Expatriation model with human resources management policies and practices

Abstract

Expatriation is a current process in companies to expand their international business. Expatriation is strongly related to multinational companies’ (MNC) performance abroad because the implementation of strategies occurs more slowly without the presence of the expatriate in the subsidiary. This research proposes an expatriation model as a process with three-phase that includes Human Resource Management policies and practices to show its contribution to business internationalization. The research is descriptive and qualitative, in which thirty semi-structured interviews were carried out with managers and expatriates from Brazilian and Portuguese MNCs. Data were analyzed using the content analysis technique supported by the MAXQDA software. The results show that there is no formal planning for expatriation in the MNCs examined. There is a greater diversity of informal practices that arise to fill the gaps in expatriation. The model shows diverse practices that can support the process, making it less painful for those involved and increasing the understanding of expatriation as an object of research. However, it is up to each MNC to adjust its perspectives to its operation contexts, as there is no intention to exhaust the model.