A CONTINGENCY FRAMEWORK

OF SELECTION AND TRAINING

OF EXPATRIATES REVISITED
Rosalie L. Tung
Simon Fraser University

In light of the major changes and developments that have taken place in the
world since the publication of my 1981 Columbia Journal of World Business,
this article contains a critical assessment of whether the contingency para-
digm of selection and training identified in the 1981 article still holds. The
article first identifies the seven most salient changes that have taken place
since the early 1980s. Despite these changes, it appears that the contingen-
cy paradigm still holds although additional stipulations have to be included
to reflect the realities of the new economic world order. The article stresses,
moreover, that a piece-meal approach to international human resource
management is ineffective and inappropriate. To maximize efficiency, a ho-
listic and systematic approach has to be adopted which addresses all as-
pects of IHRM, including selection, training, compensation, appraisal and
repatriation. The repatriation function is hypothesized to play a pivotal role
in !ntegrating all other aspects of the IHRM system.

This special issue of Human Resource Management Review directed at the

future of international h u m a n resource m a n a g e m e n t (IHRM) in the Twenty-
first century provides me with a good opportunity to reflect upon the changes
t h a t have taken place in the world since the publication of m y 1981 Columbia
Journal of World Business article entitled, "Selection and training of personnel
for international assignments" where I proposed a contingency framework for
the selection and training of expatriates for international assignments. This
article will first provide a brief overview of these changes. Then it will examine
w h e t h e r the contingency paradigm I proposed in 1981 is still relevant and, if
so, whether modifications are necessary in light of these changes.

Direct all correspondence to: Rosalie L. Tung, The Ming & Stella Wong Professor of International Business,
Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada V5A 1S6. E-mail: tung~sfu.ca
Human Resource M=nn.~ment Review, Copyright © 1998
Volume 8, Number 1, 1998, pages 23-37 by JAI Press Inc.
All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. ISSN:1053-4822
24 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT REVIEW VOLUME8, NUMBER1, 1998

CHANGES AND NEW DEVELOPMENTS SINCE THE EARLY 1980S

The changes that have taken place in the world since the early 1980s have been
many and startling.I will focus on the most salient changes and developments
that have an important bearing on IHRM. These are: (1) shift in the calculus of
global competition; (2) formation of global strategic alliances; (3) conflicting
demands on multinational corporations to maintain an appropriate balance
between global integration and local responsiveness; (4) emergence of network
organizations; (5)growing diversity in the workforce both at home and abroad;
(6) growing convergence of core competencies for domestic and international
managers; and (7) increasing use of overseas assignments for career develop-
ment purposes.

1. Shift in Calculus of Global Competition

With the end of the cold war, countries around the world have focused
increasingly on economic competition and cooperation. Countries, which were
once ideological adversaries, now collaborate on the economic front. In some
cases, the economic imperative takes precedence over ideological differences.
For example, the People's Republic of China (PRC), which espouses commu-
nism and was once a close ally of North Korea, normalized diplomatic relations
with South Korea in 1992. By 1996, South Korea had emerged as the fourth
largest trading partner of the PRC. These politicalchanges have facilitatedthe
globalization of industries. One of the best definitions of globalization I have
encountered to date is "deregulation on a global scale.~I With deregulation, all
countries have an equal opportunity to join in the competition.
Increasingly, competition comes not only from the industrialized west but
from the newly industrialized economies and/or emerging markets. Singapore
and South Korea, two newly industrializedeconomies, have graduated recently
to the ranks of the OECD. The PRC, an emerging market, has experienced the
fastest economic growth rate in the world in the past decade. M a n y have
projected that China will be the world's largest economy by the early part of
the Twenty-first century. This projection becomes more probable with its rein-
tegration with Hong Kong in July 1997. The latter'sG N P per capita exceeded
that of its former colonial master, Great Britain.
In fact, the regions of the world that have experienced the fastest rates of
growth, both economic- and population-wise, come from Asia. As we await the
dawning of the new millenium, many have offered their projections of what the
world would be like at the turn of the century. According to one estimate, ifthe
world's population were reduced to a microcosm of 100 people, 57 of these will be
Asians, 70 will be non-Caucasians and 51 will be women. Thus, the new world
order will be significantlydifferentfrom the one we were exposed to in the late
1970s and even early 1980s. In terms of implications for IHRM, this means that,
increasingly, our competitors and collaboratorsin the world are going to be non-
Caucasians and women. Non-Caucasians tend to possess a mindset that is
significantlydifferentfrom our own. This affectstheir attitude toward business,
A CONTINGENCYFRAMEWORKOF SELECTION 25

