Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources (2016) ,  doi:10.1111/1744-7941.

12112

The employability of newcomer self-initiated

expatriates in China: an employers’
perspective
Paula Makkonen University of Vaasa, Finland

Based on 24 interviews of western recruiters with staffing experience in China, this empirical study
is one of the first to explore a neglected aspect of the careers of western newcomer self-initiated
expatriates (NC-SIEs) in cross-cultural career settings from the employers’ perspective: the value
and employability of NC-SIEs in China. The findings reveal that individuals responsible for staffing
in China perceive the employability of NC-SIEs to be low, and how both organisational and con-
textual drivers define the value of each person-related skill and ability, and how the knowledge that
affects the perceived employability of a staff member. The findings also illustrate how those attrib-
utes are expected to contribute to the performance of an organisation. These findings are relevant
both for employers and employees because increasing numbers of mobile NC-SIEs without previ-
ous work experience in cross-cultural career contexts seek career opportunities in such labour
markets.
Keywords: China, employability, employer perspective, newcomer self-initiated expatriates,
staffing

Key points
1 The employability of newcomer SIEs is perceived as very low and the group is seen
as offering a weak staffing alternative in China.
2 Both organisational and contextual drivers define the value of the person-related
factors that contribute to employability, and whether those attributes enhance or
diminish the value of an employee.
3 Some core characteristics associated with SIEs such as their high mobility, tempor-
ary employment status, protean attitude, and their individualistic approach to per-
forming a job seem to diminish their employability.

From expatriate staffing perspective, there are individuals who are sent by their employers
as organisation sent expatriates (OEs) (Baruch et al. 2013) and self-initiated expatriates
(SIEs), a staffing group which seeks to ‘self-initiate their international relocation, with the

Correspondence: Paula Makkonen, Department of Management, University of Vaasa, Wolffintie

34, 65200 Vaasa, Finland; e-mail: paula.makkonen@iki.fi
Accepted for publication 2 March 2016.
© 2016 Australian Human Resources Institute
Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources 

intentions of regular employment and temporary stay’ (Cerdin and Selmer 2014, 1293).
SIEs have often been referred to as an attractive and cost-effective substitute for OEs
(McKenna and Richardson 2007; Peltokorpi and Froese 2012; Tharenou and Harvey
2006), which is also a suitable group for technology and commercial knowledge transfer
(Tharenou 2013). Despite the difficulty of estimating the total number of SIEs, they are
said to represent an increasing and significant global staffing population (Jokinen, Brew-
ster and Suutari 2008; Peltokorpi and Froese 2012), which is said to exceed that of OEs
(e.g. 65% vs 35% in Tharenou and Caulfield 2010). However, SIEs are not a homogenous
staffing group and have been shown to possess different levels of contextual competencies
(Makkonen 2015c).
Perceptions of employability (value) of an employee have been found to be a crit-
ical factor in staffing (Rynes and Gerhard 1990). Yet, there is little empirical research
that reveals how employers perceive the value and employability of newcomer SIEs
(NC-SIEs) particularly in a culturally distinctive employment context such as China.
This understanding is both theoretically and practically significant, because the self-
directed mobility of inexperienced employee groups in cross-cultural career contexts is
expected to increase (Makkonen 2015a). This knowledge is also needed in order to
understand the heterogeneity among different types of SIEs from the staffing perspec-
tive. Despite the goal of generalisability, perceived employability cannot be expected to
be a universal construct. There is therefore a need for more contextual research that
can enhance our understanding of the person-related factors needed in such
environments.
The purpose of this study is to contribute to that discussion and answer the research
questions: how do employers see the employability of western NC-SIEs in cross-cultural
career settings in China, and why do they hold those views? This study is based on the
assumption that each staffing group may have different levels of employability (Tarique,
Schuler and Gong 2006). Similarly, following Hofstede’s cultural dimensions (Hofstede
1984), western MNCs operating in cross-cultural contexts are expected to face different
challenges to those operating in the West and hence must carefully consider the impacts
of the context they operate in when recruiting.
How are the NC-SIEs seen as a potential staffing alternative? This study contributes to
SIE, IHRM and staffing literatures as it is one of the first to explore the position of NC-
SIEs as a potential staffing alternative through the theoretical lens of perceived employ-
ability (Forrier and Sels 2003; Fugate, Kinicki and Ashfort 2004; Rothwell and Arnold
2007; Wittekind, Raeder and Grote 2010). In addition, how is the value of an employee
defined? From the employer (staffing) perspective, perceived employability defines the
value of an employee to his or her current and potential employers, which is expected to
contribute to organisations’ overall performance (Fugate, Kinicki and Ashfort 2004). The
current study also contributes to employability literature by illustrating how the employ-
ability of an individual is a reflection of the organisational and contextual drivers of the
career settings.

