IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/respol/v52y2023i9s0048733323001397.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Linking embeddedness to physical career mobility: How Brexit affected the preference of business, economics and management academics for leaving the UK

Author

Listed:
  • Brewster, Chris
  • Fontinha, Rita
  • Haak-Saheem, Washika
  • Lamperti, Fabio
  • Walker, James

Abstract

In this study, we use embeddedness and boundaryless career perspectives to investigate the extent to which Britain's withdrawal from the European Union (‘Brexit’) led business, economics and management academics to consider emigrating. Using a representative survey of two partially overlapping groups, we find that the impact of Brexit was surprisingly broad and nuanced. In particular, individuals who were born in the UK, but had obtained citizenship of another country, and foreign-born academics who obtained UK citizenship prior to the Brexit referendum have considered leaving the country, implying a broad discontent from mobile and less embedded individuals. Surprisingly, we did not find that the reputation of the institution where participants work, or differences in levels of academic seniority, influenced whether they were considering emigrating. More productive researchers are more likely to have considered emigrating, suggesting that Brexit may lead to a ‘hollowing out’ of UK research in the long term. However, personal circumstances, such as having children, or length of tenure, also entered into scholars' intention to emigrate. The results imply that managers should act to address the potential losses, and policy makers need to support the higher education sector, to ensure its sustainable competitive performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Brewster, Chris & Fontinha, Rita & Haak-Saheem, Washika & Lamperti, Fabio & Walker, James, 2023. "Linking embeddedness to physical career mobility: How Brexit affected the preference of business, economics and management academics for leaving the UK," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(9).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:52:y:2023:i:9:s0048733323001397
    DOI: 10.1016/j.respol.2023.104855
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048733323001397
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.respol.2023.104855?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paul Teague & Jimmy Donaghey, 2018. "Brexit: EU social policy and the UK employment model," Industrial Relations Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(5-6), pages 512-533, November.
    2. Mariana Mazzucato, 2018. "Mission-oriented innovation policies: challenges and opportunities," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 27(5), pages 803-815.
    3. James J. Heckman & Sidharth Moktan, 2020. "Publishing and Promotion in Economics: The Tyranny of the Top Five," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 58(2), pages 419-470, June.
    4. Swati Dhingra & Hanwei Huang & Gianmarco Ottaviano & João Paulo Pessoa & Thomas Sampson & John Van Reenen, 2017. "The costs and benefits of leaving the EU: trade effects," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 32(92), pages 651-705.
    5. van Ommeren, Jos & Rietveld, Piet & Nijkamp, Peter, 2002. "A bivariate duration model for job mobility of two-earner households," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 137(3), pages 574-587, March.
    6. Philippe Aghion & Mathias Dewatripont & Caroline Hoxby & Andreu Mas-Colell & André Sapir, 2010. "The governance and performance of universities: evidence from Europe and the US [Distance to frontier, selection, and economic growth]," Economic Policy, CEPR, CESifo, Sciences Po;CES;MSH, vol. 25(61), pages 7-59.
    7. Jane Falkingham & Corrado Giulietti & Jackline Wahba & Chuhong Wang, 2021. "The impact of Brexit on international students’ return intentions," Manchester School, University of Manchester, vol. 89(2), pages 139-171, March.
    8. Eby, Lillian T. & Allen, Tammy D. & Douthitt, Shane S., 1999. "The Role of Nonperformance Factors on Job-Related Relocation Opportunities: A Field Study and Laboratory Experiment," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 79(1), pages 29-55, July.
    9. Thomas Heinze & Joel Emanuel Fuchs, 2022. "National and organizational patterns of Nobel laureate careers in physiology/medicine, physics, and chemistry," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(12), pages 7273-7288, December.
    10. Lepori, B. & Seeber, M. & Bonaccorsi, A., 2015. "Competition for talent. Country and organizational-level effects in the internationalization of European higher education institutions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 789-802.
    11. Mark Peplow, 2019. "Brexit shadow hangs over EU partnerships," Nature, Nature, vol. 575(7783), pages 30-31, November.
    12. Shad Morris & Scott Snell & Ingmar Björkman, 2016. "An architectural framework for global talent management," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(6), pages 723-747, August.
    13. Chiara Franzoni & Giuseppe Scellato & Paula Stephan, 2012. "Foreign Born Scientists: Mobility Patterns for Sixteen Countries," NBER Working Papers 18067, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    14. Cerdin, Jean-Luc & Brewster, Chris, 2014. "Talent management and expatriation: Bridging two streams of research and practice," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 245-252.
    15. Ken Mayhew, 2022. "Brexit and UK higher education," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 38(1), pages 179-187.
    16. Günter K Stahl & Rosalie L Tung & Tatiana Kostova & Mary Zellmer-Bruhn, 2016. "Widening the lens: Rethinking distance, diversity, and foreignness in international business research through positive organizational scholarship," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 47(6), pages 621-630, August.
    17. Andries de Grip & Didier Fouarge & Jan Sauermann, 2010. "What affects international migration of European science and engineering graduates?," Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(5), pages 407-421.
    18. Sohvi Heaton & Donald S Siegel & David J Teece, 2019. "Universities and innovation ecosystems: a dynamic capabilities perspective," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 28(4), pages 921-939.
    19. van der Wende, Marijk, 2015. "INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC MOBILITY: Towards a Concentration of the Minds in Europe," University of California at Berkeley, Center for Studies in Higher Education qt94k8h09n, Center for Studies in Higher Education, UC Berkeley.
    20. Ludmila Ivancheva & Elissaveta Gourova, 2011. "Challenges for career and mobility of researchers in Europe," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 38(3), pages 185-198, April.