including competition and cooperation (Tung 1994). Even in the case of Mexico,
which is geographicallycloserto us, there issubstantial cultural difference.The
basis for business transactions in Mexico is personal relations as opposed to
legal contracts in both the United States and Canada, and the relationship
between the superior and subordinate can be characterized as paternalistic in
Mexico but bureaucratic in both U.S. and Canada (Paik & Teagarden 1995).
For many decades now, non-western countries have been trying to learn and
understand about the west; however, westerners have only begun recently to
learn about non-western societies.Hence, there will be a lot of catching up to
do. In the decades ahead, women will outnumber men. Tannen (1990) has
coined the term "genderlect" to refer to the sometimes insurmountable gap
that exists between male and female in their communication patterns and
styles. In light of the growing participation of women in professional and
managerial ranks, I H R M (notjust domestic H R M ) policiesand practices have
to be revised to accommodate this new development.

2. Formation of Global Strategic Alliances

An emerging trend in global competition is the formation of global strategic
alliances between entitiesfrom two or more nations. Global strategic alliances
encompass internationaljoint ventures, co-marketing, co-production, and joint
research and development. In May 1997, for example, five airlines from three
continents have formed "Star Alliance," a collaborative arrangement with an
"alliance development committee" to coordinate various operations among the
companies. These fiveairlinesare Air Canada, Lufthansa, SAS, Thai Airways,
and United Airlines. In October of the same year, Brazil'sVarig will join the
alliance (Korea Herald, May 17, 1997, p. 12). There is a growing recognition
among international firms that, to compete effectively,they may have to collab-
orate with their competitors. International firms, such as IBM, Phillips, and
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, which were once averse to such collaborative
efforts, have been quickly entering into such arrangements (Business Week,
May 18, 1987).
The emergence of such alliances implies that there will be (a) a growing
number of Americans working abroad; (b) a growing number of Americans
working for U.S.-based subsidiaries of foreign multinational corporations; and
(c) an increasing number of foreign nationals on assignment in the United
States.

3. Global Integration versus Local Responsiveness

A phenomenon unique to the last decades of the twentieth century is the
emergence of diametrically opposed forces which exert simultaneous demands
upon global companies. On the one hand, there is the push for global integra-
tion. This arises from the need to source worldwide, capitalizeon economies of
scale, quantum advances in telecommunication, reduced transportation cost,
emergence of global competitors and the growing homogeneity of demand by
26 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT REVIEW VOLUME8, NUMBERI, 1998

customers worldwide. On the other hand, there is the pull toward local respon-
siveness. This stems from regional economic integration and cultural differ-
ences (Moran & Reisenberger 1994, p. 116). To succeed, indeed to survive,
global companies have to maintain a delicate balance between these two oppos-
ing forces. Expatriate managers are often called to perform this complex task
of satisfying the objectives of corporate headquarters and those of its subsid-
iary when the objectives of the two groups may often diverge (Bartlett &
Ghosha11989). This balancing act has been referred to as the "art of being local
worldwide" (Sullivan 1996). As Moran and Reisenberger (1994, p. 120) stated,
the slogan is no longer "think global, act locally," but "think globally and
locally, act appropriately."

