Antecedents of repatriate's retention: Factors influencing their decision to leave the organization: Repatriation adjustment and job satisfaction

The purpose of this study was to study and to evaluate two factors: repatriation adjustment and job satisfaction, as part of increasing the retention of repatriated expatriates following completion of their assignment. In order to achieve this purpose, a quantitative design using a cross-sectional, Internet-based survey was performed. Participants in this survey were selected from several multinational organizations that operate in the energy related services industry. Repatriates who had completed an overseas assignment of at least six months in duration were identified. All participants were screened prior to receiving the invitation with a letter of informed consent and survey link to ensure they met the criteria for this study. A total of 41 useable surveys were analyzed from the 73 surveys that were distributed to participants. The effective participation rate was 56.2%. The data analysis and measurement began with descriptive statistics for the demographic and background characteristics of the participants. Research hypotheses were tested using regression analysis. The first research question was: How does the overall adjustment of the repatriates' influence their intent to leave the organization upon return from assignment? Consistent with hypothesis one, repatriation adjustment was significant and negatively related to the intent to leave. Repatriation adjustment was the most significant variable explaining the variance in the repatriate's intent to leave. The null hypothesis associated with this research question was rejected and it was concluded that the more positive overall adjustment of the repatriates was associated with lower intents to leave the organization upon return from assignment. The second research question of this study was: How will the repatriates' level of job satisfaction upon return from assignment affect their intent to leave the organization? The regression analysis indicated that while job satisfaction was negatively related to intent to leave, it was not found to be significant. Hypothesis two was not supported. The null hypothesis associated with this research question was not rejected and it was concluded that the repatriates' level of job satisfaction upon return from assignment did not affect their intent to leave the organization.