| This study develops a theoretical model that examines the effects of psychological contract alignment on repatriation effectiveness.; Companies competing in international markets oftentimes expatriate employees for their foreign operations. Many problems, however, have been associated with such expatriation practices, especially when expatriates return from their international assignments, including career derailing, adjustment difficulties, family struggles, and lack of retention. Previous research on repatriation, however, has been criticized for being both atheoretical and anecdotal and provides little empirical information about employment dynamics during the expatriation and repatriation processes.; This study used a qualitative, theory-building methodology to explore the underlying psychological contracts between international assignees and their expatriating companies and how these contracts relate to repatriation success. Research questions are raised regarding (1) the content of expatriation psychological contracts; (2) repatriation evaluation; and (3) how expatriation psychological contracts affect repatriation outcomes.; Thirty repatriates from multinational companies were interviewed about the most recent international assignment each had taken. An in-depth analysis of the process data that each repatriate provided helped to address the three research questions raised in the beginning. First, different clusters and dimensions of the expatriation psychological contract were identified from both the individual and the company's perspective. Second, repatriation outcomes were constantly compared to identify different dimensions. Also, constant comparison of different cases of international assignment delineated a psychological contract alignment model that denotes the relationship between psychological contract alignment and repatriation success. It is found that when both employees and employers agree on the expatriation psychological contract, be it relational or transactional, the repatriation process is more likely to be a success.; This investigation provides an empirically constructed theory on what makes repatriation successful. It not only examines the specific aspects of the expatriation contract that affect repatriation success, but it also develops the notion of psychological contract alignment. This dissertation research bridges the psychological contract literature and the international human resource management literature. The psychological contract alignment model developed in this study contributes to the theoretical and methodological development of the psychological contract research, and the findings on repatriation effectiveness have implications for human resource practices. |
