5-International Human Resources Management

518 Pages·2008·2.69 MB·English

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International Human
Resource Management
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second edition
International Human
Resource Management
edited by
Anne-Wil Harzing
Joris Van Ruysseveldt
SAGE Publications
London (cid:1) Thousand Oaks (cid:1) New Delhi
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© Anne-Wil Harzing and Joris van Ruysseveldt, 2004
First published 2004
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research
or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted
under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, this
publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted
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permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of
reprographic reproduction, in accordance with the terms
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Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms
should be sent to the publishers.
SAGE Publications Ltd
1 Olivers Yard
London EC1Y 1SP
SAGE Publications Inc
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Thousand Oaks, California 91320
SAGE Publications India Pvt Ltd
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication data
A catalogue record for this book is available
from the British Library
ISBN 0 7619 4039 1
ISBN 0 7619 4040 5 (pbk)
Library of Congress Control Number available
Typeset by C&M Digitals (P) Ltd., Chennai, India
Printed in Great Britain by The Cromwell Press Ltd, Trowbridge, Wiltshire
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Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Foreword by Nancy J. Adler viii
Contributor Biographies x
Abbreviations xvi
Introduction 1
PART 1 INTERNATIONALIZATION: CONTEXT, STRATEGY,
STRUCTURE AND PROCESSES 7
1 Internationalization and the international division of labour 9
Anne-Wil Harzing
2 Strategy and structure of multinational companies 33
Anne-Wil Harzing
3 International human resource management: recent developments
in theory and empirical research 65
Hugh Scullion and Jaap Paauwe
4 Human resource management in cross-border mergers and acquisitions 89
Günter K. Stahl, Vladimir Pucik, Paul Evans
and Mark E. Mendenhall
Part 2 HRM FROM A COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE 115
5 Cross-national differences in human resources and organization 117
Arndt Sorge
6 Culture in management: the measurement of differences 141
Laurence Romani
7 HRM in Europe 167
Christine Communal and Chris Brewster
8 HRM in East Asia 195
Ying Zhu and Malcolm Warner
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vi Contents
9 HRM in developing countries 221
Terence Jackson
PART 3 MANAGING AN INTERNATIONAL STAFF 249
10 Composing an international staff 251
Anne-Wil Harzing
11 Training and development of international staff 283
Ibraiz Tarique and Paula Caligiuri
12 International compensation and performance management 307
Marilyn Fenwick
13 Repatriation and knowledge management 333
Mila Lazarova and Paula Caligiuri
14 Women’s role in international management 357
Hilary Harris
PART 4 INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS: A COMPARATIVE
AND INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE 387
15 The transfer of employment practices across borders in
multinational companies 389
Tony Edwards
16 Varieties of capitalism, national industrial relations systems
and transnational challenges 411
Richard Hyman
17 Industrial relations in Europe: a multi-level system in the making? 433
Keith Sisson
18 The Eurocompany and European works councils 457
Paul Marginson
Author Index 482
Subject Index 490
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Acknowledgements
So much has changed since the 1st edition. We cannot even begin to encompass
the changes which have occurred in our now ‘globalized’ world. However, the
nature of academic work has also changed considerably since the 1st edition of
this book was published in 1995. Internet access and email have transformed
our daily working lives. Internet access means having information at our
fingertips. However, it also means an increasing challenge in assessing the
relevance of all this information. The contributors of this book have done an
excellent job in sifting the wheat from the chaff. The use of email has made it
much easier to communicate with authors. While for the 1st edition, much of
our editorial work was done via fax or even personal meetings with the chapter
authors, the current edition was based on email contact alone (a lot of it!). This
has made it possible to involve authors from a far wider range of countries than
before.
Much has stayed the same as well. First, our philosophy that the book be
developed as a research-based textbook has remained constant. The book
reflects the characteristics of the transnational MNC in that we think it com-
bines the benefits of knowledge transfer (authors who are experts in their
field), integration (a coherent textbook) and local responsiveness (authors from
many different countries as well as chapters specific to Asia, Europe and Africa).
