Purpose – This special issue seeks to scope the past, present and future study of those individuals who independently journey abroad for work – the self‐initiated expatriate – a topic which is now attracting increasing attention among management scholars and practitioners alike....

Purpose – This paper aims to move towards clarification of the self‐initiated expatriate/expatriation construct with the aim of extending and deepening theory development in the field. Design/methodology/approach – Drawing on Suddaby's think piece on construct clarity, this paper applies...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamic nature of boundaryless careers of Chinese early career corporate expatriates. It also investigates the demographic and contextual factors influencing individual perceived career mobility. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative,...

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the relative importance of the motives and sub‐motives which influence a highly educated individual's decision to move across global boundaries. Design/methodology/approach – The approach takes a multi‐dimensional perspective of mobility, resulting in...

Purpose – Drawing on career and self‐initiated expatriation/repatriation literatures, this paper aims to examine the career experiences of Chinese self‐initiated repatriates after their return to China. Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted an exploratory, qualitative study...

Purpose – The authors sought to explain why and how protean career attitude might influence self‐initiated expatriates' (SIEs) experiences positively. A mediation model of cultural adjustment was proposed and empirically evaluated. Design/methodology/approach – Data from 132 SIEs in...

Purpose – This paper aims to offer a critical review of how self‐initiated expatriation (SIE) is theorized compared to migration in the management literature and to indicate venues for future research on SIE. Design/methodology/approach – A systematic review has been conducted using the...