A theory-based framework for strategic global human resource staffing policies and practices

Abstract

As multinational enterprises increasingly globalize their operations, managing international human resources strategically becomes a critical factor contributing to overall organizational performance. The strategic management of international human resources has received extensive attention, focusing on staf ng issues related to expatriate assignments. However, empirical ndings indicate limited success of expatriation as an effective method for managing the breadth of international human resource opportunities. As market opportunities increasingly shift to countries with high cultural distance from the parent organization and as organizations evolve their strategic orientation from multinational to global activities, it appears that an exclusive reliance on expatriation-based staf ng will impede effective management of international human resources staf ng. The objective of this article is to review and clarify a theory base that can support a range of international human resource staf ng systems that might be implemented in a global environment. This discussion uses the combined perspective of agency and expectancy theories and discusses conditions under which speci c strategic staf ng choices might be most effective.

Swimming against the tide: Outward staffing flows from multinational subsidiaries

“…Although the absolute number of both types of assignee tends to be small (the median was two assignees in both instances), inpatriates and TCNs, in particular, are used in a wide range of MNEs. Thus our findings support the notion that the nature of international staffing has shifted from an ethnocentric home country model to a more global or transnational one Harvey et al, 2001;Tarique & Schuler, 2008).…”

“…Inpatriation also facilitates the embedding of employees from outside of the MNE's country of origin into the organization, while potentially providing them with defined career paths, and facilitating the learning of organizational cultures, values and decision making processes (Harvey et al, 2001). Similarly, the return of inpatriates to their home country on completion of their assignment can aid the localization process, which is an increasingly important strategic objective for MNEs (Evans, Pucik & Barsoux, 2002).…”

“…A growing body of literature points to greater emphasis on developing global competence and building global talent programs (Cascio & Aguinis, 2008). In this regard, drawing on talent pools beyond the home country through, for example, the deployment of TCNs or inpatriates emerges as a key means of globalizing the workforce (Harvey et al, 2000(Harvey et al, , 2001.…”

“…As note, inpatriates can act as important "linking pins" between foreign subsidiaries and HQ. Indeed, their boundary spanning role (Harvey et al, 2001) between the HQ and subsidiary facilitates increased knowledge of subsidiary operations in the HQ, while on repatriation they can transfer knowledge about the corporate culture, routines and processes to their subsidiary facilitating corporate integration (Bonache et al, 2001;Lazarova & Tarique, 2005). Given the increasing realisation that knowledge is embodied in individuals (Felin & Hesterly, 2007) and highly contextual and tacit in nature (Riusala & Suutari, 2004) inpatriate assignments represent an important transmission channel for subsidiary knowledge to the HQ and vice versa on repatriation (Reiche, Kraimer & Harzing, 2009).…”

“…Firstly, Harvey, Speier and Novicevic (2001) argue that changes in the globalization process may render traditional and unidirectional models of global staffing less appropriate for organizations operating in the global sphere. With the increasing location of foreign direct investment (FDI) in countries such as China, India and Central and Eastern Europe, the requirements of managers with both the skills and desire to operate in these locations may force MNEs to re-evaluate their staffing options (see also Scullion, Collings & Gunnigle, 2007;Tarique & Schuler, 2008).…”