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High potentials in multilatinas: creation of Latin American-specific models or convergence towards existing ones?
Abstract
Multilatinas are part of the emergent multinational enterprises that have arisen from Latin America. Even though these firms are becoming increasingly important in the global economy, little is known about their talent management strategies and practices. This article seeks to understand, through a qualitative approach, the way in which the talent identification models were conceived, where they were sourced from and who contributed to their design (actors). Seventeen semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with Senior Corporate Talent Management Executives working for Multilatinas from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico. Our findings revealed a fragmented scenario. Most of the multilatinas do not copy a complete or “best practice” model, they create a new hybrid one. As Multilatinas draw upon some elements of European and US models in order to create their own, some mimetic and normative pressures were identified. Participant firms, in general, count on internal actors to build their talent identification models, downplaying the importance of international consultancy firms. Finally, relying on the obtained results, a classification is proposed.
... Despite the increasing role of multilatinas in the global arena, talent identification and TM literature on Latin American MNEs is scarce. Extant studies have focused on potential models (Blanco et al., 2019); performance management (Mellahi et al., 2016); retention (Ambrosius, 2018); expatriation and recruitment (Hatum et al., 2008); and other TM practices (MacLennan et al., 2018). ...
... We have already mentioned the study of Mellahi et al., 2016 that identified that Brazilian MNEs tend to standardise performance management policies and practices in line with "global best practices". As to talent identification, most multilatinas create their own their own potential models, drawing upon some elements of Western ones (Blanco et al., 2019). ...
Purpose
Talent identification is a critical process of any Global Talent Management system, and little is known about it in Latin American multinationals (multilatinas). This study aims to understand, through the perceptions of Corporate Global Talent Managers, the talent identification strategy in place, the factors involved and the sources of the tools for its implementation.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample is made up of 17 multilatinas (Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Colombia). Semi- structured interviews were conducted with Corporate Global Talent Managers.
Findings
Results reveal that the standardisation strategy constitutes the main trend. This choice is explained by numerous factors such as the new corporate structures, the entry mode via mergers and acquisitions, the national/regional culture, geographical closeness and shared cultural affinity, organizational culture, host country management practices and level of integration between headquarters and subsidiaries. Most of the multilatinas do not rely on “best practices”; they prefer home-made tools instead. Several factors were identified. Conclusions and further research are presented.
Originality/value
This paper attempts to fill a perceived gap in the literature investigating, empirically, the talent identification strategy in multilatinas.
Analiza la internacionalizacion de empresas argentinas a traves de inversiones directas en el exterior. Se estudian los principales casos de Empresas Multilatinas
Research Summary
We analyze a novel way to configure and manage multinational networks and propose a model of “co‐parenting,” characterized by the sharing of parenting roles and distribution of responsibilities between two units. We develop our argument around the notion of the springboard subsidiary, an operating subsidiary that assumes headquarters’ functions since it shares greater institutional closeness with both the headquarters’ country as well as with the host region. Based upon qualitative data, our inductive model revolves around three stages: establishment, consolidation, and maturity, each of which reflects distinct roles and loci of decision making among the three actors involved: headquarters, springboard subsidiary, and local subsidiary. Overall, our study sheds distinct light on when and how headquarters add value by matching parenting to context.
Managerial Summary
In expanding across regions, multinational firms often face a situation where neither the local unit nor the corporate headquarters possesses the competencies to be at the competitive forefront. This article analyzes a model of interregional expansion of multinational firms by using springboard subsidiaries—operating subsidiaries that can serve as a bridge between headquarters and local subsidiaries since they share institutional and business ties with both. We develop a model in which some parenting functions—coordination, control, and knowledge creation—are distributed between headquarters and the springboard subsidiary along an accumulative process of capabilities. By demonstrating how a springboard subsidiary can help align control to context, the model offers a tool for strategic analysis that helps avoid potential value destruction by headquarters.
