Expatriate assignments: the “same” job may require different tasks
| Date | 19 December 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JABS-03-2018-0092 |
| Published date | 19 December 2019 |
| Pages | 227-239 |
| Author | Scott Martin,Reynold James |
| Subject Matter | Strategy,International business |
Expatriate assignments: the “same”job
may require different tasks
Scott Martin and Reynold James
Abstract
Purpose –Given a specific job, thispaper aims to examine if the tasks change when movingfrom one
countryto another, and if so, whether such changes are at least partly a function of environmentalfactors.
Design/methodology/approach –A mixed-method approach (surveys and interviews) with
professional-levelexpatriates based in the UAE.
Findings –The results indicated that the ‘‘same’’ job often required different tasks depending on the
country. Given a matchingjob between home and host countries, 66 per cent of respondents indicated
that the job was different and on average, 20 per cent of the job was perceived to be different.
Environmental forces did account for meaningful task differences. Legal and regulatory forces were a
particularlyimportant driver of task differences.
Practical implications –It is important to consider potential task differences in connection with
expatriate assignments. Attending to task differences can have a positive impact on staffing,
developmentand management processes.
Originality/value –Given the‘‘same’’ job, the specific tasks may bedifferent depending on the country.
Keywords International assignments, Cross-cultural management, Corporate globalization,
Foreign experience
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Given the rapid pace of globalization, organizations increasingly rely on expatriate
employees to support staffing needs. However, recent research indicates that expatriate
performance continues to fall short of expectations (Armstrong and Li, 2017). This is not
surprising as expatriates mustoften adjust to a variety of factors that may differ between the
home and host countries (Dabic et al., 2015;Shaffer et al., 2012;Takeuchi, 2010 for
reviews). More specifically, the models of expatriate adjustment and empirical research
indicate that the work or job is one ofthe factors that may change when relocating to a new
country (Black et al., 1991;Li-Yuehand Alfiyatul, 2015).
However, the existing research related to work or job differences tends to focus on cultural,
language and interpersonal dynamics and does not explicitly examine whether specific
tasks may be different when relocating to a different country. Tasks refer to the essential,
discrete functions of a job that can be performed by a single individual and are commonly
listed as statements in a job description (McCormick, 1979, p. 19). In essence, the current
literature seems to assume that the task differences that might exist between two
international positionsare no different than the task differences that might existbetween two
domestic positions. We question thisassumption. Johns (2006,2018) highlights the fact that
broader contextual forces can impact a host of specific organizational processes including
the design of jobs. As such, we will argue that a given job may change from one country to
another because of broader international forces. We suggest that the expatriate literature
does not adequately address the following research question: Given a matching job (e.g.
Scott Martin and
Reynold James are both
based at the College of
Business, Zayed University,
Abu Dubai, United Arab
Emirates.
Received 14 March 2018
Revised 12 July 2018
6 February 2019
Accepted 20 March 2019
DOI 10.1108/JABS-03-2018-0092 VOL. 14 NO. 2 2020,pp. 227-239, ©Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1558-7894 jJOURNAL OF ASIA BUSINESS STUDIES jPAGE 227
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