To relocate internationally or not to relocate internationally: a Taiwanese case study

Purpose: Multinational organizations are often unable to send their first-choice candidates on international assignments because employees are unwilling to relocate internationally. The purpose of this paper is to understand how organizations can effectively increase employees’ willingness to relocate internationally. Design/methodology/approach: The study sample consisted of 229 employees who have not previously worked abroad in a large and global-minded Taiwanese bank. Findings: This study found that when employees perceived international assignment experience to be valuable to their career and valued by their organization, they reported a higher level of willingness to relocate internationally. Moreover, this study also found the perceived organizational support (POS) on career and adjustment as moderators. Research limitations/implications: The use of one company in Taiwan as the source of the sample may limit the generalizability of the results. The cross-sectional design of this study also makes it impossible to examine the causality among variables. Practical implications: To enhance employees’ willingness to relocate internationally, organizations should ensure that they communicate clearly that organizations value employees’ international assignment experience before, during, and after the assignment. Originality/value: This study uses social informational processing theory to examine the effects of international assignment value on employee willingness to relocate internationally, as well as the effects of POS for international assignment on employee willingness to relocate internationally.