Assignment misalignment after entry: a multistakeholder study of German expatriate assignments in China

Abstract

Purpose This study reconceptualizes “expatriate failure” as assignment misalignment, grounding the construct in labor mobility theory. This study aims to examine how misalignment emerges from systemic friction within the expatriation process, shaped by team dynamics, global operational demands and macro-level shifts, rather than from individual expatriate deficiency alone. Design/methodology/approach This comparative qualitative study draws on interviews conducted in two historically and industrially distinct settings: German equipment-manufacturing subsidiaries in 2006–2007 and German automotive-component subsidiaries in 2023–2024. The earlier setting serves as a benchmark rather than the first wave of a longitudinal design. The analysis examines assignment misalignment at the macro (institutional and market conditions), meso (organizational governance and assignment-team coordination) and micro (stakeholder experience) levels. Participants comprised German expatriates, parent-country superiors and HR managers and Chinese host-country subordinates. Findings The two samples show a contextual contrast between the predominantly cultural and interpersonal difficulties reported in the 2006–2007 equipment-manufacturing setting and the stronger institutional and organizational pressures reported in the 2023–2024 automotive-component setting. Because period and industry vary together, the findings do not establish a pure time effect. They indicate how macro-meso misalignment and assignment-team dynamics can affect expatriates’ authority, knowledge transfer and coordination of assignment goals. Originality/value This study develops assignment misalignment as a post-entry process in which managerial human capital cannot be fully converted into locally usable authority, knowledge and coordination capacity. It proposes macro-meso misalignment as a conditional mechanism and identifies managerial discretion and relational embeddedness as potential conditions that can mitigate institutional and organizational tensions.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Chinese Management Studies, 2026 · DOI ↗