International assignment success: a thematic analysis of proximal salient stakeholders’ accounts of enablers and outcomes

This thesis focuses on the area of international assignment success from the perspective of five proximal and salient organisational stakeholders in the global assignment cycle. A significant body of academic literature exists in the domain area of expatriation; however, there remains a paucity of research dealing with the issue of success. Many factors impact on the success of an international assignment, and a variety of stakeholders are pivotal to the process at different stages, each with differing agendas and touch points. Whilst a multi-stakeholder view is espoused in the literature, however, to date the multi-stakeholder approach has been neither incorporated nor empirically investigated. This research aims to begin to close these empirical gaps by elucidating international assignment success through the lens of multiple proximal stakeholders. The proximal salient stakeholders selected for inclusion in the research are expatriates, repatriates, human resource specialists, global mobility specialists, and host country line managers involved with the international assignment process. The research is underpinned by a qualitative research methodology. A detailed thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews teases out the main success criteria for each salient stakeholder. The analysis has resulted in the identification of two dichotomous lenses to examine this success phenomenon, namely the success enabler and the positive outcome for each stakeholder. Commonalities and differences in success criteria and their meanings are analysed and discussed. Avenues for future research are also highlighted in order to advance the debate from a multi-stakeholder perspective.