Date of Award

2023

Document Type

Dissertation - Open Access

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Advisor(s)

Dr. Mary Conway Dato-on

Second Advisor

Dr. Ginger Killian

Keywords

expatriate journey, host country manager, cross cultural training (CCT), family adaptation, candidate selection, repatriation

Abstract

Expatriate assignments are a main tool for multinational enterprises (MNEs) to open new operations and execute their strategies in international markets. However, such assignments are expensive and have a high failure rate (Johnson et al., 2006; Lin et al., 2012). Furthermore, the impact of failed assignments can result in significant negative impact beyond the assignment's direct cost. Mexico is one of the countries with the highest number of US expatriates (InterNations, 2022) partly due to its significant trade with the US. Most of the existing literature concentrates on how selection and training can improve the success of the expatriate throughout the expatriate journey from the perspective of the expatriate manager and the Multinational Enterprises (MNE) (Jones et al., 2014; Romero, 2002). US MNEs can greatly benefit from increasing the success of US expatriates. A case study methodology was used to study a US MNE operating in Mexico by interviewing host country managers that work with US expatriates. The context of the study is the US expatriate in Mexico, the case is the US MNE, and the unit of analysis is each interviewed host county manager in Mexico. This work aspires to expand existing theory and theoretical frameworks on expatriate assignment success by introducing the voice of the host country manager throughout the expatriate journey. The study has practical applications for MNEs trying to maximize their international expatriate investments to execute or advance their strategies and/or develop global managers.

Download

Share

COinS