Development of career capital during expatriation : partners' perspectives

Purpose The purpose of this qualitative study is to examine the effects of expatriation on the development of career capital among the partners of expatriates. Design/methodology/approach The study draws on in-depth interviews with 30 Finnish partners of expatriates. Findings The results reflect the various learning experiences reported by partners of expatriates that developed their career capital during expatriation. The learning experiences related to the experience of living abroad itself and to the specific activities undertaken when abroad. The extent to which partners developed knowing-why, knowing-how and knowing-whom career capital was found to partly reflect their situation abroad as stay-at-home partners or as employees in less-demanding or more-demanding jobs. Though the experiences were developmental for all partners as have been reported among expatriates, the authors also identified several aspects in which partners' experiences differed from the typical developmental experiences of expatriates. Practical implications The results also highlight the influence of initiative, an active role and career self-management skills in partners' career capital development. Originality/value This paper advances the understanding of how expatriation affects expatriate partners' career capital, a topic that has not previously been studied in-depth.