A Model of Transferring Japanese-style Human Resource Management System Abroad

Abstract

This paper describes the competitive strategy of Japanese overseas affiliates based on the systematic transfer of human resource management (HRM) practices from the Japanese parent firms. The primary focus for the present study was placed on building and testing the three hypothesized models of HRM transfer (including laborforce management, skill development, and positive problem solving models), with its emphasis on the process by which the national and firm specific resources on HRM (HRM resources) are transferred and become embedded in the affiliate organizational structure as an effective resource system. Empirical findings, based on the 286 Japanese firms in China and Taiwan by using the structural equation modeling analysis, indicated that the variance of the two performance measures for overseas affiliates was best explained by structural equations based on the“positive problem solving model”in which the three-stage sequential transfer of home-derived HRM resources to Japanese overseas affiliates is assumed. In conclusion, the mechanism of building the competitive HRM system through transferring HRM resources beyond the national boundaries was discussed, highlighting the sequential transfer strategy of the home-derived resources from the basic resources to instrumental ones.