Overt employment discrimination in MNC affiliates: home-country cultural and institutional effects

Abstract

Using job announcements posted by MNC subsidiaries in Taiwan and Thailand, we investigated the effects of MNC home-country cultural and institutional forces on the use of employment gender and age discriminatory criteria in host countries where anti-discrimination legislation was absent. We examined the cultural effects with composite measures taken from the work of Hofstede and Schwartz. The effects of the existence of anti-age and anti-gender discrimination employment legislation in an MNC home country were also assessed to control for institutional factors. Logit analysis shows that MNC home-country culture and institutional environment can have a strong impact on the use of discriminatory criteria by MNCs in host countries, at least those lacking protective legislation. Specifically, MNCs based in countries that have existing and effective age and gender discrimination laws, and have more individualist and less masculine cultures, are less likely to engage in at least overt gender-based and age-based discrimination. Journal of International Business Studies (2008) 39, 772–794. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8400376

A conceptual framework for international human resource management research in developing economies

“…Such informal protocols indicate established patterns of social interactions that are acceptable including societal values, roles, beliefs systems, behaviour and assumptions within a defined social context in the host country. Even though cognitive isomorphic pressures are informally established, they are instilled and transferred from one generation to another as a result of their acculturation to the workings of societal culture (Budhwar and Sparrow ; Harvey ; Wu, Lawler and Yi ). Cognitive isomorphic pressure may not be as powerful as the regulatory isomorphic pressure, but such culturally collective beliefs, norms, values and assumptions become stable as more formalized rules and regulations are embedded within the national business system in the host country.…”

The Impact of Formal and Informal Distance on Gender Equality Approaches: The Case of a British MNC in Saudi Arabia

“…Eden and Miller () note that MNCs should comply with the regulatory bodies in the host country because rules and laws guide MNCs on the appropriate behavior for the firm. If a host country has lax labor regulations, MNCs may find it easier to reduce their gender equality efforts in that country (Ferner et al, 2005; Wu, Lawler, & Yi, ), thereby passing up on an opportunity to create a more progressive and inclusive gender equality workforce. If local managers at a subsidiary observe that an MNC's (home‐country) practices are in violation of local labor laws, they may also refuse to transfer or implement these practices (Kostova & Roth, ).…”

Implementing supply chain information integration in China: The role of institutional forces and trust⋆

“…Institutional theory prioritizes the notion that a firm's business decisions depend on various economic, social, cultural, and political forces exerted by relevant institutes, such as state and local governments, social networks, and other powerful organizations (Lau et al, 2002; Scott, 2001). Like national culture theory (e.g., Donney et al, 1998; Zaheer and Zaheer, 2006), institutional theory has gained widespread adoption as a means to explain companies’ behaviors across countries (Wu et al, 2008). Note that institutional theory regards culture as a key component of institutional environments (Lau et al, 2002; Scott, 2001; Wu et al, 2008): traditional values and practices appear embedded in a country's social and economic institutions (Fey et al, 2009), and various social, economic, and political institutional forces derive at least partly from national culture.…”

“…Like national culture theory (e.g., Donney et al, 1998; Zaheer and Zaheer, 2006), institutional theory has gained widespread adoption as a means to explain companies’ behaviors across countries (Wu et al, 2008). Note that institutional theory regards culture as a key component of institutional environments (Lau et al, 2002; Scott, 2001; Wu et al, 2008): traditional values and practices appear embedded in a country's social and economic institutions (Fey et al, 2009), and various social, economic, and political institutional forces derive at least partly from national culture. Furthermore, national culture may shape the nature and impact of management practices in that country (Wu et al, 2008).…”