HOW �NATIONAL� ARE HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES? A CHALLENGE TO TRANSFERRING HR PRACTICES WITHIN MNCs- A CONCEPTUAL PAPER

Abstract

ABSTRACT HR practices within MNCs are affected by the home country of the parent company and by the host country of the subsidiary. From institutional and cultural perspectives, the transfer of HR practices within MNCs seems to be challenging. This conceptual paper addresses the issue of how HR practices are enrooted in their national contexts and how this “national” nature hinders the process of transferring those practices from the parent company to its subsidiaries. Through exposing first different studies about HR practices and how they differ across countries, and second elaborating on the transfer of HR practices within MNCs, the study proves that HR practices are “national” and thus they should be adapted to the institutional and cultural context of the host-country. Failing to recognize the host-country's specificities might impede the performance of subsidiaries. Keywords Human resource practices, multinational companies, transfer process, home country effects, host country effects.