International Human Resource Management-MJ Version

Adler, 1997; Osland, 1995). Global assignments, therefore, are beneficial for
individuals as they can help them develop an appreciation for the complexities
of transacting business across national borders – and it is this cognitive com-
plexity that is critical for global leaders’ success (Levy et al., 1999).

Benefits from the perspective of the organization

In addition to individual advantages of having gained valuable human capital,
successful repatriation is also associated with benefits for the MNCs. Having
extensive understanding of how the company is perceived in other countries
and being part of a global social network that can advance the company’s busi-
ness around the world, repatriates are an important element in expanding the
international operations of the company. Repatriates, therefore, play an irre-
placeable role in organizational learning (Bonache and Brewster, 2001; Downes
and Thomas, 1999, 2000).
Repatriates provide a resident base of knowledge about the complexities of
international operations. They possess first-hand knowledge about characteris-
tics of national markets, their business climate, cultural patterns, structure of
the market system, and most importantly, knowledge about individual cus-
tomers and suppliers. Such market-specific knowledge can only be gained
through experience in specific countries. In addition, as suggested previously,
repatriates also acquire more general knowledge about doing business inter-
nationally on a global market. Such knowledge can often be transferred from one
country to another and is cumulative in nature. By sharing and transferring
both market-specific and general knowledge to new individuals across bound-
aries of space, time, or hierarchy, repatriates enable companies to learn from
their previous globalization efforts. This serves to enhance the group intellec-
tual capital of the MNC (Downes and Thomas, 1999, 2000).
In short, repatriates represent a unique vehicle for knowledge transfer and
organizational learning. Their role in these processes is becoming increasingly
important in a context where learning has been recognized as one of the key sources
of sustainable competitive advantage. Not surprisingly, many companies view their
repatriates as an important human capital investment (Caligiuri and Lazarova, 2001;
Downes and Thomas, 1999; Lazarova and Caligiuri, 2001; Tung, 1998).

3 CHALLENGES OF REPATRIATION

Challenges from the perspective of the individual

While global assignments are viewed as beneficial on many counts, when repa-
triation is considered it becomes clear that the experience also entails some

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