Human Resource Management Practices in the Multinational Company: A Test of System, Societal, and Dominance Effects

Abstract

Does the use of HRM practices by multinational companies (MNCs) reflect their national origins or are practices similar regardless of context? To the extent that practices are similar, is there any evidence of global best standards? The authors use the system, societal, and dominance framework to address these questions through analysis of 1,100 MNC subsidiaries in Canada, Ireland, Spain, and the United Kingdom. They argue that this framework offers a richer account than alternatives such as varieties of capitalism. The study moves beyond previous research by differentiating between system effects at the global level and dominance effects arising from the diffusion of practices from a dominant economy. It shows that both effects are present, as are some differences at the societal level. Results suggest that MNCs configure their HRM practices in response to all three forces rather than to some uniform global best practices or to their national institutional contexts.

Beyond National Systems, Towards a ‘Gig Economy’? A Research Agenda for International and Comparative Employment Relations

“…In this article, we have begun to develop a novel framework that includes the influence of distinct institutional dynamics of sectors and global production networks as well as national systems. While the framework in this article is largely descriptive at this stage, there is potential for future research to build on theories of path dependency (Streeck and Thelen 2005;Thelen 2014) and dominance effects (Edwards et al 2013;Pudelko and Harzing 2008;Smith and Meiksins 1995). Such research should help to explain the circumstances in which certain types of ER, such as more market-oriented arrangements or more coordinated arrangements, may emerge at workplaces in certain scenarios.…”

“…Rather, the evidence seems consistent with Thelen's (2014, p. xx) claim that 'common liberalizing pressures … are being channelled in different ways. ' We would argue that this partly reflects the inherent characteristics of certain sectors that produce 'dominance effects' (Edwards et al 2013;Pudelko and Harzing 2008;Smith and Meiksins 1995) in influencing the strategic choices of ER actors.…”

Gestão de Recursos Humanos no Contexto Internacional: Um Estudo Comparativo entre Duas Empresas Multinacionais

“…As empresas devem buscar a disseminação das melhores práticas, de onde elas originam; se as práticas da matriz são bem-sucedidas, estas devem ser cuidadosamente exploradas em toda a organização e as práticas da matriz devem prevalecer; se, no entanto, as práticas das subsidiárias se mostrarem superiores, estas devem ser a fonte de inspiração (Pudelko & Harzing, 2007). Assim, dizer que uma prática é global significa ser mais do que ser comum a todas as empresas; a prática tem que ser encaixada como um sistema e que existem processos que a difundem globalmente (Edwards et al, 2013).…”

“…As subsidiárias da matriz podem responder ao ambiente institucional de um país, implantando um número expressivo de novas práticas. É importante, portanto, que haja um conjunto de melhores práticas de GRH que sejam amplamente difundidas e não limitadas por efeitos sociais ou fatores específicos (Edwards et al, 2013).…”

Human Resource Management in Multinational Enterprises: Evidence From a Late Industrializing Economy

“…A key challenge for researchers that seek to interpret similarities or differences in the results from different studies on whether there is an HRM best practices model emerging is that there is no commonly agreed theoretically or empirically derived list of HRM practices that one can draw upon on which to test the diffusion of practices (Becker and Gerhart 1996;Edwards et al 2013). In discussing the idea of 'best practices', high performance work systems (HPWSs) inevitably come to the fore (e.g., Combs et al 2006).…”