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Expatriates as influencers in global work arrangements: Their impact on foreign-subsidiary employees’ ESOP participation

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  • Ahrens, Carolin
  • Oehmichen, Jana
  • Wolff, Michael

Abstract

Employee stock-ownership plans (ESOPs) offered by multinational enterprises (MNEs) present an attractive investment for employees. Puzzlingly, participation rates are often low, raising the question what drives ESOP participation on a global scale. Grounded in the knowledge-based view of expatriate research, we build on the notion of expatriates as implicit knowledge transferors within MNEs. We hypothesize a positive effect of expatriate ESOP participation on subsidiary-employee ESOP participation, which is even higher when a subsidiary-employee’s distance toward the program and the firm is greater. Empirical results confirm our hypotheses suggesting that expatriates can be a mechanism to bridge the distance within MNEs.

Suggested Citation

  • Ahrens, Carolin & Oehmichen, Jana & Wolff, Michael, 2018. "Expatriates as influencers in global work arrangements: Their impact on foreign-subsidiary employees’ ESOP participation," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(4), pages 452-462.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:worbus:v:53:y:2018:i:4:p:452-462
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jwb.2018.01.002
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