Comparative Human Resource Management Research Articles

HR directors in India: navigating institutional incoherence for HRM stability and change

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the strategic and evolving role of human resource management (HRM) directors within the context of underdeveloped institutional arrangements. The study focuses on India and conducts a comparative analysis of the roles of HRM directors in both multinational enterprises (MNEs) and domestic firms.Design/methodology/approachSurvey-based data from the HRM directors of 252 enterprises were gathered for the comparative analysis, including both multinational and domestic enterprises.FindingsHRM directors in MNEs lack the proficiency required to effectively fulfil their strategic role. In addition, there has been a notable shift in the responsibilities of HRM directors in MNEs, with increased emphasis on labour movements and trade union negotiations, as opposed to traditional human resource (HR) activities. This shift suggests that the role of HRM in MNEs operating in India has been influenced by local isomorphic forces, rather than following a “pendulum swing” between home and host country institutional pressures. The prevalence of informality in the Indian institutional arrangements may act as a strong counterforce to integrating the strategic agency of MNEs' home country HRM directors into the organizational structure. Despite facing resistance from the local institutional context, HRM directors in MNEs are responding with a pushback, prioritizing labour movements and trade union negotiations over core HRM activities.Research limitations/implicationsThe study highlights the broader implications for theory and practice, shedding light on the challenges faced by HRM directors in navigating incoherent institutional arrangements. It emphasizes the need for a deeper understanding of local forces in shaping HRM practices within multinational settings.Originality/valueWe contribute to the comparative HRM literature by elaborating on power struggles that HRM directors face amid the dichotomies of formal power and authority that are encoded in the organizational structure versus culturally contingent power that can be accrued from engaging in informality. We also highlight their engagement in prolonged institutional mediation and change, which serves as a compensatory mechanism for the institutional shortfalls they encounter within the context of emerging markets.

Future of Work - Opportunities, Challenges and Implications for International, Comparative and Cross-National HRM

The rapidly evolving future of work, driven by technological advancements, globalization, and shifting societal dynamics, presents significant opportunities, challenges, and implications for Human Resource Management. Whilst few scholars have responded to this in the mainstream HRM, there is a drought of research on the implications of the future of work and its dynamics on international, comparative, and cross-national Human Resource Management (HRM) sub-field. Through a random review, examination, critical analysis, and synthesizing of articles on the Future of Work and International HRM, this paper explores these aspects and highlights key trends such as automation, artificial intelligence, remote work, and the gig economy as they tend to shape the future of work and subsequently the practice of International HRM. Findings reveal that organizations face complex HRM challenges in a globalized workforce, diverse cultural contexts, and emerging technologies. The immense opportunities lie in leveraging technology to enhance productivity, efficiency, and innovation. International HRM practices can benefit from global talent pools, promoting diversity and multiculturalism. Cross-national HRM strategies facilitate knowledge transfer, skill development, and cross-cultural collaboration. However, challenges arise from workforce displacement due to automation and AI, raising concerns about job security and inequality. HRM professionals must address reskilling and upskilling initiatives to ensure employees remain adaptable and competitive. Managing a geographically dispersed workforce requires effective communication, coordination, and cultural sensitivity. The implications for international, comparative, and cross-national HRM practices are significant. Agile and flexible approaches to talent acquisition, retention, and development are necessary. Strategies must be tailored to specific cultural contexts, considering legal, economic, and social factors. Ethical considerations, including data privacy, algorithmic bias, and employee well-being, become paramount. In conclusion, we have proposed that HRM professionals must stay updated, collaborate with diverse stakeholders, and embrace innovative practices to harness the future of work's full potential while mitigating its challenges. Proactive and forward-thinking approaches are essential for organizations and HRM practitioners to navigate this dynamic landscape successfully.

Gender equality and comparative HRM: A 40-year review

Guided by comparative human resource management (HRM) research, we review and critically assess the literature on gender equality in work settings. To this end, we consider quantitative articles published between 1980 and 2021. We apply a multi-level and multi-dimensional framework focused on three gender equality perspectives (i.e., Hofstede, GLOBE, and socioeconomic) and the HRM chain (e.g., policies and practices) as well as individual and organizational outcomes. Consistent with previous literature in the field of comparative HRM, we find that the three gender equality perspectives explain significant differences in the HRM chain as well as in both individual-level and organizational-level outcomes. Extending comparative HRM literature, we find that the three gender equality perspectives influence our research community differently, show similarities and differences in outcomes, associate with different effects (i.e., enabling and enhancing), and differ in the direction of such effects. Our study contributes to evidence-based policy and practice in organizations that align their HR strategies to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 (Gender Equality).

