Intercultural knowledge management: Exploring models for repatriation competency transfer in the global workplace

Abstract

Education is changing and becoming more global. Therefore, there is an increasing need for human resource managers to effectively manage the expatriation and repatriation processes of expatriates. The literature argues that the repatriation process from both workplace and employee's perspective remains problematic, and has been neglected by both organisations and the research literature. Returning home and resettling into new roles is often traumatic for the expatriate. The literature reports that staff often leave their organisations following repatriation. This results in a loss of international knowledge and calls for a more strategic approach to repatriation. This exploratory paper which draws on experience of expatriates and research literature in the field, argues for the development of new knowledge management frameworks and taxonomies, because globalisation has forced expatriation and repatriation on to the strategic agenda.