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 Paula Makkonen

The study starts with a review of the relevant literature. After the presentation of the
methods, findings and the discussion section, the study addresses its practical implications
and limitations, and finally offers suggestions for further research.

Literature review
China as a staffing context
Following its rapid globalisation and both economic and technological development,
China has become one of the world’s largest labour markets, and is forecast to become the
largest single economy by the year 2030 (NIC 2013, 9–11). There are at least 600 000 for-
eigners legally living and working in China with the highest concentrations found in Bei-
jing, Shanghai and the Guangdong province areas (Brookfield 2015). However, there are
already reports of decreasing numbers of OEs in China (Dezan, Shira and Associates
2014). The reasons for the decline are connected not only to rising expatriate costs, and
difficulties in finding experienced managers willing to live and work in China (Brookfield
2015), but also to China’s increasing importance as a strategic market, which reflects an
enhanced need for localisation (Zheng 2015).
China is often referred to as the most challenging career context for westerners to live
and work in and is hence subject to high degrees of expatriate failure. Challenges are often
reported in relation to the local culture and language (Brookfield 2015; Selmer 2005), but
also to typical Chinese organisational behaviour (Makkonen 2015a, b, c). Organisational
behaviour among the Chinese is driven by a collectivist and hierarchical mind-set, and
aspirations for long-term social relationships focused on exchanging favours, which differ
from western individualistic organisational behaviour (Hofstede 1984; Leung, Wang and
Hun 2011). In Chinese culture, foreigners are also often treated as out-group members,
which canmean the Chinese withhold information from them and can give rise to other
difficulties in conducting business locally. Such challenges are reported to cause tension
among employees and affect the performance of an organisation (Varma, Budhwar and
Pichler 2011).
Owing to the brain circulation of Chinese personnel returning from the West and the
sharp learning curve of local talent both in terms of quality and quantity, there are alterna-
tive local staffing groups available that contribute to balancing the supply and demand of
local talent (Morrison 2014). Other options include using other emerging types of expatri-
ates, such as newcomer and localised westerners as local hires (Makkonen 2015c). But
again, little is known about how employers see the value and employability of SIEs with
no previous working experience particularly in cross-cultural career settings, such as
China.

Perceived employability
Employability is a context-related ‘psycho-social construct that embodies individual char-
acteristics that foster adaptive cognition, behaviour and affect, and enhance the

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Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources 

individual–work interface’ (Fugate, Kinicki and Ashfort 2004, 15). Regardless of the point
of view (employee vs employer), subjective perceptions of employability revolve around
combinations of person-related factors such as knowledge, skills, abilities and others
(KSAOs) and/or outcomes of their interactions (Berntson, N€aswall and Sverke 2008; De
Cuyper et al. 2012; Forrier, Sels and Stynen 2009). Such person-related factors include
attributes, which according to the heuristic employability framework of Fugate, Kinicki
and Ashfort (2004) can be categorised as: human and social capital, career identity and
personal adaptability. Human capital refers to ‘individuals’ ability to meet the perform-
ance expectations through the means of education, qualifications and experience for
example, whereas social networks has its focus on professional and personal networks and
access to information (Fugate, Kinicki and Ashfort 2004,; 20). From these perspectives
employability has been connected to aspects of competence development as well as to
occupational expertise, and labour-market-related knowledge and skills (Rothwell and
Arnold 2007; Van der Heijde and Van der Heijden 2006; Wittekind, Raeder and Grote
2010). Career identity on the other hand is understood as ‘how people define themselves
in a particular work context’ providing grounds for motivational components to employ-
ability (Fugate, Kinicki and Ashfort 2004,; 20), whereas personal adaptability refers to an
individual’s ability and willingness ‘to change personal factors . . . to meet the demands of
the situation’ (Fugate, Kinicki and Ashfort 2004,; 21). Perceived employability could
therefore be considered a factor that enhances an individual’s ability to manage the
demands of an environment (Fugate, Kinicki and Ashfort 2004) and hence contributes to
his/her value to potential employers.
Although perceptions are difficult to measure objectively, employability can be
described as having different levels, such as high or low (Kirves et al. 2014; Makkonen
2015a). It is also a dynamic concept, which develops and varies over time (Berntson,
N€aswall and Sverke 2008; Kirves et al. 2014; Makkonen 2015a) as a result of changes to its
environment. The literature therefore does recognise the impact of context-related factors
(Nazar and van der Heijden 2012), which determine which types KSAOs contribute to
perceptions of employability in each environment. Such drivers, for example, global eco-
nomics or the state of an industry and labour markets (Berntson, Sverke and Marklund
2006), or host-country culture and local managerial style (Makkonen 2015b), can also
facilitate employee mobility between jobs, both within and between organisations (Fugate,
Kinicki and Ashfort 2004), but increasingly also self-directly between different labour
markets and career contexts.
Inevitably how employers perceive employees’ ability to contribute to the organisa-
tion’s overall performance, and hence their employability in a staffing situation, can be
expected to vary depending on the organisational needs (drivers) in a particular environ-
ment. Such valuable characteristics include an employee’s ability to identify with the
organisation’s goals, to take an active role in decision-making, to collaborate with
colleagues and share knowledge and experience at all levels of an organisation, to demon-
strate proactive behaviour in occupational communities and networks, and to find com-
promises that acknowledge both employer and employee interests (Van der Heijde and
4 © 2016 Australian Human Resources Institute
 Paula Makkonen

