Anthony Mcdonnell

University College Cork | UCC · Cork University Business School

Middle managers are critical in talent management practice. Yet, their commitment to enacting organisational strategies and policies is often limited given their multiplicity of responsibilities and tasks beyond talent management. Taking a paradox lens and a multi-stakeholder perspective, we draw from 147 interviews with middle managers, HR leaders...

Purpose Society is critically dependent on an adequate supply of hospital doctors to ensure optimal health care. Voluntary turnover amongst hospital doctors is, however, an increasing problem for hospitals. The aim of this study was to systematically review the extant academic literature to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the current knowle...

Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the talent challenges faced by hospitality organisations. This paper aims to propose a new concept – industry talent branding – which, is argued, offers industry stakeholders the opportunity to reduce such issues through working more collaboratively and strategically to magnify the pool in which individual...

Independent professionals represent a highly skilled contractual based workforce. In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework that explains the career construction mechanism of independent professionals. Specifically, we theorize that their boundaryless career orientation favorably influences the perception of their marketability via their inv...

Work in the gig economy is championed by platform organizations as affording individuals the flexibility to decide when, where, and how much they wish to work. The reality is more complex. In app-based gig work, we propose the concept of “algorithmic HRM control,” which acts as an omnipresent and distinctive control system that differs from traditi...

The international human resource management (IHRM) field naturally lends itself to spotlighting the importance of internal and external organizational contexts to help understand how to manage employees in organizations effectively. However, we argue that the range of opportunities that the field creates to understand this context has not yet been...

The Covid-19 pandemic has transformed how global work is conducted in multinational enterprises. There has been a rapid and forced shift from global mobility to global virtual work. Taking a transition perspective and drawing on event system theory, this paper examines the transitional working experiences of global workers amid a global health pand...

The practice of human resource management (HRM) in multinational corporations (MNCs) has changed irrevocably over the last decade with the increasing internationalisation of work, changing demographics, new forms of working arrangements and the growth of emerging economies. COVID-19 has also presented new opportunities and challenges for MNCs in te...

While major crises are not uncommon, the rapid spread, scope and both health and economic devastation that Covid-19 brought makes it a unique opportunity in which to examine its impacts. This editorial introduces the five papers that encompass this special issue which focuses on the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on management and organisational r...

The system will be open for submissions to the Special Issue on October 30th, 2022 and close on December 9th, 2022.

International business travellers (IBTs) have become omnipresent in multinational enterprises, and yet we know little on how they manage the inherent complexities of their global work. Through a qualitative research design, our study reveals a perturbing job demands-resources mismatch faced by these individuals. IBTs are afforded substantial discre...

Effective identification of talent is a central element of talent management. Talk of talent often involves two distinct, yet interrelated dimensions: performance and potential. The talent management literature has however provided limited consideration both conceptually and empirically concerning the delimitation between these two dimensions. This...

Gig work accessed through the medium of digital platforms has become an increasingly researched and debated topic owing to several features which distinguish it from other variants of temporary work. It represents a form of working that typically falls outside the standard boundaries of the organisation and employment relationships and where techno...

Research on how organisations identify talent in practice remains limited. Too often it appears that the most core construct – talent – is taken for granted in terms of how key stakeholders make sense of and give meaning to it in practice. This paper examines the talent definitions held by multiple organisational stakeholders and the criteria used...

International business travelers have become omnipresent in multinational enterprises, and yet we know little on how they manage the inherent complexities of their global work. Through a qualitative research design, our study reveals a perturbing job demands-resources mismatch faced by these individuals. They are afforded substantial discretion wit...

With low barriers to entry and ease of access to work, the gig economy offers the prospect of boundaryless opportunities for flexible working arrangements characterised by increased autonomy. This form of work, however, may leave individuals without development opportunities and could stymie career progression. Drawing on boundaryless career theory...

Throughout the last decade, the 'gig economy' has emerged as one of the most significant developments in the world of work. As a novel, hyper-flexible form of labour, gig work features a uniquely fragmented working arrangement wherein independent workers partner with digital platform organisations to provide a range of on-demand services to custome...

The topography of global mobility within multinational corporations is evolving where we now have a portfolio of flexible global working arrangements including: international business travellers, flexpatriates, short-term international assignees, international commuters, and rotational assignees. The need for more agile structures and more efficien...

