Abstract
When Western multinational enterprises seek to transfer their preferred strategic human resource management (SHRM) practices to their subsidiaries in Africa, they face numerous challenges. Some of these challenges arise from Africa’s particular cultural and institutional features. In Africa, parent country nationals (PCNs) prefer to standardize SHRM practices embedded in western values while host country nationals (HCNs) prefer to localize practices in accordance with African cultural and institutional specificities. This conceptual paper analyzes research on the motives and strategies for standardization and localization of SHRM practices and develops a set of propositions on how these practices are utilized in African subsidiaries of western multinationals. On the basis of published case examples I illustrate preferences for standardization, localization and a combination of both approaches. I discuss the implications of my study in terms of future research directions and lessons for practitioners.
Highlights
A multinational company decided to try to boost employees’ morale and enhance the productivity of employees by providing them with lunch
Against a background of regional diversity and strategic opportunities but limited academic research, the present paper focuses on the cultural and institutional challenges that western multinational enterprise (MNE) face when they seek to transfer their preferred strategic human resource management (SHRM) practices to their subsidiaries in host nations in the African continent
While parent country nationals (PCNs) may generally choose to standardize and host country nationals (HCNs) may prefer to localize, in some organizations negotiation facilitates a dual approach in implementing SHRM practices consistent with overall MNE strategy
Summary
When Western multinational enterprises seek to transfer their preferred strategic human resource management (SHRM) practices to their subsidiaries in Africa, they face numerous challenges. In Africa, parent country nationals (PCNs) prefer to standardize SHRM practices embedded in western values while host country nationals (HCNs) prefer to localize practices in accordance with African cultural and institutional specificities. This conceptual paper analyzes research on the motives and strategies for standardization and localization of SHRM practices and develops a set of propositions on how these practices are utilized in African subsidiaries of western multinationals.
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