Resumen En este artículo se analiza la inversión recíproca de Brasil y México, particularmente en la primera década del siglo xxi, a partir del proceso fusiones y adquisiciones (FyA) en América Latina y el auge de las em-presas multilatinas en la región. El documento considera los componentes teóricos de la inversión desde países emergentes, vinculados a los factores domésticos y de las economías receptoras; para explicar la inversión en el exterior de Brasil y México. También se exponen cuatro casos de inter-nacionalización de empresas de estos dos países. El artículo concluye que la apertura de las economías fue un incentivo clave para el proceso de internacionalización de las grandes empresas brasileñas y mexicanas.
Abstract Multilatinas' internationalization and reciprocal investment: Brazil and Mexico's cases This paper analyses the reciprocal investment between Brazil and Mexico, mainly during the first decade of the xxi century, from the mergers and acquisitions (m&a) process in Latin America and the multi-latin firm boom in the region. The document considers the theoretical components of the investment from the emerging countries, linked to intern factors and host economies. Also four cases of firm internatio-nalization of both countries are exposed in this document.
Latin America is an under-researched region that has the potential to yield new and important insights on the internationalization of firms from emerging markets, particularly as compared with the experience of firms from other regions. At the same time, some of the unique features of Latin America are generating new ideas that contribute to a better understanding of how the home country influences the behavior of firms in general and their foreign expansion in particular. In this article, we discuss such contributions and present some suggestions for future research.
Why have relatively poor and underdeveloped countries been able to spawn so many global firms in the last two decades? Are emerging market multinationals (EMNCs) really different from successful multinationals from developed economies? This book tackles these and other fundamental theoretical questions about EMNCs. A distinguished group of researchers assesses the unique strategies and behavior of successful EMNCs, from the Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei to the Indian conglomerate Tata, to the South African beverages firm SABMiller. They address a range of topics, such as the drivers of internationalization by EMNCs; their distinctive process capabilities; how they catch up with established rivals on technology; how state ownership or business-group affiliation affects their behavior; and why they sometimes relocate their headquarters to advanced economies. This book will appeal to scholars and graduate students in global strategy and international business, as well as consultants of multinational companies, looking for state-of-the-art analysis of EMNCs.
This study reviews the literature on multilatinas, Latin American multinationals, and provides suggestions for using these firms as a laboratory for extending exiting theories and models of the multinational. Analyses of their behavior tend to discuss their upgrading of capabilities and their patterns of internationalization. An additional opportunity exists to contribute to the literature by analyzing how some of the unique characteristics of Latin American countries affect the internationalization of firms. The review explains how four characteristics of their home countries (political uncertainty, violence, pro-market reforms and reversals, and geographic isolation) can result in the foreign expansion of firms, either because managerial learning of the home country conditions facilitates internationalization (the learning driver), or because the home country conditions induce internationalization to escape those conditions (the escape driver).
With contributions from leading scholars and practitioners, this Cambridge Companion examines the topical issue of talent management from a strategic perspective, mapping out insights from a number of related fields including strategy, organisational learning, marketing and supply chain management. The authors examine the challenges faced when viewing talent management in a global context, showing how both comparative and international HRM thinking have become increasingly important when, for example, managing talent in emerging markets or trying to globalise the talent management function. The book concludes with a valuable summary of key learning points about talent management for both practitioners and researchers, as well as a discussion of the most fruitful areas for future research. This Companion will be an essential resource for academic researchers, graduate students and practitioners of global strategic talent management.
This article aims to verify the factors associated with the development of human resource management (HRM) competences in foreign subsidiaries of Brazilian multinationals. These competences are essential in that they allow foreign units to adopt HRM practices that are consistent with the countries or markets in which they operate. A multilevel research was conducted, involving headquarters and subsidiaries of major Brazilian companies; the empirical analysis employed hierarchical linear modelling. Despite the recurrent debate on global standardisation versus local adaptation, it was identified that the integration of international HRM policies (addressing simultaneously global guidelines and local response) may stimulate competences development. In addition, interaction in external networks in the host country may enhance the development of HRM competences in the subsidiaries. However, specific cultural factors of the company may inhibit development activity in units abroad.
