Have a personal or library account? Click to login
An intelligent career perspective on repatriated SIEs in born global animation companies Cover

An intelligent career perspective on repatriated SIEs in born global animation companies

The Irish Journal of Management
Volume 44 (2025): Issue 1 (July 2025)
By: Adele Smith-Auchmuty and  Edward P. O’Connor  
Open Access
|Nov 2025

References

  1. Al Ariss, A., Koall, I., Ozbilgin, M., and Suutari, V. (2012). Careers of skilled migrants: towards a theoretical and methodological expansion. Journal of Management Development, 31(2), 92-101. doi.org/10.1108/02621711211199511.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  2. Al Ariss, A., and Syed J. (2011). Capital mobilization of skilled migrants: A relational perspective. British Journal of Management, 22(2), 286–304. doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8551.2010.00734.x.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  3. Alshahrani, S. and Morley, M. (2015). Accounting for variations in the patterns of mobility among conventional and self-initiated expatriates. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 26 (15), 1936-1954, doi: 10.1080/09585192.2015.1041757.
    Open DOISearch in Google ScholarBack to article
  4. Altman, Y. and Baruch, Y. (2012). Global self-initiated corporate expatriate careers: a new era in international assignments?, Personnel Review, 41(2), 233-255.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  5. Andresen, M. (2021). When at home, do as they do at home? Valuation of self-initiated repatriates’ competencies in French and German management career structures. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 32(4), 789-821. doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2018.1511612.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  6. Andersson, S. and Wictor, I. (2003). Innovative Internationalization in New Firms: Born Global—The Swedish Case. Journal of International Entrepreneurship, 1, 249-275. doi.org/10.1023/A:1024110806241.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  7. Andresen, M., Bergdolt, F., Margenfeld, J., and Dickmann, M. (2014). Addressing international mobility confusion – developing definitions and differentiations for self-initiated and assigned expatriates as well as migrants. The International Journal of Human Resource Management. 25 (16), 2295–2318. doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2013.877058.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  8. Arthur, M., Claman, J. and DeFillippi, R. (1995). Intelligent Enterprise, Intelligent Careers. Academy of Management Executive, 9, 7-20. doi.org/10.5465/ame.1995.9512032185.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  9. Brandenburger, A.M., and Nalebuff, B.J. (1996). Co-Opetition: A Revolutionary Mind-Set That Combines Competition and Cooperation in the Marketplace, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  10. Brewster, C., and Scullion, H. (1997). A review and agenda for expatriate HRM. Human Resource Management Journal, 7(3), 32-41. doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-8583.1997.tb00424.x.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  11. Browne, K. (2005). Snowball sampling: Using social networks to research non-heterosexual women. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 8(1), 47–60. doi.org/10.1080/1364557032000081663.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  12. Bryman, A. (2008). Social research methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  13. Cannone, G. and Ughetto, E. (2014). Born globals: a cross-country survey on high-tech start-ups. International Business Review, 23(1), 272-283. doi.org/10.1016/j.ibusrev.2013.05.003.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  14. Cavusgil, S.T. and Knight, G. (2015). “The born global firm: An entrepreneurial and capabilities perspective on early and rapid internationalisation”, Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan; Academy of International Business, 46(1), 3-16, January.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  15. Cerdin, J.L., and Selmer, J. (2014). Who is a self-initiated expatriate? Towards conceptual clarity of a common notion. The International Journal of Human Resource Management 25(9),1281–1301. doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2013.863793.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  16. Creswell, J. W. (2007) Qualitative inquiry & research design. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  17. Crowley–Henry, M., Almeida, S., Bertone, S. and Gunasekara, A. (2023). The multilevel intelligent career framework: an exploration and application to skilled migrants, Career Development International, 28(5), 474-499, doi.org/10.1108/CDI-04-2022-0097.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  18. Crowley-Henry, M., O’Connor, E. and Al Ariss, A. (2016). Portrayal of skilled migrants’ careers in business and management studies: A review of the literature and future research agenda. European Management Review. Epub ahead of print 12 May 2016.