Staff Mobility between Germany and Mexico: Findings from our Case Studies and Research Perspectives

In an ongoing globalising world, cross-border mobility not only of goods but also of people is of increasing importance. This mobility of persons is treated mainly in migration research, but only to a lesser extent in studies of the personnel mobility inside border-spanning organisations. On the basis of a case study design, this book focused on staff mobility in German and in Mexican MNCs as well as NPOs. Is the traditional mobility of some privileged expatriates, who leave — jointly with their family — their country of origin for some years and then come back to make a career in their home country, still the dominant pattern of cross-border staff mobility? Are new patterns of staff mobility emerging? Is virtualisation of cross-border mobility and coordination an alternative to the physical mobility of persons? And do the patterns of staff mobility vary according to factors like (1) the type of organisation (FPO or NPO), (2) the country of origin of the organisation and the corresponding institutional differences (headquartered in Germany or in Mexico), (3) its international configuration (as a global, focal, multinational or transnational organisation) and (4) the resource restrictions (especially after the crisis of 2007–8)? In order to discuss these questions, a total of 20 case studies in 8 German and Mexican MNCs (automobile, chemical and producer goods industry) and in 11 German as well as in 1 Mexican NPOs (educational organisations, political foundations, chambers of commerce) were presented and compared in the foregoing chapters.