THE LINK BETWEEN HR PRACTICES AND EXPATRIATE MANAGEMENT: CASE OF CHINESE MULTINATIONALS IN KAZAKHSTAN

Abstract

In face of the rapid globalization, more and more emerging market Multinational companies (EMNCs) are assigning expatriates to establish and manage overseas tasks in order to gain the competitive advantages in global markets. Consequently, the issue of expatriate management within the context of emerging country MNEs has become an important concern in the field of International Human Recourse Management (IHRM).
The purpose of this study is to contribute with an understanding of problem expatriates encounter during their expatriation period and how the expatriation process can be improved with the help of HR practices.
A qualitative study with in-depth interviews has been conducted with four Chinese expatriates working in 4 different Chinese MNCs’ divisions.
The empirical findings show that the pre-departure training expatriates receive are focused on work related issues, hence cultural awareness training are often neglected. This leads to problems for the expatriates, like for example integration problems, adjustment problems for the expatriate and his/her family members, and not being able to communicate in the local language. Also the support received from the home country company are many times insufficient, and the home country companies rarely provide the expatriates with any form of repatriation program to ease their re-adjustment process.
This study shows that many organizations need to improve the different parts of their expatriation process. The organizations should especially focus on developing their pre-departure training to include cultural training for both the expatriate and the spouse, and develop a sufficient repatriation program.