Reflections on Doing the Expat Show: Performing the Global Mobility Industry

Abstract

This paper argues that we need to pay more attention to the spaces in which the (knowledge) economy operates and industry sectors are brought into being. Following research that examines the performative nature of the economy, the paper sees the trade show as not merely a reflection of an industry sector, but as a space that produces it into being. Looking at the Global Mobility Industry, an industry directed towards the management of expatriates, the paper uses narratives to uncover performance as a way to understand the practice of knowledge, specifically benchmarking about talent management, at the Expat Show.

Contested Ground: Network Governance in Australia's Migration Industry

“…Within the corporate context, studies on migration intermediaries construct them as risk managers who reduce the financial risks associated with migration (Faulconbridge et al., ). These professionals legitimise their services through specialist qualifications and measurable terms such as “success rates.” Their services involve not only successful visa lodgements but also seamless “migration experiences” through specialist cross‐cultural training, relocation management, and tax advice (Cranston, ). The distortions in how migration intermediaries are viewed points to the dearth of scholarly work examining the various types of intermediaries who often operate within the same industry but are governed differently.…”

Calculating the migration industries: knowing the successful expatriate in the Global Mobility Industry

“…First, I analysed texts that looked at expatriate management more widely both as an academic discipline through textbooks and journal articles, and as a practice in terms of surveys, management reports and policy documents which were provided to me by organisations that I carried out research with, or were referred to by participants in my research. Second, I carried out participant observation in two ways: at nine global mobility conferences and events (see Cranston 2014) and through participation in activities within the GMI, working both at events and helping a group compile surveys for their annual report. Third, I carried out 15 interviews with global mobility service providers and 8 interviews with individuals who work in international human resource departments of transnational organisations.…”

“…The GMI then works to assist with the relocation of the transnational corporation's employees, describing itself as helping with 'the movement of your workforce for which you need data, tools and advice' (Mercer 2010, 2). It provides services in immigration, tax compliance, relocation management, accommodation services, household goods removal and cross-cultural training (Cranston 2014). In assisting with the management of expatriates, its targeted audience is not necessarily the migrants themselves, but helping transnational organisations move their employees globally.…”

Inside a Cultural Agency: Team Ethnography and Knowledge Exchange

“…Rather, we propose that these moments be understood as performative: they are productive spaces in which the organization is brought into being (Cranston 2014;McCann 2011). This understanding of key events represents the team's approach more generally, where "the organization" is understood as a set of spatially and temporally located practices, rather than as a discrete, bounded "object" of study (Del Casino et al 2000).…”