Repatriate embeddedness: The experience of Swedish repatriates A qualitative study on the interconnectedness between the repatriate experience and organizational commitment.

Abstract

Poorly managed repatriation processes on the part of MNCs are still frequently reported. Inadequate organizational support and lack of understanding result in high turnover rates among repatriates and deficient returns on the immense financial investments put into expatriation. At this rate, companies risk losing extensive valuable knowledge, talents and networks that have the potential to bring competitive advantages. While previous repatriation research has focused on repatriate turnover, this study seeks to understand why repatriates decide to stay. By conducting a qualitative study based on interviews with thirty repatriates, we uncover how various elements influence the repatriate experience and how the experience of repatriation affects organizational commitment. We extend previous research by combining repatriation research with conceptual theory of job embeddedness and elaborate the concepts of organizational and community embeddedness. Our findings show that the repatriate experience was influenced by changes in networks, cultural identity and subsequent career development. A positive repatriate experience tended to increase organizational commitment, while a negative experience showed the opposite result. Challenging repatriation did not necessarily reduce commitment. Here, long history with the company, career advancement and compatibility between corporate and personal values tended to outweigh setbacks in repatriation. When organizational commitment decreased, this was clearly founded in deficient organizational support and decreased organizational embeddedness. Our findings thus accentuate the importance of companies nurturing their human capital. Finally, in direct conflict with the original concept of job embeddedness, we found that decreased community embeddedness, even though it negatively impacted life satisfaction, did not influence repatriate commitment.