Knowledge Benefits of Social Capital upon Repatriation: A Longitudinal Study of International Assignees
研究了国际外派人员在海外工作期间积累的社交关系（如同事联系和信任关系）在归国后如何帮助他们继续获取海外知识，并将这些知识传递给新岗位的同事。
abstract This study integrates social resources theory and social exchange theory arguments to examine the knowledge benefits that international assignees' host‐unit social capital entails upon repatriation. Specifically, I hypothesize that assignees' host‐unit social capital, operationalized as their number of work group contacts and their proportion of trusted ties at the host unit, positively relates to two specific knowledge benefits upon repatriation: continued access to host‐unit knowledge; and continued transfer of host‐unit knowledge to colleagues in assignees' new positions. Assignees' perceptions of career and repatriation support are expected to moderate these relationships. The hypotheses are tested with a longitudinal sample of 85 inpatriate assignees in 10 German multinationals. I contribute to the literatures on international assignments, social capital, and MNC knowledge flows by explaining how and under what conditions assignees' host‐unit social capital entails knowledge benefits upon repatriation.