Expatriate stories: a vehicle of professional development abroad?

Abstract

Two-thirds of European organisations are using informal briefings for expatriates. Why should expatriates place a heavy premium on such input, even when given in the stories of complete strangers? This article uses narrative method to examine expatriate experience, considering how stories enable expatriate understanding of novel environments. It considers briefly the importance of surprise in these situations and Weick's seven properties of sensemaking are used as a guideline for placing such expatriate stories in a sensemaking context. It further questions whether such stories might contribute to professional development by helping to bestow meaning for expatriates reflecting on their experiences.

Capital gains: expatriate adjustment and the psychological contract in international careers

“…Osland, 1995) that can provide evidence to understand the subtleties and paradoxes of expatriate adjustment. The "sense-making" literature with the use of narrative (Glanz, 2003) may indicate some new ways of researching these topics in order to gain a deeper understanding. For example, "sense of coherence" moves from the pathogenic focus on the occurrence or absence of culture shock and variables influencing it to a salutogenic (Antonovsky, 1987) perspective of expatriates establishing a new order in their lives abroad (Glanz, Williams, & Hoeksema, 2001).…”

Getting to Know the Piece of Fluff in Our Ears: Expanding Practitioners' Cultural Self-Awareness

“…They are flexible and narrator-oriented and therefore can contain unique cultural as well as personal materials (Peterson and Van Meir, 1996;Lijtmaer, 2004). The analysis of narratives is based on the notion that sense making is an interactive human activity (Glanz, 2003). Therefore, it investigates the meaning (not the cause) of experience.…”

Career capital in global Kaleidoscope Careers: the role of HRM

“…As individuals seek to make sense of their experiences, they focus on and extract clues from situations that occur and the experiences of others around them. In the search for plausibility Glanz (2003) concludes that individuals exchange stories and associated 15 narratives to bestow meaning and make sense of novel situations. In this search for meaning, individuals will access stories from a number of individuals, not necessarily (just) their line managers.…”

“…Indeed, as Kohonen (2005) asserts, international assignments themselves offer 'special instances' for re-shaping identities and engaging in sensemaking. Furthermore, in the complex and fragmented environment in which the case organisation operates, opportunities for identity construction can be as Musson and Duberley (2006) Glanz (2003) in her study on expatriate mobility.…”