Inpatriation as a Key Component of Global Talent Management

Cerdin, Jean‐Luc; Sharma, Kuldeep

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-05125-3_6

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 24 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Our research context is Asian MNCs in the Asian region. While early empirical studies on inpatriation offered insights based on data from European and American MNCs (e.g., Cerdin & Sharma, 2014;Harvey & Miceli, 1999;Reiche, 2006Reiche, , 2011, empirical efforts have recently expanded to Asia including Japan and Korea (Froese et al, 2016;Sarabi et al, 2017;Sekiguchi et al, 2019). Because of strong business growth and competitive pressures among global and local players in this region, there are increasing demands for MNCs to devise a more effective global staffing strategy to compete successfully in Asia (Budhwar & Debrah, 2009;Varma & Budhwar, 2013).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How does successive inpatriation contribute to subsidiary capability building and subsidiary evolution? An organizational knowledge creation perspective

2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Intra-company knowledge transfer is a key source of competitive advantage for multinational companies (MNCs) and this knowledge is usually embedded in individuals. Drawing on organizational knowledge creation theory, we explore how inpatriation contributes to knowledge transfer and, in turn, subsidiary performance. Inpatriation involves the international assignment of employees from an MNC’s foreign subsidiary to its headquarters. Despite increasing attention to the role of inpatriation, we lack a clear understanding of whether and how inpatriates provide value to their subsidiaries after returning from headquarters. Through a qualitative case study of Japanese MNCs, we demonstrate the process through which inpatriates’ knowledge transfer contributes to subsidiary capability building and subsidiary evolution over time, and explain why successive inpatriation is thus critical to enhance subsidiary performance. Our theoretical model highlights the value of inpatriates as knowledge agents, reveals the process through which inpatriates transfer knowledge between HQ and subsidiaries, and provides a more nuanced understanding of the micro-foundations of intra-MNC knowledge transfer processes. Based on these findings, we argue that inpatriation is not merely a staffing method that is complementary to expatriation, but a key practice in its own right to support subsidiaries’ growth and performance.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How does successive inpatriation contribute to subsidiary capability building and subsidiary evolution? An organizational knowledge creation perspective

2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However they are less likely to be about coordination and control and perhaps more likely to be about training and development (Jie and Lang, 2009). Where such assignments bring short-term expatriates into the headquarters operation for this purpose they are sometimes referred to, from an ethnocentric perspective, as in-patriates (Cerdin and Sharma, 2014;Reiche, Kraimer and Harzing, 2009) Short-term assignments may be used to help build new international markets (Findlay, Li, Jowett and Skeldon, 2000;Millar and Salt, 2006). Short-term assignments can offer access to specialized talent in other countries (Hocking, Brown and Harzing, 2004;Minbaeva and Michailova, 2004) and/ or can be used as training assignments to develop specific knowledge and skills in the transferees (Salt and Wood, 2012: 439).…”

Section: Short Term Assignmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing Global and Migrant Workers

Brewster¹,

Dickmann²,

Mäkelä³

et al. 2017

Human Resource Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Intended Learning ObjectivesAfter reading this chapter, the reader will 1) understand the different forms of international work; 2) be familiar with benefits and problems involved with each type of international work both from individual and organizational perspective; 3) understand the issues involved in the management of different types of international work within international organizations. Brief Summary of ChapterThe international workforce has existed since slaves built the pyramids. But international work has been increasing substantially in recent decades. With it, the interest in how to manage international workers, their talent and global careers has grown. In this chapter we are exploring key forms of international work. We use the length of international assignment as our template and concentrate on international business travellers (IBTs); short-term assignees, company-sponsored long-term expatriates (AEs), selfinitiated expatriates (SIEs) and global careerists. We also discuss immigration related mobility of labour. Throughout the text we will investigate contextual, strategic, operational and individual influences and will put a particular focus on how organizations can manage their international workers. Mini Case Study "Cool International"'Cool International' is a UK based multinational which has expanded rapidly into European, Asian and South American markets over the two decades through acquisitions and joint ventures. Their global strategy envisaged a rapid growth in the BRIC countries -Brazil, Russia, India, Chinaas well as other emerging markets. As a result, the character of the company was fundamentally altered and it now has far more business by turnover and profit from international activities than in the UK.'Cool International' encountered was not related to these workers but to their difficulties in encouraging their managers to accept traditional, long-term foreign assignments. One former expatriatereturning from Rio de Janeiro -put a potential problem into words: "When I returned, people asked me 'How was it on the beach?'. And I had worked so hard in Brazil. Now, it seems, I have to prove to my new colleagues and my new boss that this was not just a 'jolly'. I feel that my career chances have definitely taken a turn for the worse'. Q1. More flexible international staffing may save the company money. Are there any downsides? Q2. Why do you think the issues arose with the traditional long-term expatriates? Q3. How should the company handle returning expatriates to make them feel that their time abroad has been valued?

show abstract

“…Inpatriation of global managers increasingly appears as an essential element of the global talent pool (Cerdin and Sharma, 2014;Collings et al, 2010;Reiche, 2012) as they present an opportunity to expand HQ knowledge and offer different perspectives of knowledge (Duvivier et al, 2019). While there is an emerging body of literature on inpatriation, it is mostly conceptual (Moeller and Reiche, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global knowledge transfers through inpatriates: performance management, LMX and embeddedness

Maley

Kiessling

2021

JGM

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

PurposeThe study explores inpatriation and the role of performance management (PM) upon knowledge transfer through the theoretical lenses of leader–member exchange (LMX) and social embeddedness theories.Design/methodology/approachThe study adopts a qualitative approach and focuses on inpatriate managers at the headquarters of three large UK healthcare multinational corporations (MNC). The authors were able to collect and analyze 24 interviews, with a focus on our key variables. The authors also conducted interviews with human resource (HR) personnel responsible for global mobility.FindingsThe findings suggest that the inpatriate managers’ willingness to transfer knowledge is contingent on their LMX with their supervisor and embeddedness within the firm. The authors found that good PM is the facilitator.Originality/valueThe critical contribution of the paper is exposing apparent weaknesses in current inpatriate PM practices in contributing to the MNCs' global knowledge flows, and ultimately, firm performance. This study's findings add to the awareness of how MNC knowledge flows transpire and emphasize the importance of rigorous PM practices for MNC knowledge transfer.

show abstract

Inpatriation as a Key Component of Global Talent Management

Cited by 8 publications

References 24 publications

How does successive inpatriation contribute to subsidiary capability building and subsidiary evolution? An organizational knowledge creation perspective

How does successive inpatriation contribute to subsidiary capability building and subsidiary evolution? An organizational knowledge creation perspective

Managing Global and Migrant Workers

Global knowledge transfers through inpatriates: performance management, LMX and embeddedness

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About