A multilevel examination of skills‐oriented human resource management and perceived skill utilization during recession: Implications for the well‐being of all workers

This article examines whether organizations can enhance employee well‐being by adopting human resource management (HRM) practices strategically targeted to improve skill development and deployment in a recessionary context. Employee skill utilization is proposed as the mediating mechanism between HRM practice and well‐being. The role of workplace skill composition is also examined as a boundary condition within which HRM differentially impacts employee outcomes. Using a nationally representative survey of UK workplaces (Workplace Employment Relations Survey 2011) and matched management and employee data, the analysis focused on organizations that had implemented some recessionary action following the 2008–2009 global financial and economic crisis. The findings show that human capital enhancing HRM and enriched job design positively influenced both job satisfaction and work‐related affective well‐being through increased employee skill utilization. Organizations with predominantly high‐skilled workforces were more likely to adopt these skills‐oriented HRM practices. Nevertheless, the effects of HRM on employee outcomes via skill utilization applied across organizations, regardless of workforce skill composition. The findings demonstrate employee skill utilization as a driver of HRM outcomes and the sustainability of “best practice” HRM arguments across all skill levels, even in the face of recession.     

Conditional altruism: Effects of HRM practices on the willingness of host‐country nationals to help expatriates

The assistance of host‐country nationals (HCNs) both within the workplace and in the external environment plays a significant role in expatriate adjustment and work performance on international assignments. Extant research exploring antecedents of HCNs' attitudes and behaviors toward expatriates focuses on personal and intrapersonal factors but overlooks organizational contextual effects. In this study, we propose and test a model that HCNs' willingness to help expatriates is influenced by HRM practices in international subsidiaries of multinational enterprises (MNEs). Results of analyzing data collected from Chinese subsidiaries of South Korean MNEs showed that high‐commitment HRM practices directly and indirectly influence HCNs' willingness to help expatriates through the mediation of perceived organizational support (POS). Socially responsible HRM indirectly influences the criterion variable through the mediation of organizational identification. Moreover, POS and organizational identification sequentially mediate the effect of high‐commitment HRM on HCNs' willingness to help expatriates. These findings shed some light on organizational antecedents that go beyond personal and intrapersonal factors of HCN attitudes and behavior toward expatriates.     

SKILLS MISMATCH: CONCEPTS,MEASUREMENT AND POLICY APPROACHES

The term skills mismatch is very broad and can relate to many forms of labour market friction, including vertical mismatch, skill gaps, skill shortages, field of study (horizontal) mismatch and skill obsolescence. In this paper, we provide a clear overview of each concept and discuss the measurement and inter‐relatedness of different forms of mismatch. We present a comprehensive analysis of the current position of the literature on skills mismatch and highlight areas which are relatively underdeveloped and may warrant further research. Using data from the European Skills and Jobs Survey, we assess the incidence of various combinations of skills mismatch across the EU. Finally, we review the European Commission's country‐specific recommendations and find that skills mismatch, when referring to underutilized human capital in the form of overeducation and skills underutilization, receives little policy attention. In cases where skills mismatch forms part of policy recommendations, the policy advice is either vague or addresses the areas of mismatch for which there is the least available evidence.     

‘Hidden’ expatriates: international mobility in the United Arab Emirates as a challenge to current understanding of expatriation

Expatriates are often assumed to have enhanced terms and conditions and, because that makes them expensive, to be in key managerial or technical specialist roles. Employees who come from abroad and are in more manual or even menial roles are usually referred to as ‘migrants’. However, there are millions of people around the world who are not migrants, their intended sojourn in a foreign country is seen by them and their employers as temporary, but their employment contracts are far from advantageous compared with those of locals. These ‘hidden’ expatriates are brought into focus in the emerging Arab Gulf States. In some of these countries, the population consists mainly of expatriates, with the local population a small minority: These expatriates include many in lower‐management or manual or menial jobs. We demarcate these expatriates from organisationally assigned expatriates, self‐initiated expatriates and migrants. We use qualitative data from such expatriates in the United Arab Emirates to explore the issues this raises for governments, employers and the expatriates – and for our understanding of the phenomenon of expatriation.     

The benefits of being understood: The role of ethnic identity confirmation in knowledge acquisition by expatriates

In this article, we propose that the concept of ethnic identity confirmation (EIC), the level of agreement between how expatriates view the importance of their own ethnic identity and how local employees view the importance of expatriates' ethnic identity, can explain why expatriates who are ethnically similar to host‐country employees are sometimes less effective than expected when working overseas. Multinationals often choose ethnically similar expatriates for international assignments, assuming these expatriates can more effectively acquire knowledge from local employees. Thus, understanding the specific challenges that endanger the realization of this potential is crucial. Our survey, administered to a sample of 128 expatriate–local employee dyads working in China, reveals that both ethnically similar and ethnically different expatriates acquire more local knowledge when EIC is high. However, the association between ethnic (dis)similarity and knowledge acquisition is direct for ethnically different expatriates, whereas for ethnically similar expatriates it is indirect via their perception of local employees' trustworthiness. We discuss this study's important implications and provide recommendations for multinationals on how to provide tailored support to expatriates who face different identity challenges.     

