Digital Explorers: International Mobility of Knowledge Workers in the Dutch Game Industry

Abstract

In order to stimulate knowledge creation and innovation in creative industries it is important to increase the quality of human capital. To do so internationalization is important. This research aims to determine what drives knowledge workers in the Dutch game industry to migrate and what drives them to return home. From previous literature four main factors have been identified that determine the intention to migrate, i.e. an economic factor, a personality factor, a social factor and an environmental factor. By creating a database of over 500 employees active in the Dutch game industry from 1984 onwards and tracking them over time it has been determined through quantitative statistical analysis whether or not and to what extend each factor has an impact. From the binary logistic regression it could be concluded that the opportunity for monetary gains, the opportunity for achievement and the presence of migration related social capital positively influence the chances of migration, while the formation of place attachment acts as an inhibitor of both migration and return. Furthermore it has been identified that artist and employees wanting to work on adventure, RPG or simulation games are more likely to migrate, while employees wanting to work on action or racing titles are more likely to stay in the Netherlands. Based on these findings a policy and management advice has been written, offering insights on how to best retain employees and prevent them from migrating and how to best incentivise employees to return.