Employees pursue global careers when they gain diversified, international work experience in several different countries across the world over a longer period of time. These global careers are a particular category of the boundaryless career, in which individuals move between jobs, firms, and countries. As such it is not so much characterizing any single career form, but rather a range of possible career forms which go against many traditional employment assumptions.

Literature still debates what global careerists value most in their careers and what influences their career decisions. Due to the challenging nature of their jobs, global careerists face a multitude of challenges, most notably work-family conflicts. Employing organizations must take this innovative form of career path into consideration and react to it.

This Bachelor thesis should critically review the literature on global careerists, providing an overview of their career decisions and challenges and how employing organizations react to this new career form.

References (preliminary):

Mäkelä, L and Suutari, V. (2011). Coping with work-family conflicts in the global career context, Thunderbird International Business Review, 53(3), pp. 365-375.

Näsholm, M.H. (2012). Global careerists’ identity construction: A narrative study of repeat expatriates and international itinerants, International Journal of Managing Projects in Business, 5(4), pp. 804-812.

Suutari, V., Tornikoski, C. and Mäkelä, L. (2012). Career decision making of global careerists, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 23(16), pp. 3455-3478. 

Chinese multinational corporations (MNCs) follow own, culturally rooted ethical practices, which are predominantly relationship-oriented (particularism, collectivism). They often stand at odds with Western ethical principles, which are based on different cultural characteristics (e.g., universalism, individualism) and concepts of duty, impartiality, individual rights, and justice.

When Chinese MNCs globalize, they encounter a variety of ethical issues when dealing with business partners or local employees, in particular in Western countries. What is regarded in China as ethical behavior might be regarded as unethical in the West and vice versa. For example, the application of some Chinese business practices might be regarded ethically problematic in the West. By contrast, some business ethics concepts of Western origin, such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the reporting about a company’s social performance, are not well accepted and implemented by Chinese MNCs. This, however, entails problems, once Chinese MNCs internationalize into countries, where Western business ethics tools are more the norm.

This Bachelor thesis should critically review the literature on ethical aspects of the internationalization process of Chinese MNCs. On this basis, practical recommendations on how to address these issues should be developed.

References (preliminary):

Ardichvili, A., Jondle, D., and Kowske, B. (2010). Dimensions of ethical business cultures: comparing data from 13 countries of Europe, Asia, and the Americas, Human Resource Development International, 13(3), pp. 299-315.

Garcia, F., Mendez, D., Ellis, C. and Gautney, C. (2014). Cross-cultural, values and ethics differences and similarities between the US and Asian countries, Journal of Technology Management in China, 9(3), pp. 303-322.

Leung, T.K.P. (2004). A Chinese-United States joint venture business ethics model and its implications for multinational firms, International Journal of Management, 21(1), p. 58.

Provis, C. (2008). “Guanxi” and conflicts of interest, Journal of Business Ethics, 79(1/2), pp. 57-68.

Wright, P.C., Szeto, W.F. and Lee, S.K. (2003). Ethical perceptions in China: The reality of business ethics in an international context, Management Decision, 41(2), pp. 180-189.

Organizational justice describes individuals’ or group’s perception of the fairness received from an organization. It has been extensively researched since perceived fairness is the foundation for many organizational success factors, including employees’ job satisfaction and their loyalty to the organization.

Most research on organizational justice has been conducted in Western settings. However, recent cross-cultural research indicates that the perception of fairness in Western and East Asian culture can be significantly different from each other.

This Bachelor thesis should review existing research on organizational justice and respectively fairness perceptions from both a Western and an East Asian perspective.

References (preliminary):

Blader, S., Chang, C. and Tylor, T. (2001). Procedural justice and retaliation in organizations: Comparing cross-nationally the importance of fair group processes, International Journal of Conflict Management, 12(4), pp. 295-311.

Bueechl, J. and Pudelko, M. (2017). Organizational justice perceptions and responsive behavior in a Chinese-German context, Academy of Management Annual Meeting Proceedings, 2017(1), p. 15944.

Li, A. and Cropanzano, R. (2009). Do East Asians respond more/less strongly to organizational justice than North Americans? A meta-analysis, Journal of Management Studies, 46(5), pp. 787-805.

Shao, R., Rupp, D.E., Skarlicki, D.P. and Jones, K.S. (2013). Employee justice across cultures: A meta-analytic review, Journal of Management, 39(1), pp. 263-301.