    21. Lawson, Cornelia & Salter, Ammon & Hughes, Alan & Kitson, Michael, 2019. "Citizens of somewhere: Examining the geography of foreign and native-born academics’ engagement with external actors," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(3), pages 759-774.
    22. Per O. Seglen, 1992. "The skewness of science," Journal of the American Society for Information Science, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 43(9), pages 628-638, October.
    23. Rajshree Agarwal & Atsushi Ohyama, 2013. "Industry or Academia, Basic or Applied? Career Choices and Earnings Trajectories of Scientists," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(4), pages 950-970, April.
    24. Granstrand, Ove & Holgersson, Marcus, 2020. "Innovation ecosystems: A conceptual review and a new definition," Technovation, Elsevier, vol. 90.
    25. Van Der Wende, Marijk, 2015. "International Academic Mobility: Towards a Concentration of the Minds in Europe," European Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(S1), pages 70-88, May.
    26. Hainmueller, Jens & Hiscox, Michael J., 2007. "Educated Preferences: Explaining Attitudes Toward Immigration in Europe," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 61(2), pages 399-442, April.
    27. Allen, Natalie J. & Meyer, John P., 1993. "Organizational commitment: Evidence of career stage effects?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 49-61, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fernandez-Zubieta, Ana & Geuna, Aldo & Lawson, Cornelia, 2015. "What do We Know of the Mobility of Research Scientists and of its Impact on Scientific Production," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201522, University of Turin.
    2. Gokhan Aykac, 2021. "The value of an overseas research trip," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(8), pages 7097-7122, August.
    3. Constance Poitras & Vincent Larivière, 2023. "Research mobility to the United States: a bibliometric analysis," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 128(4), pages 2601-2614, April.
    4. Bonaccorsi, Andrea & Haddawy, Peter & Cicero, Tindaro & Hassan, Saeed-Ul, 2017. "The solitude of stars. An analysis of the distributed excellence model of European universities," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 435-454.
    5. Lepori, B. & Seeber, M. & Bonaccorsi, A., 2015. "Competition for talent. Country and organizational-level effects in the internationalization of European higher education institutions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(3), pages 789-802.
    6. Maria Pietilä & Ida Drange & Charlotte Silander & Agnete Vabø, 2021. "Gender and Globalization of Academic Labor Markets: Research and Teaching Staff at Nordic Universities," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(3), pages 69-80.
    7. Baldwin, Carliss Y. & Bogers, Marcel L.A.M. & Kapoor, Rahul & West, Joel, 2024. "Focusing the ecosystem lens on innovation studies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(3).
    8. Lawson, Cornelia & Geuna, Aldo & Ana Fernández-Zubieta & Toselli, Manuel & Kataishi, Rodrigo, 2015. "International Careers of Researchers in Biomedical Sciences: A Comparison of the US and the UK," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis. Working Papers 201514, University of Turin.
    9. Hottenrott, Hanna & Lawson, Cornelia, 2014. "Flying the nest: How the home department shapes researchers’ career paths," Department of Economics and Statistics Cognetti de Martiis LEI & BRICK - Laboratory of Economics of Innovation "Franco Momigliano", Bureau of Research in Innovation, Complexity and Knowledge, Collegio 201409, University of Turin.
    10. Jürgen Janger & Nicole Schmidt-Padickakudy & Anna Strauss-Kollin, 2019. "International Differences in Basic Research Grant Funding. A Systematic Comparison," WIFO Studies, WIFO, number 61664, January.
    11. Malte Jütting, 2020. "Exploring Mission-Oriented Innovation Ecosystems for Sustainability: Towards a Literature-Based Typology," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(16), pages 1-28, August.
    12. Marek Kwiek, 2018. "High research productivity in vertically undifferentiated higher education systems: Who are the top performers?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 115(1), pages 415-462, April.
    13. Massimiliano Tani, 2022. "Same degree but different outcomes: an analysis of labour market outcomes for native and international PhD students in Australia," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 56(1), pages 1-18, December.
    14. Diego Useche & Ernest Miguelez & Francesco Lissoni, 2020. "Highly skilled and well connected: Migrant inventors in cross-border M&As," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(5), pages 737-763, July.
    15. Uhlbach, Wolf-Hendrik & Tartari, Valentina & Kongsted, Hans Christian, 2022. "Beyond scientific excellence: International mobility and the entrepreneurial activities of academic scientists," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(1).
    16. Alberto Baccini & Eugenio Petrovich, 2022. "Normative versus strategic accounts of acknowledgment data: The case of the top-five journals of economics," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 127(1), pages 603-635, January.
    17. Alberto Bettanti & Antonella Lanati & Alessandro Missoni, 2022. "Biopharmaceutical innovation ecosystems: a stakeholder model and the case of Lombardy," The Journal of Technology Transfer, Springer, vol. 47(6), pages 1948-1973, December.
    18. van der Wende, Marijk & Zhu, Jiabin, 2016. "China: A Follower Or Leader In Global Higher Education?," University of California at Berkeley, Center for Studies in Higher Education qt2zx5644j, Center for Studies in Higher Education, UC Berkeley.
    19. Stremersch, S. & Winer, R.S. & Camacho, N.M.A., 2020. "Faculty Research Incentives and Business School Health: A New Perspective from and for Marketing," ERIM Report Series Research in Management ERS-2020-013-MKT, Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM), ERIM is the joint research institute of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University and the Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
    20. Walker, James & Brewster, Chris & Fontinha, Rita & Haak-Saheem, Washika & Benigni, Stefano & Lamperti, Fabio & Ribaudo, Dalila, 2022. "The unintended consequences of the pandemic on non-pandemic research activities," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(1).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:respol:v:52:y:2023:i:9:s0048733323001397. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/respol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.