With contributions from leading scholars and practitioners, this Cambridge Companion examines the topical issue of talent management from a strategic perspective, mapping out insights from a number of related fields including strategy, organisational learning, marketing and supply chain management. The authors examine the challenges faced when viewing talent management in a global context, showing how both comparative and international HRM thinking have become increasingly important when, for example, managing talent in emerging markets or trying to globalize the talent management function. The book concludes with a valuable summary of key learning points about talent management for both practitioners and researchers, as well as a discussion of the most fruitful areas for future research. This Companion will be an essential resource for academic researchers, graduate students and practitioners of global strategic talent management.
Isomorphism, diffusion and decoupling A longstanding question in organization research is what makes organizations more or less similar to each other. Early organization theorists pointed out that organizations that share the same environment tend to take on similar forms as efficiency-seeking organizations seek the optimal ‘fit’ with their environment. Institutional theories of organization have added two related claims. First, organizations adapt not only to technical pressures but also to what they believe society expects of them, which leads to institutional isomorphism . Organizations need a societal mandate, or legitimacy, to operate and this is gained by conforming to societal expectations. Second, when adaptations to institutional pressures contradict internal efficiency needs, organizations sometimes claim to adapt when they in reality do not; they decouple action from structure in order to preserve organizational efficiency. A large number of empirical studies have subsequently refined the related propositions of institutional isomorphism and decoupling, and ...
Against the backdrop of globalisation with shifting patterns of foreign direct investment and a rise in global mobility, talent identification, development and deployment, along with the national and organisational systems and structures necessary for its effective engagement, management and retention have become a critical focus for academics and practitioners. Framing it as a critical capital question, this introductory paper summarily outlines core debates in this nascent literature. It then introduces the five papers that comprise the issue and highlights the contributions that they make to furthering aspects of the debate on talent and intellectual capital from a variety of perspectives.
This study advances our understanding of HRM within emerging market multinational enterprises (EM-MNEs) by examining the extent to, and mechanisms by, which Brazilian MNEs standardise or localise their performance management (PM) policies and practices, and the factors that influence their design and implementation. We explored these issues through qualitative case studies of three Brazilian MNEs. The analysis of interview data reveals a strong tendency for Brazilian MNEs to centralise and standardise their PM policies and practices. The key finding of this paper is that PM practices within Brazilian MNEs are not based on indigenous Brazilian practices, but, rather, are heavily influenced by global best practices. The findings are at odds with previous research, which suggests that EM-MNEs apply different HR practices in developed country subsidiaries and developing country subsidiaries. Also, contrary to expectations, our results indicate that institutional distance does not have a significant influence on the adaptation of PM practices at subsidiary level.
This conceptual paper argues that national differences in human resource management (HRM) matter and can be explained by cultural and institutional theories. We explore briefly the nature of each set of theories and some of the critiques that have been made of them. We argue that in general much of the differences in HRM between countries are determined by institutional factors, and that management has more influence over the effect of national cultural differences than it has over institutional differences and therefore in most cases the appropriate tests will be tests against institutional differences. Where institutions are less constraining, cultural differences may be the appropriate template.
Purpose
– This paper aims to contribute to talent management literature by examining empirically the relationship between talent identification and development tools.
Design/methodology/approach
– The study sample consisted of 112 Argentina-based companies. All participants completed an online survey containing a list of identification and development practices. Responses were analyzed with SPSS 19.
Findings
– Results show that companies running more talent identification processes (performance management and potential identification) make use of a greater number of development tools. Significant differences were observed in the use of all development tools analyzed, with the exception of formal education and job rotation. Results indicate that the presence of a Development Department encourages the implementation of identification and development tools.
Practical implications
– The study suggests that the better the quality of the information involved during the identification stage, the higher the contribution to development investment decisions. Companies should do well to rely on higher-quality diagnostic information to facilitate a better selection of development tools to fulfill specific objectives. The existence of a Development Department favors the implementation of a greater number of identification and development tools.
Originality/value
– This paper adds to fill a perceived gap in the literature investigating, empirically, the relationship between talent identification processes and development tools.
