Suchergebnisse

Purpose– International relocation for work reasons implies uncertainty and stress, resulting in high expatriate failure rates. Hence, organizations should consider employee's international relocation mobility readiness (IRMR) in selection processes. The purpose of this paper is to identify personal as well as social antecedents of IRMR.Design/methodology/approach– Data were gathered by an online survey (n=273 German employees) and analyzed using SEM.Findings– SEM results indicate that attitudinal (boundaryless mindset), biographical (previous international work experience) and social variables (the perceived social endorsement of international relocation mobility) are positively related to IRMR. The positive relationship between personality variables (uncertainty tolerance, proactive personality) and IRMR is mediated by boundaryless mindset.Research limitations/implications– The sampling method applied limits the generalization of the results.Practical implications– Results can be applied in personnel selection to find employees with a strong IRMR. Thus, expatriate failure rates could be reduced.Originality/value– This is the first study that addressed personal as well as social antecedents of IRMR.

ABSTRACTThe flexible relocation of capacity across countries by multinational enterprises has become an important source of concern. Using a unique sample of relocating firms in Belgium, we find that wages and market potential of host regions are important determinants for the location choice. Considering firm characteristics, we show that large firms have a higher propensity to relocate to remote countries. Public aid only plays a decisive role in the investment decision for relocations to adjacent countries, suggesting a potential harmful role in distorting competition. More proactive policies in line with changing comparative location advantages should be implemented to accommodate relocations.