The effects of expatriate demographic characteristics on adjustment: A social identity approach

As demand increases for expatriates to manage far‐flung operations in a global economy, scholars and practitioners are focusing their attention on the factors that contribute to expatriate success. One such factor is the support that expatriates receive from host country nationals (HCNs) with whom they work. Researchers interested in understanding expatriate success have not closely examined the phenomenon from an HCN perspective, however. At the same time, although we have gained a significant understanding of the roles of psychological, organizational, and contextual variables in the international assignment, there is still much to be understood about how expatriates' demographic characteristics affect their experiences in international assignments. Current findings regarding the effects of demographic characteristics often are inconsistent, highlighting the need for more complex theorizing. This article reviews recent research on the effects of expatriate demographic characteristics and proposes a social identity approach to understanding how these characteristics affect HCN support for the expatriate. It also seeks to develop a theory that addresses discrepancies in extant empirical findings, provides propositions to guide future research in the study of expatriates, and discusses implications for both researchers and practitioners. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Multifaceted effects of host country language proficiency in expatriate cross-cultural adjustments: a qualitative study in China

While expatriates often face language barriers in host countries, relatively little research has focused on the influence of host country language proficiency on cross-cultural adjustment. We drew on social identity theory and conducted an interview-based study with 70 expatriates and their host country national (HCN) colleagues to provide a contextual account of host country language proficiency's effects on work and non-work-related adjustment in China. Our findings suggest that expatriate host country language proficiency has multifaceted effects on expatriates' HCN interaction, social support, and network-related work and non-work adjustment.     

Compelled to go abroad? Motives and outcomes of international assignments

This article examines the motives of expatriates and repatriates to accept international assignments and how these motives relate to individuals' perceptions of expatriation outcomes. Issues of adjustment, satisfaction, withdrawal intentions, willingness to relocate again in the future, and recommendation of an assignment to others were considered as outcomes. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews of 30 Portuguese expatriates and repatriates. The results indicate that a considerable number of participants relocated because they felt compelled to do so by their employing companies. Moreover, the extent to which organizations persuade these originally unwilling expatriates seems to have negative implications in terms of their perceptions of the adjustment process, general satisfaction with the assignment, and withdrawal intentions. Compelling behaviour also has career implications and impacts individual receptiveness to relocate in the future. Suggestions for further research and implications for organizations and prospective expatriates are also presented.     

Multinational Firm Knowledge,Use of Expatriates,and Foreign Subsidiary Performance

The impact of knowledge transfer on foreign subsidiary performance has been a major focus of research on knowledge management in multinational enterprises (MNEs). By integrating the knowledge‐based view and the expatriation literature, this study examines the relationship between a multinational firm's knowledge (i.e. marketing and technological knowledge), its use of expatriates, and the performance of its foreign subsidiaries. We conceptualize that expatriates play a contingent role in facilitating the transfer and redeployment of a parent firm's knowledge to its subsidiary, depending on the location specificity of the organizational knowledge being transferred and the time of transfer. Our analysis of 1660 foreign subsidiaries of Japanese firms over a 15‐year period indicates that the number of expatriates relative to the total number of subsidiary employees (1) strengthened the effect of a parent firm's technological knowledge (with low location specificity) on subsidiary performance in the short term, but (2) weakened the impact of the parent firm's marketing knowledge (with high location specificity) on subsidiary performance in the long term. We also found that the expatriates' influence on knowledge transfer eventually disappeared. The implications for knowledge transfer research and the expatriate management literature are discussed.     

Developing and Utilizing Network Resources: Roles of Political Skill

This study examines the role of political skill in the development and utilization of network resources at the individual level. Drawing on the behavioural and network perspectives as well as political skill literature, we propose that political skill increases one's network resources (developing network), which will benefit his/her performance and career success. Moreover, political skill is hypothesized to strengthen the relationships between network resources and performance and career outcomes (utilizing network). A two‐wave study on a sample of 281 supervisor–subordinate dyads from six electronic firms in China confirms our hypotheses. Our examination of the dual role of political skill facilitates a better understanding of the networking process from the perspective of individual skill/behaviour, thus enriching the behavioural theory and network literature. Implications are discussed and directions for future research are suggested.     

Does it really work? Re-assessing the impact of pre-departure cross-cultural training on expatriate adjustment

Cultural adjustment is considered to be a prerequisite for expatriate success abroad. One way to enhance adjustment is to provide employees with knowledge and awareness of appropriate norms and behaviours of the host country through cross-cultural training (CCT). This article analyses the impact of pre-departure CCT on expatriate adjustment and focuses on variations in participation, length and the comprehensiveness of training. Unlike previous research, the study focuses on the effectiveness of pre-departure CCT for non-US employees expatriated to a broad range of host country settings. Employing data from 339 expatriates from 20 German Multinational Corporations (MNCs) the study finds CCT has little if any effect on general, interactional or work-setting expatriate adjustment. However, a significant impact of foreign language competence was found for all three dimensions of expatriate adjustment. We used interviews with 20 expatriates to supplement our discussion and provide further implications for practice.     

