Repatriation in an Era of Saudi Private Sector Globalization

Abstract

With the increasing number of international assignments around the world, the process of repatriation has received the least attention from scholars especially in the Middle East. According to the literature, a failed repatriation process will result in a high degree of dissatisfaction and even the resignation of the repatriated employee as well as an organization’s loss of financial investment in human capital. This study is focused on the repatriation process in Saudi Arabia’s private organizations for seven repatriated employees form different organizations. This research focused on understanding the objectives of the international assignment for the employee and the organization from the employees point of view, repatriates experiences in readjusting upon return from assignment, investigating the type and level of support provided to them by their organizations upon returning, and finally the way employees reacted to the different circumstances they faced A qualitative research and seven semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed through the use of thematic analysis. Based on the collective data gathered in this research a number of main findings were reached. One finding is that employees believed that their objectives were aligned with those of their organizations. The main objective from the international assignment for both the employee and the organization was employee development. Another finding was that 86% of repatriates experienced a reverse cultural shock upon returning. The data also found that 57% experienced a breach in their psychological contract. The last of the four main findings is that more than half of the repatriated employees in this research left their organization after two to four years upon returning. These findings are aligned with the findings of previous studies conducted in the US, Europe, and Asia. As a result, organizations are encouraged to develop a method to manage employee expectations, develop a career path for high performing employees sent on international assignment, and maintain constant communications with the employee during the assignment to manage their expectations and prepare them for any changes in the home organization. Also, this study provides an interesting angle to the existing literature on repatriation as it was focused on one of least studied countries Saudi Arabia.