A conceptual model of individuals' decision to engage in global mobility: integrating self-determination theory and theory of planned behavior

Abstract

PurposeCompanies target globally mobile workers and face the war for talent, while individuals are more reluctant to engage in global mobility. This scenario led us to propose a model to understand the individuals' decision process to engage in global mobility.Design/methodology/approachBuilding on the self-determination theory, the theory of planned behavior and the literature on decisions for global mobility, the authors propose mechanisms through which psychological variables and assignments' factual and perceived contextual aspects (directly or indirectly) explain the decision to engage or not in global mobility.FindingsThis study offers a conceptual model with the authors' novel propositions to explain individuals' decision to engage in global mobility.Originality/valueThe model provides a more comprehensive explanation of the individuals' decision-making process to engage in global mobility than previous models and potentially yields more effective organizational practices to attract both well-established and emerging phenomena of globally mobile workers.