Business, pleasure or both?: motivations and changing motivation of self-initiated expatriates

Abstract

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.

Self-initiated expatriates motivation and basic psychological needs – a generalization and extension replication

“…Their importance highly depends on many factors, such as country context, gender, mobility frequency (Thorn, 2009), demographic characteristics, and industry or sector (Suutari et al ., 2018). Additionally, they change throughout the expatriation experience (Despotovic et al ., 2022), even for repatriation decisions (Tharenou and Caulfield, 2010). For example, it was found that disregard demographic factors, the desire for adventure and personal-lifestyle goals consistently rated as the most influential on SIEs decisions (Doherty et al ., 2011; Richardson and Mallon, 2005; Richardson and McKenna, 2006).…”

“…Some SIEs relocated to a particular country to reconnect with their loved ones, acquaintances or due to personal reasons such as a family-related interests (Muir et al ., 2014; Oberholster et al ., 2013; Tharenou and Caulfield, 2010). Others are motivated by the idea of living abroad and finding a better quality of life (Despotovic et al ., 2022; Doherty, 2013), while some SIEs purposefully avoid culturally challenging locations (Doherty et al ., 2013).…”

“…Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) will continue to play a crucial role as a bridging agent that aggregates demand, arbitrages national differences, and supports and channels cross-border flows of capital, products, services and intellectual assets. Self-Initiated Expatriates (SIEs) are a crucial staffing component for MNEs to maintain global competitiveness (Despotovic et al ., 2022; Shortland and Porter, 2020; Tharenou, 2013). Organizations must understand and manage SIEs' motivations to increase efficiency and support their psychological well-being.…”

“…Usually, researchers applied the SDT to provide a deeper understanding of SIEs' motivations by categorizing them into various categories according to their regulatory motivations, transcending the traditional dichotomy of extrinsic–intrinsic motivation. This approach allows for a more nuanced analysis of the underlying factors driving expatriation decisions (Chen and Shaffer, 2017; Despotovic et al ., 2022; Oberholster et al ., 2013; Singh et al ., 2021).…”

The vision of the GLOMO project : Introduction and overview

“…(2) The analysis of careers of self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) has received little attention so far. Research on SIEs has focused on a variety of topics, such as cultural adjustment (e.g., Kumra et al, 2021), gender issues (Haak-Saheem et al, 2022), repatriation (Andresen, 2021), motives (Despotovic et al, 2022), and outcomes (e.g., Maharjan et al, 2021). However, the overall results regarding international careers remain unclear, making it difficult to draw general conclusions.…”