It is almost ironic that it took me over 40 years to finally read the classic novel “Siddhartha” by author and compatriot Hermann Hesse – and only after my wife had discussed the book in her book club:-) The novel depicts the spiritual journey of self-discovery of the book’s protagonist named Siddhartha during the time […]
The Expatriate Work–Family Interface: A Case of Self-Efficacy
Expatriate experiences, and adjustment in particular, have been one of the most prominent research topics in the field of global mobility. Rightfully so, given the multitude of challenges that expatriates face, such as increased job responsibilities, excessive travel, major life changes, and dealing with cultural others. Industry surveys (e.g. Santa Fe Relocation) indicate that many […]
Post-Covid Adjustment: Could We Learn Something from Expats?
Some time ago I wrote about possible scenarios for the ‘post-corona world’ and it seems about time to contemplate on our situation again. As more and more countries begin to ease their lockdown measures, we are collectively entering into some form of normality again. Yet, many speak and write about the ‘new normal’, implying that […]
Latest Research: Effective Personality Traits of Expats
One of the traditional and still common purposes of expatriation is managing a foreign subsidiary, hence, traditional expatriate roles are to be found in senior executive levels and senior management teams. Given the responsibilities attached to these positions, and the costs of expatriation for the organization, the importance of success for such international assignments can […]
Challenges of Global Mobility: The Latest Industry Report
We have recently come to a point where many declaim the end of globalization as we have known it. Yet, amid this anti-globalization rhetoric, global businesses are clearly taking a different stance, arguing that more, not less, globally proficient talent is needed. A recent AXA World of Work Report, which surveyed 250 firms in eight […]
The Culturally Humble Expat
International assignments are costly, which is why both researchers and practitioners are in constant search for the right formula of successful expatriation. Given that international assignments are meant to be ‘bridging the gaps’, be it in terms of knowledge sharing or the transfer of other resources, good relationships and cooperation between expats and locals seem […]
Latest Research: Expats and Ethnic Identity Congruence
Let’s say you are a multinational corporation with headquarters in Canada and plan to send an expatriate to your subsidiary in China. Who would you most likely send, a French Canadian manager, or an ethnic Chinese manager? I suspect you would pick the latter as we quite naturally assume that expatriates, who share similarities with […]
My Christmas Wish List
As the year comes to an end, it is about time to make Christmas wishes. I will certainly make my personal ones, but I would also like to provide some on behalf of the world of global business and global mobility – topics I work on and write so much about. Looking back at the […]
The SCARF in Global Mobility
In my last blog post I wrote about social neuroscience and the SCARF theory, which explains social behavior based on our brain principle known as ‘threat and reward response’. The theory posits that within social interactions our experience is influenced either by perceived threat or reward in one or several of five domains: status, certainty, […]
EURO 2016 showcases the Multicultural Europe
In line with the popular movie-based expression ‘I know what you did last summer’, since last Friday we may be popularizing ‘I know what you did last evening’. For many this would imply the obvious—namely football (soccer)! Yes, the EURO 2016 has started, which means watching football matches, discussing teams’ odds to win, and reading […]
Expatriate Reentry Training: Insights from Recent Research
Several years ago in one of my blog posts I posed a question whether starting an expatriate assignment requires more company support than repatriation. Despite the common logic that going abroad to a new and unfamiliar place should be more challenging than returning home to a familiar place, this notion couldn’t be further from reality. […]
Introverts in an Extraverted Global World
How do you feel about big social gatherings? Do you consider yourself outgoing and at ease with blending into a group of strangers? Does your creativity spur in solitude or during team brainstorming? Do you prefer action or contemplation? As you have most probably sensed by now, all of these questions relate to the well-known […]
Localization: A Way to Deal with Expat Cost Pressures?
Expatriates are expensive, and this doesn’t come as a surprise. Indeed, according to the latest Brookfield Global Relocation Trends report (2014) expatriation cost pressures continue to be a predominant concern among multinational corporations. Although the majority of companies (98%) are still using long-term assignment policies, most probably with a balance sheet compensation approach, the continuous […]
Expat Work and Life Domains: Conflicting, Balancing, or Enriching?
Work is one of the central tenets in human life. We ask our kids what do they want to do when they grow up; we start conversations by inquiring about each other’s jobs; we study extensively in order to secure future employment; we belong, as adults, to a well-defined working age population; we differentiate between […]
Are We Really Living in a Globalized World?
I am an expatriate, with experience of living and working in six different countries. I am currently residing in Spain, working for a globally oriented institution, and frequently travelling abroad for business. When at work, I interact a lot with international students, foreign colleagues, and expatriate managers. On my way home from work I feel […]
Global Mobility in a Day
Today I would like to share with you one peculiar insight I recently became aware of when planning the forthcoming weeks in my calendar. Specifically, I was invited to attend an event hosted by the Barcelona city council, which is meant specifically for expats in the area. The event is part of a campaign for […]
