Why do they go? Empirical evidence of employees' motives for seeking or accepting relocation

Author: Hippler, Thomas¹

Source: International Journal of Human Resource Management, Volume 20, Number 6, June 2009 , pp. 1381-1401(21)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Key:

- Free Content

- New Content

- Subscribed Content

- Free Trial Content

Abstract:

This study addresses one of the shortcomings apparent in previous research on expatriate job-transfers, namely the lack of exploratory, empirical groundwork into the motives of expatriates to seek or accept international assignments. The relocatee population of a large German MNC was surveyed for their motives to seek or accept their transfer, using an open-response format. Responses were content analysed in order to arrive at an empirically grounded set of motives. The findings provide a very detailed picture of employees' motives to seek or accept international assignments and thus an important interim result that, when used as input in subsequent investigations, promises highly relevant results due to established content validity.

Keywords: expatriates; international assignments; motives for relocation

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1080/09585190902909889

Affiliations: 1: School of Business and Economics, Swansea University, Swansea, Wales, UK

The full text electronic article is available for purchase. You will be able to download the full text electronic article after payment.

$38.49 plus tax Refund Policy