This paper compares the differences in talent management

This paper investigates the link between HRM practices, talent management (TM), and firm performance and examines the role of HRM/business strategy alignment in an emerging market context. Through survey evidence gathered from 198 respondent firms, this study shows that TM, when focused on a series of practices aimed at developing workforce networks and social capital, is a key transmission mechanism mediating the relationship between HRM and firm performance. HRM strategy and business strategy alignment increases these performance impacts but is not an essential component in the HRM-TM-performance link.

Scant research exists examining the effect of HRM practices on employee behavior in M&A integration and the role that leaders play within this. This paper develops a conceptual framework that focuses on the moderating role of transformational leadership on the achievement of human integration and organizational identification in M&A integration. We argue that communication, employee involvement, teamwork, and training and developme nt have a positive effect on employee behavior and their identification with the newly formed organization. Moreover, we argue that transformational leadership behaviors will moderate the implementation of HRM practices in M&As, leading to positive employee behavior and employee identification in the new organization. We suggest that further research is necessary to test propositions of the present study in order to achieve finer-grained understanding of the role of transformational leadership on the achievement of human integration and organizatio na l identification in M&A integration.

By comparing the HRM practices in Indian and European MNE subsidiaries located in four of the Southern African Development Community countries, this paper tests the relevance of the country of origin effect and analyses the strength of institutional and firm level influences. Examining data from 865 MNE subsidiaries obtained from the World Bank enterprise survey data, the paper finds that Indian MNEs have higher labour costs in relation to total sales than their European counterparts, that Indian MNEs make more use of temporary labour than their European counterparts, that Indian MNEs invest in less training than their European counterparts. No support is found for the hypothesis that Indian MNEs have a lower ratio of skilled workers in comparison to European-owned subsidiaries. The study shows that country of origin effects are weakened if they are not consistent with host country ideology and that as economies evolve so too do their expectations of HR policy and practices.3

This paper examines the HR practices of mature born-global firms from twenty-nine emerging economies. Through an examination of large scale survey data the paper questions the extent to which firm size impacts the employment of temporary workers, the employment of skilled workers and the extent of employee training. Findings suggest that as firm size increases the use of temporary workers decreases, the number of skilled workers increases and the number of employees receiving training also increases. The paper highlights how born-global firms are able to shift away from externalized, market-based approaches towards more internalized, commitment-based approaches in order to survive, adapt and grow.

The business benefits of an outsourcing strategy are well documented, and HR is encouraged to outsource in order to add value. Yet little is known about how HR outsourcing affects the HR role, competencies and relationships with senior management. These issues are examined through 27 semi‐structured interviews with senior HR professionals, comparing HR departments engaged in HR outsourcing with those maintaining full in‐house HR provision. The findings indicate that HR outsourcing stymies HR role transformation. HR outsourcers experienced limited skill development and an increased focus on cost reduction at the expense of their strategic position. In contrast, non‐HR outsourcers actively engaged in other parts of the business, developing competencies that garnered trust and support of senior managers. The benefits of an external HR community appear limited. The study suggests that an ‘internal’ HR community is better placed to enhance HR departmental roles.

This study examines the effect of high-commitment work systems on firm performance, employee burnout and wellbeing, and the mediating role of organisation support and employee effort in Malaysia. Through a survey of 215 employees working in manufacturing firms, the results show that highcommitment work systems have a significant positive direct impact on firm performance and a significant negative effect on employee burnout, yet no significant positive effect on employee wellbeing. Organisation support partially mediates the effect of high-commitment work systems on burnout.Both employee effort and organisation support fully mediate the effect of highcommitment work systems on wellbeing. The paper contributes to an understanding of how high-commitment work systems increase performance and highlights the centrality of organisation support in the context of low-skill, highly intense production work.

We examine how managers in Oman make sense of localization policies (Omanisation) through their use of talent management. Through an institutional logics lens it is possible to examine how organizations confront institutional complexity and understand the interplay between state, market and societal logics. The paper analyses twenty-six interviews with managers in the Petroleum and Banking sector and is the first to examine talent management within the context of Omanisation using a layered, institutional logics perspective. The paper finds that punitive state logics encourage organizations to focus on the societal wellbeing of their TM measures and inspires a sense of corporate social responsibility. Yet, the market logic dictates a stratified and differentiated approach that manages impressions of inclusivity while safeguarding organizational interests.