Using narratives to understand the motivational factors and experience of being a self-initiated academic expatriate in South Africa

Harry, Tinashe; Dodd, Nicole; Chinyamurindi, Willie T.

doi:10.4102/sajhrm.v15i0.797

Cited by 11 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…A qualitative narrative analysis approach was used (three levels of meaning-making), as adopted in previous studies (e.g. Chinyamurindi 2012;2016a;2016b;Harry et al 2017). The interviews were transcribed soon after each interview.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There have been a few publications that have provided guidance on the issue of SIEs in South Africa (e.g. Altbach 2004;Kotecha, Wilson-Strydom, and Fongwas 2012;Harry et al 2017;Maharaj 2011;. This research is, therefore, aimed at understanding the experiences of career success amongst a sample of SIEs from African countries, working within the higher education context in South Africa.…”

Section: Empirical Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One sample group affected by this global trend, includes self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) (Lauring and Selmer 2018), defined as those individuals who pursue an international career without the backing of an employer (Jonasson, Lauring, and Guttormsen 2018) for the purpose of career development (Chen 2012). This quest for career development allows SIEs to move across geographic boundaries (Jonasson et al 2018;Rodriguez and Scurry 2014), despite the challenges that can be encountered (Harry, Dodd, and Chinyamurindi 2017). Another reason for the movement of SIEs could be due to unfavourable conditions in their home country (Kim et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dorsch, Suutari, and Brewster 2013;Makkonen 2015;Myers 2016;Shortland 2018;Suutari et al 2018). Within an international and South African context, there has been scant empirical focus on the career development processes of SIEs (Harry et al 2017;Peltokorpi and Froese 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…SIEs face several challenges as part of their lived experience and these eventually impact not only their career development (Chen 2012;Hussain and Deery 2018) but also their experiences in the host country (Harry et al 2017). Challenges within the host country may even result in SIEs deciding to terminate their international assignments (Sarna 2015), which increases the labour turnover (Kim et al 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Using Narratives to Understand the Experience of Career Success amongst Self-initiated Expatriates in South Africa

Harry

Dodd

Chinyamurindi

2019

SABR

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Calls have been made within the careers literature for studies focusing on the career experiences of sample groups often neglected in theorising. One could regard self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) as one of these sample groups, especially within the context of a developing country. An interpretivist paradigm, relying on interviews, was adopted for this study using a sample of 25 expatriates working at a South African university. Based on data generated, career success was framed through: 1) quest for career progression; 2) material possessions; and 3) research publication output. Participants deemed factors within the organisation as key to this framing of career success, particularly: 1) the value placed on social networks; 2) the quest for fair remuneration; and finally 3) the availability of opportunities within the organisation. In their endeavours to retain and attract foreign academics, human resources (HR) practitioners can use the findings of this study to inform strategies that assist in developing their staff.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Empirical Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Using Narratives to Understand the Experience of Career Success amongst Self-initiated Expatriates in South Africa

Harry

Dodd

Chinyamurindi

2019

SABR

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Dual-career expatriate partners' motives for supporting international assignments: evidence from a patriarchal society

Nery-Kjerfve,

Polesello

2023

JGM

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PurposeExtant expatriate literature largely adopts a global north/western focus and expatriate-centric approach in investigating spousal/partners’ motives for supporting expatriation. Contrastingly, this study focuses on the lived experiences of dual-career female partners from an emerging global south economy and a patriarchal society as it relates to motives for supporting a partner’s international assignment (IA) to a developed country.Design/methodology/approachThis investigation adopts a hermeneutic interpretive phenomenology research design. Twelve career-oriented female partners from an emerging global south economy (Brazil) who supported a partner’s IA to a developed country (USA) participated in this study. The data included semi-structured interviews and field notes.FindingsThe study indicates that societal constraints, gendered career experiences and career and life stage reasons influenced women’s decision to engage in career opt out and/or interruption in support of their partners' IA. Further, patriarchal long-lasting structures and ideologies shaped women’s career experiences; women perceived IAs as a means of acquiring embodied and institutionalized cosmopolitan capital for themselves and their families in order to gain a better position in a transnational/globalized world.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the sample size of this study is appropriate for the methodological choice adopted, future studies should include more participants and address different socioeconomic, political and cultural contexts.Originality/valueThis study highlights dual-career female partners' lived experiences in an emerging global south economy and a patriarchal society as it relates to motives for supporting IAs.

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Telling tales

Harry

Dodd

Chinyamurindi

2019

JGM

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Purpose South Africa has witnessed an increase in self-initiated academic expatriates (SIAEs) coming into the country from all over the world. This movement of labour can result in South Africa performing better than any other African country. However, expatriation is accompanied by several challenges which affect both work and non-work scopes. Given that more is needed to understand the lived experiences of the expatriates, especially self-initiated expatriates from and in Africa, the purpose of this paper is to provide the basis for interventions to assist the expatriates in overcoming challenges by understanding their lived experiences. Design/methodology/approach The study used an interpretivist approach to understand the lived experiences of SIAEs. The data were collected through the use of unstructured interviews of 25 expatriate academics within South Africa. The individual narratives were analysed through structural and thematic analysis to develop themes. Findings Through the stories and narratives, the expatriation experience was one framed to be a challenging process. The lived experiences can be grouped into life and career experiences. The life experiences consist of immigration difficulties, family separation, social adjustment difficulties and unavailability of accommodation. Career experiences include remuneration differences, gender discrimination, limited professional development opportunities and communication difficulties, which affect both work and non-work experiences. Person–environment fit did not play a significant role in the experiences of the academic expatriates. Practical implications The findings showed that the lived experiences of SIAEs in Africa were mostly negative. Higher education institutions looking at hiring academic expatriates should assist the expatriates to have better experiences not only for individual benefit but for institutional benefit as well. However, this role is not only placed in the hands of the organisation but may also require individual effort. Originality/value The findings outlined in this study provide a picture of the lived experiences of SIAEs in an African context. The findings are fundamental in understanding this neglected sample group in the extant literature. They also assist in advancing literature and proposing possible solutions. All this is important, given global talent shortages which have warranted the need for highly skilled employees in countries like South Africa.

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Using narratives to understand the motivational factors and experience of being a self-initiated academic expatriate in South Africa

Cited by 11 publications

References 50 publications

Using Narratives to Understand the Experience of Career Success amongst Self-initiated Expatriates in South Africa

Using Narratives to Understand the Experience of Career Success amongst Self-initiated Expatriates in South Africa

Dual-career expatriate partners' motives for supporting international assignments: evidence from a patriarchal society

Telling tales

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