Repatriation of international assignees

Author(s):  
Jan Knocke ◽  
Tassilo Schuster

Purpose Repatriation continues to be a current challenge for many international firms. While this topic has received only limited attention in literature in the past, it has aroused an increased academic interest since the 2000s. Until now, however, thorough analyses of advancements in this field, which go beyond a pure content-related review, are still scarce in research. To address this gap, this study provides a systematic and comprehensive literature review of repatriation from an ecological systems perspective. The purpose of this paper is threefold: to analyze where and when repatriation research has been published, what aspects (e.g. topics, theories, and contexts) have been considered in the repatriation literature, and how the research has been conducted (e.g. employed methodologies). Based on the findings implications for future research are developed. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on a systematic literature review of 96 peer-reviewed articles from 1973 to 2016. Findings The results of the study reveal that repatriation has found its way into journals of different disciplines. By employing an ecological systems theoretical perspective, the study shows that research on repatriation covers a broad set of ecological systems to explain repatriation outcomes. Quantitative approaches are fairly prominent in repatriation research, whereas the use of qualitative approaches has increased lately. Mixed-methods approaches, however, are still scarce in the repatriation literature. Moreover, the results outline that the majority of scholars collected data on the individual level. With regard to methodological rigor (both design and analysis), a steady use of linear regression modeling in quantitative articles was found, whereas more sophisticated methodological approaches such as structural equation modeling and longitudinal studies have only recently found their way into repatriation research. Finally, by considering that the expatriate literature addresses a variety of types of expatriation, this study highlights that research on repatriation should differentiate more thoroughly between types of repatriates to provide target-group-oriented recommendations and to deepen the understanding of the repatriation phenomenon. Originality/value This study contributes to the repatriation research in several ways. First, it provides a systematic analysis of the repatriation literature from an ecological systems theoretical lens. By combining this content-related analysis with an investigation of methodological issues, the study outlines which ecological systems have been covered in the literature on repatriation, where the strengths and weaknesses of this literature stream lay, and in which direction future avenues of research should move. Moreover, the study highlights which methodological shortcomings are still existent in the repatriation literature and shows that a differentiated viewpoint on repatriates like in the expatriation literature is still in an embryonic stage in repatriation research. Finally, it contributes to the repatriation research by deducing valuable recommendations for future research.

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 104-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adel A.A. Al-Wugayan

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the conceptual and empirical effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on affective and behavioral inclinations of financial service representatives (FSRs) in faith-expressive (FE) banks and financial institutions in non-Western markets. Design/methodology/approach Drawing upon recent CSR research findings, this study proposed a conceptual model of the association between FSRs’ perceptions of the firm’s CSR toward stakeholders with FSRs’ affective attachment, work engagement and proactive work inclinations using survey data (n = 175). Pre-analysis procedures were applied followed by structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses. Findings FSRs were more emotionally attached to the firm when CSR initiatives were directed at them or toward social organizations, but were generally ambivalent to CSR directed to suppliers or competition. As firm attachment becomes stronger, propensity to engage in work and proactive work behaviors increases. Research limitations/implications This paper improves management understanding and sensitivity to managing the service salesforce in FE firms as emerging organizations. Future research can focus on actual measures of job performance and on comparative results when applied to traditional financial firms. Practical implications Marketing managers relying on CSR to motivate FSRs should realize its limitations when applied to FE firms. Qualitative approaches to solicit stakeholders’ input are encouraged to improve CSR performance. Originality/value In non-Western FE firms, strategizing CSR initiative spending should include its potential impact on service employees dealing with customers with particular attention to firm attachment, and inclination to excel in service providing.


