Contemporary global work comprises a wide and growing array of different modes of international work configurations. In this article, we offer a multidimensional framework for conceptual (theoretical and practical) underpinning of these different modes. Building on the extant literature and the Delphi approach, seven dimensions emerged: (i) time of exposure; (ii) intensity of international contact through work; (iii) breadth of interaction; (iv) legal context; (v) international work instigator; (vi) extent of cultural gap between an individual's country-of-origin and the context in which the international work takes place; and (vii) key cultural-related requirements of one's job/role. To these dimensions, we add individual and organizational contextual variables, e.g. diversity and occupational patterns, as well as career systems with a particular focus on the importance of globally orientated work. Furthermore, we list the major modes of global careers and draw a global career glossary. Both the multidimensional framework and the glossary should facilitate scholars and managers to systematize, analyse, manage and further develop their expatriation and repatriation career strategies, policies and practices.

PurposeShareholders, investors and potential employees, all attach special importance to understanding a company through its annual report, the status of which has evolved over the years: from providing information for the adepts of competitive intelligence, it now provides information available to all stakeholders in the company. But one aspect has not changed: the keynote message of the president that prefaces the annual report. The present article indicates current practice in the matter in the case of 28 leading French companies.Design/methodology/approachWe have made these companies the subject of a systematic and detailed computer‐assisted analysis.FindingsAmong the main conclusions to be noted are: a varied range of rhetorical cosmetics by way of embellishment, and attitudes either of prudence or optimism on the part of company heads; a type of discourse open to several levels of interpretation: from a literal level to a level allowing the reader to interpret the wider spirit and intention of the document.Originality/valueIn view of the time devoted to the preparation and fine‐tuning of a presidential letter, we feel justified in writing a modest letter of recommendations for the attention of the president at the end of this contribution.

Considers the concept of Human Resource Management (HRM), noting particularly its origin in the USA and critiques of the concept in Europe. Data from a major European research project are examined. Differences between various European countries in their approach to HRM are identified and differences between HRM in Europe and the United States are suggested. It is argued that there is a need for the development of a model which relates more closely than the American literature to European HRM; and some tentative thoughts about such a model are proposed.

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the role of attention, processing motivation and processing depth in the relationship between self-reported subjective processing fluency and relevant advertisement variables such as ad attitude, brand attitude and purchase intentions. Design/methodology/approach – Two empirical studies were conducted using self-report questionnaires. Findings – In Study 1 (N = 176), the measure of self-reported subjective processing fluency was pretested. As expected, it was found to be sensitive to visual and semantic features of advertisements and to predict attitudes toward an advertisement. In Study 2 (N = 204), mediation analyses showed that self-reported subjective processing fluency was a predictor of attitude toward the advertisement (through attention and processing depth), attitude toward the brand (through processing depth) and purchase intentions (through processing depth). Research limitations/implications – The results emphasize the role of cognitive processing in explaining the effect of processing fluency on attitudes in marketing research. Practical implications – Practitioners could use this theoretical framework and take into account the fluency with which consumers process information to improve the way they advertise their products. Originality/value – The results suggest that self-reported subjective processing fluency can be relevant to predicting consumers’ attitudes because it increases attention and processing depth of the advertisement.

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Le top management doit être aujourd’hui tout à la fois manager, leader, politique et éthique. Pour l’y aider, les dispositifs de ressources humaines visant son développement ont considérablement évolué ces 15 dernières années. Ces évolutions concernent tant les contenus que les pédagogies usitées. La délivrance de connaissances porte désormais sur des champs beaucoup plus vastes. Au-delà du savoir, l’accent est porté sur le savoir-faire et le savoir-être. C’est dans cette optique que se sont développés des plans de carrière sur mesure, l’Action Learning, le coaching ... Ces outils sont nombreux et il n’existe aucune recherche comparative aboutie qui cerne la valeur ajoutée de chacun et qui permette de savoir précisément comment arbitrer entre eux. C’est pour commencer à combler ce manque qu’une recherche qualitative exploratoire centrée sur la valeur ajoutée du coaching a été menée. Ses résultats montrent que le coaching se distingue positivement en matière de capacité à susciter et à soutenir une réflexion sur soi, sa pratique et une transformation personnelle. A ce titre, il aide les dirigeants à être les principaux vecteurs de la régulation en entreprise. Les résultats mettent également en exergue que le coaching aide le top management de façon inégalée en termes de réflexion et de comportements politiques et de prises de décisions relatives aux transformations organisationnelles. L’apport spécifique du coaching est d’autant plus perceptible en situation de crise. Le fait de le circonscrire aboutit à la mise lumière de facteurs d’arbitrage entre le coaching et d’autres dispositifs ressources humaines destinés au top management.

Reviews French particularities in the field of high potential managers development. Stresses some mechanisms in the building of the managerial élite. After a presentation of the main ways of gaining access to the top (through a historical perspective) the authors suggest new trends that will affect top management development for the next decade.

Managing international research projects in the academic field is far from being easy. Apart from the problems of language and semantics, it requires awareness not only of cultural differences but also of the different phases of such projects. The authors analyse and elaborate on each of these phases. According to their own experiences, they conclude that what is difficult in such projects is not so much to monitor the cultural variables as to manage peers who usually behave independently in their academic circles.