On a recent family trip to a shopping mall, our younger daughter pointed to a drastically reduced product and enthusiastically lobbied for us to purchase it. After all, it seemed so cheap. The original price was prominently displayed, crossed out, and replaced by a much lower number. The discount appeared irresistible. So I found myself […]
Global Leadership: Inner Talent or Learned Skill?
When I recently looked into publications on global leadership and talent management, my attention was caught by two different articles, which surely would make for a heated discussion if put together. On one hand is a recent blog entry by David Livermore, who emphasizes that global leadership is not based on natural qualities or dispositions, […]
Expat Motivation: The Role of Goal Orientation
In last week’s entry I reviewed the sources of expat motivation, as derived from the standpoint of self-determination theory. Specifically, I brought up the argument that the more self-determined one’s behavior, the more intrinsically motivated this behavior. On the other hand, as mentioned in my previous post, goals or tasks can also be viewed as […]
The Psychology of Expat Motivation: From Theory to Practice
If we think about the reasons why people engage in different activities, devote their time and effort to these activities, and persist in doing what they do despite various difficulties and challenges, one central concept that comes to mind is motivation. Indeed, motivation can be seen as a ‘push-button’ that elicits, controls and directs behavior. […]
The Expatriate Population: Latest Findings from Industry Surveys
Recently, two of the leading global relocation companies, Brookfield GRS and Cartus, have published their annual surveys. As in previous years, both surveys shed light on the most relevant trends in global mobility, describing current international assignee populations, their main motives and challenges, as well as the challenges faced by employers and relocation professionals. I […]
Online Freelancing: A ‘Dream Job’ in the Globalized World?
Today is different than before. Long, long time ago people used to settle in one place and remain there for their lifetimes, in large because there were no roads or public infrastructure available. Then people built roads, invented cars and trains, and started moving between cities. Next, planes were invented, people started learning languages, and […]
Gender Diversity on a Global Scale: Different Perspectives
Gender diversity in organizations and female underrepresentation in management teams has been a widely discussed topic in global business. While I have already reviewed it in several of my previous blog posts, there are more recent publications that are very relevant and worth discussing. So, why are women still underrepresented in leadership positions? Is it […]
Long Road to Work: The Case of Supercommuting
The majority of us share the same daily routine of getting to and from work. In busy London and New York many take the subway, in sunny Barcelona and environmentally friendly Copenhagen it is possible to get around with a bike, while in smaller and less expensive cities many might use private cars. And even […]
Adjustment in Extreme Contexts: The Case of Military Expats
Following up on the topic of extreme cases of expatriation that I recently touched upon, today I would like to review an interesting piece of academic work. Specifically, the scholars Fisher and Hutchings (2013) examined the relationship between cultural distance (CD) and expatriate adjustment in a rarely addressed area of intercultural collaboration in the military […]
Immigrants: Why Would Any Country Want Them?
On April 16, 2013 the United States Senate was introduced to a new immigration reform bill, called The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act of 2013. The reform bill aims to increase border security, streamline legal immigration, and address the issue of undocumented immigrants already settled in the country. In regards to the […]
Extreme Cases of Repatriation: Not your ‘Average Joe’ Story
When we usually talk about an expatriate, we tend to consider the ‘average Joe’: the one who relocates abroad for a work assignment for a definite or indefinite period, who faces challenges with adjusting abroad, and who most probably encounters reverse cultural shock and readjustment problems upon repatriation back home. However, there are far more […]
A GLOBAL World of…LOCAL Businesses
Today it is possible to cross borders of different countries and still manage to eat in the same places, shop for the same brands, and stay in the same hotel chains. Plainly speaking, this is the era of globalization. Many new businesses are trying to expand abroad and find a place in the global market; […]
Spotlight Millennial Employees: Key Considerations for Organizations
In spite of the rapid technological development employees are still considered the main resource for organizations, and hence employee motivation and retention continue to be of great importance at a global scale. However, employees’ work related attitudes and preferences do change over time, which implies that organizations need to tailor their people management strategies to […]
Latest Research: Knowledge Transfer of HRM Practices Between Parent-country and Subsidiary
Corporate expatriates have always been an important group of globally mobile employees, because they can serve various organizational aims by fulfilling either practical or more strategic roles. For example, an employee can be sent on an international assignment to share important knowledge and optimize certain processes in a new company subsidiary, or on the other […]
Homesickness: A Natural Part of Being Away from Home?
Globally mobile individuals are the ones who know by experience how it feels to adjust to a new destination, suffer from reverse cultural shock when returning back home, have a restless urge for new relocations, and finally recognize the homesickness when away from home again. The latter, namely homesickness, is not as pronounced a topic […]
‘Working Retirees’ Abroad: Another Facet of Expat Life
Moving abroad after retirement in pursuit of cheaper living expenses, enjoyable climate, and a relaxed lifestyle is nothing new. However, a recent NYTimes article argues that the trend of relocating abroad for work after retirement is gaining appeal. Also echoed by another NYTimes article, it is noted that more American retirees are choosing to take […]
Are the U.S. Losing Their Edge on Recruiting and Retaining Foreign Talent?
Traditionally the United States have been attracting a foreign workforce as a country with a developed economy, near endless opportunities, and English as the predominant working language. However, a recent article in The New York Times argues that today the situation is rather different, with the U.S. losing its edge and facing intense competition in […]