4. Emergence of Network Organizations

In response to the formation of global strategic alliances and the quest for
high performance in light of the global recession of the late 1980s, many orga-
nizations have resorted to organizational restructuring, including the estab-
lishment of network organizations.
Jack Welch, chairman and CEO of General Electric, for example, has sim-
plified the corporate organizational structure by dismantling the groups and
sectors within the company and eliminating several layers of senior manage-
ment. Welch has coined the term "boundarylessness" to characterize this new
organizational form. The objective is to remove the real and imaginary bound-
aries (barriers) to communication and teamwork created by traditional vertical
and hierarchical structures. The four essential boundaries to be spanned in-
clude vertical (hierarchical levels), horizontal (specialization and compartmen-
talization), internal/external, and geographic/cultural. With boundaryless-
hess, the organization seeks to leverage critical firm resources through speed,
flexibility, integration, and innovation (Ashkenas, Ulrich, Jick, and Kerr 1995;
Tichy and Charan 1989). Network organizations represent a significant depar-
ture from the pyramidal structures with rigid compartmentalization charac-
teristic of traditional organizational charts. In a network organization, geo-
graphic location is rendered somewhat meaningless, i.e., it does not matter as
much whether a manager is physically located in Detroit, Singapore or Mos-
cow. What matters most is whether the person can relate to his/her counter-
parts from other functions/disciplines, companies, and possibly industries, in
other countries. Thus domestic managers (i.e., those who are not on expatriate
assignments) also have to contend with many of the same challenges and
dynamics which were once the exclusive domain of international managers.

5. Growing Diversity of Workforce at Home and Abroad

In the mid-1980s, the Hudson Institute coined the term "Workforce 2000" to
refer to the projection that between 1985-2000, only 15 percent of first-time job
entrants to the U.S. workforce will be white male. This phenomenon is not
unique to the United States. In Canada, by the turn of the Twenty-first centu-
A CONTINGENCY FRAMEWORKOF SELECTION 27

ry, it is estimated that about 20 percent of the country's population will consist
of ethnic minorities. Even homogeneous societies, such as South Korea, are
anticipating greater diversity among its organizational ranks in the decades
ahead. In the case ofLG, a leading Korean conglomerate, its objective is to hire
20 percent non-ethnic Koreans among its professional and managerial ranks
by the year 2005. This diversity poses tremendous challenges to organizations
which policies and practices are designed for a rather homogeneous workforce,
i.e., white male workforce in the case of the United States.
Thomas Kochan (1995), in his presidential address to the Tenth World Con-
gress of the International Industrial Relations Association, called for the
launching of a renaissance in industrial relations research. In his opinion, new
paradigms should be developed that can account for workplace diversity in its
broadest sense. Traditional paradigms in industrial relations assume that
there are only two distinct interest groups: labor and management. Current
workplace diversity extends beyond race and gender to encompass other forms
of differences, however, such as those between full-time and part-time workers,
single versus multiple job holders, and so on. With diversity, a whole range of
workplace conflicts comes to the fore--discrimination/harassment on the basis
of race, gender and other social affiliations; breakdowns in communication
attributable to cultural differences; and work and family issues. These new
types of workplace conflicts "are not easily resolved through the formal system
of negotiations, grievance handling, or legal enforcement procedures that as-
sume a clear labor-management dividing line." According to Kochan (1995),
workplace diversity challenges organizations to "develop new processes and
institutions for legitimating differences arising from personal diversity and
resolving conflicts and solving problems" (p. 3).