Recent years have seen the rapid global emergence of the "gig economy". Today’s technology has made it easier than ever to take on platform-enabled jobs on the side or even full-time, whether that’s renting out your home, delivering food, or giving others a lift. But that, researchers from Ireland say, could be problematic. In a new article publish...

The growing gig economy has emerged as a significant theme of discussion in the world of work. Involving dynamic multi-party working arrangements between workers, digital platform organizations and requesters (i.e. customers), the gig economy is reshaping our understanding of the working relationship. Competing narratives around gig work explore th...

Management practices are important drivers of firm productivity (Bloom et al., 2019). While differences in the formalisation and sophistication of management practices are evident in comparisons of foreign multinationals and domestic firms (Bloom et al., 2012, Bloom and Van Reenen, 2007a, Bloom and Van Reenen, 2010), a striking omission from many s...

Purpose This paper explores the challenge of “fuzzy” assessment criteria and feedback with a view to aiding student learning. The paper untangles three guiding principles as mechanisms to enhance the effectiveness of assessment and feedback through overcoming the inherent challenges which stem from tacit judgement during assessment. Design/methodo...

There is now a vast international literature on the human resource practices of multinational enterprises (MNEs). However, empirical studies in the Australian context are limited or are just not published in the top academic journals. Consequently it is unsurprising that Australian management academics have struggled to make an impact in the field....

There is a vast international literature on the employment relations and human resource practices of multinational enterprises (MNEs), yet empirical studies in the Australian context are limited or at least not being published in the top academic journals. This paper reviews what has been published to date and in particular focuses on the methodolo...

The human resource (HR) function plays a critical role in how multinational companies (MNCs) centralise decision-making or coordinate and exploit expertise internationally. However, there has been limited attention on the extent to which the HR function in MNCs is integrated internationally and the influencing factors behind this. Using nationally...

This paper explores the literature relating to the employment relations practices of multinational companies (MNCs) operating in Australia and Australian MNCs operating overseas. These practices are framed in the context of theoretical debates concerning the apparent emergence of 'multi-centred' or 'heterarchic' organisational forms in MNCs, the 'c...

This case examines several key issues and challenges faced by a European-owned, building materials sector multinational enterprise (MNE) that has grown rapidly over the past four decades based largely on an international strategy of cross-border acquisitions. The case highlights links between the business strategy and global talent management and,...

This editorial lays out 30 years of history of Human Resource Management Journal (HRMJ), charting the journal's roots, reflecting on HRM scholarship today and guiding authors on potential contributions to the journal in the future. HRMJ has achieved high recognition and ranking internationally since its conception originally as a UK‐based journal....

Current understanding of what constitutes work in the growing gig economy is heavily conflated, ranging from conceptualisations of independent contracting to other forms of contingent labour. This article calls for a move away from problematic aggregations by proposing a classification of gig work into three variants, all based strongly upon key te...

Through an in-depth, multilevel case study of a professional services firm, this paper illuminates what stakeholders mean when they use the term ‘talent’. The paper underlines how various contextual factors including, workforce composition, ownership structures and individual perceptions influence talent meanings within an organisation. Our analysi...

Purpose To identify, develop and retain talent, an important first step is to ensure that key stakeholders in the talent management (TM) process have a shared view of what is meant by talent within the organisation. The purpose of this paper is to conceptualise how talent is defined in the context of the hospitality industry and to examine the degr...

Much has been written about call centres but not from the perspective of employee voice in an organisational context where work is highly individualised and the work pace is intensive and underpinned by ‘churn and burn’ HR. The issue is most usefully studied by examining the nature and extent of employee voice in both onshore and offshore contexts.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the specific forms of training and support that individuals on short-term international assignments (SIAs) receive. It further explores issues such as short notice prior to departure and how this impacts the type of training and support compared to what the extant literature on expatriates intimates....

This article identifies the existence of employee voice channels and examines how they interact within the context of an overall organisational voice system. In so doing, we can better appreciate the disparities between the micro‐level reality and macro‐level rhetoric of employee voice for highly skilled employees in the knowledge intensive sector....

This paper employs a systematic and comprehensive review to trace the evolution of talent management scholarship and propose a research agenda to move the field forward. Two primary streams of literature dominate: the management of high performers and high potentials, and the identification of strategic positions and talent management systems. The...

