One European model of HRM? Cranet empirical contributions

Abstract

We revisit Brewster's ‘European model of HRM’ (1995) and discuss its continuing significance on the basis of empirical research that has been conducted within the Cranet research network. The model was launched as a reaction to the emergence of strategic HRM in the USA some ten years earlier. Two main core assumptions drive US HRM: HRM promotes firm performance and firms have sufficient managerial autonomy to select HRM practices independently. Brewster's ‘European model of HRM’ is critical of the firm autonomy assumption applied to the European context. Instead it emphasizes the assumed significance of national context. Building on Brewster's model, in this paper, we present and discuss Cranet-based findings in relation to the issues of: Europe as a ‘single entity’, firm autonomy, isomorphism in multinational companies, convergence within Europe, and the link between HRM and firm performance. Using these findings we propose a dual-level framework model that reflects the notion of European models of HRM.