Abstract
Our qualitative study adopts a Bourdieusian perspective on capital to examine how Self-initiated Expatriates (SIEs) mobilize their economic, cultural, and social capital and how this impacts their career and business upon repatriation. We focus on Born Global firms in the Irish animation industry, aiming to assess the impact of repatriated SIEs' capital mobilization on rebuilding careers and starting new SME businesses. Furthermore, we assess the impact of the repatriates’ capital on the Born Globals’ internationalization and exploitation of foreign markets. Our study aims to bridge the gap in extant knowledge on SIEs’ repatriation outcomes and experiences.