What happens in expatriation, stays in expatriation - A study of how absorptive capacity enables organizational learning from repatriate knowledge

Abstract: In today’s globalized and knowledge driven business landscape, many MNCs make heavy investments in sending international assignees to transfer intra-firm knowledge between organizational units. Though, high turnover rates among homecoming international assignees, i.e. repatriates, imply that MNCs often fail to tap into their knowledge. To understand how firms can learn from repatriates, this thesis adopts an organizational perspective and studies how absorptive capacity of the focal unit enables organizational learning from repatriate knowledge. We conduct a qualitative comparative multiple case study and retrieve empirical data from 23 interviews with HR representatives and repatriates at eight MNCs. We develop a conceptual model in which absorptive capacity is conceptualized to consist of two variables, orientation towards learning and practices for knowledge management. First, we find implications of that orientation towards learning must be adapted to the context of repatriation to enable organizational learning, e.g. by decentralizing global mobility, using global mobility as an explicit strategy for sharing knowledge and staffing repatriates in teams with leaders with own international experience. Also, intra-MNC communication, as well as global governance models and teams, are found to negatively influence learning. Second, we find implications of that practices for informal knowledge management spur institutionalization of knowledge, whilst practices for formal knowledge management mainly treat dissemination. Yet, firms should use a combination of both types and adapt them to the repatriate’s hierarchical level and point in time of repatriation, as well as avoid potential implementation issues. Thus, absorptive capacity has a positive impact on organizational learning, although orientation towards learning and practices for knowledge management must be contextually adapted and purposively implemented to generate desired learning outcomes. This study thereby contributes to theory by generating implications from a new perspective that links theories on organizational learning, absorptive capacity and repatriation, whilst it contributes to practice by providing implications of how MNCs can govern their capacity to learn from their employees.