The Role of Expatriation in the Context of Managing Diversity in International Organizations

Abstract

Today’s international organizations are characterized by a high level of diversity. Work teams consist of people with a variety of experiences, abilities, cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Expatriates enhance this range of diversity. The paper at hand examines which role expatriates and the management of expatriation play in terms of managing an organization’s diversity. For this purpose, a literature review has been conducted and the findings have been contrasted with the results of an exploratory survey in a multinational corporation.In the academic discourse, expatriation management and diversity management have been separated areas so far. There are a few studies on expatriation which examine diversity-related aspects. In managing diversity literature a few studies could be identified which mention expatriation. But no study examines the intentional usage of expatriation as an instrument to actively manage diversity. When aligning these results with the empirical findings of the above mentioned survey, it becomes apparent that expatriates and human resource practitioners do not see diversity and expatriation as an integrated concept, too.These results seem surprising since organizational learning, based on the variety of individual experiences, traits, and qualifications, is the basis of both expatriation and diversity management. The conceptualization of an integrated approach appears to be a promising task for further research.