An evaluation of the repatriation process at Company X

Abstract

Many companies today have parts of their organizational activity abroad. By having subsidiaries in a foreign country, employees prepared to transfer abroad are required. Transferring employees abroad is not a new phenomenon; however, it is done more extensively today. Even though expatriation has been around quite some time, companies are still struggling with parts of the process, especially the last part of it, repatriation.

In this study, an evaluation of Company X’s repatriation process is conducted, and from our findings, recommendations are made. The study is based on relevant theories that we feel support the empirical data collection. The data collection is made through interviews and is further analyzed and discussed in order to support our findings.

The main areas discussed related to repatriation in this thesis are: reverse culture shock, mentors, career development, proactive behavior, communication, and finally evaluation. A more general conclusion is provided as well as recommendations for Company X on how to deal with the process of repatriation.