Comparative HRM Research Articles

Rethinking contexts and institutions for research on human resource management in multinational enterprises in an age of polycrisis: reflections and suggestions

International human resource management (IHRM) has covered two very distinct areas: comparative HRM (comparing HRM between national settings) and HRM in multinational enterprises (MNEs). Existing research has pointed to the multifaceted nature of contextual effects, and how they may differ qualitatively according to locale. This perspective article argues that a distinct and shared theme across this literature is much more than a recognition that many different sets of institutions and/or cultural features can make for viable alternative HRM models. We also consider whether or not MNEs seek to accommodate local realities or work to change them. Developing and broadening inquiry around these concerns may represent a solid way for researching IHRM in an age of polycrisis. Such understandings may be of great value in exploring the relationship between the present global polycrisis and HRM practice. We highlight potential concerns and opportunities for theorizing around the same.

Conceptual and methodological issues in international and comparative HRM: Transferring lessons from comparative public policy

In 2016, a special edition of Human Resource Management Review established a theoretical and empirical development framework to address the fundamental issue of convergence/divergence. An intriguing question raised by the review was whether one could cross the comparative human resource management (CHRM) stream with its international human resource management (IHRM) counterpart to theoretically and empirically benefit both. This paper addresses a similar topic, albeit looking outwards to the archetypal context-driven comparative public policy (CPP) discipline rather than inwards to two adjacent international and comparative streams. Centering on the standardization-convergence divide in IHRM and the practice-divergence conundrum in CHRM, the paper demonstrates how CPP's rich conceptual and methodological heritage can help overcome tensions in both streams while informing several meta-analytic review and future research suggestions.

Do HR practices for employee lifecycle influence organisational outcomes equally in Asia? Evidence from the Indo-Thai food sector

PurposeThe primary purpose of this contextual study was three-fold: (1) to study the effect of HR practices on employee lifecycle (ELC) on organisational outcomes; (2) to investigate the mediating role of employee outcomes in the relationship between HR practices and organisational outcomes; (3) to assess the differences in HR practices of the Indian and Thai food processing industries.Design/methodology/approachThe study used random sampling to select 574 (278 Indian and 296 Thai) HR managers in food processing industries. A structured questionnaire was administered. The PLS-SEM was used to validate the relationships, while multiple group analysis (MGA) was employed to compare the HR practices.FindingsThe results revealed a significant influence of HR practices on organisational outcomes. Employee outcomes also mediate this influence. MGA results showed no significant variation in the effect of HR practices on organisational outcomes between India and Thailand.Practical implicationsHR practices must be aligned to suit country-specific business contexts to achieve organisational outcomes by improving employee outcomes. The findings would guide managers of the Indian and Thai food industries to develop tailor-made HR strategies.Originality/valueThis study contributes to comparative HRM in the Asian context by offering an empirically tested framework. Additionally, this comparative research offers insightful information on convergent best practices among Asian nations.

International Training and Development

It is widely accepted that effective management of human resources will bring about increased organizational and employee performance. Based on this, the area of international human resource management (IHRM) has gained increased interest, especially with the continued growth of multinational corporations and globalization. Many IHRM practices and theories have been developed since the emergence of international business. The boundaries of IHRM are established within the concepts of MNC management across diverse cultural work practices as well as comparative international HRM among organisations. In this paper, I will reflect on these concepts as applicable in the practices of international training and development and performance management and compensation. My reflective essay will explore these topics with a key interest in expatriates who are affected greatly

What do we have faith in? – a comparative study on trust and performance appraisal practices in French and German MNE-subsidiaries

We explore how subsidiaries in a high-trust (Germany) and low-trust (France) country adopt the performance appraisal (PA) system from their US-headquarter. In-depth interviews with 30 informants illustrate trickle-down effects of trust from the national level to the organizational and individual levels shaping processes, outputs, and interactions of PA. While German informants expressed trust in the overall PA practice of the US-headquarter, French informants reacted with mistrust to PA manifested in different processes, rater and ratee attitudes, outcomes of PA, as well as the role of HR. We add to the comparative HRM literature by untangling, within an MNE context, the interaction of societal, organizational, and individual trust with the overall PA to provide a more holistic explanation for cross-national variations in PA beyond the mere assignment to separate cultural categories.

