Stroh, 1995; Stroh and Caligiuri 1998a, 1998b). Such challenges posed by
globalization have caused many companies to rethink their global manage-
ment development systems. For many MNCs, one important aspect of these
systems involves expatriate assignments for the purpose of global leadership
development (Stroh and Caligiuri, 1998a, 1998b). While traditionally expatri-
ates were deployed to foreign locations solely to fill technical or managerial
needs or to provide the liaison with headquarters, today expatriate assignments
are increasingly being utilized for their potential to develop global talent (see
also Chapter 10).
Recent research has suggested that, on an individual level, global assign-
ments can play an important role in shaping professional and career develop-
ment (Tung, 1998; Stahl et al., 2002; Inkson et al., 1997). On an organizational
level, it has been found that ‘developing global leadership through develop-
mental cross-cultural assignments’ is related to MNCs’ bottom-line financial
performance (Stroh and Caligiuri, 1998a). In order for MNCs to utilize the
benefits of international experience, ideally they should ensure that repatri-
ates stay with them upon return from their international postings. In reality,
however, many global organizations state that the low retention rate of
assignees upon repatriation is among their greatest human resource chal-
lenges. The reasons for this elusive, yet common, repatriation problem are dis-
cussed in this chapter. We provide an overview of the basic issues related to
the repatriation process and focus on how repatriation can be used within the
broader knowledge management framework of an organization. Recommen-
dations for best practices addressing common repatriation concerns are also
reviewed.
Specifically, we first identify the major benefits and the primary challenges
associated with the repatriation process. The following section addresses, in
turn, the benefits of global assignment experience from an individual perspec-
tive and from an organizational perspective. We then look at a ‘darker side’ of
the expatriate assignments: Section 3 illustrates the challenges associated with
repatriation following global assignments from both an individual and an
organizational point of view. The section identifies repatriate retention as a key
concern for multinational companies. Section 4 summarizes the most com-
monly suggested recommendations for company activities aimed at easing
repatriates’ transition and, in turn, at reducing their turnover rates. Next, in
Section 5, we outline the common view that the outcome of repatriation is ulti-
mately a function of the availability of company-provided repatriation support
programs and then argue that this perspective, while very informative, may
not fully explain the reasons behind high repatriate turnover. Finally, in
Section 6 we suggest alternatives to this view by pointing out other concerns
that we believe need to be considered and addressed by companies wishing to
make their repatriation process more strategic. Recommendations for practice
are provided throughout the chapter. Section 7 concludes this chapter.
334 International Human Resource Management