Short-Term International Assignment Challenges for Emerging Market Firm Employees

Abstract

Short-term international assignees face different challenges in terms of role transitioning and identity work related to their international employee mobilities for emerging market firms compared to those experienced by long-term international assignees. In this chapter, I outline some of the specificities of short-term assignees’ role transitions and identity work as identified through pilot interviews with two sole proprietors, startup representatives, a representative of a business accelerator, a high-tech small and medium-sized enterprise, two large, mature emerging market multinationals (one manufacturing and one service firm), and a developed market subsidiary operating in Slovenia. The results indicate that these assignees have a reduced need for integration into the host environments as well as adjustment of their extant roles and identities. Often, their expertise (and, when applicable, headquarters origin) is sufficient grounds for establishing their role legitimacy abroad.