Chris Brewster: How does, or can, human resource management contribute to business, ethics and society?

Dr Chris Brewster is Professor of International Human Resource Management at Henley Business School in the UK. He is a prolific and highly cited author, with over 30 books, and 250 research articles. He was a practitioner for the first half of his working life and has been a scholar studying international and comparative human resource management for the second half. On the basis of that experience, he has increasingly argued for a more ethical, less elitist and more encompassing approach to human resource management. He recognizes that the economy is changing continuously with technological developments and argues that, although there are no easy answers, our thinking needs to encompass the long-term effects of technological change on human work.

Staffing effectiveness across countries: An institutional perspective

AbstractThis study draws on institutional theory to investigate why and how staffing effectiveness varies across countries. Utilising data from multiple sources (Cranfield Network on Comparative Human Resource Management [CRANET], Global Leadership and Organisational Behaviour Effectiveness [GLOBE], World Economic Forum [WEF], Transparency International, Tightness‐Looseness Index), it covers 2,918 organisations in 11 countries. Extending earlier research on comparative staffing that focuses on cultural or regulatory differences separately, our findings show that companies in different countries implement staffing practices in line with their normative (i.e., cultural), regulatory, and cognitive institutions. A second key finding shows that institutionally embedded staffing practices are associated with organisational turnover, thus challenging dominant universalist perspectives on staffing effectiveness. Finally, we shed light on a central yet understudied boundary condition of contextual perspectives on staffing by identifying the strength of institutional pressures (i.e., societal tightness‐looseness) as a moderator of the relationships between national institutions, staffing, and turnover.

International and comparative human resource management: an Asia‐Pacific perspective

In this paper, we review articles in the research field of international and comparative human resource management (HRM), published in Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources since the journal’s inception in the 1960s. Our review is based on 155 articles, including 43 conceptual, opinion, editorial, and review articles, and 112 empirical studies, and examines the trends over decades by examining four major areas: 1) characteristics of the articles; 2) research topics within the international and comparative HRM; 3) theoretical frameworks; 4) country contexts; and 5) methodologies. While there have been many valuable contributions, new challenges have emerged. Based on our analysis, we provide suggestions for future research on international and comparative HRM. We call for scholars to draw attention to context and to theoretical and methodological innovation, in order to develop research with high impact and practical relevance.

Lordly Management and its Discontents: ‘Human Resource Management’ in Pakistan

New institutionalism increasingly informs work on comparative human resource management (HRM), downplaying power and how competing logics play out, and potentially providing an incomplete explanation of how and why ‘HRM’ and associated practices vary in different national contexts. We examine HRM in Pakistan’s banking industry and assess how managers’ espoused views of HRM practices reflect prevailing ones in dominant HRM models, and how they differ from early-career professionals’ perceptions of these practices. The cultural script of ‘seth’ (a neo-feudalist construction of authority) influences managers’ implementation of HRM policies and competes with the espoused HRM logic. We argue that managers will pursue a ‘seth’ logic when managing employees, as it reproduces existing power differentials within companies. By doing so, they render HRM unrecognizable from dominant models. Indeed, by using the term ‘HRM’, much of the existing, new institutionalism-influenced literature rationalizes a particular view of organizations and management that is inappropriate and analytically misleading in emerging economies.

Comparative Functional HRM Practices in Nepalese Banking and Insurance Companies

The main objective of this research is to examine the core aspects of the practices of functional human resource management (HRM) in Nepalese commercial banks and insurance companies. This research is focused on primary sources of data. Data was gathered from 10 commercial banks and 10 insurance companies of Nepal by creating a set of questionnaires and distributing these questionnaires to the officer-level employees of each of the commercial banks and insurance companies. The findings point out that there are significant differences between commercial banks and insurance companies in functional HRM practices in terms of employee selection and placement and in the management of pay & bonus schemes. Commercial banks are often found to typically have a higher level of HRM practices, while insurance companies have a lower level of HRM practices. There is a possibility of the mobility of human resources from insurance companies to commercial banks. Therefore, both commercial banks and insurance companies in Nepal must ensure that investment in their human resources and HRM practices definitely attract and retain competent people from the job market. Keywords: Human resource management, Employees, Practices, Commercial banks, Insurance companies DOI: 10.7176/EJBM/12-30-01 Publication date: October 31 st 2020