Research on expatriation has been a popular topic in international business for more than four decades. Given the increasing amount of expatriate assignments in an increasingly international business environment, the issue of how expatriates adjust to foreign cultures and perform in their jobs has become increasingly important.

One factor contributing to expatriate failure that has been discussed in the literature is spousal and family adjustment and conflict within the host country. The adjustment of the family and spouse can have a significant impact on the success of an international assignment and thus should not be neglected by organizations.

Another factor to consider is the willingness to go on an expatriation assignment as the demand for expatriates increases, but potential expatriates might show resistance to international assignments due to family concerns. In recent years literature has started to discuss dual career expatriates besides the traditional trailing spouses.

This Bachelor thesis should critically discuss the literature on the expatriate’s family and spouse, highlight the relevance family adjustment can have on the success of international assignments and what multinational enterprises can do to address this problem.

References (preliminary):

Caligiuri, P.M., Hyland, M.M., Joshi, A. and Bross, A.S. (1998). Testing a theoretical model for examining the relationship between family adjustment and expatriates' work adjustment, Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(4), pp. 598-614.

Känsälä, M., Mäkelä, L. and Suutari, V. (2015). Career coordination strategies among dual career expatriate couples, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 26(17), pp. 2187-2210.

Shaffer, M.A., Reiche, S., Dimitrova, M., Lazarova, M., Chen, S., Westman, M. and Wurtz, O. (2016). Work-and family-role adjustment of different types of global professionals: Scale development and validation, Journal of International Business Studies, 47(2), pp. 113-139.

Takeuchi, R., Seakhwa-Yun, R. and Tesluk, P.E. (2002). An examination of crossover and spillover effects of spousal and expatriate cross-cultural adjustment on expatriate outcomes, Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(4), pp. 655-666.
 

Research on expatriation has been a popular topic in international business for more than four decades. Given the increasing number of expatriate assignments in an increasingly international business environment, the issue of how expatriates adjust to foreign cultures and perform in their jobs has gained attention.

In this vein, cross-cultural research has increasingly investigated what happens to individuals who were raised and socialized in one cultural context before they re-establish their lives in another cultural context in line with their international assignment. The long-term psychological consequences of this process of adjustment are highly variable, depending on factors that reside in the society and working context of the country of origin, the society and working context of the host country, in the individual personality of the expatriate and phenomena that both exist prior to, and arise during, the course of adjustment.

This Bachelor thesis should critically review the literature on expatriate adjustment and outline its effects on expatriate success.

References (preliminary):

Hippler, T., Caligiuri, P. and Johnson, J. (2014). Revisiting the construct of expatriate adjustment, International Studies of Management & Organization, 44(3), pp. 8-24.

Mendenhall, M. and Oddou, G. (1985). The dimensions of expatriate acculturation: A review, Academy of Management Review, 10(1), pp. 39-47.

Shaffer, M.A., Harrison, D.A., and Gilley K.M. (1999). Dimensions, determinants, and differences in the expatriate adjustment process, Journal of International Business Studies, 30(3), pp. 557-581. 
 

Trust is for organizations as fragile as it is important. Gaining trust in business relationships between people of the same culture is already difficult. In international interactions, it is even more difficult.

For organizations, the emergence of distrust entails, by contrast, negative and costly consequences. It can lead to negative relationships and even intractable conflicts and ultimately cause lower productivity and performance.

Recent research has shown that trust and distrust are distinct constructs. Distrust is self-amplifying and represses trust.  While trust is slowly built and can be quickly shattered, distrust emerges quicker and can be difficult to mitigate.

This Bachelor thesis should critically review the literature on the consequences of distrust and discuss how challenges arising from cultural differences can either mitigate trust or increase distrust on an interpersonal level in international business.

References (preliminary):

Kim, P. H., Dirks, K. T., & Cooper, C. D. (2009). The repair of trust: A dynamic bilateral perspective and multilevel conceptualization. Academy of Management Review, 34(3), 401-422.

Saunders, M. N., Dietz, G., & Thornhill, A. (2014). Trust and distrust: Polar opposites, or independent but co-existing? Human Relations, 67(6), 639-665.

Zaheer, S., & Zaheer, A. (2006). Trust across borders. Journal of International Business Studies, 37, 21-29.
 

Organizational justice describes individuals’ or groups’ perception of the fairness received from an organization. It has been extensively researched since perceived fairness is the foundation for many organizational success factors, including employees’ job satisfaction and their loyalty to the organization.