2017 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 862-882 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona X. Yang ◽  
Sherry Xiuchang Tan

Purpose This paper aims to empirically investigate how event innovation may induce desirable corporate branding. Design/methodology/approach A survey yielded 280 complete responses from tourists who had attended an event in Macau. Structural equation modeling was used to test the innovation-corporate loyalty framework through perceived event value and corporate image, with a multi-group comparison to examine differences between first-time and repeat customers. Findings The results indicate that innovation is not only the key to value enhancement of the event but also an efficacious instrument of branding the parent company and building corporate loyalty; only product-related innovation has a significant impact on event value; both functional and emotional values induce a more favorable corporate image; and event-induced corporate branding is more effective in securing repeat business than attracting new clientele. Practical implications The findings help hospitality operators and event planners to leverage innovative events for corporate branding and cater to different customer segments by providing distinct marketing strategies. Originality/value The study contributes to the body of knowledge regarding event management and corporate branding and sheds light on future research to explore the initiative and benefit of pushing forward event innovation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 367-390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elaine Wallace ◽  
Isabel Buil ◽  
Leslie de Chernatony

Purpose Brand “Likes” on Facebook facilitate self-expression, forming part of consumers’ virtual selves. Yet, consumers’ brand “Likes” may bear little resemblance to their material realities. This paper aims to test similarities of brand image with self-image for Facebook “Likes” to determine whether self-congruence with a “Liked” brand leads to positive offline brand outcomes. It also investigates whether consumers’ perceptions about their Facebook social relations influence self-congruent brand “Likes”. Design/methodology/approach A large-scale survey was conducted of regular Facebook users who “Liked” brands. Data from 438 respondents was analysed and hypotheses tested using structural equation modeling. Findings Empirical results show that the perceived self-congruence with a “Liked” brand increases with social tie strength. Perceived social tie strength is informed by perceived attitude homophily. When the perceived self-congruence with a “Liked” brand is higher, brand love and word of mouth (WOM) are enhanced. Consumers also have greater brand loyalty and offer more WOM when brands are loved. Research limitations/implications Findings demonstrate the influence of consumers’ cognitive network on “Likes” and brand outcomes. Further replication would enhance generalisability. Future research should use a wider sample and investigate other variables. Practical implications Findings support managers seeking to grow and analyse Facebook “Likes” by providing insights into brand loyalty, brand love and WOM for “Liked” brands. Originality/value The paper addresses the dearth of research exploring how consumers’ perceptions of their Facebook network influence their online brand behaviour and how perceived self-congruence with a “Liked” brand relates to brand outcomes.


2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 631-654 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ibrahim M. Awad ◽  
Alaa A. Amro

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to map the cluster in the leather and shoes sector for improving the competitiveness of the firms. Toward this end, the study is organized to examine the impact of clustering on competitiveness improvement. The influence of competitive elements and performance (Porter’s diamond) and balanced score card was utilized. Design/methodology/approach A random sample of 131 respondents was chosen during the period from May 2016 to July 2016. A structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis was applied to investigate the research model. This approach was chosen because of its ability to test casual relationships between constructs with multiple measurement items. Researchers proposed a two-stage model-building process for applying SEM. The measurement model was first examined for instrument validation, followed by an analysis of the structural model for testing associations hypothesized by the research model. Findings The main findings show that there is a unidirectional causal relationship between improvements of performance and achieve competitiveness and also reveal that the Palestinian shoes and leather cluster sector is vital and strong, and conclude that clustering can achieve competitiveness for small- and medium-sized enterprises. Research limitations/implications Future research can examine the relationship between clustering and innovation. The effect of clustering using other clustering models other than Porter’s model is advised to be used for future research. Practical implications The relationships among clustering and competitiveness may provide a practical clue to both, policymakers and researchers on how cluster enhances economic firms such as a skilled workforce, research, development capacity, and infrastructure. This is likely to create assets such as trust, synergy, collaboration and cooperation for improved competitiveness. Originality/value The findings of this study provide background information that can simultaneously be used to analyze relationships among factors of innovation, customer’s satisfaction, internal business and financial performance. This study also identified several essential factors in successful firms, and discussed the implications of these factors for developing organizational strategies to encourage and foster competitiveness.


