Human Resource Management, Human Resource Management, September–October 2009, Vol. 48, No. 5, Pp. 793– 816 © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/hrm.20314 WHEN EXPATRIATES EXPLORE OTHER OPTIONS: RETAINING TALENT THROUGH GREATER JOB EMBEDDEDNESS AND REPATRIATION ADJUSTMENT YAN SHEN AND DOUGLAS T. (TIM) HALL This paper introduces the concept of job embeddedness to research on in- ternational assignments to help explain how the processes of expatriation and repatriation might lead to such outcomes as strengthened person- organization fit or career exploration. It develops a model with a related set of theoretical propositions, based on a comprehensive literature review cov- ering international assignments, adult development and career theories, job embeddedness, and career exploration. The paper also presents implications for future research, as well as practical implications for assignment practices and career interventions for organizations trying to retain their valued repat- riate talents and, thus, secure a greater return on their investments in talent development. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Keywords: international assignment, job embeddedness, repatriation adjustment, individual change, career exploration, talent management W ith business becoming more global and interconnected, it has become increasingly important for managers, executives, and key profes- sionals to learn the skills in international settings—as well as for their organizations to be able to deploy their skills and manage talent anytime, anywhere in the world (Cap- pelli, 2008; Cheese, Thomas, & Craig, 2007; McCall & Hollenbeck, 2002). An important mechanism for achieving these objectives is the international expatriate assignment (Hall, Zhu, & Yan, 2001). Unfortunately, the overseas segment of the overall expa- triate experience often is more successful than the repatriation phase, when many people leave their organizations (Black & Gregersen, 1999). Thus, the employer loses what the employee has learned, along with a major investment in that individual’s career. We will contend that repatriation failures need to be viewed in a holistic way—as Correspondence to: Yan Shen, Department of Organizational Behavior, School of Management, Boston University, 595 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA, 02215, Tel: 617-353-7057, Fax: 617-353-4878, E-mail: shenyan@bu.edu