In recent decades, interest in talent management has continued to grow among practitioners, consultants and academics. Conceptual development and subsequent empirical analysis has been limited and struggled to keep pace with the plethora of management consultancy reports in the area. More recently, global talent management has come to the fore due to the increasing importance and challenges multinational enterprises (MNEs) face in satisfying their talent demands. This paper analyses the operationalisation of the talent identification stage in global talent management. In so doing, we find that the use of talent pool segmentation is becoming a popular means of identifying and managing talent. However, MNEs face a number of challenges in ensuring that it is an effective system.
Although high-potential and executive assessment has been a popular topic in practice for decades, the primary emphasis in the literature has been on the development and use of specific tools and interventions. As a result, when organizations seek guidance on the practice of assessment in corporations, Industrial-Organizational psychology (I-O) practitioners and consulting psychologists have limited information available with which to compare. Moreover, industry reports often represent a specific tool, technique or point of view. There are relatively few empirical perspectives of the current practice of assessment in corporations, and even fewer that focus specifically on high-potentials and senior executives. This article attempts to close the gap in the literature by presenting the results of a benchmark survey. The survey was designed to provide insights and visibility to talent assessment efforts in large organizations with strong talent management and leadership development functions. Specifically, the results focus on the use of formal assessments with high-potentials and senior executives, including the purpose of the assessments, the application of various methodologies, a discussion of scope and ownership models, and the type of resources used to support such efforts. The article concludes with summary observations and implications for internal and external I-O, talent management and consulting practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved)
The aim of this paper is to provide a critical review of the academic literature on talent management in search of alternative perspectives. We found three dominant themes: the exploration of the concept of talent (definitions), the intended outcomes or effects of talent management and talent management practices. These themes are explored in more detail, and we discuss possible limitations of the current points of view on talent management. Our main finding was that the current talent management literature has a too narrow and one-dimensional approach. It can be characterized as managerialist and unitarist and has a limited view of the practices and activities of human resources. To broaden this view to a more balanced or pluralistic approach to talent management, we added new perspectives, such as stakeholder theory, multiple goals and an extended consideration of practices. The new perspectives are not only valuable for the development of the field of talent management in general but also essential for a broader theoretical framework for talent management in different contexts.
Building on two studies, the current article responds to urgent calls in the literature for more empirical research on how to identify leadership potential. Based on an extensive review of the 1986–2010 literature, and applying a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques, we developed a model of leadership potential consisting of four quadrants: Analytical skills (containing the factors Intellectual curiosity, Strategic insight, Decision making, and Problem solving); Learning agility (containing the factors Willingness to learn, Emotional intelligence, and Adaptability); Drive (containing the factors Results orientation, Perseverance, and Dedication); and Emergent leadership (containing the factors Motivation to lead, Self‐promotion, and Stakeholder sensitivity). Notably, the developed model steers clear from some of the typical issues that tend to hinder valid assessments of leadership potential (i.e., the confound between performance and potential, as well as that between leadership potential and successful, mature leadership). Furthermore, high consensus was found between top managers, line managers, and HR managers about the practical relevance of the proposed model. The article concludes with some specific future avenues for research and practice. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Management consultants provide strategic advice to public sector agencies and departments throughout the US, contributing to what some scholars call the “hollowing out of the state.” What ideational frameworks underlie these public -private relationships? Findings from a survey of management consultant show that they believe that they are contracted because they provide knowledge that is unavailable inside the public sector and that their ideas are more innovative. This study helps to explain management consultants’ perceptions of their services contracted by US public sector. By gauging the perspectives of management consultants, this research will potentially help academics and practitioners to better understand public agencies’ contracting of management consultants. This article provides preliminary steps towards better understanding and analyzing the use of management consultants by different levels of the US public sector.
This paper analyses the international Human Resource Management (HRM) approaches of Korean Multinational Enterprises (MNEs). Through a study of nine major Korean MNEs’ approaches to subsidiary-HRM, it is argued that the firms pursue hybridization through a blending of localization and global standardization across detailed elements in five broad HRM practice areas. Local discretion is allowed if not counter to global HRM system requirements and “global best practices” used as the template for global standardization of selected HRM elements. This strategic orientation appears to be part of a deliberate response to the “liabilities of origin” born by firms from non-dominant economies.