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  19. Crowley-Henry, M., O’Connor, E.P., and Suarez-Bilbao, B. (2021).What goes around comes around. Exploring how skilled migrant founder–managers of SMEs recruit and retain international talent, Journal of Global Mobility, 9(2), 145-165. doi.org/10.1108/JGM-01-2021-0003.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  20. DeFillippi, R.J. andArthur, M.B. (1994). The boundaryless career: A competency-based perspective. Journal of Organisational Behavior, 15(4), 307-324.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  21. Doherty, N. (2013). Understanding the self-initiated expatriate: A review and directions for future research. International Journal of Management Reviews, 15(4), 447-469. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijmr.12005.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  22. Eikhof, R. D. (2017). Analysing decisions on diversity and opportunity in the cultural and creative industries: A new framework. Organization, 24(3), 289-307. doi.org/10.1177/1350508416687768.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  23. Ellis, D.R., Thorn, K., and Yao, C. (2020). Repatriation of self-initiated expatriates: expectations vs. experiences. Career Development International, 25(5),539-562. doi.org/10.1108/cdi-09-2019-0228.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  24. Eisenhardt, K. (1989). Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532-550. doi.org/10.2307/258557.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  25. Gittins, T., and Fink, M. (2015). Return migration, informal learning, human capital development and SME internationalization in the CEE region: A systematic literature review. Journal of East European Management Studies. 20(3), 279-303. doi.org/10.5771/0949-6181-2015-3-279.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  26. Golnam, A., Ritala, P. and Wegmann, A. (2014). Coopetition within and between value networks - a typology and a modelling framework. International Journal of Business Environment. 6(1), 47 - 68. doi.org/10.1504/IJBE.2014.058023.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  27. Inkson, K., Dries, N. and Arnold, J. (2015) Understanding Careers (2nd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  28. Inkson, K. and Myers, B. (2003). “The big OE”: Self-directed travel and career development. Career Development International. 8(4). 170-181. doi. org/10.1108/13620430310482553.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  29. Israel, E., Cohen, N., and Czamanski, D. (2019). Return on capital? Determinants of counter-migration among early career Israeli STEM researchers. PLOS ONE. 14(8), doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0220609.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  30. Knight, G. A. (2001). Entrepreneurship and strategy in the international SME. Journal of International Management, 73(3), 155-171. Doi.org/10.1016/s1075-4253(01)00042-4.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  31. Knight, G.A. and Cavusgil, S.T. (1996) ‘The Born Global Firm: A Challenge to Traditional Internationalization Theory’, in S.T. Cavusgil and T. Madsen (eds.) Advances in International Marketing, 8, JAI Press: Greenwich, CT.pp. 11–26.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  32. Kudina, A., Yip, G. S. and Barkema, H. G. (2008). Born global. Business Strategy Review, 19(4), 38–44. doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8616.2008.00562.x.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  33. Lee, N., and Lings, I. (2008). Doing business research: A guide to theory and practice. London: Sage Publications.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  34. Lin, D., Zheng, W., Lu, J., Liu, X. and Wright, M. (2019). Forgotten or not? Home country embeddedness and returnee entrepreneurship, Journal of World Business, 54(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. jwb.2018.08.003.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  35. Melen, S. and Nordman, E. R. (2007). The value of human capital for the networks of born globals. International Journal of Globalisation and Small Business, 2(2), 205-219. doi.org/10.1504/ijgsb.2007.0154482.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  36. Moen, Ø., Sørheim, R., and Erikson, T. (2008). Born Global Firms and Informal Investors: Examining Investor Characteristics. Journal of Small Business Management, 46, 536 - 549.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  37. Morris, J., McKinlay, A., and Farrell, C. (2023). The ties that bind us: Networks, projects and careers in British TV. Human Relations, 76(2), 341-361. doi.org/10.1177/00187267211062863