6. Growing Convergence of Core Competencies required of Domestic

and Intemational Managers
In light of the formation of global strategic alliances among entitiesfrom
disparate corners of the world with differentmindsets, the emergence of net-
work organizations which span huge geographical distances, and the growing
diversity of the workforce at home and abroad, it has been argued that there
will be a growing convergence of core competencies required of domestic and
international managers (Tung 1993; Tung 1997). Domestic managers, who
were once quite removed from the dynamics of interacting with nationals of
other countries and companies in other industries,find that they increasingly
have to contend with these forces in their day-to-day work. In a survey of
executives from around the world about the requisitesof the C E O for the year
2000, the proverbialfuture,the consensus of opinion was that the person "must
have a multi-environment, multi-country,multifunctional,maybe even multi-
company, multi-industry experience" (Bennett 1989, p. 1). This trend toward
convergence has important implications for I H R M and H R M . Specifically,
these are: (a) the distinctionbetween H R M and I H R M is becoming blurred;
thus existingparadigms, policiesand practiceswhich separate the two have to
28 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT REVIEW VOLUME8, NUMBER1, 1998

be re-examined and modified; (b) domestic managers (i.e.,those whose careers

will primarily be in one geographical location) can use international assign-
ments as a means to develop the new skillsand core competencies required of
senior management. This latter points to the seventh and last development
addressed below.

7. Increasing Use of Overseas Assignments for Career

Development Purposes
As noted above, the increasingly blurred distinctionbetween core competen-
cies required of domestic and international managers has led many executives
to realizethat international assignments, where properly engineered, can have
a positive impact on their overall career development. This realization, com-
bined with the requirements of managing global strategic alliances, have
meant that more and more people are undertaking overseas assignments,
albeit for the primary purpose of overall career development, rather than
merely fillinga job requirement abroad, as was often the case until the early
1980s. In the mid-1980s, some have argued that because of the high cost of
expatriation and the localization requirements of m a n y host governments,
expatriation will be on the decline.This prediction did not materialize in m a n y
organizations despite the continued high cost of expatriation and localization
policy requirements of m a n y host governments.
In fact, multinational corporations are increasingly using overseas assign-
ments for developing their fast or elitetrackers for senior management. Global
companies, such as Ford Motors, have professed that they will not promote
anyone to the position of C E O unless the person has served abroad. Global
companies from many other countries in west Europe and Japan, have long
espoused this policy (Tung 1988). N e w players in the global economic arena,
such as the Korean conglomerates (chaebols), have placed an equal emphasis
on the need to serve abroad in order to advance up the organizational hier-
archy. In Tung and Arthur Andersen (1997), an overwhelming majority be-
lieved that an international assignment had a very positive impact on their
overall career development (mean score of 4.2 on a 5-point scale).This perspec-
tive towards international assignments exists despite the fact that almost 60
percent of the respondents expressed concern about repatriation, such as their
company not guaranteeing them a job at home upon their successful comple-
tion of their overseas assignment.

CONTINGENCY PARADIGM REVISITED

In light of the seven changes and developments which have taken place since
the early 1980s, is the contingency paradigm of selection and training I devel-
oped in 1981 still relevant? The answer is a resounding "yes," although the
selection criteria and training programs will have to be more complex. The
dimensions/perspectives to be added to these two IHRM functions will be dis-
cussed below.
A CONTINGENCYFRAMEWORKOF SELECTION 29

Selection
In my 1981 article, I hypothesized that different criteria should be empha-
sized for various categories of international assignments. For jobs in the CEO
(i.e., head of an overseas operation) and functional head (i.e., those sent to '
establish a functional ~lepartment abroad, e.g., head of marketing) categories
which involve more extensive contacts with people in the host society and a
longer duration of stay abroad, I noted that besides technical competence,
greater emphasis should be placed on human relational skills, i.e., the ability
to interact effectively with host country nationals. This is particularly crucial
in assignments to countries characterized by large cultural distance from the
home society. IHRM policies and practices at 80 U.S. multinationals provided
empirical support that companies which adopted a contingency approach to
their selection and training of expatriates experienced higher rates of success
in their international assignments. This proposition essentially holds true
with the following added provisions:

