Beyond nationality

Abstract

Purpose The literature on international staffing in multinational enterprises (MNEs) often focuses on staffing choices based on nationality categories (e.g. parent-country nationals, host-country nationals, third-country nationals) for key positions in subsidiaries when examining their impacts on subsidiary outcomes. Considering both nationality and international experience, the purpose of this paper is to suggest an integrative typology to identify and classify various types of traditional and alternative subsidiary staffing options and evaluate them in relation to social capital and knowledge flows across MNE organizations. Design/methodology/approach Based on a social capital view of MNEs, the authors propose a typology of subsidiary staffing options founded on the dimensions of nationality and the location of prior international experience of incumbents of key positions. Then traditional as well as alternative staffing options from the literature are identified and evaluated corresponding to each type of staffing option in the framework. Findings The typology identifies nine types of subsidiary staffing options. It includes and classifies the traditional and alternative staffing options, while highlighting types which need further research. The study also suggests impacts of the traditional and alternative staffing type on social capital and knowledge flows in MNEs. Originality/value The new typology identifies various types of subsidiary staffing options comprehensively and evaluates them systematically. HRM specialists can classify subsidiary managers based on the typology and examine which staffing option would be desirable given a specific subsidiary context. The research also provides novel insights on what needs to be considered to select and develop subsidiary managers who can build internal and external social capital in MNEs.

Recruiting business expatriates in Portugal: a surefooted endeavor?

“…This representation is linked with (short) earlier international experience and employee exposure to international work settings, and somewhat aversive mobility-related attitudes (Justino, 2016). Observed divergent employee willingness profiles were indeed closely related with current career stage, previous domestic employment track (Suutari and Makela, 2007;Pate and Scullion, 2009;Sullivan and Baruch, 2009;Suutari et al, 2012) and international work experience (Caligiuri et al, 2009;Suutari et al, 2017;Kim et al, 2019;Waxin et al, 2019) and cultural distance (Froese and Peltokorpi, 2011;Kim and Froese, 2012) understood as significant (and unappealing).…”

“…The first criterion focused on employment track of expatriate individuals (number of different employers and domestic service track in present employer) (Suutari and Makela, 2007;Sullivan and Baruch, 2009;Suutari et al, 2012). Previous international work experience (number of years working in international environments) formed a second selection criterion (Caligiuri et al, 2009;Suutari et al, 2017;Kim et al, 2019;Waxin et al, 2019). The length of the current or most recent international mobility experience constituted the third criterion (Sullivan and Baruch, 2009).…”

Connecting managers’ international work experience, advice networks, and subsidiary-unit performance: a social capital perspective

“…expatriates) affect adjustment and performance in the focal country (Bozkurt and Mohr, 2011; Takeuchi et al , 2019). However, we focus on alternative subsidiary staffing options, such as PCNs with prior international experience in the host country and HCNs with prior international experience in the MNE home country (Kim et al , 2019).…”

“…This type of interaction can greatly benefit managers in performing their duties effectively (Cross et al , 2001). By working in a host country, they can build relationships and extend the boundary of social capital (Kim et al , 2019).…”

Unpacking the influence of foreignness on employment prospects within a multinational enterprise: an examination of gender, professional experience and duration of stay

“…Local industry experience is coded positively for each individual who held a job in the bunker trading industry prior to their employment at OW. Experience, especially when related to the required tasks of a job, is considered crucial for job candidates during recruitment, including external hiring by MNEs (Kim et al, 2019). Of the individuals in our sample, 53% had previous experience in the local industry.…”