Van der Heijden 2006). Regardless of its antecedents, we still do not know whether
employability is a universal construct and if the employability of different staffing groups
is distinctive in particular staffing contexts.

SIEs and employability

Protean (Hall 1996) SIEs are quite a recent addition to the mobile international labour
force (Inkson et al. 1997; Suutari and Brewster 2000) whose motivations for mobility have
been connected to opportunities for travel and adventure and for career development
(Thorn 2009). They differ from OEs in using their personal agency and free choice to drive
their self-directed intention to settle down in a host country (Andresen et al. 2014).
Unlike with OEs, for SIEs the length of stay is often not predetermined, and they seldom
have any repatriation plans (Suutari and Brewster 2000). In the case of OEs, their mobility
is interorganisational and they tend to work within the same organisational boundaries
and goals during the course of their expatriation (Andresen et al. 2014).
Localised SIEs (see Makkonen 2015c) are particularly valued for their cross-cultural
skills, local networks (Froese and Peltokorpi 2013), and greater cultural adjustment (Lo
et al. 2012), qualities which have often been explained by their personal interest in the
host country and its culture. However, (western) SIEs, who often hold lower level posi-
tions than OEs, have also been reported to experience adjustment challenges due to their
roles in host-country organisations and difficulties with working under host-country
supervisors (Cao, Hirschi and Deller 2013; Peltokorpi 2008). Perhaps due to these
challenges, or to their higher degree of mobility, SIEs similarly have lower levels of organ-
isational embeddedness (Biemann and Andresen 2010). However, despite the recent
increase in numbers of SIE studies in cross-cultural career contexts (e.g. Arp, Hutchings
and Smith 2013; Isakovic, bin Mohammed and Whitman 2013; Makkonen 2015a, b; Muir,
Wallace and McMurray 2014; Rodriguez and Scurry 2014; Von Borell de Araujo et al.
2013). the majority of SIE studies are conducted in western career contexts (Tharenou
2013), often neglecting the employer perspective on the group’s careers and employability.
Neither does extant literature address the expected value and characteristics of NC-SIEs,
which would help us to understand how employers see the employability of professionals
with no previous work experience in a particular cross-cultural career environment.

Methods
This qualitative study aims to illustrate employer perceptions of the employability of
NC-SIEs and to provide deep and rich explanations of the phenomenon (Prasad and
Prasad 2002). Owing to the subjective nature of the topic, interviews were chosen as the
best means to allow the informants scope to express their views on the topic, and provided
an efficient method to collate highly personalised data with a good return rate.
The current research adopts a purposive sampling strategy targeting only those
informants who could improve the understanding of the issue at hand (Saunders 2012).
Accordingly, 24 westerners from 18 western MNCs of various industry sectors operating