. Where assignments are undertaken in the context of global strategic

alliances, besides cross-national cultures, it is important to take into
consideration the different corporate cultures that exist among the vari-
ous companies that comprise the cooperative arrangement. Corporate
culture refers to =shared beliefs top managers in a company have about
how they should manage themselves and other employees, and how they
should conduct their business(es) ~ (Lorsch 1986, p. 95). A strong corpo-
rate culture can have a homogenizing effect on cross-national culture.
Thus, in the past, where expatriate assignments typically were from
corporate headquarters to a wholly- or majority-owned operation abroad
(i.e., same corporate culture), the expatriate is subjected to less difference
because of the homogenizing effect of corporate culture. With the growing
incidence of global strategic alliances, expatriates may increasingly be
sent to companies where their parent company is only a partner in the
foreign operation. Thus, ample consideration has to be given to the differ-
ences in corporate cultures among the partners. Furthermore, in assign-
ments to global strategic alliances and network organizations which en-
tail collaboration with foreign nationals in other disciplines and
functions, due consideration has to be given to the significance of profes-
sional culture. Professional culture refers to the code of ethics and other
commonalities shared by people who belong to a particular professional
group, such as physicians and accountants. Behaviors and norms also
tend to vary across industries. Similar to corporate culture, professional
culture can have a homogenizing effect on cross-national culture. Thus, in
the past, where expatriates were typically assigned to work with others
who come from more or less similar functional backgrounds in the same
industry (i.e., same professional culture), they may encounter less differ-
ence on the job. With the increased need to work with multiple industries
and functions, the differences may be exacerbated. Black and Men-
30 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT REVIEW VOLUME8, NUMBER1, 1998

denhall (1991), building on Tung (1981), offered a refined theory of train-

ing for cross-cultural encounters. The additional situational factor in
their proposed model is job novelty. "Job novelty" refers to the difference
between requirements of the international assignment and the person's
previous position. Different corporate and professional cultures contrib-
ute to the level of job novelty encountered in an international assignment.
2. In light of the multiple environments (such as multicompany, multi-
industry) indicated above, it is very important that the expatriate be
flexible, resourceful, creative and possess strong negotiating skills. Flex-
ibility is required for moving with ease from one type of environment (be
it country-, industry-, company-, or function-) to another. Because of the
need to balance the conflicting demands of global integration, on the one
hand, and local responsiveness, on the other, the expatriate has to be
flexible. Resourcefulness is also necessary because no person can be ex-
pected to perform single-handedly all of these multiple roles. Hence, the
person has to be resourceful, i.e., be able to know when to call on whom
on what matters. Creativity is needed because in a rapidly changing
environment, the expatriate often has to venture into uncharted territo-
ries. Therefore, the person cannot rely exclusively on tried and true prac-
tices; rather, the person has to be creative and deal with new challenges
as they arise. Last, but not least, the expatriate has to possess strong
negotiating skills. Negotiating was ranked as the third most important
skill to be possessed by CEOs in the future in the Korn/Ferry Interna-
tional and Columbia University Graduate School of Business study of
1,500 top executives in twenty countries (21st Century Report 1989). Un-
like the traditional expatriate of the past, where negotiating was primar-
ily with the host government, local nationals and corporate headquar-
ters, the expatriate of the future has to negotiate with partners in
strategic alliances and peoples in multiple functions and industries.
Thus, the expatriate of the future has to possess strong negotiating skills
to help him/her navigate smoothly among multiple types of cultures
(cross-national, corporate and professional) and environments. In short,
the expatriate of the Twenty-first century can truly be described as a
"person for all seasons" (Tung 1995a).
3. In my 1981 article, I argued for the need to possess strong human rela-
tional skills to function effectively in international assignments. In Tung
and Arthur Andersen (1997), I elaborated on the specific human relation-
al skills required for effective performance abroad. These include: greater
sensitivity to the needs of others (4.02), cooperative as opposed to compet-
itive (4.02), listening rather than lecturing (4.13), espousing an inclusive
leadership style (3.95), being compromising rather than domineering
(3.91), engaging in rapport rather than report talk (3.81), being more
compassionate and understanding (3.79), emphasizing harmony and
avoiding conflict (3.38), and being more nurturing (3.33). (The figures in
parentheses after each attribute are the mean scores for the respon-
dents). It is interesting to note that these characteristics are usually
A CONTINGENCY FRAMEWORKOF SELECTION 31

