Abstract

Taiwanese companies have invested in China’s rapid growth over the past decade. In this regard, a large number of Taiwanese expatriate managers are assigned to China to manage foreign subsidiaries. The paper provides data on how the expatriate process is working in terms of career and family issues for Taiwanese expatriates in China. It does this through consideration based around the expatriate cycle: selection of expatriates, cross-cultural training, international adjustment, performance appraisal, and repatriation. The results show that Taiwanese organizations need to take a more systemic and less ad hoc approach to the expatriation process. Family issues need to give more recognition to the needs with regard to health, education and careers. Recommendations for effective policies in expatriate management practices by Taiwanese firms are developed and suggestions for future research are proposed.