1. ¹Faculty of Business Administration, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
2. ²ESSEC Business School, Cergy-Pontoise, France

Correspondence: MB Lazarova, Simon Fraser University, Faculty of Business Administration, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada V5A 1S6. Tel: +1 604 268 6784; Fax: +1 604 291 4920; E-mail: mbl@sfu.ca

Received 9 March 2004; Revised 5 April 2006; Accepted 18 July 2006.

Abstract

This paper reviews and integrates two perspectives on repatriate retention: a traditional one, which suggests that the main determinant of repatriate retention is the availability of repatriation support programs; and an emerging one, which focuses on individual career activism in a changing employment context. Results of a study of 133 expatriates from 14 MNCs indicate that both views contribute to our understanding of repatriate retention. Building on the results of our study, we put forward a framework to guide future research.