Where skilled migrants settle depends on how they see themselves
A study of 1,700 highly skilled migrants reveals that whether they stay and build careers in their new countries hinges on how their home and host countries' institutions align—and whether they feel welcomed or discriminated against. For multinationals and governments competing for talent, the findings show that institutional gaps create real barriers to retention.
Originaltitel: Linking institutional context to the community and career embeddedness of skilled migrants: The role of destination‑ and origin‑country identifcations
<p>Migration is one of the most pressing global issues of our time. However, relatively little is known about the factors and mechanisms that govern the post-migration experiences of skilled migrants. We adopt an acculturation- and social identitybased approach to examine how diferences between institutional characteristics in the destination and origin country, as well as migrants’ experiences with formal and informal institutions shape their identifcation with the destination and origin country and contribute to their community and career embeddedness. Our study of 1709 highly skilled migrants from 48 origin countries in 12 destination countries reveals that the institutional environment migrants encounter provides both sources of opportunity (potential for human development and value-congruent societal practices) and sources of disadvantage (experienced ethnocentrism and downgrading). These contrasting dynamics afect migrants’ destination-country identifcation, their origin-country identifcation and, ultimately, their embeddedness in the destination country. Our results have important implications for multinational enterprises and policy makers that can contribute to enhancing skilled migrants’ community and career embeddedness. For example, these actors may nurture a work environment and provide supportive policies that bufer against the institutional sources of disadvantage we identifed in this study, while helping migrants to leverage the opportunities available in the destination country</p>