Rev.& expanded from Case study research in education,1988.Incl.bibliographical references,index
Having established their first overseas operation, the next big challenge for many emerging economy multinational enterprises (EMNEs) is to align their HRs with their strategic ambition. Their lack of internationally experienced talent has become a major obstacle to strategy implementation: they need to fill leadership roles with international responsibility based abroad and at home, and they need to develop talent for future international leadership roles. The key challenge for catch-up strategies thus is to attract, develop, and retain talents who can lead international operations. In this paper, we develop a research agenda on strategic management and HRM in EMNEs that aims to explain the obstacles EMNEs face and facilitates the development of better talent management practice. In particular, we propose to integrate strategic management and HRM perspectives not only to advance theories but to enhance the relevance of both lines of scholarship to practice.
- This paper describes the process of inducting theory using case studies from specifying the research questions to reaching closure. Some features of the process, such as problem definition and construct validation, are similar to hypothesis-testing research. Others, such as within-case analysis and replication logic, are unique to the inductive, case-oriented process. Overall, the process described here is highly iterative and tightly linked to data. This research approach is especially appropriate in new topic areas. The resultant theory is often novel, testable, and empirically valid. Finally, framebreaking insights, the tests of good theory (e.g., parsimony, logical coherence), and convincing grounding in the evidence are the key criteria for evaluating this type of research.
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This study examines the transfer of a Brazilian MNC's HR model to its subsidiaries in the UK, Canada, Switzerland and Norway. It enquires where the model was sourced from, to what extent it bore a distinct Brazilian complexion, and whether it was adapted to meet the strictures of host institutional constraints and traditions. The paper uses these questions to address an important theoretical debate in the international business literature; that is, whether the pattern of diffusion of management practices within MNCs will lead to a convergence of practices across companies and countries à la the convergence perspective, or whether this is unlikely given the variety of social and political constraints limiting such a process as suggested by the contingency perspective. We find that the MNC imposed a unitary (US-sourced) model of HR ‘best practice’ on all of its subsidiaries. Thus our empirical findings support the convergence thesis. However, we argue that these outcomes are largely explained by relations of power and economic dependence; specifically, the co-existence of dominant-country (US) practices and a dominant sectoral firm operating in economically dependent regions. Where similar circumstances are replicated one might foresee convergence within sectors across countries, but otherwise pluralism and eclecticism between sectors and across countries might be the predominant pattern along the lines envisaged in the conceptualization of “converging divergences”.
This paper highlights the evolution and contribution of the institutional theory perspective to the study of human resource management (HRM) transfers between advanced economies and less developed economies owing to institutional dissimilarities. The paper seeks to explore the institutional differences between advanced economies (home) and less developed economies (host) through the lens of institutional theory and how such institutional differences constrain or provide opportunities for the transfer of HRM practices. We develop a conceptual framework through the lens of institutional theory to provide useful and comprehensive insight of factors or conditions to consider when transferring HRM practices from advanced economies to less developed economies where there are institutional dissimilarities. The framework offers a broad perspective of the three dimensions of institutional theory to help multinational enterprises evaluate and explore how the differences in institutional settings between home and host countries may create opportunities or constraints in HRM practice transfers.
In the 1990s Latin American countries abandoned their policies of import-substituting industrialization carried out through fully-owned state enterprises (SOEs). They opened their economies to international competition and privatized their SOEs. We argue that this pragmatic adaptation did not necessarily constitute a fundamental change in policies, long followed by some Latin American countries, of state intervention in the pursuit of nationalistic objectives, but is instead a continuation of these policies by other means. Specifically, to safeguard their autonomy, some Latin American states have selected and nurtured domestic firms to become multinational enterprises (MNEs). They have kept – and obtained – equity stakes in these national MNEs to influence them and to keep them out of the hands of foreigners. These policies explain the timing of the rise of Multilatinas and their, usually partial, state ownership.
