IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eme/jgmpps/jgm-06-2016-0025.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Unpacking differences in psychological contracts of organizational and self-initiated expatriates

Author

Listed:
  • Kate Yue Zhang
  • Bart Rienties

Abstract

Purpose - Global staffing has remained a main focus within the field of international human resource management (IHRM) since the 1970s. However, research in the psychological contract (PC) of expatriates is limited. The purpose of this paper is to explore the differences in PC breach and violation for organisational expatriates and self-initiated expatriates (SIEs). Design/methodology/approach - A survey questionnaire was developed covering 52 organisational expatriates and 119 SIEs from 35 countries/regions working in China. Four follow-up focus group interviews including four organisational expatriates and 12 SIEs were conducted to further explain the findings of the survey. Findings - The findings indicate that organisational expatriates experience significantly lower levels of PC breach and violation than SIEs. Three broad thematic areas arose from the triangulation of focus group interviews, including uncertainties in functioning of contracts, differences in job securities and career development opportunities, and cultural differences. Practical implications - Employers should give a comprehensive orientation and cultural training to meet the needs of SIEs. Moreover, long-term career advancement paths should also be provided to SIEs to alleviate their vulnerability and insecurities working abroad. Originality/value - The study contributes to the scholarship of self-initiated expatriation and PCs and give implications to IHRM strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Kate Yue Zhang & Bart Rienties, 2017. "Unpacking differences in psychological contracts of organizational and self-initiated expatriates," Journal of Global Mobility, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 5(1), pages 93-108, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:jgmpps:jgm-06-2016-0025
    DOI: 10.1108/JGM-06-2016-0025
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JGM-06-2016-0025/full/html?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JGM-06-2016-0025/full/pdf?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1108/JGM-06-2016-0025?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Moore, Fiona, 2020. "Multiple interpretations of “national culture” and the implications for International business: The case of Taiwan," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 55(5).
    2. Shao, Jun Jie & Bayraktar, Secil & Al Ariss, Akram, 2022. "Knowledge transfer of Chinese self-initiated repatriates: Exploring the returnee and company perspectives," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 12-25.
    3. Koveshnikov, Alexei & Lehtonen, Miikka J. & Wechtler, Heidi, 2022. "Expatriates on the run: The psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on expatriates’ host country withdrawal intentions," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(6).
    4. Chipoong Kim & Chul Chung & Chris Brewster, 2019. "Beyond Nationality: International Experience as a Key Dimension for Subsidiary Staffing Choices in MNEs," John H Dunning Centre for International Business Discussion Papers jhd-dp2019-03, Henley Business School, University of Reading.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eme:jgmpps:jgm-06-2016-0025. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Emerald Support (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.