The high attrition rate among North American expatriate executives has become a significant problem for firms doing business in foreign countries. A review of the literature reveals a number of factors contributing to attrition, including culture shock, family problems, managerial style and practice differences, insensitivity to host cultures, and an ignorance of the geography, history, and language of the host country. These problems are often compounded by the expatriate executive's need to carry out organizational goals and policies in the same way he or she had done in the home office. To reduce high attrition rates among expatriate executives, firms should improve their selection and screening processes, provide candidates for foreign jobs and their families with comprehensive training, and provide them with techniques for coping with the stress of living and working in a foreign culture. (FL)