Project expatriation: An exploratory examination

Abstract

This report describes an exploratory investigation into project expatriation, a form of overseas assignment rarely described and not yet formally examined in the literature, wherein an employee is sent into a foreign country to accomplish a specific set of tasks within a given period of time. Persons sent on such assignments are either managers or participants in usually technical projects in a location foreign to their home base; they repeatedly return to that home base, but expect another foreign assignment, often after a relatively short period of time. Their expectations, preparation, interactions, and relationships with the host country differ significantly from those of the traditional expatriate.