Career anchors: A comparison between organization‐assigned and self‐initiated expatriates

In the present study, based on the theory of fit, we have tested hypotheses on a sample of 303 French expatriates, comparing career anchors between assigned and self-initiated expatriates. We found that lifestyle and internationalism are both very important anchors for assigned as well as self-initiated expatriates, although most anchors differ among these groups. Furthermore, we have introduced a measure of the internationalism career anchor that presents promising psychometric characteristics. Our results provide important theoretical and practical implications. In particular, they show that both assigned expatriates and self-initiated expatriates can be engaged in a boundaryless career. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

[1]  Michael Morley.  Person‐organization fit , 2007 .

[2]  Edgar H. Schein,et al.  Career anchors revisited: Implications for career development in the 21st century , 1996 .

[3]  Chris Brewster,et al.  Making their own way: international experience through self-initiated foreign assignments , 2000 .

[4]  Nailin Bu,et al.  Attitudes toward international careers among male and female Canadian business students after 9‐11 , 2004 .

[5]  Paula Caligiuri,et al.  An application of self-assessment realistic job previews to expatriate assignments , 2003 .

[6]  D. Hall,et al.  Protean and boundaryless careers: An empirical exploration , 2006 .

[7]  Noeleen Doherty,et al.  Exploring the motives of company-backed and self-initiated expatriates , 2011 .

[8]  Vesa Suutari,et al.  Career anchors of managers with global careers , 2004 .

[9]  Günter K. Stahl,et al.  Toward the boundaryless career: a closer look at the expatriate career concept and the perceived implications of an international assignment , 2002 .

[10]  A. Kristof-brown,et al.  CONSEQUENCES OF INDIVIDUALS' FIT AT WORK: A META-ANALYSIS OF PERSON-JOB, PERSON-ORGANIZATION, PERSON-GROUP, AND PERSON-SUPERVISOR FIT , 2005 .

[11]  Jay R. Galbraith,et al.  Transfer of Managers as a Coordination and Control Strategy in Multinational Organizations. , 1977 .

[12]  Michelle Brown,et al.  A knowledge transfer perspective of strategic assignment purposes and their path-dependent outcomes , 2004 .

[13]  T. Peltonen.  Facing the rankings from the past: a tournament perspective on repatriate career mobility , 1997 .

[14]  B. Schneider.  THE PEOPLE MAKE THE PLACE , 1987 .

[15]  Chris Brewster,et al.  Why do they go? Individual and corporate perspectives on the factors influencing the decision to accept an international assignment , 2008 .

[16]  Dalia Rachman-moore,et al.  The construct validity of Schein's career anchors orientation inventory , 2008 .

[17]  J. Stewart Black,et al.  Cross-Cultural Training Effectiveness: A Review and a Theoretical Framework for Future Research , 1990 .

[18]  Douglas T. Hall,et al.  The interplay of boundaryless and protean careers: Combinations and implications , 2006 .

[19]  Chris Brewster,et al.  Career capital during international work experiences: contrasting self-initiated expatriate experiences and assigned expatriation , 2008 .

[20]  Michael B. Arthur,et al.  The evolution of the boundaryless career concept: Examining physical and psychological mobility , 2006 .

[21]  Richard B. Peterson,et al.  The repatriate experience as seen by American expatriates , 2005 .

[22]  Kathleen Boies,et al.  Managers’ interest in international assignments: the role of work and career satisfaction , 2002 .

[23]  Magid Igbaria,et al.  Career Orientations of MIS Employees: An Empirical Analysis , 1991, MIS Q..

[24]  Kerr Inkson.  Protean and boundaryless careers as metaphors , 2006 .

[25]  M. Arthur,et al.  Expatriate assignment versus overseas experience: Contrasting models of international human resource development , 1997 .

[26]  E. Dunbar.  Adjustment and satisfaction of expatriate U.S. personnel , 1992 .

[27]  Jean-Luc Cerdin,et al.  Career and international assignment fit: Toward an integrative model of success , 2009 .

[28]  Amy Lai Yu Wong.  Making career choice: A study of Chinese managers , 2007 .

[29]  Meg G. Birdseye,et al.  Individual, Organizational/Work and Environmental Influences on Expatriate Turnover Tendencies: An Empirical Study , 1995 .

[30]  Amy L. Kristof.  PERSON-ORGANIZATION FIT: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW OF ITS CONCEPTUALIZATIONS, MEASUREMENT, AND IMPLICATIONS , 1996 .