2014 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 494-507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha C. Andrews ◽  
K. Michele Kacmar ◽  
Charles Kacmar

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of mindfulness as a predictor of the two components of regulatory focus theory (RFT): promotion and prevention focus. It further examines promotion focus and prevention focus as mediators of the mindfulness-job satisfaction and mindfulness-turnover intentions relationships. Finally, job satisfaction is also examined as a mediator of the mindfulness-turnover intentions relationship. Design/methodology/approach – The model was tested using data collected via a snowball approach. Online surveys were distributed to undergraduate students enrolled in a business course. Students were then given the opportunity to earn extra credit by sending the survey to potential respondents. The relationships were tested using structural equation modeling. Findings – Support was found for four of the six hypotheses. Prevention focus did not negatively mediate the relationship between mindfulness and job satisfaction as well as the relationship between mindfulness and turnover intentions. Research limitations/implications – One limitations of this research is the placement of mindfulness as an antecedent to promotion and prevention focus. Another plausible alternative is to consider mindfulness as a consequence. An additional limitation is the use of a snowball sampling technique. Future research should examine these findings using employees of a single organization. Originality/value – This research theoretically and empirically links RFT and mindfulness. This study also adds to the limited research empirically linking RFT and turnover intentions, both directly and indirectly via job satisfaction. Finally, this research extends previous research that established the positive relationship between mindfulness and job satisfaction by examining the mindfulness-job satisfaction-turnover intentions relationship.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arun Thirumalesh Madanaguli ◽  
Puneet Kaur ◽  
Stefano Bresciani ◽  
Amandeep Dhir

Purpose Entrepreneurship in the rural hospitality and tourism sector (RHT) has received wide attention in the past decade. However, a systematic review on this topic is currently lacking. This study aims to track the progress of the RHT and entrepreneurship literature by examining the various thematic research areas, identifying the research gaps and forecasting avenues of future research on the topic. Design/methodology/approach This paper catalogs and synthesizes the body of literature from the year 2000–2020 using a systematic literature review methodology. After discussing a brief history of RHT and entrepreneurship, the current study presents a review of 101 research articles. Findings The review highlights that RHT and entrepreneurship have received relatively limited attention from entrepreneurship journals. The content analysis revealed different gaps and limitations in the understanding of entrepreneurship in RHT, including a predominance of qualitative studies with limited theoretically-grounded and generalizable empirical studies. Furthermore, a high concentration of studies is from European countries. Six main thematic research areas were identified, namely, barriers and enablers, the roles of an entrepreneur, women in RHT, influencers of firm performance, innovation and value creation and methodological commonalities. The review also advances an RHT entrepreneurship ecosystem framework to summarize the findings. Originality/value Six promising research avenues are outlined based on the six themes identified. The suggested research questions draw from allied literature on small and medium businesses, innovation, women entrepreneurship and institutions to encourage the interdisciplinary cross-pollination of ideas. The findings are summarized in a novel research framework.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Faqir Sajjad Ul Hassan ◽  
Malik Ikramullah ◽  
Muhammad Zahid Iqbal

PurposeThis study examines the relationship between workplace bullying (WPB) and the turnover intentions (TIs) of nurses, both directly and indirectly, i.e. through serial mediation of psychological contract violation (PCV) and poor employee wellbeing (EWB). And that with the moderating effect of servant leadership (SL) on its final path to TIs of nurses.Design/methodology/approachA total of 285 nurses voluntarily participated in the survey through convenient sampling from 13 different district hospitals. The authors performed partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the study's measurement and structural models.FindingsOverall, results indicated 62% prevalence rate of WPB and TIs of nurses had 67% variance explained by the exogenous factors. Workplace bullying was found to have direct as well as indirect relationship with TIs of nurses. For the latter, PCV and poor EWB were found to have partially mediated, both singly and serially. The moderating effect of SL on the serial mediation pathway was negative and significant.Originality/valueDrawing on a tripartite theoretical perspective, this study illuminates the mechanism underlying WPB-TIs relationship with an advanced multivariate statistical technique in the nursing work setting in a developing country.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guofeng Ma ◽  
Shan Jiang ◽  
Jianyao Jia

