Skip to main content

Expatriation Knowledge Management: The Role of Openness to Change and Work Engagement

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Knowledge, Innovation and Sustainable Development in Organizations

Abstract

This study addresses the relevant aspect when a company chooses the strategy to internationalize. When choosing internationalization, it is crucial for companies to be more careful in selecting professionals that are able to disseminate the firm’s knowledge in international subsidiaries. Despite the expatriation of employees and the internationalization itself being singled out as important competitive advantages, the high cost of training, sending, maintaining, and repatriating an expatriate professional has become a challenge for companies. Considering that the individual’s openness to change can favor expatriation success, the objective of this study is to propose a theoretical model that connects the openness to change personality trait as the antecedent to the intention of an individual to be expatriated or also an antecedent to leave the company. The theoretical model also considers the moderator role of work engagement in both relationships. In the development of the theoretical model, the associations between the four constructs were theoretically identified: openness to change, intention to be expatriated, intention to leave the company, and work engagement, in the form of assumptions. In particular the theoretical model focuses on the moderating role that work engagement can provide for these relationships. The proposed model can be a guideline for knowledge management practices in international organizations.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Andrade, J. M. (2008). Evidências de validade do inventário dos cinco grandes fatores de personalidade para o Brasil. Tese de doutorado, Psicologia Social, do Trabalho e das Organizações. Brasil: Universidade de Brasília, Brasília.

    Google Scholar 

  • Araújo, B. F. V. B., Bilsky, W., & Moreira, L. M. C. O. (2012). Valores pessoais como antecedentes da adaptação transcultural de expatriados. RAM: Revista de Administração Mackenzie, 13(3), 69–95.

    Google Scholar 

  • Araújo, B. F. V. B., Texeira, M. L. M., Cruz, P. B., & Malini, E. (2012). Adaptação de expatriados organizacionais e voluntários: similaridades e diferenças no contexto brasileiro. Revista de Administração da Universidade de São Paulo, 47(4), 555–570.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bakker, A. B., & Bal, M. P. (2010). Weekly work engagement and performance: A study among starting teachers. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 83(1), 189–206.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2008). Towards a model of work engagement. Career development international, 13(3), 209–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baruch, Y., & Altman, Y. (2002). Expatriation and repatriation in MNCs: A taxonomy. Human Resource Management, 41(2), 239–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bassy, M. (2002). Motivation and work-Investigation and analysis of motivation factors at work. PhD Thesis, Department of Management and Economics, Linköping University, Swedish. Retrieved Nov 12, 2016, from http://www.divaportal.org/smash/get/diva2:17451/ fulltext01

  • BGRS - Brookfield Global Relocation Services. (2016). Global mobility trends. USA: Brookfield global relocation services. Retrieved Nov 10, 2016, from http://globalmobilitytrends.brookfieldgrs.com/

  • Bhatnagar, J. (2012). Management of innovation: Role of psychological empowerment, work engagement and turnover intention in the Indian context. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 23(5), 928–951.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Black, J. S., Gregersen, H. B., & Mendenhall, M. E. (1992). Toward a theoretical framework of repatriation adjustment. Journal of International Business Studies, 23(4), 737–760.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Black, J. S., Mendenhall, M., & Oddou, G. (1991). Toward a comprehensive model of international adjustment: An integration of multiple theoretical perspectives. Academy of Management Review, 16(2), 291–317.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bobowik, M., Basabe, N., Páez, D., Jiménez, A., & Bilbao, M. A. (2011). Personal values and Well-being among Europeans, Spanish natives and immigrants to Spain: Does the culture matter? Journal of Happiness Studies, 12(3), 401–419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bolino, M. C. (2007). Expatriate assignments and intra-organizational career success: Implications for individuals and organizations. Journal of International Business Studies, 38(5), 819–835.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Caligiuri, P. M. (2000). Selecting expatriates for personality characteristics: A moderating effect of personality on the relationship between host national contact and cross-cultural adjustment. MIR: Management International Review, 40(1), 61–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caligiuri, P. M. & Lazarova, M. (2001). Strategic repatriation policies to enhance global leadership development. Developing global business leaders: Policies, processes, and innovations (pp. 243–256). Retrieved Oct 23, 2016, from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Paula_Caligiuri/publication/234021410_Strategic_Repatriation_Policies_to_Enhance_Global_Leadership_Development/links/56321fc908ae3de9381ef89b.pdf

