Limitations and Avenues for Future ResearchOur focus on externally-hired, self-initiated expatriates and development-focused expatriateassignments conspired to curate specific conditions and a distinctive context, and we are awarethis is likely to limit the generalizability of our findings. At the same time, we emphasize thatthese types of expatriate assignments are becoming increasingly common as the demographics,destinations, and objectives of expatriate assignments morph toward placements in developingmarkets, with knowledge- and learning-focused objectives, and comprising self-initiatedexpatriates (Caligiuri & Bonache, 2016). We used multiple cases, conducted an extensivenumber of interviews with both HCNs and expatriates, and analyzed a wide-ranging array ofdocuments in order to increase the robustness of our analysis. Yet, we are convinced that futurestudies examining host organizations’ practices with different forms of expatriate assignmentsand/or in different contexts are needed in order to understand better what goes on in hostorganizations prior to expatriates’ arrival and during their assignments.We also note that several features of the approaches that our 30 case organizations took– for instance, the efforts to ‘in-group’ expatriates, or the very high priority placed onrelationship building – are likely exacerbated by some of Vietnam’s cultural characteristicsmentioned earlier. While some of our respondents felt that the preference for learninginformally reflected a uniquely Vietnamese style, this pattern was consistent with other studieswe have conducted in similar organizational environments in more than 40 other countries(reference omitted for review purposes) and so appear not to be unique to HCNs from onenation; rather, our findings may be especially pertinent to contexts influenced by Confucianphilosophies and collectivist values like many in East and South-East Asia. We note that while
31cultural contexts may amplify the importance of some features, the principles we derive fromthese cases are increasingly pertinent as expatriate assignments become more learning-focusedand knowledge-oriented. We also caution that Vietnam’s political and economic ecosystempresents a rather distinctive operating environment for these organizations. This includes director indirect government influence on the operations of government agencies and, in the case ofNGOs, the State-civil society nexus (Vu, 2017; Zhu & Purnell, 2006). While no respondentscommented directly on these, the extent to which State-directed policies predispose practicesof these organizations or respondents is unknown.Moreover, while the purpose of our investigation was to identify the practices intendedto foster HCN learning, the research design did not allow us to examine the efficacy ofparticular activities or the programs as a whole. Thus, studies that examine the impact of HCNs’preparation activities on HCNs’ work productivity and/or performance are an important nextstep that may allow expatriate-using organizations to target resources toward activities that aremost beneficial. In a similar vein, our emphasis on the practices of host organizations left arange of other variables unaccounted for, including expatriates’ motivations. As our awarenessof the important role of expatriate-host organization ‘fit’ develops, these features should be
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