A multi‐dimensional analysis of the subjective <scp>well‐being</scp> of <scp>self‐initiated</scp> expatriates: The case of Nigerian expatriates in Germany

Merchant, Hemant; Rao‐Nicholson, Rekha; Iheikhena, Eromosele Golden

doi:10.1002/tie.22280

Cited by 6 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 110 publications

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“…Merchant, Rao‐Nicholson, and Iheikhena (2023) study the well‐being of Nigerian self‐initiated expatriates in Germany. Based on survey data from 377 respondents, the study finds that individual, group, social, and organizational factors influence their subjective well‐being.…”

Section: Summary Of the Articles Published In This Special Issuementioning

confidence: 99%

Global talent management in the “new normal”—Editors' special issue introduction

Rammal

Ferreira

2022

Thunderbird Intl Bus Rev

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Section: Summary Of the Articles Published In This Special Issuementioning

confidence: 99%

Global talent management in the “new normal”—Editors' special issue introduction

Rammal

Ferreira

2022

Thunderbird Intl Bus Rev

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“…Recently, scholars have contributed to this gap by documenting various contextual factors that affect personal initiative (Andresen et al ., 2020), subjective well-being (Merchant et al ., 2022) and adjustment (Agha-Alikhani, 2018; Szkudlarek et al. , 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transnational sensemaking narratives of highly skilled Canadian immigrants' career change

Palic

Nardon

Hari

2023

CDI

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PurposeThe authors answer calls for research on the experiences of international professionals' career transitions by investigating how highly skilled immigrants make sense of their career changes in the host country's labor market.Design/methodology/approachThe authors report on a qualitative, inductive and elaborative study, drawing on sensemaking theories and career transitions literature and nine semi-structured reflective interviews with highly skilled Canadian immigrants.FindingsThe authors identified four career change narratives: mourning the past, accepting the present, recreating the past and starting fresh. These narratives are made sense of in a transnational context: participants contended with tensions between past, present and future careers and between relevant home and host country factors affecting their career decisions. Participants who were mourning the past or recreating the past identified more strongly with their home country professions and struggled to find resources in Canada. In accepting the present and starting fresh, participants leveraged host country networks to find career opportunities and establish themselves and their families in the new environment.Originality/valueA transnational ontology emphasizes that immigrants' lives are multifaceted and span multiple national contexts. The authors highlight how the tensions between the home and host country career contexts shape immigrants' sensemaking narratives of their international career change. The authors encourage scholars and practitioners to take a transnational contextual approach (spatial and temporal) to guide immigrants' career transitions and integration into the new social environment.

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“…The study of expatriate adjustment was on the research agenda since the pioneering work of Black and colleagues in the 1980s (Black and Stephens, 1989; Black et al ., 1991). Since then, scholars examined various aspects of adjustments and identified different types of expatriates (Andersen, 2021; Nolan and Liang, 2022; Hussain and Deery, 2023; Merchant et al ., 2023; Ryan, 2023). According to the literature, expatriate adjustment refers to the adaptation process in relation to living and working in a host country, that is, the extent to which assigned expatriates (AEs) or self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) acclimate to the host country and new workplace, as measured by performance and retention rates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the impact of national context on adjustment of self-initiated expatriates: the case of German professionals in Britain

Samarsky

2023

CDI

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PurposeThe self-initiated nature of migration by self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) may make them more susceptible to the impact of the national context within which their adjustment takes place. Consequently, the failure or success of the expatriation depends on an SIE's ability to adapt to this national context. The paper aims to contribute to the adjustment theory literature by using the contextual angle and examining the impact of historical, legal, employment and hiring contexts on adjustment.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses data from a qualitative study of 42 in-depth interviews with German SIEs. The study used semi-structured in-depth interviews in order to collect a wide range of information on adjustment experiences, circumstances and expectations, enabling comparative analysis. All participants have self-initiated their move to Britain and relocated without organisational support, held university diplomas, worked according to their qualifications and relocated following a job offer.FindingsAmong the study's main findings is impact of national context on adjustment experience, especially the historical relations between the countries involved. German SIEs have enjoyed easy adaptation in their new workplaces due to structurally favourable positions within the local hierarchies of prejudice, which can be attributed to the complex historical relations between Germany and Britain. Furthermore, this study draws the attention to the particularities of the nationally constructed hiring practices. In particular, the speedy recruitment in Britain presented additional challenges in adjustment for some participants, while facilitating it for others.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focuses on a specific population, and further research is needed to determine whether the findings can be generalised to other groups of SIEs in Britain and elsewhere. Another limitation of the study is the homogeneous nature of the sample in terms of education level and participant employment status (educated at a university level and found employment before relocation). Future research avenues include applying a comparative approach and focusing on the intersection between national context, employment circumstances, educational level and SIE adjustment.Practical implicationsThe study documents the complex effects of the hiring context on SIE adjustment and suggests that communicating the nationally constructed recruitment practices will align the expectations of both parties. This may increase the effectiveness of hiring and placing within the company and have a positive impact on the adjustment and work performance of the SIE. Furthermore, understating the particularities of each national context can enable international human resources management (IHRM) professionals to assess the specificity of each potential employee and can provide well-considered suggestions concerning the effect of country-specific legal and historical context on their adjustment and hence provide SIEs with tailored support.Originality/valueAlthough the adjustment of SIEs has attracted considerable research interest in recent years, it is often limited compared to the attention focused on assigned expatriates. This paper adds several original contributions to the IHRM literature. First, it expands knowledge on SIEs adjustment from a single country of origin living in a specific host country. Second, it enables a deep examination of the impact of the specific national context on SIEs adjustment as informed by certain historical and legal relations, as well as locally constructed hiring and employment practices.

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A multi‐dimensional analysis of the subjective well‐being of self‐initiated expatriates: The case of Nigerian expatriates in Germany

Cited by 6 publications

References 110 publications

Global talent management in the “new normal”—Editors' special issue introduction

Global talent management in the “new normal”—Editors' special issue introduction

Transnational sensemaking narratives of highly skilled Canadian immigrants' career change

Exploring the impact of national context on adjustment of self-initiated expatriates: the case of German professionals in Britain

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