  • Chen, J.-H., & Lin, J.-Z. (2014). Prediction rules of the employees. Journal of Marine Science and Technology, 22(2), 116–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cieciuch, J., & Davidov, E. (2012). A comparison of the invariance properties of the PVQ-40 and the PVQ-21 to measure human values across German and Polish Samples. Survey Research Methods, 6(1), 37–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dickmann, M., Doherty, N., Mills, T., & Brewster, C. (2008). Why do they go? Individual and corporate perspectives on the factors influencing the decision to accept an international assignment. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 19(4), 731–751.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Engle, R. L., Schlägel, C., Dimitriadi, N., Tatoglu, E., & Ljubica, J. (2015). The intention to become an expatriate: A multinational application of the theory of planned behaviour. European Journal of International Management, 9(1), 108–137.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freitas, M. E. (2011). Expatriação Profissional: o desafio interdependente para empresas e indivíduos. Gestão e Sociedade, 4(9), 689–708.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gallon, S., Scheffer, A. B. B., Bitencourt, B. M. & Gallon, I. (2014). Processo de expatriação: além da experiência internacional. Gestão Contemporânea, 16(july/dec). Retrieved Oct 20, 2016, from http://seer4.fapa.com.br/index.php/arquivo/article/viewFile/355 /161

  • González, J. M. R., & Oliveira, J. A. (2011). Os efeitos da expatriação sobre a identidade: estudo de caso. Cadernos EBAPE. BR, 9(4), 1122–1135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herman, J. L., & Tetrick, L. E. (2009). Problem-focused versus emotion-focused coping strategies and repatriation adjustment. Human Resource Management, 48(1), 69–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Judge, T. A., & Zapata, C. P. (2015). The person–situation debate revisited: Effect of situation strength and trait activation on the validity of the Big Five personality traits in predicting job performance. Academy of Management Journal, 58(4), 1149–1179.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kubo, E. K. M., & Braga, B. M. (2013). Ajustamento intercultural de executivos japoneses expatriados no Brasil: um estudo empírico. RAE-Revista de Administração de Empresas, 53(3), 243–255.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kulkarni, M., Lengnick-Hall, M. L., & Valk, R. (2010). Employee perceptions of repatriation in an emerging economy: The Indian experience. Human Resource Management, 49(3), 531–548.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loes, C. (2015). Improving processes for expatriate selection. Business Studies Journal, 7(2), 99–112.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matthews, G., Deary, I. J., & Whiteman, M. C. (2003). Personality traits (2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved Feb 16, 2017, from http://content.schweitzeronline.de/static/catalog_manager/live/media_files/representation/zd_std_orig__zd_schw_orig/002/194/905/9780521831079_content_pdf_1.pdf

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Medeiros, C. A. F., Albuquerque, L. G., Marques, G. M., & Siqueira, M. (2005). Um estudo exploratório dos múltiplos componentes do comprometimento organizacional (43a ed.). REAd: Revista Eletrônica de Administração, 11(1), 1–22.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ones, D. S., & Viswesvaran, C. (1999). Relative importance of personality dimensions for expatriate selection: A policy capturing study. Human Performance, 12(3–4), 275–294.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pereira, N. A. F., Pimentel, R., & Kato, H. T. (2005). Expatriação e estratégia internacional: o papel da família como fator de equilíbrio na adaptação do expatriado. RAC-Revista de Administração Contemporânea, 9(4), 53–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qadeer, F., Ahmad, A., Hameed, I., & Mahmood, S. (2016). Linking passion to organizational citizenship behavior and employee performance: The mediating role of work engagement. Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences, 10(2), 316–334.