attributed to female, as opposed to male (Tannen 1990). Since it is usu-

ally more common for women to exhibit these traits, it has been hypothe-
sized that women may be better suited for international assignments
(Tung 1995b).

Training
In my 1981 article, I hypothesized and provided empirical evidence to sup-
port the assertion that for assignments to countries where the cultural dis-
tance is great and for jobs requiring extensive and intensive contacts with the
host society (such as CEO and functional head), more rigorous cross-national
training programs should be provided. The training programs in ascending
order of rigor are: area studies programs, culture assimilator, language train-
ing, sensitivity training, and field experiences. Again, this recommendation
still holds true with the following added provisions:

1. Since expatriate assignments are used increasingly for overall career

development purposes and given the growing convergence of core compe-
tencies required of domestic and international managers, it is important
that the development of cross-national skills (i.e., skills to enable a per-
son to work with peoples from other cultures) take on a lifelong dimen-
sion, as opposed to a one-shot program with an area-specific focus. This,
of course, implies that companies must invest more heavily in training
programs.
2. With the increased incidence of international competition and/or cooper-
ation, it is more important than ever that expatriates learn a foreign
language. In a twelve-country study of almost 3,000 executives from
around the world, those from Europe, Asia, and South America perceived
knowledge of a foreign language as critical to a firm's competitive advan-
tages. Only respondents from the four English-speaking countries (United
States, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia) deemed such skills as
unimportant. In Tung and Arthur Andersen (1997), it was found that the
majority of U.S. expatriates spoke more than one language. This may
have contributed to the high rate of expatriate success in this sample.
3. In the past, training programs that provided language skills typically
focused on verbal communication. While the latter can provide under-
standing, communication competency should go beyond the mere acquisi-
tion of oral language proficiency and extend to non-verbal skills. Hall
(1976) has noted, for example, that only 30 percent of communication are
verbal. Thus, various cultures attribute different meanings and inter-
pretations to nonverbal communication, that is, the silent language. Mis-
communication, both verbal and nonverbal, arises when the message
intended by the sender deviates from the message perceived by the re-
ceiver. This gap between intention and perception can stem from the
different fields of experience of the sender and the receiver, including the
meanings and interpretations assigned to specific words and the encod-
32 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT REVIEW VOLUME8. NUMBER1, 1998

ing/decoding of messages on either side (Howell 1982; Ronen 1986).

These different fields of experience are largely culture based. Peoples
from high-context cultures (such as Japan, Latin and Mediterranean
countries) thrive on implicit messages, whereas members from low-con-
text societies (such as the United States and north European countries)
emphasize directness. The five-stage model of communication competen-
cy developed by Howell (1982), and subsequently adapted by Ting-Toom-
ey (1992), has been applied to the process of cross-national communica-
tion (Tung 1993). The five levels of communication competence are:
unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious compe-
tence, unconscious competence, and unconscious super-competence. An
example of unconscious incompetence is referring to Korea as the "second
Japan." Although the sender may think she/he is paying a compliment to
the receiver, an ethnic Korean, the latter may feel insulted because of the
bitter feelings that many Koreans still harbor toward the Japanese as a
result of cruelty during the 40-year Japanese annexation of Korea. Thus,
communication competency goes beyond mere language facility, although
it is definitely associated with it. In international assignments, a desir-
able goal is to attain level 3 (conscious competence) and above. At levels 4
(unconscious competence) and 5 (unconscious super-competence), the
person becomes truly bicultural and bilingual and moves spontaneously
between members of one culture and another.

