The role of human resources in protecting expatriates: insights from the international aid and development sector

Engaging in duty of care: towards a terrorism preparedness plan

“…Findings suggest that the threat of terrorism appears to decrease employee intent to engage in networking (Knastenmüller et al, 2011). Little research has focused on the individual and terrorism (Fee & McGrath-Champ, 2016). Research into stress and terrorism has ensued as stress is suggested to be the main cause of IA failure (Wang & Kanungo, 2004).…”

Protecting expatriates in hostile environments: institutional forces influencing the safety and security practices of internationally active organisations

“…From this, researchers have distilled several elements that are central to ensuring expatriate safety and security (Fee, McGrath-Champ, & Liu, 2013), including developing robust policy frameworks, evaluating threats, establishing processes and know-how for managing crises, and providing training, resources and post-crisis support for affected staff. A comprehensive study of the HR practices of internationally active organisations from the international development sector showed that their approaches were centred on strong organisational cultures supported by a suite of HR practices and competencies (Fee & McGrath-Champ, 2016). A feature of these organisations was their use of elements of 'acceptance' within the local community as a means to buffer expatriates against threats, apparently in contrast to approaches preferred by corporate multinationals (Harvey, 1993).…”

“…A feature of these organisations was their use of elements of 'acceptance' within the local community as a means to buffer expatriates against threats, apparently in contrast to approaches preferred by corporate multinationals (Harvey, 1993). The authors suggested that future studies examine the extent to which this configuration of practices might be comparable with and/or transferable to other sectors (Fee & McGrath-Champ, 2016). Hostile environments provide an especially valuable context for this because, by definition, they present elevated threats to staff as well as distinct institutional environments that influence organisations' operations.…”

“…It therefore offers a solid theoretical lens for understanding similarities in the practices of organisations that operate in the same institutional environment. That is, it enables our research to go beyond descriptive accounts of expatriate protection measures that earlier studies have reported (Fee & McGrath-Champ, 2016) to explain pattern of practices.…”

“…We examine this phenomenon through the lens of institutional theory, a perspective that foregrounds the influence of the institutional environments in which organisations configure and enact their HR practices, and the various stakeholders that legitimise those institutions. Our research builds on recent empirical studies that have begun to unpick the HR implications of expatriates' safety and security in particular sectors (Fee & McGrath-Champ, 2016) and settings (Bader & Schusterb, 2015). Further, we contribute towards theory development by documenting similarities and differences across the three sectors, and offer propositions for understanding how institutional pressures may contribute toward this pattern of practices.…”