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Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources 

in China (20 men and 4 women) with from two to thirteen years of professional staffing
experience in China were approached via LinkedIn and through snowballing, and inter-
viewed. These multiple sources of evidence (Lincoln and Guba 1985) facilitated data sat-
uration, thus providing confidence in the findings and increased validity of the findings
(Yin 2014). Interviews lasted 25–109 minutes and averaged 54 minutes. Further back-
ground information on the informants is presented in Table 1.
Informants were interviewed either via Skype, or in person in China in 2013 and 2014.
All informants were informed of the purpose of the research and offered an opportunity
to withdraw from the interview at any point or decline to answer any questions (Saunders,
Lewis and Thornhill 2009). All interviews were conducted by a single author either in Eng-
lish or in Finnish, if the latter was the informant’s mother tongue.
First, informants were asked to provide grounds for the needs of MNCs by recounting
their observations of China developing as a work context and the impact of those attrib-
utes on the MNC staffing needs in China. These broad themes help us understand which
particular aspects of employability have been and are valued by employers in China, and
why employers hold those views. And second, the informants were asked to reflect their
own staffing experiences or the experiences of their peers concerning NC-SIEs and their
perceived characteristics. These perspectives are expected to enhance our understanding
of the perceived employability of NC-SIEs from the employer perspective in China.
Finally, informants were asked to reflect on the expected outcomes of having NC-SIEs as
employees on the organisational performance in China. This last aspect also invited
respondents to explain why employers hold those views.
The interviewing strategy based around broad themes aimed to ensure flexibility and
provide opportunities to discuss themes or experiences that could not be considered in
advance. It also prompted iterative questioning as new issues emerged (Saunders, Lewis
and Thornhill 2009). All interviews were recorded with the permission of the informants,
transcribed and subsequently all informants were invited to comment on the transcript to
ensure the quality of the findings. The non-English material used as evidence was trans-
lated by the author.
The assessment phase of the data was based on the idea of systematic combining (ab-
duction) (Dubois and Gadde 2002). This approach involved matching theory and reality
by ‘constantly going back and forth from one type of research activity to another, and in
between empirical observations and theory’ (Dubois and Gadde 2002, 555). First, the
transcribed data and the notes taken during and after the interviews were read through
several times to ensure familiarity with the data. This enabled the identification of the per-
son-related factors of western NC-SIEs as well as the contextual drivers of China as a staff-
ing context emerging from the data. The assessment also included the identification of the
expected outcomes of having NC-SIEs as employees for the performance of an organisa-
tion. Given the bilingual nature of the data, all findings were coded and collated in a
matrix table by applying the thematic analysis approach and the heuristic employability
framework of Fugate, Kinicki and Ashfort (2004) from the employers’ perspective. This

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Table 1 Background information of the informants

Person (no.) Duration of Nationality Years of staffing Industry sector Position type
M (male)/F interview experience
(female) in China

P1 (F) 37 Finnish 4 Consumer HRM

electronics
P2 (F) 33 Finnish 3 Consumer HRM
electronics
P3 (F) 47 Finnish 3 Consumer HRM
electronics
P4 (M) 109 American 3 Consultancy Recruitment
consultation
P5 (M) 50 German 4 Consultancy Recruitment
consultation
P6 (F) 34 Finnish 6 Machinery HRM
P7 (M) 65 British 2 Consultancy Recruitment
consultation
P8 (M) 75 British 10 Consultancy Recruitment
consultation
P9 (M) 69 Finnish 2 Consumer Managerial
electronics
P10 (M) 51 Finnish 3 Consumer Managerial
electronics
P11 (M) 63 Finnish 12 Metallurgy Managerial
P12 (M) 108 German 13 Consumer Managerial
electronics
P13 (M) 63 Finnish 12 Consumer Managerial
electronics
P14 (M) 55 Finnish 13 Consumer Managerial
electronics
P15 (M) 56 Danish 3 Metallurgy Managerial
P16 (M) 35 Finnish 12 Plastics Managerial
P17 (M) 51 Greek 4 Consumer Managerial
electronics
P18 (M) 73 Finnish 6 Plastics Managerial
P19 (M) 41 Finnish 8 Machinery Managerial
P20 (M) 27 Finnish 3 Automation Managerial
P21 (M) 46 Finnish 7 Consumer Managerial
electronics
P22 (M) 38 Finnish 4 Metallurgy Managerial
P23 (M) 25 Danish 6 Metallurgy Managerial
P24 (M) 46 Finnish 5 Consultancy Recruitment
consultation

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interpretative approach allowed the individual’s past experiences emerging from the data
to be examined and categorised as objectively as possible (Guest 2012, 17).

