A meta-analysis of the antecedents of employee willingness to expatriate

Abstract

Expatriates play a critical role in the long-term success of global organizations; however, expatriate assignments are risky endeavors, and not all employees are keen on such opportunities. Thus, it is critical that we examine the antecedents of employee willingness to expatriate. In this first such meta-analysis, we drew on data from 55 studies (published in English and Traditional Chinese), and identified 22 antecedents. Results indicate that education, self-efficacy, prior international experience, language skills, cultural intelligence, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, openness to experience, the importance of assignment value, financial support and career support were positively related to employee willingness to expatriate. Some societal differences were identified. We then discuss implications and offer future research directions.