The process of expatriation of executives and the difficulties involved, from selection to adaptation and return, is one of the challenges posed by globalization of companies. For many international Spanish firms, lack of foresight has made this a problem.

Either because of inexperience or the urgent need to fill managerial or technical posts abroad, companies focus on selection and remuneration of candidates with scarcely a thought for the human factor in the process. That is to say, how a change of this caliber can affect executives at professional, personal and family levels.

But multinational companies do not avoid the cost, in both financial terms and business effectiveness, of poor expatriation planning. More and more companies are interested in identifying suitable policies, the conditions under which employees should be transferred abroad and the problems involved with their subsequent
repatriation.

In this edition, we present the conclusions of an IESE study of the expatriation and repatriation practices of 18 multinationals located in Spain. Sponsored by the Anselmo Rubiralta Center for Globalization and Strategy and directed by Sandalio Gómez, professor of Managing People in Organizations at IESE, the study makes a valuable contribution to research on the subject. With the goal of clarifying ideas and identifying
approaches and trends, the analysis also draws useful lines of action for companies.

The edition also includes articles by Miguel Angel Vidal, the Secretary of the Spanish Expatriates Forum and by Sandalio Gómez himself. Vidal offers us his own personal experience and assessment of the problems faced by expatriates and repatriates. Gómez invites companies to reflect on how to formalize a process which, if it has not already affected you, may do so in the future.

África Ariño
Academic Director