Human resource management in multinational enterprises

Kidger, PJK

Abstract

The multinational enterprise (MNE) is now a significant part of the world economy
both in temis of trade and employment. The performance of an MINE is in part
dependent on the capability of its human resource. The knowledge and experience of
employees is a source of competitive advantage, but whether this is realised or not
may depend on having the right human resource policies. Managers therefore seek to
implement best practice, and in multinationals there is the potential for intraorganizational
learning across national boundaries. The aim of this thesis is to
examine a number of questions arising from the proposition that multinational firms
are contributing to the development of international norms of best practice in human
resource management as a result of a trend towards greater coordination of
management practice in MNEs. It is suggested that multinationals are developing
mechanisms to encourage the transfer of knowledge and experience across national
boundaries, and this is therefore an important aspect of international human resource
management (HRM).
The thesis contains a review of the literature, firstly on the management of
multinationals, secondly on the development of a strategic view of human resource
management, and thirdly on HRM in the MINE. From this material, a theoretical
framework is developed that links together a number of research questions. These
formed the basis for the design and execution of a qualitative research project in which
information on strategy, structure and management practice was obtained from twentyfour
companies. These represented a cross-section of country ownership, including
the UK, other European countries, the USA and Japan. The design of the research
project is explained, and this is followed by a presentation of the results. These
support the proposition that as a consequence of the globalization of markets,
multinationals are tending to adopt a more global perspective in which there is greater
cross-national integration of operations, coordination of management practice, and the
development of internationally orientated management. The analysis discusses the
implications of this for international human resource management, and offers a
number of recommendations for HRM in the multinational enterprise. Finally some
suggestions are made for future research to build on and extend the findings of this
project.

Citation

Kidger, P. Human resource management in multinational enterprises. (Thesis). University of Salford

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Aug 18, 2011
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 18, 2011
• Award Date: Jan 1, 1999