1st Edition
Managing Performance Abroad A New Model for Understanding Expatriate Adjustment
In a global economy full of multinational firms, international human resource management (including expatriation, career management, and talent management) is a growing topic in the business and management literature and in universities. A thorough understanding of the adjustment of expatriates to their new environment is critical not only for selection and preparation of potential expatriates, but also for the management of expatriate performance. Managed well, expatriates can be key contributors to organizational success while abroad and even after repatriation. Poor understanding and management of expatriate issues, on the other hand, may lead to underperformance and increased turnover of expatriates and repatriates. Managing Performance Abroad summarizes and extends what is known about the topic of expatriate management and adjustment, covering all the major authors and presenting a new approach to the adjustment process.
At present, expatriate adjustment is only covered as a chapter in books on international HRM and HRD. Much of this literature relies on outdated concepts and evidence. Furthermore, most business research and management publications use an expatriate adjustment model that was originally published about two decades ago. This book is the first dedicated solely to the subject of expatriate adjustment, enabling readers to formulate research questions and hypotheses and to develop expatriation policies and support systems that optimize the performance of expatriates. It presents a re-formulation of the model underlying management research about expatriate adjustment, providing guidance for researchers and practitioners alike.1. Expatriate Adjustment 2. Staking Out the Terriory - A Survey of Adjustment Theories 3. Dimensions, Domains, Dynamics - A 3-D Model of Adjustment 4. Dimensions of Adjustment 5. Domains of Adjustment 6. Dynamics of Individual Adjustment 7. Antecedents 8. Outcomes of Adjustment 9. Repatriation Adjustment - Individual and Organisational Perspectives 10. Conclusions - Theories of Expatriate Adjustment and Their Implications for Practice and Research
Biography
Arno Haslberger is Senior Research Fellow at Middlesex University, UK. His research has appeared in Human Resource Management (US), the International Journal of Human Resource Management, and others. He is Associate Editor of the Journal of Global Mobility. Arno has been an expatriate for 18 years.
Chris Brewster is Professsor of International HRM at Henley Business School, UK, Radboud University, Nijmegen, NL and Vaasa University, Finland. He researches and writes about international and comparative HRM and has published more than two dozen books and almost 200 articles.
Thomas Hippler is a Senior Lecturer in International Management at the University of Essex, UK. His work has been published in Human Resource Management (US), the International Journal of Human Resource Management, and others. He is a member of the Editorial Review Board of the Journal of International Business Studies.
"This is a very ambitious and well-written book and I will recommend it to my students. It presents a new and comprehensive model of the expatriate adjustment process that goes well beyond most conventional frameworks. It is a very useful book to understand the "real" adjustment process experienced by a growing number of international assignees." - Jaime Bonache, Professor, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Jurídicas, Universidad Carlos III of Madrid, Spain
"Drs. Haslberger, Brewster, and Hippler have written the definitive book on the important topic of expatriate adjustment. Both contemporary and comprehensive, Managing Performance Abroad provides readers with an in-depth understanding of individuals’ psychological comfort living and working abroad. This book is a must-read for researchers and practitioners working in the field of international human resource management." - Paula Caligiuri, Distinguished Professor of International Business and Strategy, Northeastern University, USA
"This book provides a timely and comprehensive picture of expatriate adjustment. By devoting an entire book to expatriate adjustment, including repatriate adjustment, the authors have thoroughly considered the relevant issues and their implications for research and practice. Their 3-D adjustment model sheds new light on the performance of expatriates and other crucial outcomes of adjustment. As such, it serves as a great stimulus for further conversations among those who are passionate about questions related to expatriation and migration." - Jean-Luc Cerdin, Professor, Management Department, ESSEC Business School, France
"Never has the world seen so many globally operating organizations. The pace of development in emerging economies is rebounding and, countries as well as cities are engaged in a race to attract the best foreign talent. Because international talent flows are rapidly increasing it has never been as crucial as today to truly understand and manage adjustment and performance processes of traditional expatriates and other international workers. Managing Performance Abroad expertly brings together the various insights on how global mobility can be managed more successfully and should be read by students of international business, global HR professionals and expatriates." - Michael F. Dickmann, Professor and Academic Dean, School of Management, Cranfield University, UK, and Editor of The International Journal of Human Resource Management
"The issue of how individuals adjust to foreign environments has been central to many studies of global mobility, and deservedly so. In addition to providing an excellent critical review of the research on adjustment to-date, the authors of this book offer a novel dynamic model examining the cognitive, affective and behavioral dimensions of adjustment. Admittedly complex, the model presents a more realistic and comprehensive view on adjustment, its antecedents and outcomes, and offers many insights to both researchers and managers as well as globally mobile professionals." - Mila Lazarova, Associate Professor, Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University, Canada
"This is a timely and much needed book. Timely, because much of the adjustment literature still leans on models from the 1980s. Needed, because it brings the performance of people working abroad into new and sharper focus. A 'must read' for academics, practitioners and students of the field alike." - Wolfgang Mayrhofer, Professor and Head of the Interdisciplinary Institute of Management and Organisational Behaviour, Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria
"Corporate reputations are under scrutiny: well-adjusted expatriates representing multinational organisations can be a make or break factor. As such, this timely volume is essential reading by managers and students of international business and management." - Stephen J. Perkins, Professor of Strategy and HRM, University of Bedfordshire, UK
"Adjustment has been one of the core topics in expatriation research for decades. Despite that, little agreement exists on what it really is and why it is important. Taking a comprehensive view of this complex concept, the book features a 3-D model of expatriate adjustment based on its dimensions, domains and dynamics. It will no doubt advance this core topic for decades to come. Read the book and become part of this important development." - Jan Selmer, Professor, Department of Business Administration, Aarhus University, Denmark and Founding Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Global Mobility: The Home of Expatriate Management Research
"Expatriate adjustment is one of those topics that have been much discussed, but often working from diverse or inadequate theory. This book cuts through these discussions, conducting a clear and coherent critique of the previous literature and offering a clear comprehensive model of the expatriation process. It will be a touchstone for future research in the area." - Vesa Suutari, Professor of International Management, Dean of the Faculty of Business Studies, and Vice Rector (Research) of the University of Vaasa, Finland
