A Study of Taiwanese Executives Selected for Expatriate Assignments

Abstract

The increasing trend toward corporate globalization has generated much research on expatriate management but little on the criteria used to select executive candidates. This study used survey questionnaires and interviews to identify the criteria that Taiwanese enterprises use to select executive candidates for overseas assignments. The result identified 15 key criteria including integrity, loyalty, tenacity, crisis management, decision-making ability, execution, independence, professional skills and knowledge required for the foreign assignment, working performance, willingness, self-confidence, resilience, ambition, and prior work experience. Those selected for overseas assignments were mostly male managers with over ten year’s employment in the company, with the majority taking up marketing positions. Another important finding was that Taiwanese companies prefered to hire local executives in more developed markets (North America, Europe, and Northeast Asia), but less so in developing and underdeveloped markets (Latin America, Mainland China, and Southeast Asia). Keywords: Corporate Globalization, Expatriate Management, Selection Criteria