ABSTRACT
Much of today’s academic literature on expatriation and the process of managing expatriates comes from North American researchers and aims to explain the process in North American multinational companies. However, in recent years, there has been increasing interest and research into International Human Resource Management in Europe, as a result of globalization and market integration. This paper examines past and current expatriation processes and practices in Europe. Special attention is devoted to comparisons and contrasts to patterns found in North America.