HRM formality differences in Pakistani SMEs: a three-sector comparative study

PurposeGuided by institutional theory, this empirical paper examines variations in the adoption of HRM practices among SMEs in three different business sectors (services, manufacturing and trade).Design/methodology/approachData from 300 owners/managers representing three business sectors were collected through a survey method.FindingsThe results suggest that service SMEs use more formal HRM practices than manufacturing and trade SMEs. Manufacturing SMEs are more formal than trade firms. Results are not affected by firm age.Research limitations/implicationsSocial desirability bias may have influenced respondents into portraying a positive image of the organization by inflating HRM sophistication. A further limitation is that the performance of the firms was not measured. As such, it is not possible to judge whether greater HRM formality correlated with improved organizational performance.Practical implicationsThis study shows how the business sector shapes HRM practices in Pakistani SMEs. Findings help to inform Pakistan's Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA) in dealings with manufacturing and trade firms in terms of improving HRM practices.Originality/valueGiven the important role of SMEs in economic development, comparative research on HRM in SME contexts is scarce. Since SMEs are vital for Pakistan's economy, an improved understanding of the sector's approach to human resource development is important. The findings extend the boundaries of prior comparative HRM literature in SMEs by addressing sector influences while controlling for contextual factors.

The effects of market economy type on the training practice differences in the Central Eastern European region

PurposeThe aim of this research is to investigate and detect determinants of the training practice and conspicuous differences in the sample of nine Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries (Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, Serbia and Romania). The study was conducted with three distinct objectives: the investigation of the training and development (T&D) practices in the CEE region, the investigation of the determinants of T&D practices in the CEE region and the measurement of the differences between the economies in the sample of CEE countries regarding their T&D practices.Design/methodology/approachThe research is based on the Cranet research network results from 2015 to 2016. The data for the CEE countries were selected in order to investigate the determinants of T&D practice, and the differences between these economies. The nine CEE countries were divided into two groups, on the basis on the variety of capitalism (VoC approach), in order to investigate its effects on the T&D practices. T-test, chi-square test, Spearman correlation tests and hierarchical moderated regression model were used to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThere are statistically significant differences between the organizations from coordinated market economy (CME) countries and liberal market economy (LME) countries in the case of the percentage of GDP of the country spent on education, the percentage of annual payroll costs of the organizations spent on training, the percentage of annual staff turnover, the implementation of the systematic evaluation of training needs, the training effectiveness, the existence of T&D strategy and the primary responsibility for major policy decisions on T&D. The results of the regression model showed that the majority of national and organizational level factors have a statistically significant relationship with the percentage of the annual payroll costs of the organization spent on training. Variety of capitalism moderates the relationship between independent variables and the dependent variable, too.Research limitations/implicationsIn the presented model, the authors excluded from their investigation the effects of MNCs. It must further be stated that only the data from the latest Cranet research round were used, thus it was not possible to investigate the development of the training practice in CEE over a longer time period. These limitations could be used as possible directions for further research in the relevant area of HRM in the CEE region.Originality/valueSince there is relatively little empirical research in the relation between capitalism type and T&D practice, especially in the region of CEE, the present paper lends new insight into this issue as well as into comparative HRM. It is hoped that this work can be taken as a starting point for further research.

A framework for comparative institutional research on HRM

This article argues that awareness of institutional context has been singularly lacking in the most influential areas of HRM. This lack of attention to external context has resulted in findings that fail to reflect reality. We offer a layered contextual framework embedded in economic institutional theory. We propose that it forms the basis of a comparative research agenda for HRM. We validate the framework using extant publications on institutionally based comparative HRM, drawing on findings from the Cranet research network published in the decade 2007–2017.

