This chapter discusses the emergence of a new category of expatriates, namely self-initiated expatriates. In particular, the demand for self-initiated academic expatriates has increased tremendously over the years in tandem with the globalization of the higher education sector across the globe. Hence, this chapter aims to provide greater understanding about the nature and motivation for expatriation among this group of expatriates which will have significant impact on the international human resource management policies and practices. This chapter begins with explanation about the concept of expatriation and expatriate. This is followed by comparison between organizational expatriates and self-initiated expatriates. The underlying motivation behind self-initiated expatriation is discussed as well. Definitions of academic self-initiated expatriates and their motivation to expatriate were included as well in this chapter. This chapter conclude with findings of one case study conducted among 152 academic self-initiated expatriates employed in 20 public universities in Malaysia.
TopSelf-Initiated Expatriates And Their Motivation To Expatriate
The term self-initiated expatriation has historically evolved many times in different ways. The notion of SIEs was first introduced by Inkson, Arthur, Pringles, & Barry (1997) as an “overseas experience” to describe those individuals who are motivated and encouraged by career-related and personal factors to live and work abroad without support from the home country organizations. SIEs also characterized such as self-initiated foreign experiences (Myers & Pringle, 2005; Suutari & Brewster, 2000), overseas experience (Inkson et al., 1997) self-initiated international work opportunities (Tharenou, 2003), self-selecting expatriates (Richardson & McKenna, 2003), self-made expatriates and self-expatriates (Tharenou & Caulfield, 2010), and international self-initiated mobility and self-initiated movers (Thorn, 2009).