Findings
The findings are presented here with examples and direct quotations to illustrate majority
opinions, or an extreme case. In the interviews, however, informants often used the terms
‘westerners’, ‘foreigners’ and ‘expats’ interchangeably when discussing the generic quali-
ties of westerners or NC-SIEs in China. In the quotations presented as evidence, these dis-
tinctions are shown in square brackets as necessary for clarity.
Figure 1 consolidates the findings of this study. It illustrates the person-related factors,
arranged by the heuristic employability framework of Fugate, Kinicki and Ashfort (2004),
that either increase or decrease the perceived value (employability) of NC-SIEs in China.
It also highlights the contextual and organisational drivers with either enhancing or
diminishing effects on these factors. The figure also demonstrates the expected outcomes
of KSAO interactions that contribute to the employability of NC-SIEs from an employer
perspective.

Figure 1 Consolidation of the findings: contextual and organisational drivers, which diminish/en-
hance employability; person-related factors that increase/decrease employability; and expected outcomes

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 Paula Makkonen

Human and social capital

Expatriates with a western education and qualifications have traditionally been used for
knowledge transfer in MNC environments. However, after years of unbalanced supply
and demand of local talent, ambitious local Chinese are increasingly able to meet most of
the technical and commercial needs of MNCs, while simultaneously having the ability to
work efficiently within the cultural environment. This development, together with the
increasing importance of China as a significant market, has strengthened the strategic aim
of MNCs for employee localisation.
I have come across a lot of talented locals. Often times they are more talented than westerners
coming from abroad. They are more hard working. They are well prepared to be ambitious
and to learn and they get ahead fast. Hardworking, ambitious, and often they beat the qualifi-
cations and the effectiveness of the expats. They compete [against the westerners] quite well
actually. (P17)
We are trying to find Chinese, because we are here [in China] and our market is here.
Although the nationality should not be a key driver [for staffing], there are not so many [west-
erners] who can perform in China among the Chinese, or in sales for instance, it is so different
here. (P2)

The development noted above underlines the importance of the cultural understanding,
language and communication skills employees are expected to bring to the Chinese
employment context. However, it was these aspects of human capital that NC-SIEs were
found to lack, which reduces their employability compared to other staffing alternatives
already available in the local labour market. As a result, the overall employability of western
NC-SIEs from the human capital perspective was found to be a quite challenging issue.
There are people already here with skills, Chinese language and talent, they are already here. If
somebody is coming straight over it’s a big risk. You [NC-SIEs] are already competing against
those having been here [localised SIEs], the local Chinese, the overseas Chinese, those [Chi-
nese] coming back [from western countries] who are well-educated and very bright and will-
ing to work for less with no culture problems. (P4)

However, an extensive focus on staff localisation does also spur moral and ethical con-
siderations about the local ways of conducting business, which do not always accord with
western corporate values. This need for balance in staffing and compliance with ethical
standards may then increase the employability of NC-SIEs.
I have really changed my opinion since I came here. I used to think that we need to localise
more and better, but now after my experience here I am sure that there must always be a cer-
tain balance between the locals and expatriates: We must be able to find and challenge certain
aspects and certain Chinese approaches just do not match the values of the company all the
time. (P6)

Regardless of the challenges, career opportunities also arise for NC-SIEs because the
contemporary management and operational methods and tools used by MNCs, such as
virtual teams or matrix organisation structures, do not match the typical organisational

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behaviour of the Chinese well. P2 noted: ‘For the Chinese it is difficult to work in an envir-
onment in which the boss might be on the other side of the world or which uses a matrix
organisation’.
Similarly, social capital has been found to be crucial for all employees at all MNC
organisational levels in China. However, all expatriates and particularly those with no pre-
vious work experience in China are often thought of as only temporary residents due to
the difficulties westerners have with adapting to the Chinese culture. As a result, NC-SIEs
who typically work at different organisational levels to OEs are not perceived to integrate
easily with the rest of the organisation and the locals. The issue does make it difficult to
work efficiently and contribute to organisational performance.
Usually they [Chinese] would not include them [westerners] in any kind of important mat-
ters, in business and life. The Chinese keep the important information hidden. They have just
the necessary amount of contact if they think that this is a typical [temporary] foreigner
standing there. (P5)

