Responding to calls for more knowledge about the motivations (and changing motivations) of self-initiated expatriates (SIEs), this qualitative research examines 58 Australian SIEs working in culturally (dis)similar host contexts, to address the question: Why are Australian SIEs motivated to expatriate to South Korea or the United Kingdom? The findings demonstrate that, although personal/lifestyle considerations are important to SIEs, career-related considerations are either primary or become more prevalent following expatriation. The findings reveal that, while SIEs expatriate with particular motivations, over time their motivations may change as other factors determine desire to stay/leave a host country. Drawing on self-determination theory (SDT), the research highlights variations in extrinsic and intrinsic motivations of SIEs including those who intended to utilise their expatriation as part of a boundaryless career and those who unintentionally found themselves focused on career. Knowledge of (changing) motivations is salient to organisations' selection decisions and support for international employees.

Multinational organisations continue to staff their international operations with expatriate employees and extant research has highlighted that organisationally provided cross-cultural preparation can contribute towards intercultural effectiveness and minimise expatriate failure and challenges associated with working and living internationally for these individuals. Yet, the cross-cultural preparation of self-initiated expatriates, especially those from regions outside of North America and Europe, has received considerably less attention in the literature even though they represent a growing and significant component of the global talent pool. This research addresses this gap in the literature by exploring the perceptions that self-initiated Australian expatriates have of cross-cultural selfpreparation for careers in South Korea; providing greater insights into a cohort of expatriates living and working in a nation of growing commercial importance to Australia which has been accorded limited attention in the expatriation literature. The research draws on semi-structured interviews with 20 self-initiated Australian expatriates and repatriates working within diverse industries including construction, education, engineering, government, legal, manufacturing, and pharmaceuticals. The interviewees were primarily males aged between 20 and 30 years who had worked (on average) for 24.5 months in South Korea. The findings are significant in highlighting: the value of crosscultural self-preparation; differences in preparation needs for those in urban and rural areas; prior work and non-work experience for preparedness; and the importance of adjustments in attitudes.This article provides insights into the perceptions of the value of cross-cultural selfpreparation of Australian self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) for living and working in South Korea. Some expatriates experience failure and underperformance while working and living internationally (see Graf and Mertesacker 2009;Harzing and Christensen 2004) which often results from challenges in adjusting to unfamiliar cultural environments. While research on organisationally assigned expatriates (OAEs) has highlighted that crosscultural training can contribute towards intercultural effectiveness, cross-cultural selfpreparation (CCSP) has not been specifically discussed in the literature. We suggest that in the absence of organisationally provided training which may be available to OAEs, SIEs engage in self-preparation for living and working outside their country of origin and understanding what this entails provides important insights into our understanding of cross-cultural preparation of expatriates more broadly.Extant research on global careers is dominated by studies of OAEs who are relocated by an organisation outside of their home country for a temporary assignment, yet the increasingly complex nature and purpose of international assignments has meant that a range of new career paths have emerged within the expatriate population (Carr, Inkson and Thorn 2005;Suutari and ...