An exploration of the perceived effect of an expatriate assignment on the career development of skilled South Africans

Abstract

Career management gains new meaning in the context of employability demands in a global world economy. In this context, increased mobility, a dynamic work environment, and an enhanced level of career support from employers are seen as a fundamental aspects of an expatriate’s career. This study presents the results of a qualitative research approach that addressed the general question as to how expatriates perceive the effect of their international assignments on their career development. The study followed a descriptive and qualitative research design, using purposive sampling and unstructured interviews to obtain the data. Eighteen participants were identified in a South African-based company operating in Zambia. The study found that expatriates believed that their experience will have a positive effect on their future careers. Some limitations of the study can be said to be reporter bias, the cross-sectional design and self-report interviews which made it impossible for the study to predict whether the expatriates’ perceptions would translate into actual benefits in their future career. The positive relationship between expatriate assignments and career development therefore needs to be proved by means of longitudinal empirical research. Copyright 2008, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Jooste, HH 2008, An exploration of the perceived effect of an expatriate assignment on the career development of skilled South Africans, MCom dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-03152012-130712/ > C12/4/71/gm