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  38. O’Connor, E. & Crowley-Henry, M. (2020) From home to host: The instrumental Kaleidoscopic careers of skilled migrants, Human Relations, 73(2), 262 –287. doi.org/10.1177/0018726719828452.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  39. O’Gorman and Evers (2011) O’Gorman, C., and Evers, N. (2011). Network intermediaries in the internationalization of new firms in peripheral regions. International Marketing Review, 28(4), 340-364. doi.org/10.1108/02651331111149930.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  40. Oleškevičiūtė, E., Dickmann, M., Andresen, M. and Emma, P. (2022). The international transfer of individual career capital: Exploring and developing a model of the underlying factors. Journal of Global Mobility: The Home of Expatriate Management Research. 10. 10.1108/JGM-12-2020-0082.
    Open DOISearch in Google ScholarBack to article
  41. Oviatt, B.M. and McDougall, P.P. (1994). Toward a Theory of International New Ventures. Journal of International Business Studies, 25, 45-64. doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490193.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  42. Parker, Khapova and Arthur. (2009). The intelligent career framework as a basis for interdisciplinary inquiry. Journal of Vocational Behaviour. 75(3), 291-302. 10.1016/j.jvb.2009.04.001.
    Open DOISearch in Google ScholarBack to article
  43. Ryan, P., Evers, N., Smith, A., and Andersson, S. (2019). ‘Local horizontal network membership for accelerated global market research’. International Marketing Review, 36(1), 6-30. doi.org/10.1108/IMR-03-2017-0061.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  44. Rennie, M. W. (1993). “Global Competitiveness: Born Global,” The McKinsey Quarterly, 4, 45–52.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  45. Robinson, O.C. (2014). “Sampling in interview-based qualitative research: a theoretical and practical guide”, Qualitative Research in Psychology, 11(1), 25-41. doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2013.801543.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  46. Saunders, M.N.K., Thornhill, A., and Lewis, P. (2009). Research Methods for Business Students, 5th ed., Prentice Hall, FT, Harlow.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  47. Smith-Auchmuty, A. and O’Connor, E. (2023) Bringing it all back home: Capital utilisation of Irish Repatriates in the Irish SME Animation industry In: The Palgrave Handbook of Global Migration in International Business. United Kingdom: Palgrave MacMillan.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  48. Smith, A. (2014). Inside the ‘Black Box’ of the Born Global Network, National University of Ireland, Galway, PhD. Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://aran.library.nuigalway.ie/bitstream/handle/10379/4177/PhD_Adele_Smith_2014_ PDF.pdf?sequence=2.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  49. Suutari, V., and Brewster, C. (2000). Making their own way: international experience through self-initiated foreign assignments. Journal of World Business, 35(4), 417-436. doi.org/10.1016/S1090-9516(00)00046-8.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  50. Tharenou, P., and Caulfield, N. (2010). Will I stay or will I go? Explaining repatriation by self-initiated expatriates. Academy of Management Journal, 53(5), 1009-1028. doi.org/10.5465/AMJ.2010.54533183.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  51. Yin, R. (2003). Case Study Research: Design and Methods. (3rd Edn.) Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  52. Zikic, J. (2015). Skilled migrants’ career capital as a source of competitive advantage: implications for strategic HRM. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 26(10)(2015), pp. 1360-1381. doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2014.981199.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  53. Zikic, J., Mansoori, S., & Voloshyna, V. (2024). Alternative career pathways of skilled migrants: looking for new meanings amid starting again. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 1–13. doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2024.2376297.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
  54. Zikic, J. & Klehe, U.C. (2021) Going against the grain: the role of skilled migrants’ self-regulation in finding quality employment. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 42(8), 1023–1041. doi.org/10.1002/job.2550.
    Search in Google ScholarBack to article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ijm-2024-0015 | Journal eISSN: 2451-2834 | Journal ISSN: 1649-248X
Journal RSS Feed
Language: English
Page range: 93 - 106
Submitted on: Jun 20, 2025
Accepted on: Jul 25, 2025
Published on: Nov 18, 2025
Published by: Irish Academy of Management
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 3 issues per year
Keywords:
Internationalisation,
Career Capital,
SIEs,
Repatriation,
SMEs and Born Global
Related subjects:
Business and economics,
Business management,
Marketing, sales, customer relations,
Management, organization, corporate governance,
Entrepreneurship,
Human resources, labor practice, job and career

© 2025 Adele Smith-Auchmuty, Edward P. O’Connor, published by Irish Academy of Management
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Previous articleVolume 44 (2025): Issue 1 (July 2025)