Addressing international mobility confusion-Developing definitions and differentiations for self-initiated and assigned expatriates as well as migrants.

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.

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18062 1 What distinguishes self-initiated expatriates from assigned expatriates and migrants? A literature-based definition and differentiation of terms 18062 2 What distinguishes self-initiated expatriates from assigned expatriates and migrants? A literature-based definition and differentiation of termsThe goal of this paper is to examine regularities and differences in the application of the three terms assigned expatriate (AE), self-initiated expatriate (SIE) and migrant as the criteria for demarcation are unclear (Al Ariss, 2010; Baruch, Dickmann, Altman, &Bournois, 2010).This research adopts a qualitative approach, using the tool of qualitative content analysis (Mayring, 2010). The data base includes 244 definitions from 10 sociological, psychological and business journals. Results indicate that migrant is the umbrella term for AE and SIE. Therefore a SIE is a migrant who executes his dependent work abroad. In contrast to AEs, decision of employment is made by the host country organization and the first formalized action (i. e. job application) is undertaken by the individual.