Organizational Commitment

This study measures and compares levels of organizational commitment of American expatriates and host country nationals employed by U.S. in Egypt It also examines lhe nature of relationships among several variables and organizational commitment. The findings suggest that country of origin is a strong predictor of organizatipal commitment, lower commitment levels than their Egyptian counterparts. Some explanations as well as limited generalizations and implications are developed.     

To have and to hold: modelling the drivers of employee turnover and skill retention in Australian organisations

This paper examines the determinants of employee turnover and long-term skill retention in Australian organisations. Three new perspectives are examined: the difference between short-run turnover and long-term retention; the role of different high performance work systems philosophies and human resource practices; and an examination of turnover for various groups of employees based on skill level. The results suggest that the role of learning within organisations is of fundamental importance in reducing short-run turnover and improving long-term skills retention. A series of training and human resource practices have also been found to be important for individual-specific skill categories, but general conclusions for all skill categories cannot be readily made. Finally, different drivers to short-term turnover maybe at play when retention is considered from a long-term strategic perspective.     

An Empirical Investigation on the Transfer of Expatriates Within MNCs from a Knowledge Perspective

We study the use of expatriates in transferring knowledge within a multinational corporation (MNC). We argue that MNCs use expatriates to allocate knowledge between headquarters and its foreign affiliates. With data from MNCs headquartered in South Korea, we trace unobservable knowledge using observable labour mobility. Our empirical analysis shows that the use of expatriates increases as communication between South Korea and the host country becomes more costly. However, the extent to which the use of expatriates relates with communication costs decreases in the sectoral complexity.     

An Eastern and SME version of expatriate management: an empirical study of small and medium enterprises in Taiwan

This study, different from previous ‘individual level’ research, explored ‘company-level’ expatriate training, expatriation policies and the perceived willingness on the part of expatriates to take on an enhanced role in organizational performance. Based on data from 254 Taiwanese SMEs with foreign investments, an Eastern and SME version of expatriate management is presented. The most significant predictors of expatriate premature return and company sales are the ‘number of expatriates’ and ‘ratio of expatriates with managerial positions’. Companies that have a greater percentage of expatriates with spousal accompaniment experience more premature return while insufficient training explains lower company sales. Insights regarding regional expatriate differences and methodological implications are also elaborated.     

Terrorism and expatriate withdrawal cognitions: the differential role of perceived work and non-work constraints

Abstract

Building on stress theory, this study investigates the mechanism by which terrorism influences withdrawal cognitions of expatriates, namely, via perceived threat as well as perceived constraints in the work and non-work domains. Data from 160 expatriates currently working in African and Asian countries show that the level of terrorism relates to expatriates’ perceived threat. Further, we find that the effect of this perceived threat is stronger on perceived constraints in the non-work than in the work domain. While perceived constraints in the work domain have a direct effect on job turnover intentions, perceived constraints in the non-work domain have a direct effect on country leave intentions and an indirect, spillover effect on job turnover intentions. Our study underscores the importance of both work and non-work domains for understanding stress and turnover related to expatriation in terrorism-endangered countries.     

Researching expatriate types: the quest for rigorous methodological approaches

International talent flow is critical to meeting the needs for skilled human capital in global and multinational organisations and in developed and developing countries. Recent decades have witnessed a boom in research into long‐term skilled international mobility, especially the traditional category of international assignees, but also skilled immigrants and a relatively new expatriate type: self‐initiated expatriates. The upsurge in empirical interest has highlighted a number of issues relating to the way the research has been conducted. This article examines methodological issues associated with research into the three expatriate types and seeks to advise researchers on how future research can be conducted to improve the robustness of results. In this way, practitioners and policy makers may be able to make more use of the empirical evidence.     

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.     

A model of multinational enterprise subsidiary staffing composition

A large proportion of the multinational enterprise (MNE) literature focuses on parent country national (PCN) expatriates. The high costs of managing and supporting PCNs on foreign assignments, however, have made these assignments less attractive for MNEs and, as a result, MNEs are more actively exploring ways to effectively utilize third country nationals (TCNs) and host country nationals (HCNs), as well as PCNs to satisfy international subsidiary staffing needs. Grounded in the person–environment (P–E) fit theory, we delineate three environmental dimensions (strategic, national and organizational) to offer some propositions that may serve to guide this exploration. These propositions are based on an integrative model that examines the MNE subsidiary staffing composition under different combinations of strategic, national and organizational dimensions. We conclude with suggestions for future research.     

Sources of support and expatriation: a multiple stakeholder perspective of expatriate adjustment and performance in Malaysia

This research tests the role of perceived support from multinational corporations and host-country nationals for the adjustment of expatriates and their spouses while on international assignments. The investigation is carried out with matched data from 134 expatriates and their spouses based in foreign multinationals in Malaysia. The results highlight the different reliance on support providers that expatriates and their accompanying spouses found beneficial for acclimatizing to the host-country environment. Improved adjustment in turn was found to have positive effects on expatriates' performance. The research findings have implications for both international human resource management researchers and practitioners.