. The goal of sensitivity training, a more rigorous program identified in

Tung (1981), is to raise consciousness/awarenese of cross-cultural differ-
ences. In the Twenty-first century, because of the need to work with
peoples from other companies, industries and functions, this level of
awareness has to be raised to accommodate other types of differences.
Furthermore, programs designed to raise consciousness/awareness
should help people to look beyond the differences and capitalize on the
attributes that make such individuals/sub-group unique and distinct.
Langer (1989) coined the term mindfulness to refer to raising conscious-
ness/awarenese so that we can free ourselves from traditional mindsets
to innovate and make progress. The opposite of mindfulness is mindless-
ness, a pattern "determined in the past, (in which) we blot out intuition
and miss much of the present world around us" (Langer 1989, p. 118).
With mindfulness, we can become more innovative and flexible through
"less indiscriminate discrimination" (Langer 1989, p. 168). The objective
of such programs is to sensitize participants to the fact that a person's
behavioral patterns, values, and attitudes are products of the unique
cultural and environmental milieu in which that person was raised. To
quote Allan Hall (Tung 1988, p. 30), deputy director of the Center for
International Briefing at Farnham Castle (United Kingdom), "it is use-
less, stupid, unnecessary, and beside the point to say that (one's culture)
is better than that (of the host country's); it is merely different." Thus, in
the past while the goal of cross-cultural training was to manage diver-
A CONTINGENCYFRAMEWORKOF SELECTION 33

sity/differences,the objective in the future is to value, and ultimately,

celebrate this diversity.

In the past, cross-cultural training has focused on learning about the atti-
tudes and behaviors of peoples in the host society. Therefore, an assimilation
mode of acculturation was proposed. This helps avoid the "ugly American"
image abroad. Berry (1997), using two dimensions (cultural preservation and
attraction to other culture), identified four modes of acculturation between
members of the majority and minority cultures. These are: integration (need
for cultural preservation and attraction to other culture), assimilation (no need
for cultural preservation and attraction to other culture), separation (need for
cultural preservation and no attraction to other culture), and marginalization
(no need for cultural preservation nor attraction to other culture). Research on
international diversity suggests that integration is the most functional mode of
acculturation between members of the minority and majority cultures. In Tung
and Arthur Andersen (1997), most expatriates believed that integration and
assimilation were pivotal to effective performance abroad. However, as noted
earlier, given the conflicting demands of global integration, on the one hand,
and local responsiveness, on the other, an expatriate which espouses an accul-
turation mode only may failto satisfycorporate objectives of global integration.
Worse yet, they may be chastised for having "gone native." To maintain an
appropriate balance between these two conflicting demands, an integration
mode is desirable. In addition, local nationals often expect that expatriates
know a lot about their home countries, when such may not be the case. Conse-
quently, expatriates should be encouraged to preserve and combine the better
elements from both the host and home countries in order to perform effectively
in the country of assignment as well as in their home office.

. An important component of cross-cultural training is to provide the ex-

patriate with a realistic preview of what is expected in the overseas
position. In Tung and Arthur Andersen (1997), many expatriates felt that
their respective companies failed to provide them with a realistic job
preview of what was expected in their international assignment (mean
score of 2.8 on a 5-point scale). Obviously, the more different the job
abroad is from the previous position (i.e., high job novelty), the more
realistic the job preview should be to facilitate effective performance.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

