International management strategies and expatriate practices of Taiwanese multinational corporations: a contingency perspective

In this paper, we examine how the international management strategy (centralized, local, and global) of an MNC affects its expatriate practices, and whether there is a contingent framework between international management strategy and expatriate practices. Drawing on a sample of 126 large Taiwanese multinational corporations, we examine the effects of international management strategies on six expatriate practices—staffing policies, selection criteria, selection methods, training, performance evaluations, and spouse/family support. We find some support for our expectation that, at the headquarters level, the specific international management strategy that an MNC employs affects the choice of expatriate practices. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.