A Preliminary Research on Self-Initiated Expatriation as Compared to Assigned Expatriation

The ever changing complexity of global staffing calls for a fundamental reassessment of international assignment, among which self-initiated expatriation is one of the burgeoning patterns. This paper discusses the basic characteristics of self-initiated expatriates compared with those who known as assigned expatriates, and finds out that the new born group of expatriates not only differ with those assigned expatriates in the visible, or called the “outside” part, as the technical skill set, career boundary, career stages, financial support, and time boundary, etc; but more important, the inherent, or called the “inner” part, as for motivation, information focus and value concern, and so on. Moreover, it reveals the so far neglected cross-cultural adjustment abilities of SIE and gives advice for human resource management practice.