In reviewing developments over the past 15 years and in light of projected

trends in the Twenty-first century, it appears that a contingency paradigm for
selection and training, with the additional provisions and dimensions stipu-
lated throughout the article can help companies steer their way smoothly into
the new millenium. These additional stipulations are necessary because of the
increased complexity of the world environment characterized by global cooper-
34 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT REVIEW VOLUME8, NUMBER1, 1998

ation and competition,yet the desire to preserve national and personal identity
and distinctiveness.
However, organizations would be remiss to assume that appropriate selec-
tion criteriaand adequate cross-culturaltraining programs alone are adequate
to assure successful expatriate assignments. A very criticalaspect of I H R M
which is often neglected is repatriation. In Tung and Arthur Andersen (1997),
the majority of expatriates expressed high overall satisfactionwith their cur-
rent/last international assignment (mean score of 4.1 on a 5-point scale).How-
ever, when overall satisfaction was decomposed into satisfaction with their
company's expatriation and repatriation program and policies,a different pic-
ture was revealed. The mean score for "satisfaction with their company's ex-
patriation program and policies"was 3.37 while that for their company's "re-
patriation program and policies"was only 2.61.
Furthermore, the majority of expatriates in Tung and Arthur Andersen
(1997) expressed serious to very serious concerns about repatriation. Conse-
quently, even if only a small percentage of repatriates actually experienced
major setbacks in their career upon return, these incidences tend to be magni-
fied a hundred-fold. These misgivings about expatriate assignments could un-
ravel an otherwise highly effectiveI H R M system within the company. Given
the significanceof repatriation to the overall effectivenessof expatriate assign-
ments, a holisticand systematic approach to I H R M is proposed. See Figure 1
about here. A holisticand systematic approach callsfor the organization to pay
attention to all aspects of IHRM. These include compensation and performance
appraisal. An effectivecompensation program allows the organization to moti-
vate and retain competent executives to undertake international assignments,
yet minimize cost to the company. A comprehensive appraisal system entails
the provision of a fair and equitable way of assessing an expatriate's perfor-
mance abroad. It is obviously beyond the scope of this paper to go into these
other aspects of IHRM. It is sufficientto note here that a piecemeal approach to
I H R M favored by some companies, such as the mere provision of cross-cultural
training programs as a quick fix to international assignments, is inadequate.
In Figure 1, the repatriation function is posited as playing a pivotal role in
integrating all other components of the I H R M system. In the area of selection,
this refers to the need for managers to take into consideration the overall
qualificationof the candidate at the time of expatriation to determine (a) how
the person will fitinto the overseas position; and (b) how he/she would fitback
in the home officeupon return. In the area of training, besides the provision of
training on the outbound journey, it is imperative that the organization pro-
vides repatriation training to facilitatere-absorption upon return. In this re-
gard, again a contingency approach is called formthe longer the time the
person has been away and the more novel the job upon return, the more rig-
orous the repatriation training. In the area of compensation, since m a n y ex-
patriates experience a reduced standard of living upon return due to the cessa-
tion of various types of overseas premiums, the company should provide some
assistance to alleviate this financial stress. The latter is particularly acute if
the price of real estate at home has escalated substantially while the person
was away. In the area of performance appraisal, those at home should have a
A CONTINGENCYFRAMEWORKOF SELECTION 35

Figure 1. A Holistic Approach to IHRM

fair and accurate basis upon which to compare the expatriate's performance
with those in the home operation. Furthermore, due consideration must be
given to the fact that repatriates often experience a reverse culture shock upon
return. Consequently, while the person is returning home, he/she is suscepti-
ble to fmancial stress (discussed above) and family stress (associated with the
spouse's searching for new employment and children settling into new social
settings) (Harvey 1989). These various forms of stress can be compounded if
the new job at home is very different from the job performed abroad, i.e., high
job novelty.
In summary, for an organization to benefit fully from the fruits of interna-
tional assignments, it is imperative that they adopt a holistic and systematic
approach which takes into consideration all aspects of IHRM because, collec-
tively, they can help the company to attain its long-term objective of developing
a truly global mindset among its executives to contend with the challenges of
the Twenty-first century.

NOTE

1. Interview with Mr. Tae-won Lee, President of Hanjin Group, September 1996.

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