This paper employs a systematic and comprehensive review to trace the evolution of talent management scholarship and propose a research agenda to move the field forward. Two primary streams of literature dominate: the management of high performers and high potentials, and the identification of strategic positions and talent management systems. The...

To date there is an absence of any systematic and extensive data on Australian multinational enterprises (MNEs). This research paper fills the information gap and leads to a discussion of the human resource management (HRM) practices of Australian MNEs in the global arena and whether there is a distinctive national identity associated with these pr...

With the maturation of strategic human resource management scholarship, there appears to be a greater call to move from monolithic workforce management to a more strategic and differentiated emphasis on employees with the greatest capacity to enhance competitive advantage. There has been little consideration in the literature as to whether organiza...

It has frequently been argued that multinational companies are moving towards network forms whereby subsidiaries share different practices with the rest of the company. This paper presents large-scale empirical evidence concerning the extent to which subsidiaries input novel practices into the rest of the multinational. We investigate this in the f...

This paper engages with the varieties of capitalism literature to investigate the employee representation and consultation approaches of liberal market economy multinational companies (MNCs), specifically Australian, British and US MNCs operating in Australia. While the literature would suggest commonality amongst these MNCs, the paper considers wh...

This paper examines the extent to which human resource management (HRM) practices in multinational enterprises (MNEs) from a small, late developing and highly globalized economy resemble their counterparts from larger, early industrializing countries. The paper draws on data from a large-scale representative survey of 260 MNEs in Ireland. The resul...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to bridge a gap in the call centre literature by considering how individual employees perceive their level of voice over workplace decisions. The inclusion of direct voice mechanisms is noteworthy as these are forms that have received much less attention vis-à-vis indirect voice. Design/methodology/approach –...

This special issue volume is concerned with how technology is changing the nature of work and working conditions while generating new products and new forms of service delivery. The five articles included in this volume cover service work, from the routine and clerical through to highly credentialed and professional work. Although some of the estab...

Research to date suggests that career advancement in call centres (CCs) is relatively uncommon with employees often viewing such employment as a stopgap measure before moving on to something better. This study set out to determine whether such scenarios have changed over time since CCs have become more established in their work organisation, inform...

In this article, we examine the use and character of employee voice mechanisms of foreign-owned multinational enterprises operating in Australia, as well as the influence of a strategic human resource management approach and union presence. Findings indicate that foreign-owned multinational enterprises are high-level users of the full range of empl...

This paper focuses on an under-researched employee category in the call centre literature—the team leader. The paper, drawing on data from nine Australian call centres, finds that the team leader role is integral to the effectiveness of call centres, yet it is a role that consists of considerable complexity and contradictions. The research demonstr...

Purpose This paper aims to provide a brief overview of the global financial crisis (GFC), highlighting its most frightening dimensions, the policy responses and issues around the management of labour during and post‐GFC. Further, this paper introduces the five research papers that encompass this special issue. Design/methodology/approach The paper...

In terms of service work, teams tend to be more prevalent in call centres than in other service industries. While the literature highlights key debates surrounding the use of teams in call centres, most of it is drawn from studies on large call centres that range in size from several hundred to several thousand seats. This article sets out to consi...

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 MN...

This paper analyses some of the factors that impact multinational companies' (MNCs) reaction to the global financial crisis. This paper reports the results from a large-scale study of its impact on MNCs in Australia, considering occurrences of site closures, offshoring, outsourcing, labour force reductions, reductions in working hours, salary reduc...

In this age of globalization, organizations are placing greater emphasis on attracting, developing, and retaining an international workforce that can operate effectively in a hyper-competitive global marketplace. Traditionally the concept of an international workforce has been associated with the use of long-term expatriate assignments, in other wo...

Using a large scale survey of multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in Australia we compare and contrast the union recognition, bargaining arrangements and voice mechanisms of US based and Australian based MNEs. The evidence suggests that, in keeping with the literature, that US MNEs are union avoiders, rely on individual contracts and have ex...

This paper draws attention to the significant internationalisation of the higher education sector and role of international assignments in supporting and driving this. The paper then proceeds to identify the similarities and unique features of the sector in the context of international assignments which we argue, primarily revolve around alternativ...

Using a survey of multinational companies (MNCs), we investigate the factors that determine the use and scope of financial participation in MNCs operating in Ireland. We explore the impact of six factors – country of origin, age, employment size (Irish and worldwide employment size), ownership structure, trade union recognition and sector. Descript...