Globalisation of Staff Movements: Beyond Cultural Adjustment

Abstract * Expatriate management literature regarding international staff transfers mostly has taken a multinational management perspective. The consensus is that, although expatriates are costly, staff transfers remain a valuable, strategic tool: as an informal control mechanism, for knowledge transfer, and for international team development * This conceptual article examines the other side of the coin, focusing on the individual expatriate. It questions the assumption that an international assignment is an attractive career move, given workplace relationship consequences of the somewhat universal changes that define 21st century organisations. Key Results * A theoretical review of career dynamics, employment relationship and commitment literature suggests that the consequences of met career expectations are: continuance commitment, mobility, and international management team building. * Employment relationship changes with individuals placing more emphasis on internal career management may weaken continuance commitment thus affecting the ability of a multinational corporation to retain key international managers. Introduction International mergers, divestments, and corporate restructuring continue to impact on the workscape as we enter the 21st century. Early studies into the effects these changes have had on workplace relationships centre on organizational commitment, loyalty and career development (see for example, McKinley/Zhao/Rust 2000, Sparrow 1998, Turnley/Feldman 1998, Truss et al. 1997, Delery/Doty 1996, Holbeche 1994). The ensuing discussion regarding trends in workplace relationships, which has not been confined to academic journals, tends to concentrate on the changing nature of the employment contract. Organisations are regarded as loath to promise jobs-for-life, offering instead an environment of portable, competence-based skills acquisition in return for employee acceptance of more flexible work arrangements (Carbone 1997, Cianni/Wnuck 1997, Peiperl/Barauch 1997, Brousseau et al. 1996). It is in this context that the concept of the psychological contract has resurfaced as an explanatory factor or moderating variable in studies exploring employee reactions and workplace relationship consequences of the somewhat universal changes that now define 21st century organisations. As Guest (1998, p. 659) argues, "The psychological contract provides a potentially fruitful construct with which to make sense of and explore this new employment relationship" (1). For multinationals, particularly those that have restructured towards a less-hierarchical organisational form, workplace changes have included a growing emphasis on the creation and maintenance of cross-border as well as cross-functional teams. This appears to have been accompanied by increased reliance upon softer, informal, control mechanisms such as a strong corporate culture and improved horizontal communication (Hamilton/Kashlak 1999, Marschan/ Welch/Welch 1996, Ghoshal/Bartlett 1995). Strategic staff transfers throughout the multinational have long been regarded as a means of enhancing such informal control mechanisms. The relevant literature tends to centre discussion of staff transfers on their value in terms of organizational purpose: mainly that of control and co-ordination and the role played by international assignments in the creation of an intraorganizational network of personal relationships, informal communication channels, and shared values; all of which are considered strategically important in 21st century multinationals. Recently, there have been suggestions that multinationals are endeavouring to reduce their reliance on longer-term international assignments, partly for cost containment reasons, with some firms switching to the use of shorter visits, and even toying with virtual assignments. Regardless, expatriates remain a well-utilised resource in terms of informal control, knowledge transfer, and international team maintenance (Dowling/ Welch/Schuler 1999, Black et al. …