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Towards effective management of expatriate spouses

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  • Punnett, Betty Jane

Abstract

Companies with international linkages often find it necessary to use expatriates for a variety of reasons, and the success of these expatriates is frequently critical to the success of the project on which they are working. Many of these companies could potentially benefit from including the spouse in the expatriation process. For example, about 15% of expatriate candidates were reported to have rejected a foreign assignment because of their spouse's career, and this is expected to be a growing reason for rejection, especially in North America and Western Europe. This may also be true in other parts of the world, because of an increasing number of working women, and women with careers, in all parts of the world. Substantial research has indicated that spouses are particularly important to the success of the expatriate process, but, surprisingly, there is little research that looks at the expatriate process from the spouse's viewpoint. This is especially true for spouses with a career and with male spouses; little is known of their situation and concerns. This paper draws on a series of research projects that do address the spouse's viewpoint to suggest practical means by which companies can improve the expatriation process by including the spouse.

Suggested Citation

  • Punnett, Betty Jane, 1997. "Towards effective management of expatriate spouses," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 243-257, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:worbus:v:32:y:1997:i:3:p:243-257
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. J Stewart Black & Hal B Gregersen, 1991. "The Other Half of the Picture: Antecedents of Spouse Cross-Cultural Adjustment," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 22(3), pages 461-477, September.
    2. Earl Naumann, 1992. "A Conceptual Model of Expatriate Turnover," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 23(3), pages 499-531, September.
    3. J Stewart Black & Mark Mendenhall, 1991. "The U-Curve Adjustment Hypothesis Revisited: A Review and Theoretical Framework," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 22(2), pages 225-247, June.
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    1. Ravasi, Claudio & Salamin, Xavier & Davoine, Eric, 2013. "The challenge of dual career expatriate management in a specific host national environment: An exploratory study of expatriate and spouse adjustment in Switzerland based MNCs," FSES Working Papers 447, Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences, University of Freiburg/Fribourg Switzerland.
    2. Lauring, Jakob & Selmer, Jan, 2010. "The supportive expatriate spouse: An ethnographic study of spouse involvement in expatriate careers," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(1), pages 59-69, February.
    3. Katharina Silberbauer, 2015. "Benefits of Dual-Career Support for Expatriate Spouses," International Journal of Business and Management, International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences, vol. 3(2), pages 66-84, May.
    4. Koveshnikov, Alexei & Tienari, Janne & Piekkari, Rebecca, 2019. "Gender in international business journals: A review and conceptualization of MNCs as gendered social spaces," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 37-53.
    5. Julia Goede & Nicola Berg, 2018. "The family in the center of international assignments: a systematic review and future research agenda," Management Review Quarterly, Springer, vol. 68(1), pages 77-102, February.

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