Most research on organizational justice has been conducted in a Western setting. However, recent cross-cultural research indicates that the perception of fairness in the Western and the Chinese culture can be significantly different from each other.

This Bachelor thesis should review existing research on organizational justice (respectively, as a synonym) fairness perceptions from both a Western and a Chinese perspective.

References (preliminary):

Bidder, S. L., Chang, C. C., & Tyler, T. R. (2001). Procedural justice and retaliation in organizations: Comparing cross‐nationally the importance of fair group processes. International Journal of Conflict Management, 12(4), 295-31.

Bueechl, J., & Pudelko, M. (2017). Organizational justice perceptions and responsive behavior in a Chinese-German context. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2017, No. 1, p. 15944). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of Management.

Li, A., & Cropanzano, R. (2009). Do East Asians respond more/less strongly to organizational justice than North Americans? A meta‐analysis. Journal of Management Studies, 46(5), 787-805.

Shao, R., Rupp, D. E., Skarlicki, D. P., & Jones, K. S. (2013). Employee justice across cultures: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Management, 39(1), 263-301.
 

Multinational teams are work-teams consisting of members of different nationalities and cultures. They have increasingly gained importance for multinational companies due to their ability to integrate a variety of perspectives and skills. These multinational teams need to manage conflicts, deal with coordination and control issues, maintain communication richness, develop and uphold team cohesiveness, as well as deal with the team task at hand.

However, not only the cultural but also the linguistic diversity between team members confronts these teams with a range of challenges. Their different mother tongues and differing levels of foreign language abilities result in communication barriers. For example, a low level of language proficiency can be interpreted by fellow team members as a lack of competence, thus creating tension within the team. Furthermore, language barriers can impact knowledge processing, power dynamics and trust dynamics in teams.

This Bachelor thesis should critically review the literature on language barriers in multinational teams and discuss which impact language barriers can have on multinational teamwork.

References (preliminary):

Li, H., Yuan, Y. C., Bazarova, N. N., & Bell, B. S. (2019). Talk and let talk: The effects of language proficiency on speaking up and competence perceptions in multinational teams. Group and Organization Management, 44(5), 953-989.

Nurmi, N., & Koroma, J. (2020). The emotional benefits and performance costs of building a psychologically safe language climate in MNCs. Journal of World Business, 55(4), 101093.

Tenzer, H., Pudelko, M., & Zellmer-Bruhn, M. (2021). The impact of language barriers on knowledge processing in multinational teams. Journal of World Business, 56(2), 101184.

Tenzer, H., & Pudelko, M. (2017). The influence of language differences on power dynamics in multinational teams. Journal of World Business, 52(1), 45-61.

Research on expatriation has been a popular topic in international business for more than four decades. Given the growing quantity of expatriate assignments in an increasingly international business environment, the issue of how expatriates adjust to foreign cultures and perform in their jobs has been gaining relevance. As expatriate failure has negative consequences both for the organization and the expatriate, selecting the right candidate for an international assignment is of high importance.

One characteristic that appears to contribute to overcoming the challenges of expatriation is cultural intelligence. Cultural intelligence consists of different (meta-)cognitive, motivational and behavioral components and can be viewed as the ability of a person to adapt to an unfamiliar situation and correctly interpret communication across different cultures.

This Bachelor thesis should critically review the literature on cultural intelligence in the context of expatriation and explore the relevance of cultural intelligence on the willingness to take on an international assignment and its influence on a successful expatriation period.

References (preliminary):

Earley, P. C., Murnieks, C., & Mosakowski, E. (2007). Cultural intelligence and the global mindset. In The global mindset (pp. 75-103). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Hippler, T., Caligiuri, P., & Johnson, J. (2014). Revisiting the construct of expatriate adjustment: Implications for theory and measurement. International Studies of Management and Organization, 44(3), 8-24.

Huff, K. C. (2013). Language, cultural intelligence and expatriate success. Management Research Review, 36(6), 596-612.

Lee, L. Y., & Sukoco, B. M. (2010). The effects of cultural intelligence on expatriate performance: The moderating effects of international experience. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 21(7), 963-981.
 

In an organizational context, knowledge management has the task to actively develop and transfer knowledge through certain structures, processes and systems. The goal is to keep, develop and spread the knowledge acquired in order to achieve innovation and higher performance. Multinational corporations (MNCs) are particularly faced with challenges that arise when knowledge must be managed between headquarter (HQ) and subsidiaries. Geographically dispersed locations and culturally diverse members of the MNC require more complex solutions to transfer and develop knowledge.

