Do Global Careers Pay? Implications of International Moves Within and Between Firms

Many individuals move internationally during their careers, yet we know little about how these moves affect career outcomes. Prior research has suggested potential benefits and costs of international moves, but it has generally focused on single expatriate assignments rather than multiple moves, on psychological or short-term promotion outcomes rather than longer-term rewards, and on moves within rather than between firms. We overcome these limitations by utilizing a unique dataset on the careers of MBA graduates to examine the relationship between different international moves and economic compensation. Our findings reveal this relationship to be positive and driven by moves that occur within firms, later after MBA graduation, and to countries other than those of birth. We did not find any significant effects of international moves between firms or gender differences in the effects of these moves. We also find that the positive relationship between international moves within firms and current compensation is more consistent with a selection mechanism - i.e. stronger performers are more likely to move - than with a treatment mechanism through which movers gain experience or status that subsequently proves valuable to them. We discuss the implications of these findings for theory and practice.