Similarities and differences in international and comparative human resource management: A review of 60 years of research

AbstractIn this article, we review similarities and differences in articles in the research field of international and comparative human resource management (HRM), published inHuman Resource Managementover the past 60 years. The extensive review and analysis, based on 189 conceptual articles, reviews, and empirical studies, identified several trends. First, the two distinct research streams in this research field (HRM in MNEs and comparative HRM) have grown over the decades and moved from conceptual articles in the beginning to almost exclusively empirical studies in more recent years. Second, in addition to the two research streams, in more recent years we identified a third research stream that combines elements of HRM in MNEs and comparative HRM research. Third, the research field has become more feminized, with an increasing number of female (first) authors, and has become more international, with more authors affiliated with non‐US universities in the more recent time periods. Finally, while the research streams show some differences in the content of their research, we do not find evidence that the streams developed in isolation. Based on our analysis, we provide suggestions for future research on international and comparative HRM and identify current implications for HR practitioners.

A comparative analysis of flexible working patterns in Germany and Turkey

In this study, the extent of flexible working patterns beginning to replace the conventional working models is examined in companies in Turkey and Germany and the extent of flexible working patterns in the two countries is compared. The objectives of the study are to determine the prevalence of these patterns and to find out the similarities and differences regarding flexible working in the two countries. The flexible working patterns focused on in this study are weekend work, shiftwork, overtime work, part-time work, job sharing, flexitime, fixed-term contracts, home-based work, telecommuting, and compressed workweeks. The research, which is designed with the last round database of the CRANET Survey on Comparative Human Resource Management Research, includes the companies in Turkey and Germany of the 35 participating countries (154 companies from Turkey and 278 companies from Germany which makes a total of 432 companies). In the findings section, first of all, the prevalence of each flexible working pattern in the two countries has been presented. Chi-square analysis has been conducted for each of the flexible working patterns to find out if there are any significant differences in the prevalence of these models in the two countries. As a result, it is determined that the extent of the nine flexible working patterns differed in the two countries. This is to say that the prevalence of several flexible working patterns ensuring the work-life balance of the employees is higher in Germany whereas flexible patterns used for economic reasons and do not add value to the work-life balance of the employees are usually prevalent in Turkey. The only similarity between the two countries is the use of home-based work.

THE PREVALENCE OF PERFORMANCE-RELATED PAY: A 23-COUNTRY EXAMINATION

This study intends to determine the current situation regarding the prevalence of pay for performance systems established for managers. Examining performance-related pay, we focus on individual, team and organizational performance and explore how widespread several pay components are in 23 countries. The research consists of the firm-level data of 5217 large companies from 23 countries from the Cranfield Network on Comparative Human Resource Management database. The data has been presented descriptively via frequencies and percentages and then analyzed via cluster analysis. In this way, diverging country clusters have been determined regarding the prevalence of pay for performance. Findings show that individual bonus is the most frequently used variable pay component provided to managers in general. Following that, paying for organizational performance is highly prevalent, whereas team-based bonuses are rarely used as a whole. On the other hand, long term incentives are rarely used except profit sharing. The results are descriptive in nature. This study addresses how widespread performance-related pay in various countries. Evidence regarding the use and prevalence of pay for performance systems across countries is quite limited. So this research, reflecting the current scene regarding variable pay in various countries, contributes to current literature by presenting recent comparable data.

Handbook of Research on Comparative Human Resource Management (Research Handbooks in Business and Management Series), edited by ChrisBrewster and WolfgangMayrhofer. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, 2013, 704 pp., ISBN: 978‐1781002940, Price £46.00, paperback.

Handbook of Research on Comparative Human Resource Management (Research Handbooks in Business and Management Series), edited by ChrisBrewster and WolfgangMayrhofer. Edward Elgar, Cheltenham, 2013, 704 pp., ISBN: 978‐1781002940, Price £46.00, paperback.

