Expatriate

Expatriates are a distinct form of cross-cultural traveler, principally characterized by the duration and purpose of their presence in the host country. An expatriate can be defined as an individual who lives temporarily outside their home country in order to undertake a specific job, project, or assignment. This distinguishes them in particular from tourists, who generally travel for a short period of time to engage in leisure activities, and immigrants who intend to remain in a host country indefinitely. This entry focuses on expatriation in a business context, where it is evident that expatriates are used for a variety of purposes including sales, technology transfer, control of business units, and coordination and integration. The following discussion examines selected issues associated with the management of expatriate staff, including selection, cross-cultural training, and cross-cultural adjustment.

In an increasingly international environment, there are a growing number of opportunities for people to travel to other countries. Naturally, such travel is undertaken for a variety of reasons and for different durations. Consequently, it is possible to distinguish between four different types of cross-cultural traveler: tourists, sojourners, refugees, and immigrants. Tourists travel for leisure purposes, usually for a relatively short period of time. Sojourners travel for a longer, but finite, period of time in order to undertake some form of work or educational activity. Refugees' travel is involuntary, and the duration of their time in the host country can vary widely, although they typically intend to return home as soon as conditions allow. Immigrants travel in order to establish a new life, and intend to remain in the host country indefinitely.

Through common usage, the term expatriate usually refers specifically to sojourns undertaken in an organizational context. Expatriates, then, live in a host country for an extended, but finite, period of time in order to fulfill a specific work assignment and are therefore distinguished from other categories of cross-cultural traveler by the purpose and duration of their presence in the host country.

Businesses use expatriates for a variety of reasons. The stages in a company's internationalization enable us to identify different approaches to the use of expatriate staff. With a domestic company, expatriates [Page 635]are used on an ad hoc basis. Visits to other countries will often be quite short, and may be used to reward staff. Individuals are unlikely to be carefully selected, although professional skills and company knowledge must be considered important attributes. It is unlikely that cross-cultural training will be provided. As a company develops its international presence, expatriate assignments begin to increase in frequency and importance. Candidates are again selected on professional competence, but adjustment and language skills are also considered. At this stage expatriates are used for sales roles, to transfer technology, or to exert control. Nevertheless, cross-cultural training is likely to be rather limited.

When a company becomes multinational, the frequency of expatriate assignments may decrease as host-country nationals are appointed to management posts as a result of their local knowledge. Allied to this, the value placed on international experience increases, and therefore expatriates are likely to undertake multiple postings. The desire to build the skills of the individual means that cross-cultural training is likely to be more comprehensive at this stage. As a company becomes global, the emphasis is on integration and coordination between business units, with expatriates being used to facilitate this. High-performing individuals are selected based on professional competence and cross-cultural capabilities. These individuals are likely to receive ongoing cross-cultural training and support in order that they can interact effectively with host nationals.

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