Career identity
Employers seemed to be concerned about the potentially questionable motivation of
NC-SIEs, which adversely affected the respondents’ perceptions of the staffing group’s
employability. These motivational factors were connected to the reasons for obtaining
employment in China, such as an inability to forge a career at home, or a desire to pursue
a temporary adventure. Weak motivation leads to a low commitment to employment and
almost certainly contributed to the high attrition rate among NC-SIEs. These attributes
are seen as equivalent to financial risk and wasted resources for an employing organisation
and thus reduce the perceived employability of NC-SIEs.
Then you have the people [NC-SIEs] that want to try and make their career in China, because
basically they haven’t made a career at home, so they are coming over. For a little adventure
. . . (P5)
You meet a lot of western people [NC-SIEs] who say ‘I love China, I want to come to China’.
They come here for a year and then they disappear. From the company perspective we spend
a lot of time training them and mentoring them and you spend a lot of energy by being a
manager, you want to give that opportunity but on the other hand you don’t want to spend a
lot of resources on short-term assignments. (P12)

However, MNCs also report high attrition rates among locals. China as a labour mar-
ket does still provide many career opportunities for mobile local talent. This contextual
attribute might facilitate career opportunities for westerners who could somehow demon-
strate their long-term commitment to the employer.
I can tell you that it is difficult to find local talent that will stay in the company. There are a
lot of opportunities available and if the salary does not rise quickly enough, they will change
employer pretty fast. (P14)

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Westerners sometimes identify themselves as China specialists based on their

co-operative or commercial work experience as customers of the Chinese. Despite these
experiences, from the staffing perspective, the employees’ accumulated KSAOs in such
positions were not perceived as sufficient to meet the current needs of MNCs operating
locally in China. As such these individuals without living and working experience in China
were not perceived as capable of contributing to organisational performance.
There are [western] people looking for a job, people that have been to China and refer to
themselves as China experts, but they used to be here as customers and [in that position] they
have been always treated as royalty, which the Chinese can do very well, but despite those
years, they don’t have a clue how to do business here in China. Once you change your role to
sales, for example, you are treated completely differently. (P10)

Personal adaptability
As a result of a strategic shift of business focus and localised staffing there are increasing
numbers of Chinese talent working at all organisational levels in western MNCs. However,
the ability of western NC-SIEs to work under local supervision was questioned by the
informants, who generally considered typical Chinese organisational behaviour too chal-
lenging for westerners to work with.
I cannot imagine a westerner with a local superior, a westerner working for a local in an
MNC. It would be totally crazy putting a westerner into any middle manager position or simi-
lar, even if he spoke Chinese, it just would not make any sense to have one person so different
from the others. The way they [Chinese] operate is very hierarchical and army like, no west-
erner can take that. (P11)

The informants also reported that the individualistic working style of westerners (NC-
SIEs) could prompt other challenging issues in the Chinese context. As individualistic and
self-directed ways of working are largely alien in the Chinese working context, it makes it
difficult for western NC-SIEs to integrate into local teams and collaborate with their Chi-
nese co-workers and superiors in the long term. This challenge can be expected to cause
organisational friction and imbalance, and hence reduce the effective performance of
teams.
This [individualistic organisational behaviour of westerners versus the collective behaviour of
the Chinese] tends to cause frictions and then your teams are not aligned and they are not
successful, and there are problems because of these intercultural actions and issues. Also the
[Chinese] ways of doing things drives westerners crazy. (P4)

In summary, although NC-SIEs were able to contribute to resolving organisations’

issues with ethical and moral considerations, and to promoting the use of contemporary
management and operative methods, the overall employability of NC-SIEs in China was
reported to be very low. This was not only due to their western backgrounds, but also to
personal characteristics and a lack of contextual KSAOs , which led to the NC-SIEs not
contributing to the effective performance of the employer, but instead causing friction

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among the employees. The following quotation summarises the current challenges posed
by using westerners as a staffing option for MNCs operating in China.
Bringing in the [NC-]SIEs, in my opinion, is the last option, it just doesn’t make any sense,
why would I do that? Of course it is not out of the question, if you have a need to build up an
organisation and need for growth and you just have not found any other alternatives, but it is
a huge risk for the company, particularly in China. (P11)

However, career opportunities for NC-SIEs might still be available in the emerging
business sectors outside of the traditional technology and industrial clusters. Examples
include careers in the service sector such as hotels, restaurants or even hospitals.
I think there might be opportunities for westerners in service sectors, such in restaurants,
hotels and in health care. Wealthy Chinese are increasingly interested in good service and
western products, and they are prepared to pay for it. I increasingly see westerners serving in
the restaurants and working in hotels, serving the Chinese. It seems that the tables are rapidly
turning. (P7)