Researchers have found out that expatriates can play an important role in the knowledge management of MNCs. In order to transfer knowledge from HQ to subsidiaries and back, expatriates with special functional knowledge can play an important role by taking key positions in subsidiaries for a certain period of time. But what are the success factors, challenges and limitations of this method of knowledge transfer? And which contextual factors influence the success, challenges and limitations of knowledge management through expatriates?

This Bachelor thesis should critically review the literature on knowledge management in MNCs. On this basis, the role of expatriates in knowledge management should be discussed.

References (preliminary):

Duvivier, F., Peeters, C., & Harzing, A. W. (2019). Not all international assignments are created equal: HQ-subsidiary knowledge transfer patterns across types of assignments and types of knowledge. Journal of World Business, 54(3), 181-190.

Fang, Y., Jiang, G. L. F., Makino, S., & Beamish, P. W. (2010). Multinational firm knowledge, use of expatriates, and foreign subsidiary performance. Journal of Management Studies, 47(1), 27-54.

Hajro, A., & Pudelko, M. (2009, August). Multinational teams in the context of organizational culture: A multi-company case study. Best paper proceedings in Academy of Management proceedings (Vol. 2009, No. 1, pp. 1-6). Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510: Academy of Management.

Zellmer-Bruhn, M., & Gibson, C. (2006). Multinational organization context: Implications for team learning and performance. Academy of Management Journal, 49(3), 501-518.
 

Research on expatriation has been a popular topic in international business for more than four decades. Given the increasing number of expatriate assignments in an increasingly international business environment, the issue of what motivates potential expatriates to go abroad and perform in their jobs has been gaining more importance.

One factor that is often mentioned regarding expatriation willingness is the perceived probability of a promotion after successful expatriation. However, these hopes are not always fulfilled due to several problems ranging from expatriate failure to organizational planning.

This Bachelor thesis should critically review the actual and perceived outcomes of expatriation on an individual’s career progression.

References (preliminary):

Benson, G. S., & Pattie, M. (2008). Is expatriation good for my career? The impact of expatriate assignments on perceived and actual career outcomes. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 19(9), 1636-1653.

Froese, F. J., Jommersbach, S., & Klautzsch, E. (2013). Cosmopolitan career choices: a cross-cultural study of job candidates' expatriation willingness. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 24(17), 3247-3261.

Georgakakis, D., Dauth, T., & Ruigrok, W. (2016). Too much of a good thing: Does international experience variety accelerate or delay executives’ career advancement? Journal of World Business, 51(3), 425-437.

Suutari, V., Tornikoski, C., & Mäkelä, L. (2012). Career decision making of global careerists. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 23(16), 3455-3478.
 

There is a growing body of research that identifies a disjunction between an international assignees' perception of the value of international assignments from a career perspective and the perceived value from the organizational point of view. Specifically, individual assignees perceive the main value of the assignment as a means for developing individual competence that can be transferred across organizations. 
Reflecting this trend, international human resource managers have noticed a growing number of self-initiated international assignments. In the context of self-initiated assignments, employees seek posts in foreign operations and relocate abroad on their own accord, without organizational assistance. One key implication of the increasing number of self-initiated assignees is that multinational corporations can make use of these employees to fill key positions in subsidiary operations at a lower cost than traditional expatriates. 
This Bachelor thesis should critically review the advantages and drawbacks of self-initiated international assignments, both from the assignees and the employer’s point of view.

References (preliminary):

Hajro, A., Stahl, G. K., Clegg, C. C., & Lazarova, M. B. (2019). Acculturation, coping, and integration success of international skilled migrants: An integrative review and multilevel framework. Human Resource Management Journal, 29(3), 328-352.

Shaffer, M. A., Reiche, S., Dimitrova, M., Lazarova, M., Chen, S., Westman, M., & Wurtz, O. (2016). Work-and family-role adjustment of different types of global professionals: Scale development and validation. Journal of International Business Studies, 47, 113-139.

Suutari, V., Brewster, C., Mäkelä, L., Dickmann, M., & Tornikoski, C. (2018). The effect of international work experience on the career success of expatriates: A comparison of assigned and self‐initiated expatriates. Human Resource Management, 57(1), 37-54.

Thomas, D. C., Lazarova, M. B., & Inkson, K. (2005). Global careers: new phenomenon or new perspectives? Journal of World Business, 40(4), 340-347.