HRM development in post-colonial societies

This article is based on a literature review that integrates history, institutions and culture to address the following research questions. First, how did human resource management (HRM) progress during post-colonial Ghana? Second, what factors are likely to undermine the advancement of HRM practices in Ghana? Finally, what are the implications for HRM practice and theory? This article identified several factors originating from the economic and socio-cultural system as driving forces underpinning the advancement of HRM practices in Ghana. Key issues are (i) Ghanaian cultural beliefs and assumptions; (ii) respect for social status, power and authority; (iii) the involvement of religious institutions in business activities; (iv) the dominance of small and medium scale enterprises in the local economy (informal sector); (v) education, skills development and training mismatch; and (vi) lack of HRM professionalization and regulatory body. This article argues the assimilation of history, institutions and culture connects comparative HRM practices and post-colonial studies to establish a detailed understanding of persistent colonial institutional inheritance (legacies) of HRM practices as against HRM practices that signify the effects of Ghanaian contextual distinctiveness. We conclude that the best practice is building a synergy of foreign HRM practices alien to Ghana and the culture-sensitive Ghanaian version that produces the best-fit HRM practices for Ghana.

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.

Flexible work arrangements, national culture, organisational characteristics, and organisational outcomes: A study across 21 countries

AbstractUsing a contingency perspective, we investigated two complementary topics: (a) the influence of the GLOBE national cultural values and key organisational variables on employee use of flexible work arrangements (FWAs), and (b) the contribution of the level of congruence between cultural values and FWA use on absenteeism and turnover. The results, based on Cranfield Network on Comparative Human Resource Management—a large data set across multiple countries—supported the hypothesised effects of the cultural values on employee use of FWAs and the moderating effects of these cultural values on FWA use and organisational outcomes. Specifically, we found that national cultural values and organisational characteristics were related to outcomes via FWA use; and employees' use of FWAs had the overall effect of reducing absenteeism and turnover, but this effect was weakened when the FWAs were not consistent with cultural values. Theoretically, our results add to our knowledge and understanding of the effects of FWA use on absenteeism and turnover under different degrees of “fit” with cultural context. From a practical perspective, our results suggest that organisations should consider national cultural characteristics before implementing FWAs. A misfit between national culture and FWAs would potentially reduce employee use of FWAs and increase the likelihood of absenteeism and turnover.

The Impact of National Context Effects on HRM Practices in Russian Subsidiaries of Western MNCs

ABSTRACTThis article contributes to the research on comparative human resource management by providing a model of the Russian business system and its effect on human resource management practices at Russian subsidiaries of Western multinational companies. Whitley’s approach was adopted to illustrate the links between institutional arenas, business systems, and human resource management practices. The empirical part is based on interviews with senior human resources managers of Western multinational companies operating in Russia. The findings provide insight into the interaction between the national business system and human resource management practices in Russia.

Workplace accommodation for older teachers in Japan and Germany: The role of the institutional context in supporting late career options for teachers with ill health

