Critical Review of Journal Article “Linking career success motives and career

boundaries to repatriates’ turnover intentions,” a case study by Santos G. and D.

Martins (2019) The international journal of human resource management

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Contents
1. Introduction.............................................................................................................................................2
2. Critical Review of the Abstract.................................................................................................................3
3. Critical Evaluation of the Introduction.....................................................................................................3
4. Critical Evaluation of the Literature Review.............................................................................................4
5. Critical Review of the Methodology........................................................................................................6
6. Critical Review of Data Analysis and Findings..........................................................................................7
7. Review on Conclusions............................................................................................................................8
8. Conclusions..............................................................................................................................................8

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1. Introduction

The purpose of the paper titled “Linking career success motives and career boundaries
to repatriates’ turnover intentions,” by (Santos, Martins) (2019) is to investigate the
reasons repatriates may decide to leave their companies after returning from overseas
assignments. Organizations all around the globe have an enormous issue in trying to
keep their current staff members. Because of the high costs associated with employee
turnover and recruitment, it plays a crucial role in global and comparative HR
management, particularly in the context of "repatriates." Because of this, businesses
need to learn about and implement efficient methods for keeping their current staff
members.

The report claims that there has been insufficient study on repatriation. The researchers
believe there is a dearth of data and conclusions on the professional success and
advancement of repatriates due to the dispersed nature of the existing study and its lack
of a theoretical framework. Hence the author has selected this study for the purpose
critical review. it's predominately an attempt to fill the gap.

Gina Gaio Santos is a member of the faculty of Minho University in Braga, Portugal, in
the Management Department of the School of Economics and Management. Many
topics, including graduate employability, work-life balance, and employee relations,
have piqued Santo's academic curiosity. She instructs students in qualitative research
strategies and business practices. Dora Martins is an accomplished professor with a
doctorate in human resources and organizational theory. She is a professor at both the
undergraduate and graduate levels in the field of human resource management. She
has done extensive study in the field of international management. Martins is a member
of the University of Aveiro, Portugal's research unit on administration, competitiveness,
and public policy. This article will examine the study paper "relating professional
success motivations and career limits to repatriates' turnover intentions" by Gina Gaio
Santo and Dora Martin and provide an in-depth analysis of each component. A
researcher's credentials, experience, and competence are all good ways to gauge how
well they understand a certain topic. However, research should be evaluated on its own
merits rather than having its validity automatically presumed due to the reputation of its

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authors, as stated by (Dale) (2005). In light of this, the purpose of this study is to
critically examine the most important findings from the work of both Santos and Martins.

Starting with the abstract, this review will dissect the paper's other sections, including
the introduction, literature review, study methods, data analysis and results, and
conclusion. Ultimately, a judgment is drawn on the research paper's quality.

2. Critical Review of the Abstract

The study paper's abstract is well-written, short, and error-free. It addresses all the
essentials of an abstract, which (Dale, 2005) says should contain the study's aims,
methods, samples, and selection criteria, as well as its important results and
suggestions. The writers (Santos, Martins, 2019) of the research article "relating
professional success motivations and career limits to repatriates' turnover intentions"
have successfully captured the interest of the reader via the abstract, as noted by
Parahoo (2006).

3. Critical Evaluation of the Introduction

It is recommended by Bassett (2003) that the research issue be presented first in the
introduction. Santos and Martins set the stage for their study by explaining why there is
less literature on repatriation than on expatriation, and hence less data on why people
choose to return home after working abroad. They make it clear that they want to learn
about the unique challenges and rewards faced by repatriates in the ensuing years their
return from working abroad, as well as the factors that motivate them professionally and
influence their decisions to stay or leave a position.

Researchers have set the stage for their work by defining terms like "repatriation,"
"intentions to leave," and "repercussions for organizations," among others. To prevent
repatriates from leaving their jobs after they've relocated to the local headquarters, the
authors argue that businesses need to investigate the factors that lead them to make
this decision.

o the best of the authors' knowledge, no research has differentiated among career pull
and career push motivations for the intended turnover of repatriates. However, it is clear

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that there are already a number of research undertaken on this topic, including (Cieri,
Sheehan, Costa, Fenwick, Cooper, 2007), (Tharenou, Caulfield, 2010), and (Stahl,
Chua, Caligiuri, Cerdin, Taniguchi, 2013)

By detailing the questions asked of the repatriates and the questions asked of the
organization's HR officials, the authors provide a clear picture of the study's
methodology. They have determined whether there is a conflict of interest regarding
professional goals by contrasting their respective perspectives. Even the chapter
arrangement has been laid out in a straightforward and correct manner.