Regulation of work and employment: advances, tensions and future directions in research in international and comparative HRM

Changes to dynamics work and employment have resulted in calls for more sustainable management, procedural control, institutional governance, and political accountability. Against this background, there is renewed attention to regulation, its terms, nature and quality, and its role to shape the employment relationship. An important concern for international and comparative human resource management (I/CHRM) is understanding the role of regulation in interacting with these changes and how this varies across within and between countries. Regulation sits at the centre of competing economic and social demands, which are seen as both complementary and irreconcilable, and its complexity needs to be theorized and empirically mapped. The article discusses key themes related to changes to dynamics, processes and structures, and tensions that concern the fields of I/CHRM and its relationship with the regulation of work and employment. The article calls for more comprehensive insight into the theoretical links between regulation and I/CHRM, and more empirical evidence of their interplay across contexts. It suggests that engaging with the paradoxes and ambiguities of different competing agendas of regulation of work and employment, and exploring these in relation to different social actors within and across geographies is a significant step in advancing research in this area.

Global trends and crises, comparative capitalism and HRM

This article reviews and consolidates the most recent literature on comparative institutional analysis, and links this to endemic crises, continuities, bounded diversity and change in HRM practice within and between nations. It is argued that national institutional arrangements both support and sustain particular sets of HR practice, but this is always contingent, and subject to the choices of actors: firms adopt practices both to take advantages of the unique advantages of a particular national system and to cope with the challenges it imposes. Even potentially sub-optimal sets of institutions may help sustain particular sectors and types of firms, even in the face of great external shocks. At the same time, the two most developed national institutional paradigms – Coordinated and Liberal Markets – have faced on-going challenges and adjustments. Most notably, Coordinated Markets faced painful adjustments and challenges in the 1990s and early 2000s; more recently, this has been completely eclipsed by the unprecedented political crises that have enveloped the largest Liberal Markets, and which both reflect realities in work and employment relations, yet have potentially serious future implications for HRM.

A vision of international HRM research

This editorial was written as a vision of IHRM research, to be both thought-provoking and to start a conversation that can continue to move the field forward. Starting with a brief outline of the field, the editorial emphasizes distinct research route trajectories charting the landscape and anatomy of HRM in an international context, focusing on HRM in multinational corporations (MNCs) as well as Comparative HRM and the related, but distinct, cross-cultural management thread. Additionally, the editorial accentuates the importance of context in IHRM research, explaining the resultant debate on adopting a universalist vs. a contextual paradigm. The editorial presents a future agenda for IHRM research, focusing on challenges of research sampling, appropriate methodologies, social impact and interdisciplinary research. Finally, the editorial introduces four featured articles from the 2nd Global Conference on IHRM. Each article represents an interesting take on comparative HRM and/or strategic IHRM in MNCs. The studies are clear examples of how context can be used to explain the phenomena being studied.

What do we know about cross-country comparative studies in HRM? A critical review of literature in the period of 2000-2014

Significant progress has been made in the research on variations in HRM across national boundaries, in both the quantity of studies and theoretical advancements since the mid-1980s. The aim of this paper is to provide a systematic review of existing literature on cross-country comparative studies of HRM as an important strand of the international HRM field in order to shed new light on dominant key concerns and themes, and emerging syntheses. More specifically, we conducted a systematic review of cross-country comparative HRM studies published in academic journals in the English language in the 15-year period of 2000–2014. Our paper charted the development of cross-country comparative studies of HRM as a sub-field of HRM research. Our analysis of 125 articles from 30 business and management journals shows the countries/regions that have been studied, topics, and research methods used. We also highlight a number of research avenues for further study in this field. Although there are a number of distinct strands to the literature, our study concludes that there is an emerging common ground in underlying concerns and theoretical assumptions both within the field, and with other areas of management inquiry.

Globalization and convergence–divergence of HRM across nations: New measures, explanatory theory, and non-standard predictions from bringing in economics

This paper advances theory development in international and comparative HRM regarding convergence–divergence trends in HRM systems and practices across nations. Shortcomings in existing theory, such as universal versus contextual paradigms, are identified and critiqued, as are ambiguities in existing definitions and measures of HRM convergence and divergence. The paper then presents new ways of defining and measuring HRM convergence–divergence and a new theory perspective for explaining and predicting these trends. The new theory perspective involves incorporating economic principles of international trade and economic geography to explain the effect of global competition on the cross-national pattern of industry, firm, and production location and consequent patterns in HRM practice. On balance, economic theory predicts globalization likely leads to HRM divergence over time.