IntroductionThe likelihood of having a physical or mental disability drastically increases with age, and especially for members of the teaching professions ( Freude, Seibt, Pech, & Ullsperger, 2005); a white collar profession that has a high prevalence of being affected especially by mental health problems such as burnout ( Hakanen, Bakker, & Schaufelli, 2006; Bauer, Unterbrink, Hack, Pfeifer, Buhlgrieshaber, Muller, Wesche, Frommhold, Seibt, Scheuch, & Wirsching,2007) which leads to depersonalisation, emotional exhaustion and/or a reduced sense of personal accomplishment and achievement (Griva & Joekes, 2003). Besides potentially affecting an individual's capability to fulfil his/her original work-related tasks, burnout directly affects individual job satisfaction (Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2009) and, as a consequence, turnover intention (Yang & Lee, 2009) and, potentially, physical health (Tsuboi, Takeuchi, Watanabe, Hori, & Kobayashi, 2002).Ill health of both the physical and mental types and its effects on teacher careers has been a prominent topic in international HRM research (cf. Travers & Cooper, 1993; Goddard & Goddard, 2006; Hughes, 2001; Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2011). For example, the incidence of early labour market exit due to ill-health is considered to be high in general ( Van Rijn, Robroek, Brouwer, & Burdorf, 2014) as well as among teachers, both in Europe and in North America (Bowers, 2001). This specifically applies to Germany (Weber, 2004; Bauer et al., 2007; Goetz, Loew, Hornung, Cojocaru, Lahmann, & Tritt, 2013), where, for example in the German Federal State of Hamburg, 23.4 per cent of those leaving the teaching profession prior to pension age in 2008 did so because of ill-health reasons (Bonorden, 2009). Ill-health also affects the teaching force in Japan where the amount of Japanese teachers taking leave of absence due to health reasons in general, and psychiatric disorders in particular, has increased significantly between 1995 and 2004 ( Inoue, Tanii, Kauta, Masaki, Fukunaga, & Okazaki, 2007). Furthermore, the percentage of teachers that retired prior to retirement age (age 60) in Tokyo increased from 12.8 per cent to 22.3 per cent between 1994 and 1997, and the percentage of those quitting their job in the teaching profession increased from 21.6 per cent to 24.1 per cent over the same time period (Kudomi, 1999). Reasons for ill-health, and especially for burnout, are similar across Japan and Germany, and include work intensification and changing pupil-parent-teacher relationships (Van Droogenbroeck et al., 2014, Santavirta et al., 2007, Kudomi, 1999, Yamashita and Okada, 2010); the changing image of teachers in society ( Yorimitsu, Houghton, & Taylor, 2014) and psychological factors such as increased work commitment (Kieschke & Schaarschmidt, 2008).Japan and Germany have been chosen because both countries have highly institutionalised employment and human resource management (HRM) systems managing the teaching force, with HRM policies being established at the School Authority-level (OECD, 2005; Cortina, Leschinsky, Baumert, Mayer, & Trommer, 2008). Given that health issues among the teaching force are prevalent in both countries, the comparison presented here aims to show whether and how institutional-level stakeholders are able to accommodate teachers with ill health and disabilities. This discussion aims to examine whether and how both positive and negative 'stay factors' such as employer interventions to help manage health issues and the closure of early retirement routes play out (respectively) in German and Japanese workplaces. Overall, this discussion seeks to contribute to the literature on workplace accommodation, specifically for public sector employees. It uses a qualitative lens, contextualising actual decisions over the provision of accommodations and corresponding lines of argument. The discussion also contributes to comparative HRM research generally as well as to processes of age management specifically. …

Mechanism of Development of Human Capital Within Human Resources Management of Modern Organization

The purpose of the research is the analysis of global practice of development of human capital within human resources management of modern organization and creation of mechanism for development of human capital within human resources management of modern organization. Empirical base of the research consists of the results of comparative international study of practice of human resources management CRANET (Cranfield Network on Comparative Human Resource Management), held by Cranfield School of Management (Great Britain). The authors also use the methodology of evaluation of qualitative index of social investments. As a result of analysis of involvement of organizations into the development of human capital within management of human resources and social responsibility of business in developed and developing countries, the authors come to the conclusion that developed countries pay significant attention to social responsibility and development of human capital, while less than 30% of business in developing countries pay attention to this issue. Therefore, there is a necessity for creation of the mechanism of development of human capital within human resources management of modern organization, which could be successfully used in developing countries. In order to solve this problem, the authors create the mechanism for development of human capital within human resources management of modern organization, which supposes substantiation of necessity of transition to a new humanist-oriented approach to human resources management and contains recommendations as to implementation of this approach in modern organization. Implementation of this mechanism will allow creating conditions for development of human capital in modern organizations of developing countries and increasing their social responsibility. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n5s2p399

Special issue of International Journal of Human Resource Management: Regulation of work and employment: advancing theory and research in international and comparative human resource management

In an increasingly globalised world, discussions about the unfettered mobility of capital, people, information and ideas are contrasted by debates about regulation of work and employment. Given the...

Strategic human resource management in the Asia Pacific region: similarities and differences?

This paper examines human resource management (HRM) policies within five countries in the Asia Pacific region – Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Philippines and Taiwan. We examine whether HRM in these countries is similar to the idealised model of strategic HRM, largely developed in the United States of America (USA), or whether HRM in this region has its own characteristics. We also investigate whether there are broad similarities or differences between the HRM policies of these countries. Drawing on data from the Cranet survey of comparative HRM, we found that HR practice within these five countries was indeed similar to strategic HRM, but that there were also important differences, both between Asia Pacific HRM and the general model of strategic HRM and between HRM in the five countries.