Discussion
Individuals without prior international career experience are increasingly seeking career
opportunities in the global labour markets including cross-cultural career settings in
emerging markets. This study has reported on the position of NC-SIEs as a staffing alter-
native from the western MNC employers’ perspective in a cross-cultural career setting,
China. To do so it posed the research questions: how do employers see the employability
of western NC-SIEs in cross-cultural career settings in China, and why do they hold those
views? The research questions were addressed by assessing the value of NC-SIEs from the
staffing perspective by using the heuristic employability framework of Fugate, Kinicki and
Ashfort (2004).
This qualitative study makes key contributions to three bodies of literature. First, it
contributes to the SIE literature by focusing on the employability of a neglected, but
emerging group of employees – mobile NC-SIEs who seek career opportunities in cross-
cultural career settings without prior work or living experience in that setting. Second, this
study contributes to our current understanding of the theoretical concept of employability
by demonstrating how certain organisational and contextual drivers define the value of
individuals’ KSAOs that contribute to their perceived employability, and thus to expected
outcomes. Third, the study contributes to IHRM literature by discussing the challenges
western NC-SIEs can expect to face during an international relocation, and adding the
employer perspective on the employability of western NC-SIEs in cross-cultural career set-
tings in China. Findings also confirm the strong impact of perceptions in staffing (Rynes
and Gerhard 1990).
Regarding the first part of the research question, the current study illustrates how
MNCs operating in China perceive the employability of NC-SIEs as being low and do not
consider them to be a productive potential pool of employees. Instead NC-SIEs are

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 Paula Makkonen

perceived as a risky and unstable staffing choice. With regard to the second part of the
research question, these perceptions can be explained by organisational and contextual
drivers, which affect how a person’s employability is defined and valued in a particular
context. Particularly due to their lack of contextual knowledge and language skills (Cao,
Hirschi and Deller 2013; Peltokorpi 2008), NC-SIEs in China are considered less likely to
contribute to organisational performance, and are expected to face difficulties in working
efficiently with their local co-workers and superiors in the challenging cultural context.
This finding is also in line with the existing literature (Makkonen 2015c; Selmer 2005). In
particular, balancing the supply of local talent and other groups available for staffing, and
the strategic importance of China as a market highlight the significance of contextual
knowledge and language skills.
Interestingly, the findings highlight how some core characteristics associated with
(western) SIEs such as their high mobility (Inkson et al. 1997; Suutari and Brewster
2000), their temporary employment status (Cerdin and Selmer 2014), their protean atti-
tude (Hall 1996), and their individualistic approach to performing a job (Hofstede 1984),
seem to enhance the perceptions of low employability in China. As a result, being highly
mobile and working on temporary employment contracts does not perhaps provide
strong grounds to justify staffing. Similarly, the self-directed and individualistic working
approach of the western NC-SIEs with no prior cultural understanding is seen as likely to
prompt conflict and misunderstanding with local co-workers and supervisors. This seems
to apply particularly to cross-cultural environments like China that place an emphasis on
collectivist and hierarchical working procedures (Leung, Wang and Hun 2011).
The findings of this study suggest that an ideal employee is not just a person with suit-
able person-related skills (Fugate, Kinicki and Ashfort 2004) who is able to identify and
comply with the corporate goals and strategies, and to share knowledge and experience, as
has been implied in the employability literature (Van der Heijde and Van der Heijden
2006). Particularly in a cross-cultural career context, an ideal candidate must instead
demonstrate qualities and characteristics that are in short supply in the host country. In
the cross-cultural career context of China, examples of such valuable elements might be a
commitment to the company, and the ability to work in accordance with corporate ethics
and values while understanding and operating in accordance with the organisational
behaviour and culture of the locals.
These findings illustrate how neither individuals nor organisations operate in a vac-
uum, and how the characteristics that define employability are not universal, but change
rapidly as the requirements of the context evolve. For example, China as a cross-cultural
career context has undergone a rapid transformation, one which continues to have a con-
siderable impact on its social values and work ethic. This interplay between the traditional
values and contemporary social forces is particularly apparent if we contrast the attitudes
and KSAOs of younger and older generations of China. This rapid development also has
an impact on the contextual and organisational drivers that determine how the value
(employability) of an individual is defined today and how it will be in the future.

