Abstract

Recent decades have seen rapid growth in the globalized economy. To remain successful in the international business arena, multinational corporations (MNCs) have realized the importance of global human resource management (HRM) strategies, because having the right people has been recognized as the key to sustaining a global competitive edge (Beechler & Woodward, 2009; Collings, 2014a). One popular strategy is that of expatriate employment to enable organizations to manage their labor force internationally (Doherty & Dickmann, 2013; Kraimer, Bolino, & Mead, 2016; McNulty & Brewster, 2017). Thus, an increasing number of foreign subsidiaries are staffed with expatriates. Vance, Sibeck, McNulty, and Hogenauer (2011) suggest that over the past decade, the demand for expatriates has increased given that:

global competence among managers and professionals translates into increased cross-cultural sensitivity and relationship-building capability, more effective problem solving, and greater creativity. Other benefits include more effective self-management and adjustment to foreign surroundings, greater ability to build multinational teams, improved ability to deal with rapid change and uncertainty, and enhanced savvy in adjusting and responding to differing competitive and political environments (2011: 31).