinational corporations

MNCs need to use a range of options to manage their international operations. The aim of this study was to enhance understanding of how MNCs staff international management positions using a sample of top Australian MNCs across a range of industries. The rationales executives gave for their MNCs' staffing of international management supported selecting managers with higher competency levels for complex overseas assignments. Staffing options were chosen to reduce risks from cultural friction, divergent goals, and asymmetry in knowledge between the parent company and the host operation, chiefly through staffing by parent country nationals (i.e. long-term expatriates, Australians or Westerners already living in the host country or abroad, domestic international managers). Host country managers were used to reduce risks that arose from not being responsive to the host environment and to avoid costs, and when they were least risky to the firm. By contrast, the staffing options also served practical purposes, including deploying expatriate managers to provide skills (competencies) and, less frequently, to develop managers for future management positions in the organization.     

Managerial characteristics and willingness to send employees on expatriate assignments

This paper examines the characteristics of managers that influence their willingness to send employees on expatriate assignments. Data from 336 senior managers in a major U.S. professional services firm indicate that managers who are higher up in the organizational hierarchy are more willing to send employees on expatriate assignments. In addition, our findings show that managers who have more extensive international experience are more inclined to send employees on such assignments and that managers with expatriate experience themselves are much more willing to send their employees overseas, regardless of whether they currently work with international clients. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A preliminary model of spouse influence on managerial global assignment willingness

Using family systems theory as a conceptual framework, this research study proposes and tests a preliminary model that explains spouse willingness to relocate internationally and manager willingness to assume a global assignment. Previous research from the global assignments, international job relocation and dual-career couples' literatures has found that spouse attitudes often influence the attitudes of expatriates. However, few research studies have been conducted to determine the factors that influence spouse attitudes toward both short- and long-term global relocation opportunities. The present study attempts to build understanding in this under-researched area of international human resource management. By understanding more about this important phenomenon, top decision-makers and international human resource professionals can better identify and select those candidates who have family situations that will predispose them to accept global assignments. Data from questionnaires completed by 427 global managers and 167 spouses were used to test hypotheses that examined the relationships between individual, family and organizational, factors and spouse criterion variables. An additional hypothesis was tested to measure spouse influence on manager global assignment willingness. The data in the study were analysed by conducting structural equation modelling. Theoretical, methodological and practical contributions from the present study are provided.     

A comparative study of domestic,European and international job-related relocation

This paper explores a number of relocation outcomes for geographically mobile employees in the following three regions: Germany as the home country and destination for domestic assignments (n = 115), Western Europe (n = 116) and other countries (n = 236). The satisfaction with various aspects of the post-relocation environment, the perception of change between the pre- and post-relocation environment and the attachment to the post-relocation environment at various levels were compared between the three groups. For the European and international sub-samples differences in the ideal country and future plans were also investigated. The group that stood out most clearly was the domestic sub-sample. It emerged as the group least satisfied with their job or task characteristics, perceived significantly fewer changes in the environment and was comparatively eager to leave the site they were currently working at and the job they were currently employed in. The sometimes proposed redefinition of intra-European assignments as ‘quasi-domestic’ relocation appears to be inappropriate.     

国际合作教育项目教学体系高效运行的保障

我国的国际合作教育开始于20世纪90年代。经过20余年的发展,国际合作教育已经成为我国高等教育的有益补充和新的发展方向。教学体系如何高效运行也越来越受到广泛关注。文中从国际合作教育教学体系运行的构成分析入手,对国际合作教育教学体系高效运行的保障机制进行了探讨。     

The international business traveller: a neglected but strategic human resource

There has been considerable research over the past two decades into the various aspects of traditional expatriate assignments. However, this research has overlooked an important category of international operator: the international business traveller, also known popularly as globetrotter or frequent flier. In this paper, we report on the results of a study of ten Australian and Danish international business travellers (IBTs). The aim was to explore the roles and activities of IBTs and the factors, such as level of organizational support that may intervene in the performance of their roles. We conclude that IBTs often are a neglected resource, particularly in terms of skills and knowledge transfer.