PurposeA lack of reliable and effective communication tools poses major barriers impeding the performance of construction projects consisting of diverse participants. Although some construction project teams (CPTs) begin to apply social media (SM) as an available approach for project management the entire mechanism of SM adoption in this specific context remains understudied. Therefore, this study aims to adopt a CPT's lens to investigate the critical antecedents and associated effects underlying SM adoption in the construction industry.Design/methodology/approachBased on the technology–organization–environment (TOE) theory, a conceptual model was proposed and tested by empirical data collected from 159 CPTs in China. Structural equation modeling technique was employed for data analysis.FindingsThe results demonstrate that all the five extracted TOE-based antecedents including two technological factors (i.e. compatibility and expected cost), one organizational factor (i.e. top management support) and two environmental factors (i.e. project partner collaboration and project fit) are crucial to the adoption of SM in CPTs. Besides, SM acceptance is found to mediate the relationships between organizational and environmental factors and SM use. Moreover, SM use significantly predicts the communication effectiveness of CPTs.Research limitations/implicationsA questionnaire study based on cross-sectional data from China may only unveil the logic of SM adoption in the context of Chinese construction industry within a shorter time interval. It is recommended that future research could develop longitudinal studies among various construction practitioners in different countries to further specify and generalize the current findings.Originality/valueThis paper provides a comprehensive understanding of SM adoption in the construction industry by exploring the preadoption antecedents and postadoption effects from the perspective of project teams. The empirical findings advance the current web-based project management literature and afford new insights for construction practitioners into better managing SM application to reap its full capabilities in projects.


Kybernetes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raed Ibrahim Mohamad Ibrahim ◽  
Okechukwu Lawrence Emeagwali ◽  
Murat Akkaya

PurposeWorkplace flourishing and withdrawal behavior are important concepts for human resource practitioners in today’s multicultural and multilingual work atmosphere. Despite the prevalence of linguistic ostracism, only a handful of studies have considered its impact on workplace flourishing and withdrawal behavior. This paper embarks on unveiling the nature of these associations.Design/methodology/approachA sample of n = 395 employee responses was obtained from Jordanian tourism and hospitality organizations. The data were analyzed with the variance-based structural equation modeling (VB-SEM) technique using ADANCO software.FindingsVB-SEM results indicate that linguistic ostracism reduces workplace flourishing and indirectly increases withdrawal behavior through the mediating role of workplace flourishing. Decreased feelings of workplace flourishing resulted in increased withdrawal behavior.Originality/valueThis paper is among the first to empirically examine the association between linguistic ostracism, workplace flourishing and withdrawal behavior and the mediating role of workplace flourishing using ethnolinguistic identity and stressor–emotion theories as a theoretical framework. Implications for practice and theory are discussed alongside future research directions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bakil DhaifAllah ◽  
Sofiah Md-Auzair ◽  
Ruhanita Maelah ◽  
Md Daud Ismail

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the effect of product complexity and communication quality on inter-organizational cost management (IOCM) and open book accounting (OBA) practices in buyer–supplier relationships in Malaysian manufacturing firms. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey was administrated to CFOs or accounting managers of Malaysian suppliers. Exploratory factor analysis and Structural Equation Modeling procedures were applied to test convergent and discriminant validity of the measurement model and examine the relationships among the latent constructs in the structural model. Findings The results suggest that IOCM and OBA scales show acceptable reliability and validity. The findings also report that both product complexity and communication quality have a positive effect on IOCM and OBA in buyer–supplier relationships. However, the results suggest that IOCM does not influence OBA practice. Research limitations/implications Although IOCM and OBA constructs exhibited satisfactory reliability and validity, future research is required to refine and further validate these constructs. The data were only collected from the supplier’s perspective. Thus, future research is invited to benefit from matched data from both suppliers and buyers to generate additional insights on IOCM and OBA. Practical implications This study may assist suppliers and buyers in relationships by suggesting that complex products require the adoption of IOCM and OBA practices to reduce information asymmetries and manage costs. Furthermore, emphasizing quality of communication may enhance the implementation of these practices. Originality/value Theoretically, this study contributes to the academic stream of management accounting and cost management as it enhances an understanding of contributions introduced in prior literature on IOCM and OBA. It uses a complementary approach of transaction cost theory (TCT) and social exchange theory (SET) to explain the research model. Methodologically, the study validated scales for measuring IOCM and OBA in a new environment.


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