    Google Scholar 

  • Remhof, S., Gunkel, M., & Schlägel, C. (2014). Goodbye Germany! The influence of personality and cognitive factors on the intention to work abroad. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25(16), 2319–2343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sagie, A., Elizur, D., & Yamauchi, H. (1996). The structure and strength of achievement motivation: A cross-cultural comparison. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 17(5), 431–444.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santos, G. A. (2015). A motivação dos expatriados e o seu bem-estar no trabalho: estudo exploratório numa empresa de construção em África. Dissertação de mestrado Integrado em Psicologia. Lisboa: Universidade de Lisboa.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaufeli, W. B. & Bakker, A. B. (2003). UWES – Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Preliminary manual. Occupational health psychology unit. Utrecht University. Retrieved Nov 12, 2016, from http://www.wilmarschaufeli.nl/publications/Schaufeli/Test%20Manuals/Test_manual_UWES_Brazil.pdf

  • Schaufeli, W. B., & Bakker, A. B. (2004). Job demands, job resources, and their relationship with burnout and engagement: A multi-sample study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25(3), 293–315.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schaufeli, W. B., Bakker, A. B., & Salanova, M. (2006). The measurement of work engagement with a short questionnaire a cross-national study. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 66(4), 701–716.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schaufeli, W. B., Salanova, M., González-Romá, V., & Bakker, A. B. (2002). The measurement of engagement and burnout: A two sample confirmatory factor analytic approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3(1), 71–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaffer, M. A., Kraimer, M. L., Chen, Y. P., & Bolino, M. C. (2012). Choices, challenges, and career consequences of global work experiences: A review and future agenda. Journal of Management, 38(4), 1282–1327.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shen, Y., & Hall, D. T. T. (2009). When expatriates explore other options: Retaining talent through greater job embeddedness and repatriation adjustment. Human Resource Management, 48(5), 793–816.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spohr, N. (2011). O processo repatriação na visão de profissionais repatriados brasileiros. Dissertação de mestrado em Administração de Empresas. São Paulo: Fundação Getúlio Vargas.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stahl, G. K., Chua, C. H., Caligiuri, P., Cerdin, J. L., & Taniguchi, M. (2009). Predictors of turnover intentions in learning-driven and demand-driven international assignments: The role of repatriation concerns, satisfaction with company support, and perceived career advancement opportunities. Human Resource Management, 48(1), 89–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tharenou, P., & Caulfield, N. (2010). Will I stay or will I go? Explaining repatriation by self-initiated expatriates. Academy of Management Journal, 53(5), 1009–1028.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thoresen, C., Bradley, J. C., Bliese, P. D., & Thoresen, J. D. (2004). The big five personality traits and individual job performance growth trajectories in maintenance and transitional job stages. Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(5), 835–853.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United Nations. (2016). International migration report 2015. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved Nov 12, 2016, from http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/publications/migrationreport/docs/MigrationReport2015.pdf

  • Vance, C. M., & Mcnulty, Y. (2014). Why and how women and men acquire global career experience: A study of American expatriates in Europe. International Studies of Management & Organization, 44(2), 34–54.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vianna, N. P., & Souza, Y. S. (2009). Uma análise sobre os processos de expatriação e repatriação em organizações brasileiras. Revista Base Administração e Contabilidade da UNISINOS, 6(4), 340–353.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vidal, M. E. S., Valle, R. S., & Aragón, M. I. B. (2008). International workers’ satisfaction with the repatriation process. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 19(9), 1683–1702.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Silveli Cristo-Andrade .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Cristo-Andrade, S., Felix, B., Mainardes, E.W. (2019). Expatriation Knowledge Management: The Role of Openness to Change and Work Engagement. In: Peris-Ortiz, M., Ferreira, J.J., Merigó Lindahl, J.M. (eds) Knowledge, Innovation and Sustainable Development in Organizations. Innovation, Technology, and Knowledge Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74881-8_9

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics