International Relocation Mobility Readiness : an Analysis of its Antecedents and Development of a Theory

Kumulative Dissertation, Otto-Friedrich-Universität Bamberg, 2018

Past research indicates that employees’ motivation to relocate abroad plays a crucial role for the success or failure of expatriate assignments. Hence, companies should know about employees’ international relocation mobility readiness (IRMR) and its antecedents. However, past research has defined, conceptualized and measured IRMR heterogeneously, leading to mixed results regarding its antecedents. Moreover, we lack a theoretical framework that comprehensively describes employees’ decision-making process regarding their international relocation mobility. This thesis seeks to close these crucial research gaps by applying qualitative as well as quantitative research approaches. The thesis comprises four manuscripts. The results indicate that IRMR must be differentiated in a basic IRMR (trait) and a situational IRMR (state). The situational IRMR is the result of a decision-making process and is determined by an interplay of individual and situational variables. Future IRMR conceptualizations and measurements should consider the whole decision-making process regarding IRMR. Companies should consider important antecedents of IRMR (e.g. specific personality traits) within their expatriate selection processes.