An Identity Construction Perspective On Careers of Swedish International Itinerants**

Zusammenfassung

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Considering international assignments as part of an individual's career, beyond the traditional expatriate assignment as employed and sent out by a company, this paper focuses on international itinerants. The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of individuals with multiple international work experiences, crossing the boundaries of a single employer, their experiences, identifications and identity construction. In the study an identity construction perspective is applied on four in-depth interviews with Swedish international itinerants. Categories of narratives are identified where the itinerants experience ambiguities and paradoxes in their identity construction, what they identify with and implications are discussed.

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Auszug

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An Identity Construction Perspective On Careers of Swedish International Itinerants**

Alternative ways of considering careers

The traditional ways of careers are changing, and the implications for individuals, for whom work is a source of identity, can for example be to develop multiple commitments and networks to maintain employability (Baruch 2004). The relationship with an employer is no longer by definition expected to last a lifetime and individuals are to a greater extent taking charge of their own career paths. Short term project work and contracting are therefore not uncommon options. Concepts such as protean career (Hall 1996) and boundaryless career (Arthur/ Rousseau 1996) can be used to describe these alternative careers. In an attempt to clarify the related yet distinct concepts, Briscoe and Hall (2006) see the protean career orientation as self-directed and values driven and the boundaryless career in terms of physical and/or psychological mobility. The extent to which the individual is oriented towards these aspects gives combinations of the protean and boundaryless approaches to describe an individual's career profile (Briscoe/Hall 2006). Hall (1996) suggested that "the new career" would be characterized by, and require, continuous learning, adaptability and reflection about one's identity. DeFillippi and Arthur (1996:123-124) defined the boundaryless career as:

"...characterized by a career identity that is independent of the employer (e.g., Tm a software engineer3); the accumulation of employment-flexible know-how (e.g., how to work in an innovative, efficient, and/or quality-enhancing way); and the development of networks that are independent of the firm (e.g., occupation or industry based), nonhierarchic (e.g., communities of practice), and worker enacted."

The boundaryless career concept suggests that boundaries between organizations are becoming permeable but as argued by Gunz et al. (2000) there are different, more complex, boundaries becoming salient Boundaries on the level of the industry such as the timescales, level of maturity and size of organizations and relationship between them, or geographical and professional boundaries may be perceived, influencing individuals' propensity to move, in addition to their skills being industry specific or a lack of understanding of the labor market (Gunz et al. 2000). Individuals may even seek boundaries and the identities that these entail through alternative social groupings and networks...

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