Towards an understanding of social networks among organizational self-initiated expatriates: a qualitative case study of a professional services firm
Drawing on a qualitative case study of 51 organizational self-initiated expatriates (OSIEs) in a professional services firm, this article investigates the role of networks during expatriation and, specifically, in the development of learning that is beneficial to both the individual expatriate and t...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
Routledge
2014
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/36555 |
| _version_ | 1848754802652086272 |
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| author | Richardson, Julia McKenna, Stephen |
| author_facet | Richardson, Julia McKenna, Stephen |
| author_sort | Richardson, Julia |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Drawing on a qualitative case study of 51 organizational self-initiated expatriates (OSIEs) in a professional services firm, this article investigates the role of networks during expatriation and, specifically, in the development of learning that is beneficial to both the individual expatriate and the global operations of the firm. First, we investigate the extent to which individual motivations to engage in OSIE impact on the development of networks. Second, we investigate individual’s experiences of network development. Third, we investigate individual perceptions of the benefits of networks for both organizations and individual actors. The paper will report that professionals initiating their own expatriation develop continually expanding and composite networks such that mobility and networks evolve in a seemingly symbiotic relationship. In doing so, it contributes to our understanding of the role of agency in network development and extends our understanding of organizational self-initiated expatriation as a relatively under-researched phenomenon. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:46:12Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-36555 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T08:46:12Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Routledge |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-365552017-09-13T15:28:27Z Towards an understanding of social networks among organizational self-initiated expatriates: a qualitative case study of a professional services firm Richardson, Julia McKenna, Stephen Drawing on a qualitative case study of 51 organizational self-initiated expatriates (OSIEs) in a professional services firm, this article investigates the role of networks during expatriation and, specifically, in the development of learning that is beneficial to both the individual expatriate and the global operations of the firm. First, we investigate the extent to which individual motivations to engage in OSIE impact on the development of networks. Second, we investigate individual’s experiences of network development. Third, we investigate individual perceptions of the benefits of networks for both organizations and individual actors. The paper will report that professionals initiating their own expatriation develop continually expanding and composite networks such that mobility and networks evolve in a seemingly symbiotic relationship. In doing so, it contributes to our understanding of the role of agency in network development and extends our understanding of organizational self-initiated expatriation as a relatively under-researched phenomenon. 2014 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/36555 10.1080/09585192.2014.884614 Routledge fulltext |
| spellingShingle | Richardson, Julia McKenna, Stephen Towards an understanding of social networks among organizational self-initiated expatriates: a qualitative case study of a professional services firm |
| title | Towards an understanding of social networks among organizational self-initiated expatriates: a qualitative case study of a professional services firm |
| title_full | Towards an understanding of social networks among organizational self-initiated expatriates: a qualitative case study of a professional services firm |
| title_fullStr | Towards an understanding of social networks among organizational self-initiated expatriates: a qualitative case study of a professional services firm |
| title_full_unstemmed | Towards an understanding of social networks among organizational self-initiated expatriates: a qualitative case study of a professional services firm |
| title_short | Towards an understanding of social networks among organizational self-initiated expatriates: a qualitative case study of a professional services firm |
| title_sort | towards an understanding of social networks among organizational self-initiated expatriates: a qualitative case study of a professional services firm |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/36555 |