All pain, little gain? Reframing the value of international assignments

Abstract

It has long been recognised that international assignments play an important strategic role in a company's portfolio of global staffing options. However, there has been limited work that demonstrates how companies measure their return on investment (ROI) from international assignments. In this article, we present the results of a two-country study of nine multinational companies that questions the use of measures such as return-on-investment (ROI). Rather, we reframe how international assignments are considered and contend that the concept of intellectual capital best captures the true worth – to organisations and individuals – of international assignments.

Keywords:

• HR function
• human capital
• intellectual capital
• international assignments
• repatriates
• ROI
• social capital