TY - JOUR

T1 - A practical perspective on repatriate knowledge transfer

T2 - The influence of organizational support practices

AU - Burmeister, Anne

AU - Deller, Jürgen

PY - 2016/3/14

Y1 - 2016/3/14

N2 - Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify organizational support practices that facilitate repatriate knowledge transfer (RKT) in order to overcome the lack of strategic utilization of repatriate knowledge. Design/methodology/approach – In Study 1, 134 repatriates responded to an online questionnaire and evaluated the organizational support that their organizations provided to facilitate RKT. In Study 2, 22 repatriates and human resource managers were interviewed. Interviewees were asked to assess to which extent the use of seven high-performance work practices – selection and staffing, training, career development, job design, performance appraisal, compensation and rewards, and internal communication – before, during, and after international assignments facilitated RKT. They also explained how these practices were implemented in their organizations. Findings – The results of Study 1 showed that organizations primarily provide administrative repatriation support, while more strategic and knowledge transfer-related support is missing. Study 2 indicated that certain support practices are more important for the utilization of repatriate knowledge than others. Knowledge-related debriefing sessions after repatriation and targeted internal communication mechanisms were seen as important enablers of RKT. In contrast, selection and financial rewards were not seen as relevant facilitators of RKT. Originality/value – Research on RKT reports that organizations still lack the right tools to harvest repatriate knowledge. This study indicates which organizational support practices appear to be most important for the facilitation of RKT, and provides some guidance regarding their implementation.

AB - Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify organizational support practices that facilitate repatriate knowledge transfer (RKT) in order to overcome the lack of strategic utilization of repatriate knowledge. Design/methodology/approach – In Study 1, 134 repatriates responded to an online questionnaire and evaluated the organizational support that their organizations provided to facilitate RKT. In Study 2, 22 repatriates and human resource managers were interviewed. Interviewees were asked to assess to which extent the use of seven high-performance work practices – selection and staffing, training, career development, job design, performance appraisal, compensation and rewards, and internal communication – before, during, and after international assignments facilitated RKT. They also explained how these practices were implemented in their organizations. Findings – The results of Study 1 showed that organizations primarily provide administrative repatriation support, while more strategic and knowledge transfer-related support is missing. Study 2 indicated that certain support practices are more important for the utilization of repatriate knowledge than others. Knowledge-related debriefing sessions after repatriation and targeted internal communication mechanisms were seen as important enablers of RKT. In contrast, selection and financial rewards were not seen as relevant facilitators of RKT. Originality/value – Research on RKT reports that organizations still lack the right tools to harvest repatriate knowledge. This study indicates which organizational support practices appear to be most important for the facilitation of RKT, and provides some guidance regarding their implementation.

KW - Business psychology

KW - Human resource management

KW - Content analysis

KW - Knowledge transfer

KW - Repatriation

KW - Organizational support

KW - Expatriation-repatriation cycle

KW - High-performance work practices

KW - Management studies

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84959262835&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1108/JGM-09-2015-0041

DO - 10.1108/JGM-09-2015-0041

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 4

SP - 68

EP - 87

JO - Journal of Global Mobility: The Home of Expatriate Research

JF - Journal of Global Mobility: The Home of Expatriate Research

SN - 2049-8799

IS - 1

ER -