4. Critical Evaluation of the Literature Review

Through the literature review, the researchers have made an effort to hone in on the
specific study challenge at hand (Parahoo 2006). They have started by talking about
how a repatriate's desire to advance in their careers is the primary factor in whether or
not they decide to return home. Santos and Martins have provided an in-depth analysis
of the idea of professional success from the perspectives of gender, age, cultural
background, and objective results. These standards were established using sources
that are both relevant and suitable in a scholarly setting. The writers, however, gloss
over the fact that other factors, such as the industry or sector in which one works, and
whether one is employed privately, by the state, or for one's own business, all play a
significant role in determining whether or not one is successful in their chosen
professional path. According to Hall (2004), every profession is unique and is influenced
by a number of elements specific to that profession. In addition, the authors of Abele et
al., (2011) state their belief that professional achievement is an occupational
environment. Success in the medical area, for instance, looks different from success in
the academic world. In the academic world, people tend to place greater weight on
factors like remuneration, recognition from one's peers, and the volume of one's
published work when assessing professional success.

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Based on Dries (2008)'s multidimensional model of professional success, the authors
offer a two-dimensional construct to explain career success: accomplishment versus
affect, and intrapersonal vs interpersonal. Recent studies have shown that a
combination of subjective and objective results is optimal for understanding the
meanings of career success and its many components, therefore this technique is now
widely used to assess professional achievement. For example, (Arthur, Khapova,
Wilderom, 2005), (Heslin, 2005), (Ituma, et al., 2011). The multifaceted career success
model has been utilized by Santos and Martins to understand the success of repatriates
and the motivations behind workers accepting abroad assignments. The authors cite
research by Stahl, Miller, and Tung (2002), which found that among German expatriate
managers, these three factors—the opportunity for growth in one's career, the thrill of a
new challenge, and the significance of the work itself—ranked highest. Given that
Germany has a dominating, high performance-oriented, male culture, this one example
cannot stand on its own to prove the point.

When seen through the prism of Hofstede (2001)'s six-factor model, Germany stands
out as a nation with notably high levels of individualism, masculinity, uncertainty
aversion, long-term orientation, and openness to experience. score poorly on measures
of power distance and gluttony. As a result, the authors' decision to use Germans as a
case study to examine the factors that motivate expatriates to achieve professional
success is flawed.

Santos and Martins have used credible and peer-reviewed sources to describe the
benefits and drawbacks of abroad experience for professional success after returning
home. However, the company's culture, which also plays a big influence in the
repatriates' professional success, has been ignored. According to Szkudlarek (2019),
businesses should see repatriates as a competitive edge because of the knowledge and
experience they bring back from throughout the world. To make the most of their
repatriated employees' international work experience, companies should foster a culture
of learning with a global perspective. To better understand company culture, for
instance, you may make use of the cultural web tool developed by Johnson, Scholes
(2010). However, the study report does not examine or address this aspect.

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The authors have dug deeply into the unique circumstances of the Portuguese economy
and its rescue which has been sought to avert state bankruptcy in order to examine the
function of career limits and their influence on the turnover intentions of repatriates.
They've enlightened us on how Portuguese emigrants' plans to leave the country have
been tempered by the country's economic restrictions. When people are facing financial
difficulties, they are less likely to be able to advance in their careers. Therefore, there
are constraints on generalizing this study's results and conclusions to other economies.

The preservation of repatriates has emerged as a major issue as a result of the

globalization of many organizations. The procedure of repatriation is intricate. It causes
problems that are comparable to those that arise with an expatriation (Engen, 1995)
(Swaak, 1997). Therefore, it is clear that the study report does not place sufficient
importance on maintaining repatriates in MNEs.

5. Critical Review of the Methodology

The authors provide sufficient detail on the size of the sample and the criteria used to
choose it. They've interviewed Portuguese expats working for eight different companies
and their HR managers using a semi-structured interview format. Companies from a
variety of sectors that have been through the repatriation procedure at least five times
have been analyzed. There is no information provided on the nature of the chosen
companies, whether they are service or manufacturing oriented. Forty-two returning
members from these eight groups have been questioned thus far. Also participating in
this study are 17 human resources professionals from these 8 companies. Over the
course of two years, 59 interviews were performed with the participants. It is admirable
that you have considered factors such as their degree of education, gender, marital
status, age, tenure, and position while making your hiring decisions. However, 83% of
the sample is male, showing that there is a lack of representation of women in the study
population.

