Accounting for variations in the patterns of mobility among conventional and self-initiated expatriates

Mobility is a central leitmotif in the literature on international assignments and global careers, yet the work of analysing and explaining mobility patterns and their consequences remains challenging, especially for different expatriate types and cohorts. In this study, we distinguish multiple mobility root trajectories, namely work-related mobility, non-work-related experiences, early international exposure, inter-company or inter-industry movements and cultural proximity or distance between the home and host location of the expatriate, in order to analyse the patterns of mobility among a cohort of self-initiated expatriates (SEs) and conventional expatriates (CEs). Data obtained from 344 SEs and 74 CEs working in the banking sector in Saudi Arabia were used to analyse how the two cohorts differ in terms of their international mobility patterns. Our results suggest that the two cohorts do vary in their international mobility patterns, especially relating to work and non-work-related mobility, early international exposure, cultural proximity/distance and inter-company and inter-industry movements.