Crossing the streams: HRM in multinational enterprises and comparative HRM

This paper examines the differences between the stream of international HRM that focuses on comparative HRM and the one that focuses on HRM in multinational enterprises (MNEs). More specifically, we review how the aspects of time, process and context have been treated within the two streams and argue that the streams have largely developed in isolation as opposed to informing one another. Drawing on this analysis we propose a research agenda that illustrates how the crossing of these streams can advance theory and empirical research in both HRM in MNEs and comparative HRM, to the benefit of both.

Differences in Competency Management – Comparative Analysis between Polish, Spanish, and Austrian Business Practices

Abstract The main goal of the article is to present some differences in the practice of competency management, perceived as a part of human resources management, that were identified in the empirical research conducted in three countries, that is Poland, Spain, and Austria. Our research is placed within cross-cultural HRM and comparative HRM, that together with corporate-international HRM make three theoretical and research streams within international human resources management (IHRM). This is because on one side, the analysis of the research data covers comparison of competency management systems and practices both at the organizational and national level in different countries, but on the other side, we make an attempt to discuss the possible influence of national culture on identified differences.

Special Issue of International Journal of Human Resource Management — Global trends and crises, comparative capitalism and HRM

The special issue will explore new approaches and perspectives in comparative institutional analysis and implications for HRM. Influential texts by Hall and Soskice (2001), Dore (2000) and Whitley ...

Special Issue of International Journal of Human Resource Management — Global trends and crises, comparative capitalism and HRM

Special Issue of International Journal of Human Resource Management — Global trends and crises, comparative capitalism and HRM

Rhetorics and realities of management practices in Pakistan: Colonial, post-colonial and post-9/11 influences

This study explores how colonial laws and administrative practices shaped the evolution of employment management in Pakistan. It identifies important mechanisms used by the British Raj (the period of British rule of the subcontinent) to institutionalise legal and administrative frameworks: the legacies of these structures continue to influence contemporary management practices in government sector organisations. This article investigates the legacy of the Raj's ‘quota system’ in the civil services and the doctrine of the ‘martial race’ in military services, both of which offered enduring structural advantages in the labour market to designated groups. It further considers the implications of the study's findings for international HRM in particular, but also management theory, comparative HRM and comparative management in post-colonial societies.

Comparative Human Resource Management – Insights from Beyond the Pale

The objective of this symposium on comparative HRM is to present a richer picture of the variety of Human Resource Management policies and practices in different regions of the world, and to invite...

Comparative international human resource management (CIHRM) in the light of the Cranet Regional Research Survey in Transitional Economies

PurposeThe primary aim of the paper is to draw attention to the similarities in the historical background and in the transitional period of the post‐socialist CEE (Central and East European) countries, which make this region a distinctive cluster in Europe.Design/methodology/approachIn this paper, the authors attempt to supplement existing research by outlining the modernisation of a range of HR functions in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, and would like to explain how this special issue arose, to provide a historical perspective for the work undertaken by the Cranet research team from Bulgaria, Estonia and Hungary and to outline the context and significance of each of the attempts at modernisation in the HRM field.FindingsThis analysis of developments, based on the Cranet surveys, aims to describe and explain the similarities and differences found among the three specific countries (Bulgaria, Estonia and Hungary), the somewhat broader sample comprising the CEE region and the full sample of those participating in the survey. All of these signs increase the need for a contextual Comparative HRM model – which supports not only the snapshot analysis, but also a longitudinal one, incorporating both the path‐dependent and the path‐creation considerations of the changes taking place.Originality/valueThe need to understand HRM from a European – as opposed to a merely Western – perspective has become a dominant theme as the HR peculiarities of the new capitalism emerge. However, during the transition period, everyone needed – somehow – to meet the great challenge of turning the omelette back into eggs!