Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations in the Latin American Context

Abstract

Abstract With a particular focus on the Mercosur bloc, this chapter examines key features of human resource management (HRM) and industrial relations systems (IRS) in Latin America. Several key themes are explicated in the chapter. The first theme is whether the dissemination of HRM practices in an institutional setting that emphasizes the hierarchical and market characteristics of IRS will also produce some kind of convergence in these practices. The second theme is to what extent the rather different national institutional environments generate similar or different HRM practices. The third theme, relatedly, is whether evidence exists of mimetic influences in the spread of HRM practices. The framework discussed in the chapter could serve as a useful theoretical point of departure for identifying both national and regional contextual influences on HRM and IRS. It may ignite interest in comparative analyses in the Latin American context. Accounts of HRM in the Latin American context, along with comparative analyses of IRS of specific countries in the region, are significantly underrepresented in the literature. Furthering national comparative research on HRM practices of organizations in the Mercosur region could open up new lines of inquiry, in particular, on the likelihood of convergence or divergence.