1. ¹IGB Network Co. Ltd, Tokyo, Japan
2. ²Goddard School of Business and Economics, Weber State University, Ogden, USA
3. ³College of Business Administration, University of Missouri, St Louis, USA
4. ⁴College of Business Administration, California State University, San Marcos, USA
5. ⁵College of Business Administration, University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, USA

Correspondence: A Bird, College of Business Administration, University of Missouri-St Louis, One University Blvd., St Louis, MO 63121-4499, USA. Tel: +1 314 516 6286; Fax: +1 314 516 6420; E-mail: abird@umsl.edu

Received 27 July 2005; Revised 28 December 2007; Accepted 7 February 2008; Published online 10 July 2008.

Abstract

This study examines predictors that lead to effective individual learning of global management competencies on expatriate assignments and the transfer (i.e., the application of those competencies) in new assignments upon repatriation. A structural equation model based on data from 305 Japanese repatriates identifies linkages from organizational support, intercultural personality characteristics, self-adjustment, and repatriation policies to outcomes of global competency learning and transfer, which in turn lead to heightened job motivation and performance.