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To conduct their interviews with the repatriates and HR staff, the authors used standard
practices such as those described by Gibbert, Ruigrok (2010) and Flick (2004).

The fact that the returnees were chosen by HR departments inside their individual
companies is also a limitation of the sampling process. Inevitably, this causes a skewed
sample. If the researchers had been able to find more than six former employees who
have since left their companies, they would have had access to a far more valuable
source of data.

Researchers have assured participants that their responses would be kept private and
have acted ethically throughout the interview process. They followed the procedure
outlined in (Pinto, 2012) to ensure the accuracy of the data. In accordance with the
paper's purpose, distinct sets of study questions geared for repatriates and human
resources experts were developed.

6. Critical Review of Data Analysis and Findings

Both researchers coded their data independently, using standards recommended by

King (2013), and the results of the data analysis are provided in accordance with
Buchanan (2013) cross-case synthesis analytical procedure.

The interviewees' replies have been broken down into four distinct tables, labeled "intra-
personal accomplishment," "intra-personal affect," "inter-personal affect," and "inter-
personal achievement," respectively, based on the four main push and pull causes
identified in the data. Some of the most important ones are as follows: the desire to be
appreciated and loved by others; the desire for stability in one's life financially and
professionally; the desire to learn and grow professionally; the desire to avoid
stagnation in one's career; the desire to avoid being discriminated against because of
one's age; and the desire to avoid a breach in one's personal and/or family boundaries.
By categorizing interview replies under their respective motivations, the study findings
are presented to the reader in a straightforward manner.

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Findings indicate that career-pull motives to stay encompass acknowledgement and
admiration, financial and labour security, career advancement opportunities, and
advancement, while career-push motives to leave include a lack of career advancement
opportunities, financial insecurity, and a breach of recognition and affection.

7. Review on Conclusions

An important competitive advantage for any organization with an internationalization

strategy is the ability to retain its repatriates after they return from international
assignments. The article "linking career success motives and career boundaries to
repatriates' turnover intentions," written by Santos and Martins, is devoted to identifying
the causes for repatriates' turnover intentions. There is a connection between the
presentation of the literature review and the conclusion, and the presentation of the
results follows a logical progression (Russell, 2002). The conclusion is somewhat
extensive and delves into new topics like Portuguese culture and the question of
psychological contract, but it does a good job of summarizing the main themes of the
research.

The authors acknowledge the study's limitations and say more research might be fruitful
as a consequence. In a positive and constructive light, the two researchers deserve
credit for their sound judgment, which is shown in the insightful and actionable
recommendations they have provided for further study (Meehan, 1999).

8. Conclusions

In this paper, the author will discuss the study by Santos and Martins that discusses
how repatriates' turnover intentions are connected to factors like professional success
motivations and career limitations. From what can be gleaned from the paper's central
themes, it seems that the authors have tackled an important issue in international and
comparative human resource management: how to create successful retention
strategies for repatriates and implement sound career development plans. Many

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businesses today are looking to broaden their reach by sending employees on overseas
assignments; nevertheless, firms that value their employees' experience and expertise
back home need to put in place rigorous retention methods to maintain these
employees. The authors get this, and their analysis of the push and pull factors related
to repatriates' job performance is insightful. The study article has several significant
caveats, chief among them being a narrow focus on Portuguese businesses. Since the
current economic downturn in Portugal has limited the opportunities for expatriates to
find new employment, many of them have decided to remain with the company despite
the absence of appreciation and acknowledgment they have received there. The
sample was also skewed toward men (83%), which is a major flaw in the paper's
representation of society at large. Human resources personnel from the eight
participating companies also had a role in selecting the repatriates who made up the
sample. An important worry is raised by the fact that this would have added bias into the
sampling process. Research would have benefited greatly from further interviews with
former employees who've already left their companies.

Overall, however, the study does a decent job of filling in the vacuum left by the dearth
of studies on repatriates' objectives about turnover and how they evaluate their
professional success upon their return. They have also helped to illuminate the
enormous impact that career barriers have on the professional advancement of
repatriates.

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