firm of expatriates failing (e.g. Selmer 1995; Baruch and Altman 2002). Early studies
seeking to explain the choice between expatriation and localization were considerably
hampered by the availability of data. For instance, Boyacigiller (1990) and Downes and
Thomas (2000) base their arguments on expatriation in the subsidiaries of just one firm.
More recent research relies on case studies or country studies. The number of cases in a
study is often limited, which makes it difficult to generalize the findings.