Expatriate return on investment (ROI) is undoubtedly an important topic, as evidenced by the considerable efforts of multinational corporations (MNCs) to find cost-reducing alternatives to long-term international assignments. Yet no studies exist examining how expatriate ROI may be calculated...

The costs associated with a long-term international assignment, defined as the relocation of an employee abroad by a firm for a year or more (Cendant, 2002, 2004; Boyacigiller, 2000; Kobrin, 1988; KPMG International, 2003; Mercer Human Resource Consulting, 2003), are high. Some evidence suggests that the costs...

[Extract] Clearly, obtaining a return on investment from long-term assignments is important. First, cost-reduction is one of the reasons MNCs use alternatives to xpatriation, including virtual team assignments and tele-working, short-term assignments, business trips, cross-border commuting,...