What never changes is the fact that for such an undertaking many people
deserve acknowledgements. First of all we would like to thank Arndt Sorge for
encouraging us to embark on a 2nd edition. If he had not spoken so convinc-
ingly about our duty to the field, this 2nd edition may never have materialized.
Second, we owe a big vote of thanks to our authors. Given the scale of the task
of coordinating the editing of 18 chapters from around the globe, Anne-Wil
would particularly like to acknowledge their wonderful responsiveness to the
repeated requests for text revision. Their cooperation in working within the
deadlines made the job so much easier. Anne-Wil’s research assistant, Sheila
Gowans, performed her job as proofreader with a perfect blend of commitment
and conscientiousness.
At Sage, Kiren Shoman was the first to believe in the book and convinced
the Sage board of the need for a 2nd edition. She was later joined by Keith Von
Tersch and together they made a perfect team. Seth Edwards then ensured that
the book moved through the production process smoothly, while Ben
Sherwood took care of the all important promotion of the book.
Anne-Wil Harzing
Joris Van Ruysseveldt
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Foreword by Nancy J. Adler1
Which is farther, the sun at sunrise or the sun at noon? The first sage argued,
‘At sunrise, of course, the sun is closest when it is largest.’ The second sage
vehemently disagreed, ‘No, at noon, of course! The sun is closest when it’s
warmest.’ Unable to resolve the dilemma, the two sages turned to
Confucius.com for help. Feeling the sun’s fading warmth as it lowered itself
into a blazing sunset, Confucius remained silent.2
Myth, misinformation, and silence have pervaded the field of international
human resource management (HRM) since its inception.3 Understanding the
dynamics of people in organizations has always been challenging. However,
never prior to the twenty-first century has the intensity of globalization inter-
acted so profoundly with organizations and the people who lead them and
work in them. To understand the challenges of twenty-first century organi-
zational efficacy is to address the myriad of dilemmas facing people who con-
stantly work outside their native country with people from wider and wider
ranges of the world’s cultures.
Can we allow ourselves to continue to be guided by myth, misinformation,
and silence? No. Do we, as scholars, researchers, and executives, know how to
resolve the human dilemmas posed by extremely high levels of global inter-
action? No, not yet. Do we need to know? Yes. In International Human Resource
Management, the editors have brought together an eminent group of scholars
from around the world to report on state-of-the-art international HRM
research. Unlike Confucius, they have chosen not to remain silent in the face
of dilemmas that were heretofore unresolvable. They offer research results and
recommendations that can and should guide our scholarly and executive
appreciation of global diversity and its impact on human system functioning.
The book includes macro strategic perspectives along with micro individual-level
1Nancy J. Adler is a professor of international management at McGill University, Montreal,
Canada.
2Based on an ancient Chinese wisdom story as edited by Nancy J. Adler and Lew Yung-Chien
while artists in residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts, 2002.
3For an in-depth discussion of the patterns of myths and errors undermining the field, see
A.W.K. Harzing’s ‘The Role of Culture in Entry Mode Studies: From Negligence to Myopia?’ in
Advances in International Management, Vol. 15, 2003, pp. 75–127; A.W.K. Harzing’s ‘Are Our
Referencing Errors Undermining our Scholarship and Credibility? The Case of Expatriate
Failure Rates,’ Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 23, February, 2002, pp. 127–148; and
A.W.K Harzing’s ‘The Persistent Myth of High Expatriate Failure Rates,’ The International
Journal of Human Resource Management, May 1995, pp. 457–475.
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Foreword ix
perspectives. It encompasses perspectives from Asia, Europe, and the Americas.
It takes in the point-of-view of management and labour. Whereas neither this
book nor any book can answer all our questions about people workingglobally,
International Human Resource Management goes a long way in separating myth
and misinformation from research-based fact. It fills some of the field’s silence
with perceptive dialogue. It is a book well worth reading.