The influence of personality on individuals' expatriation willingness in the context of safe and dangerous environments

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which a destination's security level affects the relationship between personality traits and individuals' expatriation willingness.Design/methodology/approachThe authors apply an experimental vignette methodology using a 2 × 1 between subjects-design with two destinations characterized by different security levels (dangerous vs. safe) among 278 participants (students and employees). Partial least squares multigroup analysis (PLS-MGA) was employed to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe findings indicate that different personality variables appear to impact individuals' expatriation willingness depending on the security level of a destination: emotionality and conscientiousness predicted expatriation willingness to dangerous environments, whereas openness to experience predicted expatriation willingness to safe environments. The personality traits of honesty–humility, extraversion and agreeableness were not found to influence expatriation willingness in either scenario.Practical implicationsThe study discusses a set of practical recommendations for the selection and the management of eligible individuals who are willing to expatriate to dangerous locations.Originality/valueThe study is among the first to examine the influence of personality on expatriation willingness in safe and dangerous environments at the same time. It advances prior research by providing a more nuanced understanding of the context-specific effects of personality on expatriation willingness.

The three-phase expatriate cycle of developing global human resources in the banking industry in Taiwan

“…Another important criterion is the willingness of the candidate to go overseas and this is much dependent on personality traits (Ipek and Paulus, 2021). Among the factors considered are the candidate’s flexibility in embracing cultural differences, family commitments and the ease of relocation.…”

A conceptual model of individuals' decision to engage in global mobility: integrating self-determination theory and theory of planned behavior

“…Researchers have examined the determinants of individuals' intention and decision to engage in global mobility for over two decades (Brett and Stroh, 1995;Ipek and Paulus, 2021;Suutari et al, 2012). Most of these studies focus on individuals' intention or willingness to expatriate because there is a difficulty associated with longitudinal data collection among globally mobile workers, especially concerning cost and high dropout rates (Vandor and Franke, 2016).…”

“…On the decision to engage in GM, the literature identified personal variables, pull and push factors and psychological variables influencing the decision. Personal characteristics, such as being male, single and without children, are linked to higher intentions to expatriate (Engle et al, 2015;Froese and Peltokorpi, 2013;Ipek and Paulus, 2021) mainly because these characteristics are linked to contextual aspects that facilitate relocation (i.e. it is easier to move without dependents).…”

“…These include the influence of personal variables, such as gender, family configurations, level of education and foreign language proficiency (e.g. Dupuis et al, 2008;Ipek and Paulus, 2021), the push and pull factors that drive decisions (e.g. McNulty and Vance, 2017;Suutari et al, 2012) and psychological determinants of individuals' intention to expatriate, including aspects such as personality traits (e.g.…”

Can we have trust in host government? Self-esteem, work attitudes and prejudice of low-status expatriates living in China

“…Furthermore, it establishes that various factors do assist in this adjustment, including individual factors such as possession of favorable social status and personal attributes like self-esteem and personal motivation. The literature also suggests that feelings of psychological wellbeing and safety help expatriates to develop positive commitments to their jobs and thus provide grounds for a successful international career (Ipek & Paulus, 2021). Political stability and a just host governmentsuch that expatriates expect the government to act in a fair manner to protect them against harm and that the law will prevail contribute to the development of these feelings (Faeth & Kittler, 2017).…”