Constructing the “self”? Constructing the “place”? A critical exploration of self-initiated expatriation in China

Purpose - This paper attempts to capture how self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) produce and reconstruct “self” and “place” through their own processes of expatriation and career development as mobility becomes a norm under present conditions of globalization. In so doing, the paper reexamines assumptions of previous expatriate adjustment scholarship by using phenomenon-driven problematization to critically reflect on underlying theoretical assumptions in the extant literature. Empirically, the paper is an exploratory attempt to understanding and offering fresh insights on the notion of expatriation itself under these present conditions. Design/methodology/approach - Bougon's (1983) Self-Q technique was used to develop interview protocols uncovering cognitive maps of SIEs' “enacted environments” as an abstraction of their experiences, while also mapping their “enacted selves”. Analyzing social action with a cognitive map approach reveals the meanings of specific social territories, i.e. the enactment of SIEs' mobility environments (place) and their subjectivities (self). Findings - The authors’ findings suggest that SIEs seem to be constituting and reconstituting their subjectivities and their sense of “place” by displacing the notion of “home”. This notion transforms and recedes as SIEs go about their lives abroad, allowing for the emergence of plural subjectivities, never fully formed but formulated and reformulated in social encounters. Originality/value - This study contributes to the expatriation literature by focusing on processes through which SIEs construct their world through their mobility and overseas experiences. Observing expatriation processes as continuous cycles of creating and recreating “self” and “place” may reflect better how contemporary business practitioners engage in transnational activities. Management scholars should attend to how these processes enact social territories for a better understanding of expatriation as a global phenomenon.