Purpose

The self-initiated nature of migration by self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) may make them more susceptible to the impact of the national context within which their adjustment takes place. Consequently, the failure or success of the expatriation depends on an SIE's ability to adapt to this national context. The paper aims to contribute to the adjustment theory literature by using the contextual angle and examining the impact of historical, legal, employment and hiring contexts on adjustment.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses data from a qualitative study of 42 in-depth interviews with German SIEs. The study used semi-structured in-depth interviews in order to collect a wide range of information on adjustment experiences, circumstances and expectations, enabling comparative analysis. All participants have self-initiated their move to Britain and relocated without organisational support, held university diplomas, worked according to their qualifications and relocated following a job offer.

Findings

Among the study's main findings is impact of national context on adjustment experience, especially the historical relations between the countries involved. German SIEs have enjoyed easy adaptation in their new workplaces due to structurally favourable positions within the local hierarchies of prejudice, which can be attributed to the complex historical relations between Germany and Britain. Furthermore, this study draws the attention to the particularities of the nationally constructed hiring practices. In particular, the speedy recruitment in Britain presented additional challenges in adjustment for some participants, while facilitating it for others.

Research limitations/implications

This study focuses on a specific population, and further research is needed to determine whether the findings can be generalised to other groups of SIEs in Britain and elsewhere. Another limitation of the study is the homogeneous nature of the sample in terms of education level and participant employment status (educated at a university level and found employment before relocation). Future research avenues include applying a comparative approach and focusing on the intersection between national context, employment circumstances, educational level and SIE adjustment.

Practical implications

The study documents the complex effects of the hiring context on SIE adjustment and suggests that communicating the nationally constructed recruitment practices will align the expectations of both parties. This may increase the effectiveness of hiring and placing within the company and have a positive impact on the adjustment and work performance of the SIE. Furthermore, understating the particularities of each national context can enable international human resources management (IHRM) professionals to assess the specificity of each potential employee and can provide well-considered suggestions concerning the effect of country-specific legal and historical context on their adjustment and hence provide SIEs with tailored support.

Originality/value

Although the adjustment of SIEs has attracted considerable research interest in recent years, it is often limited compared to the attention focused on assigned expatriates. This paper adds several original contributions to the IHRM literature. First, it expands knowledge on SIEs adjustment from a single country of origin living in a specific host country. Second, it enables a deep examination of the impact of the specific national context on SIEs adjustment as informed by certain historical and legal relations, as well as locally constructed hiring and employment practices.

中文翻译：

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探索国情对自发外派人员调整的影响：以在英国的德国专业人士为例

目的

自发外籍人士（SIE）的自发移民性质可能使他们更容易受到其调整所在国家背景的影响。因此，外派的失败或成功取决于 SIE 适应国情的能力。本文旨在通过使用情境角度并研究历史、法律、就业和招聘环境对调整的影响，为调整理论文献做出贡献。

设计/方法论/途径

本文使用的数据来自对德国 SIE 的 42 次深度访谈的定性研究。该研究采用半结构化深度访谈，以收集有关适应经历、情况和期望的广泛信息，从而进行比较分析。所有参与者都是自愿移居英国并在没有组织支持的情况下搬迁，持有大学文凭，根据自己的资格工作并在获得工作机会后搬迁。

发现

该研究的主要发现之一是国家背景对调整经历的影响，特别是所涉及国家之间的历史关系。由于德国和英国之间复杂的历史关系，德国社会企业在当地偏见等级制度中处于结构性有利地位，因此很容易适应新的工作场所。此外，这项研究还引起了人们对国家招聘实践的特殊性的关注。特别是，英国的快速招募给一些参与者带来了额外的调整挑战，同时也为其他参与者提供了便利。

研究局限性/影响

这项研究侧重于特定人群，需要进一步研究以确定研究结果是否可以推广到英国和其他地方的其他 SIE 群体。该研究的另一个局限性是样本在教育水平和参与者就业状况方面的同质性（受过大学教育并在搬迁前找到工作）。未来的研究途径包括应用比较方法并关注国情、就业环境、教育水平和社会IE调整之间的交叉点。

实际影响

该研究记录了招聘环境对 SIE 调整的复杂影响，并表明沟通国家构建的招聘实践将调整双方的期望。这可能会提高公司内部招聘和安置的效率，并对SIE的调整和工作绩效产生积极影响。此外，了解每个国家背景的特殊性可以使国际人力资源管理（IHRM）专业人员能够评估每个潜在雇员的特殊性，并可以就特定国家的法律和历史背景对其调整的影响提供深思熟虑的建议，从而为社会企业提供量身定制的支持。

原创性/价值

尽管近年来社会企业的调整引起了相当大的研究兴趣，但与外派外派人员的关注相比，它往往是有限的。本文为 IHRM 文献添加了几项原创贡献。首先，它扩展了居住在特定东道国的单一原籍国关于社会企业调整的知识。其次，它可以根据某些历史和法律关系以及当地构建的雇佣和就业实践，深入考察特定国家背景对社会企业调整的影响。