Challenges of Leading Expatriate Academics
Abstract
To attract a greater number of students both at home and abroad, many higher education institutions have made internationalization a priority. The trend towards internationalization by opening branch campuses, cross-border collaborative arrangements, twinning, franchising, and joint or double degree arrangements has led to an increase in the mobility of academic labour. Often, higher education leaders are promoted through the ranks of academia and are underprepared for leading a diverse workforce that includes expatriate academics. Expatriate academics face many challenges as they attempt to adjust to a new role and living in a foreign country. Thus, they usually require more support than local staff. Leadership style has been shown to have a large impact on an employee’s job satisfaction and performance. Given the importance placed on internationalization at higher education institutions, it is important for universities to develop leaders with the ability to flexibly incorporate a range of leadership styles to effectively meet the challenges of their increasingly complex role. In this context, I proposed the consideration of servant leadership as a potential leadership style that may be well suited to help higher education leaders meet the needs of their expatriate academic staff.
References
Altbach, P.G., Reisberg, L., & Rumbley, L.E. (2009). Future Trends. In Paul Altbach et al. (Eds.) Trends in global higher education: Tracking an Academic Revolution (pp. 165-171) Retrieved from: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0018/001832/183219e.pdf
Barnes, A. C. (2015). Servant Leadership for Higher Education. Journal of College and Character, 16(2), 131-133.
Bolman, L. G., & Deal, T. E. (1991). Leadership and management effectiveness: A multi‐frame, multi‐sector analysis. Human Resource Management, 30(4), 509-534.
Brandenburg, U., & De Wit, H. (2015). The end of internationalization. International Higher Education, (62).
Bryman, A. (2007). Effective leadership in higher education: A literature review. Studies in higher education, 32(6), 693-710.
Eken, İ., Özturgut, O., & Craven, A. E. (2014). Leadership Styles and Cultural Intelligence. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics, 11(3), 154.
Francis, A. (1993). Facing the Future: The Internationalization of Post-Secondary Institutions in British Columbia. Task Force Report. British Columbia Centre for International Education, 215-409 Granville St., Vancouver, British Columbia V6C 1T2 Canada.
Froese, F. J. (2012). Motivation and adjustment of self-initiated expatriates: the case of expatriate academics in South Korea. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 23(6), 1095-1112.
Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership that gets results. Harvard Business Review. 78(2), 78.
Knight, J. (2004). Internationalization remodeled: Definition, approaches, and rationales. Journal of studies in international education, 8(1), 5-31.
Knight, J. (2015). Updated definition of internationalization. International higher education, (33).
Mittal, R., & Dorfman, P. W. (2012). Servant leadership across cultures. Journal of World Business, 47(4), 555-570.
Nanjundeswaraswamy, T. S., & Swamy, D. R. (2014). Leadership styles. Advances in Management, 7(2), 57.
Richardson, J. (2000). Expatriate academics in the globalized era: the beginnings of an untold story? Asia Pacific Business Review, 7(1), 125-150.
Richardson, J., & McKenna, S. (2002). Leaving and experiencing: Why academics expatriate and how they experience expatriation. Career Development International, 7(2), 67-78.
Richardson, J., & McKenna, S. (2003). International experience and academic careers: what do academics have to say?. Personnel Review,32(6), 774-795.
Richardson, J., & Zikic, J. (2007). The darker side of an international academic career. Career Development International, 12(2), 164-186.
Russell, R. F., & Gregory Stone, A. (2002). A review of servant leadership attributes: Developing a practical model. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 23(3), 145-157.
Selmer, J., & Lauring, J. (2009). Cultural similarity and adjustment of expatriate academics. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 33(5), 429-436.
Selmer, J., & Lauring, J. (2011). Expatriate academics: job factors and work outcomes. International Journal of Manpower, 32(2), 194-210.
Taylor, J., & Machado, M. D. L. (2006). Higher education leadership and management: From conflict to interdependence through strategic planning. Tertiary Education and Management, 12(2), 137-160.
Van Dierendonck, D. (2011). Servant leadership: A review and synthesis. Journal of management, 37(4), 1228-1261.
Wolverton, M., Ackerman, R., & Holt, S. (2005). Preparing for leadership: What academic department chairs need to know. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management, 27(2), 227-238.
Yahaya, R., & Ebrahim, F. (2016). Leadership styles and organizational commitment: literature review. Journal of Management Development, 35(2), 190-216.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors retain copyright of their papers, including publishing and commercial rights. Attribution should be given to EPIGREP when publishing a previously published article in another venue, including personal websites and blogs.
Copyright information for readers can be found here: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0
