Date of Award
Summer 8-24-2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Organizational Unit
Daniels College of Business
First Advisor
Douglas Allen
Second Advisor
Doina Chichernea
Third Advisor
Pallab Paul
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Keywords
Assignment return on investment, Born-global firm, Expatriate international assignment, Firm internationalization, International assignment value, Multi-stage firm
Abstract
The expatriate international assignment, a time-tested tool for global organizations, is known to be expensive and fraught with risks; defining its value has proven difficult for multinational firms in the twentieth century that internationalized using multi-stage theory. Recently, born-global internationalization theory has gained momentum among emerging firms, notably technology-based firms employing expatriate assignments. This study asks, how do born-global firms define value or benefit when determining return on investment (ROI) for expatriate international assignments? Multi stage theory posits firms first establish domestic markets creating well-developed cultures and sophisticated policies designed to mitigate risk and contain costs prior to internationalizing. Born-global firms have unshackled from needing to conquer domestic markets; instead, they muster their entrepreneurial nature with precocious boldness penetrating new markets quickly utilizing expatriate assignments as an effective tool. Yet knowing the costs, risks, and historical lack of defined assignment value, and the struggles multi-stage firms have measuring ROI, born-global firms deploy employees globally creating markets for their products or services as soon as two years from inception. Through a series of semi-structured interviews conducted with eight born global firms and fifteen stakeholders including assignees, a receiving manager, and global mobility managers as firm proxies, the study finds that born-global firms define value or benefit for expatriate assignments measuring ROI through nine dimensions. Of the nine dimensions, four are firm oriented, two assignee, and three shared. The firms in this study view the world through a holistic global mobility strategy generating ROI measures that account for observable and intuitive value or benefit. Firm ROI is achieved through effective talent strategies, proximity for innovation and collaboration, expanding knowledge and culture concurrently with internationalization, velocity of product development and brand awareness, and goal achievement. Individual assignees gain ROI through boundaryless career opportunities, location dynamics, knowledge and culture accumulation and goal achievement while concomitantly supplementing firm ROI. The reduction and containment of direct investment costs for assignments was important for firms in the study enabling observable and intuitive value or benefit components to increase assignment ROI. The research contributes to born-global strategy and the field of international assignment management.
Copyright Date
8-2024
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
Rights Holder
Dale Collins
Provenance
Received from Author
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
412 pgs
File Size
2.9 MB
Recommended Citation
Collins, Dale, "Defining Value and Measuring ROI for Expatriate International Assignments in Firms That Internationalize as Born-Global Companies" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2466.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2466
Included in
Business Administration, Management, and Operations Commons, Finance and Financial Management Commons, Human Resources Management Commons, International Business Commons
