From campus to global employees: a systematic review of expatriate career intention

Purpose To address the lacking cohesion and often lacking a unifying theory on university students' expatriate career intention (ECI), this study systematically synthesizes the empirical literature to develop a coherent, theory-driven model of its antecedents. It seeks to provide an evidence-based foundation to help bridge the well-documented gap between students’ international career aspirations and actual outcomes. Design/methodology/approach A systematic literature review of 27 empirical studies was conducted. Social cognitive career theory (SCCT) was employed as an organizing framework. A theoretically guided thematic analysis was used to deductively categorize and inductively synthesize the antecedents of ECI into contextualized themes. Findings The review first reveals that the ECI research field is nascent, methodologically fragmented, and reliant on small samples. The primary finding is the contextualization of SCCT’s broad domains into six specific, operational themes of ECI antecedents, including “self-efficacy in expatriate career,” “benefits of expatriate career” and “overseas policy and resources.” This transforms a general theory into a precise, domain-specific model. Practical implications The resulting thematic model provides an evidence-based tool for universities to design targeted career support programs and for employers to develop more effective global talent selection and development strategies. Originality/value This study is the first to apply the SCCT framework to systematically integrate the disparate ECI literature. Its originality lies in moving beyond simple categorization to generate a nuanced, contextualized thematic framework that enhances the theoretical precision and practical applicability of SCCT in the international career context.