© 2016 Australian Human Resources Institute 13

Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources 

Practical implications
This contextualised study illustrates how some key characteristics of SIEs, which have
often been considered a major strength, may be a weakness from the employers’ perspec-
tive, or in a particular context. This study thus provides an illustration of how the under-
standing of employability is not a universal construct, but is very much culturally bound
and how it cannot be based merely on job-related qualifications. This understanding offers
practical guidance for the increasing number of western NC-SIEs considering careers in
cross-cultural career settings, such as China. The study also illustrates how employees and
employers may hold different views on the person-related factors required in each
environment.
Despite the ebbing need for westerners or for knowledge transfer in certain industry
sectors in China, this study does provide hope for those mobile NC-SIEs seeking alterna-
tive career opportunities in the emerging clusters, such as the services, legal and healthcare
sectors. There is perhaps also a need for westerners in local Chinese organisations target-
ing internationalisation, and in MNCs operating in developing, but as yet less attractive
areas of China (Makkonen 2015c).
For employers, this study illustrates the variety of aspects they need to address when
undertaking staffing in cross-cultural career contexts while at the same time safeguarding
organisational effectiveness and performance in accordance with the moral and ethical
standards of international business. Similarly, despite the potential challenges inherent in
cross-cultural staffing settings, both newcomer and localised SIEs could be argued to be a
staffing group worthy of consideration.

Limitations and suggestions for future research

This study focused on the employability of western NC-SIEs in China. Despite the con-
textualised findings (China), which cannot be generalised to other research settings,
NC-SIEs could be expected to experience similar challenges in other cross-cultural career
settings.
For this reason, further empirical research on the employability of SIEs, both localised
and newcomer, in other cross-cultural and even in western career contexts would be wel-
come. Such research would provide a more comprehensive understanding of the careers
of SIEs as well as shedding light on the concept of perceived employability in staffing. The
research setting of westerners providing perceptions of the characteristics of other west-
erners presents only one mono-dimensional approach to cross-cultural careers. How, for
example, is the employability of Asian SIEs viewed in a western career context, or of the
Japanese in China or vice versa? Other research settings might reveal distinctive employ-
ability characteristics that differ from the Chinese career settings.
The informants of the study represent fields of industry that have recently undergone
or are currently experiencing strategic localisation connected to the improving KSAO
levels of the local labour force, or as a result of a changed market focus. However, the Chi-
nese service sector might be entering an era of an emerging imbalance of supply of local
talent. Expectations regarding the KSAOs that could contribute to the employability of
14 © 2016 Australian Human Resources Institute
 Paula Makkonen

western NC-SIEs in those industries, or in local Chinese organisations might be totally dif-
ferent to what was found in this study, and might provide not only potential for further
careers in China, but also avenues for further research.
Following the remarks of cultural scholars (Minkov and Hofstede 2014) the mostly
northern European employer opinions presented in this study are based on experience or
perceptions of the characteristics of westerners without prior experience of working or liv-
ing in China. The generalisations presented in this study cannot and should not therefore
be applied to all employers responsible for staffing in China or individuals seeking to
establish careers in China. Some of the general ideas uncovered in interviews may not be
so nuanced that they would only apply to western NC-SIEs seeking employment in China.
For example, is it possible that eastern NC-SIEs seeking employment in a strong western
culture might also experience similar attitudes as highlighted by the findings? This ques-
tion offers avenues for further research opportunities. China as a research setting thus
helps reveal how different types of cross -cultural phenomena at the individual, organisa-
tional and contextual levels, and the interrelationships among those have an impact on
how the employability of a particular staffing group can be perceived in different career
settings. The other limitation is the sample size; however, using 24 informants was in line
with suggestions in the literature and justified given the richness of the data met the data
saturation purposes of this study (Yin 2014).
Most importantly however, the findings of this study are based on the subjective,
value-based and context-related experiences and observations of staffing professionals
with direct staffing experience in China. Owing to variations in terms of years of experi-
ence in China, they were asked to share their own perceptions rather than attempting to
represent the official recruitment policies of their employers. All informants, despite their
efforts to generalise for the purposes of this study, emphasised the uniqueness of the staff-
ing and recruiting processes set by their employers. Hence, although the study highlights
the challenging position of western NC-SIEs in China, the findings should not be taken as
evidence of the overall decrease or increase in staffing opportunities for individual SIEs
looking for career opportunities in MNC subsidiaries in China. For future studies around
the topic, another suitable source representing the employer perspective could be the Chi-
nese hiring managers in both MNCs and local Chinese organisations.

Paula Makkonen (MSc (Econ.)) is currently a doctoral candidate at Department of Management,

University of Vaasa, Vaasa.

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