@misc{9234642,
  abstract     = {{International professional mobility has increased significantly in recent years, yet the workplace 
integration experiences of self-initiated expatriates remain underexplored in academic literature. 
While Scandinavian workplaces are characterized by formally inclusive organizational cultures, 
equitable policies and strong DEI commitments, international professionals sometimes perceive 
the gap between formal inclusion and genuine social belonging which demonstrates a condition 
that existing frameworks have not been explained sufficiently. 
This study examines how self-initiated expatriates and local professionals perceive and navigate 
formal and informal dimensions of workplace inclusion in Danish and Swedish organizational 
workplaces. A qualitative research method has been adopted through semi-structured interviews 
with participants comprising international professionals and local employees across Denmark and 
Sweden. 
The findings reveal peripheral inclusion as a state of formal organizational presence alongside 
informal social and motivational peripherality. Scandinavian organizations often provide hygiene
level inclusion while formal provisions that prevent dissatisfaction without producing motivational 
belonging which produces a gap between formal and informal inclusion that Herzberg’s (1966) 
two-factor theory illustrates. The same egalitarian values that drive formal inclusion 
simultaneously legitimize informal exclusion through culturally normalized boundary-keeping 
practices which constitutes an egalitarian paradox specific to the Scandinavian context. 
Furthermore, peripheral inclusion stabilizes rather than resolves itself through adaptation which 
extends Hirschman’s (1970) exit, voice and loyalty framework, suggesting international 
professionals actively manage their peripheral position without challenging its structural 
conditions. This study applies and extends Rennstam and Sullivan’s (2018) peripheral inclusion 
framework to self-initiated expatriate professionals in Scandinavian workplaces, contributing the 
egalitarian paradox and adaptation as original theoretical observations grounded in empirical data.}},
  author       = {{Ng, Yu Sing and Zhao, Hongrun}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Navigating the Periphery: A Qualitative Study of Expatriate Experiences of Cultural Diversity in Scandinavian Workplace}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}