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Background Today's organizations are facing an increasing need of competent global managers. International experience is thus often a requirement in order to reach positions within top management. Expatriate assignments, whereby an employee relocates to work in another country for a longer period of time is a common way to gain international competence. However, the typical expatriate has traditionally been a man and still today, women are underrepresented in international management. Pressure from society on gender equality challenges organizations to increase their number of female expatriates. In order to explain the low share of female expatriates, prior research has foremost focused on the woman as an individual in the expatriation process rather than the organization's impact. Therefore we see a need of investigating how the organization and its underlying gendered substructures affect female expatriates. Purpose The purpose of the study is to investigate how gendered substructures in an organization influence the prospects of female expatriates. Methodology The study is based on a qualitative approach and builds upon interviews and focus groups conducted in two Swedish MNCs. A deductive approach has been used, whereby gendered organizational theory creates the framework of this study. Conclusion The result from our study shows that gendered substructures influence the prospects for women to take on expatriate assignments. This can be seen in the vertical segregation within organizations, the lack of role models and a higher pressure on women in managerial positions. Contribution This study is important since it stresses the organization's role on women's prospects for expatriate assignments. Furthermore it highlights the complexity of gender equality work in organizations and gives its contributions to further research within the field.

Aim: The aim of this research is to investigate the role of culture in the process of knowledge transfer through expatriates, while also aiming to identify factors that are influential in this process other than culture. Method: The aim has been reached by adopting a qualitative case study, with a focus on a single case. Semi-structured interviews have been conducted with expatriates to gain data. Findings: The study proves the importance of culture in a cross-border expatriates knowledge transfer. Hofstede’s cultural dimensions have been found to be determinants in this process. Language has also been outlined as an important component in this regards.  In addition, type of knowledge, recipient’s ability to absorb, and the source’s capabilities to transform are also influential factors stated by expatriates. Limitations: The study is limited to a single company. Further, the data have been collected only from expatriates, not the local employees’ point of view. Suggestions for future research: Further research can be done in the same field, but with focus on different sectors, and different countries. The academic world can also benefit from studies that focus on countries that are different from each other, in order to understand how the knowledge transfer is effected by those differences.

<p>With an ever-increasing rate of globalization many firms today find it highly important to internationalize in order to survive and prosper. Swedish companies have also followed this trend of internationalization, among them Swedish banks.</p><p>This research will investigate if the number of expatriates used is affected by subsidiary age, level of development in the host country and/or the cultural distance between the host market and Sweden.</p><p>A case study was conducted on Handelsbanken, one of the four major banks in Sweden. Interviews and a questioner were used to gather information about what affects the number of expatriates used. The results indicate that the use of expatriates differs for different periods of the subsidiaries establishment. The study shows that cultural distance affects the use of expatriates in a later stage in the development phase. In the early stages expatriates are used to establish the corporate philosophy. As the philosophy has been well established it is evident that the use of expatriates declines because the use of host country nationals is more advantageous as they know their own culture and business environment better.</p>

With an ever-increasing rate of globalization many firms today find it highly important to internationalize in order to survive and prosper. Swedish companies have also followed this trend of internationalization, among them Swedish banks. This research will investigate if the number of expatriates used is affected by subsidiary age, level of development in the host country and/or the cultural distance between the host market and Sweden. A case study was conducted on Handelsbanken, one of the four major banks in Sweden. Interviews and a questioner were used to gather information about what affects the number of expatriates used. The results indicate that the use of expatriates differs for different periods of the subsidiaries establishment. The study shows that cultural distance affects the use of expatriates in a later stage in the development phase. In the early stages expatriates are used to establish the corporate philosophy. As the philosophy has been well established it is evident that the use of expatriates declines because the use of host country nationals is more advantageous as they know their own culture and business environment better.

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Uses data collected from a sample of expatriate managers on assignments in Turkey to attempt to examine the dimensionality of expatriate adjustment. Suggests that the results offer support to earlier findings that expatriate adjustment is a multifaceted construct. Shows that the measure developed to capture the different dimensions demonstrate satisfactory internal consistency reliability and concurrent validity. Discusses strategies to facilitate the adjustment of expatriate managers to their assignments.

Expatriates are the representative of parent companies in overseas subsidiaries. Expatriates¡¦ stress would impact to both company and their personal life. To help multinational companies decrease work stress of expatriates and manage work stress problem, the objective of this research is to find personal characteristic factors affecting work stress of overseas expatriates in Thailand. The questionnaires were distributed to 120 respondents, valid samples are 105 persons. The finding shows that there is no significantly different in work stress between male and female expatriates, divorced respondents have work stress more than single and married group, elder expatriates more concern with stressors than younger expatriates, and stressor caused stressful to managers more than officers. ¡§Lack of training¡¨ and ¡§reward and compensation¡¨ are stressors respondents most concern. Therefore, supporting and training program are the things that expatriates expect from parent company. To decrease expatriates¡¦ work stress, company should provide pre and post departure program, language training program, and prepare suitable facilities to fit expatriates needs during their overseas assignments.

The purpose of the study was to determine whether relationships exist between expatriates’ levels of emotional health, personality, and their perception of the organisational climate while on international assignment, and to present the outcome of the study as a model. An experimental group (consisting of 82 expatriates) and a control group (consisting of 42 managers employed in South Africa) were assessed with the Sense of Coherence and Hardiness Scales (as indicators of their levels of emotional health), the Organisational Climate Questionnaire, and the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire. These assessments were conducted on the two groups in three phases, i.e. prior to the experimental group’s departure on assignment, after spending six months on assignment, and on their return to South Africa after completing their assignments. The results indicate that meaningful and significant relationships exist among a significant number of the factors investigated in the study, and which explains the expatriate’s levels of emotional health while under pressure on assignment in the foreign country. Some of the factors were also identified as important indicators of characteristics required for successful expatriation. The empirical expatriate emotional adjustment model that is proposed in this study is viewed as a potential instrument that can be utilised by human resource practitioners and line managers to manage their international workforce within the framework of scientifically based processes and principles. / Thesis (DCom)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Human Resource Management / unrestricted

This doctoral thesis is structured into six chapters and deals with expatriates' behaviour and its influence on the organizational architecture of German and Austrian subsidiaries in the Czech republic, which are managed by German and Austrian expatriates.