John Molson School of Business, Concordia U., Canada
This study investigates how international assignment conditions—developmental assignments, job autonomy, and bicultural bridging—affect expatriates' career satisfaction through autonomous motivation, with boundaryless career orientation (BCO) as a moderating factor. Results indicate that developmental assignments enhance autonomous motivation, which mediates their positive relationship with career satisfaction. The moderating effects of BCO reveal that expatriates with high BCO benefit more from developmental assignments in fostering autonomous motivation, while no significant moderating effects were found for job autonomy or bicultural bridging. Additionally, intrinsic motivation was found to have a stronger impact on career satisfaction than identified motivation, underscoring the importance of designing assignments that are both meaningful and engaging.
