Self-Initiated Expatriates: A Neglected Source of the Global Talent Flow

Arno Haslberger and Vlad Vaiman

Chapter 1 in Talent Management of Self-Initiated Expatriates, 2013, pp 1-15 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract Media, consultants, and academics in unison declare that there is a scarcity of qualified people on a global scale (Guthridge, Komm, & Lawson, 2008; Peiperl & Jonsen, 2007; Wooldridge, 2006). In the past, company-assigned expatriates (AEs) moved around to fill the gaps. Apparently this is no longer enough. While not a new phenomenon, a new and diverse breed of internationally mobile talent has caught the attention of researchers. These are academics and teachers going abroad on their own initiative to teach and learn themselves; they are people on time off to explore the world, be it right after school or as a mid-career break; they are professionals and experts independently seeking work in another country; and so on. In short they are self-initiated expatriates (SIEs). SIEs are a distinct group for several reasons: unlike AEs, SIEs initiate their move abroad themselves and do not wait to be asked or even prodded; unlike refugees, they are drawn by the opportunities and challenges of an international move and do not flee political strife, violence, or economic squalor; unlike immigrants, they intend to return home some time in the future and do not arrange to pull up roots for good. SIEs will provide at least a partial answer to the talent shortages bemoaned by experts. They are mobile, self-starting, and generally well educated. They are already an important factor in today’s global workforce (Tharenou & Caulfield, 2010) and, according to some observers, are likely to become evermore so (Peiperl & Jonsen, 2007).

Keywords: Psychological Contract; Ethical Consumerism; Talent Management; Skilled Migrant; International Volunteer (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1057/9780230392809_1

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