The system, society and dominance model (Smith and Meiksins, 1995; Smith and Elger, 2000; Elger and Smith, 2005; Smith 2005) aims to capture the complexity of innovations in work organization and employment relations and their ‘transfer’ within the modern, internationalized enterprise. By identifying ‘societal effects’ it recognizes the origins of particular innovations in specific societal settings and the extent to which those settings (whether in home or host societies) continue to influence the conduct of managers and workers within the firm. At the same time, the partial character of such effects is emphasized by underlining the extent to which national production regimes may be characterized by differentiation, conflict and reconstruction. Moreover, by identifying ‘dominance effects’ it recognizes that practices that have been developed in leading national economies, industrial sectors or indeed firms have the potential to exert a distinctive influence on key actors in a wide range of business enterprises situated in different societies, by virtue of their claimed efficacy.
Distance is an important concept for the study of international location decisions, but conflicting empirical results call for the investigation of when distance matters. Based on institutional distance, this conceptual paper proposes that the general preference for less distant countries is lower when: the company is state owned; internationalization motives are asset, resource, or efficiency seeking rather than market seeking; and internationalization occurs after globalization and the advent of new technologies. Conflicting results may be a consequence of studies mixing these circumstances without properly controlling for them. As circumstances under which distance matters the least are typical of companies from Latin America, distance should be less important for these companies.
Latin American multinationals (multilatinas) have been central in the rise of emerging markets in the last few decades. Their development comprises part of the global shift of wealth and power between nations. The rise of firms in a broad range of sectors – including construction, oil, telecommunications and the aeronautical industry – as important regional and global players is spreading: Companies in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile and many others are part of this increasing phenomenon. This book analyses the trends, the countries and the firms involved, and explores the implications for the US, China, Spain and the rest of Europe. in particular, Javier Santiso examines how Spain might profit from positioning itself as a unique hub between Europe and Latin America. 'The Decade of the Multilatinas' includes a wide range of statistical data which will be useful to scholars, policymakers and commentators on Latin America in particular, and international business and emerging markets more generally.
This study examines how cross-national uncertainty impacts the level of control Latin American and U.S. multinational enterprises (MNEs) negotiate in cross border acquisitions (CBAs). Cross-national uncertainty is measured using three metrics—cultural distance, geographic distance and institutional distance. Hypotheses, grounded in transaction cost economics, are tested using a sample of 9000 CBAs made by Latin American and U.S. MNEs between 1996 and 2013. Data are analyzed using logit, tobit and random-effect regressions. Empirical results show MNEs' propensity to use shared as opposed to full ownership increases as cultural, geographic and institutional distances increase. However, the above relationships are significantly weaker for Latin American MNEs than for U.S. MNEs. Specifically, compared to U.S. multinationals, Latin American firms show a greater propensity to opt for full ownership (high levels of control) as cross-national uncertainty increases. The study contributes to the literature by empirically testing the Springboard perspective—a recent viewpoint on the internationalization of emerging market multinationals.
Since the 1950s, subsidiaries of the most prestigious foreign multinationals have played a key role in Brazilian economic development, thus creating a very competitive domestic market. On top of this, government interventions in the last few decades have been inconsistent and contradictory, resulting in a series of economic crises. Only the most resilient Brazilian firms have been able to survive and prosper in this challenging environment. This book analyzes a variety of leading Brazilian multinationals and examines their competencies and competitive strategies in a variety of different settings. It develops an innovative analytical framework based on international business, international operations management, and international human resources management. This framework is then applied not only to Brazilian multinationals, but also firms from Latin America, Russia, India, and China. This provides novel insights into the rise of Brazilian multinationals and the increasingly important role played by emerging economy multinationals in the global economy.
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 results demonstrate that there are significant differences between the HRM practices deployed in Irish-owned MNEs and that of their US counterparts but considerable similarity with UK firms. A key conclusion is that arguments in the literature regarding MNEs moving towards the adoption of global best practices, equating to the pursuance of an American model of HRM, were not obvious. The study found considerable variation from ‘US practices’ amongst indigenous Irish MNEs.
There is a very extensive body of literature on how multinationals manage their people in different national contexts. However, the bulk of this literature focuses on the case of multinationals from the advanced industrial economies, and to a considerable extent, the United States. Very much less has been written on multinationals with their country of origin being an emerging market, and what little there is has focused on a very limited number of preferred cases. The growing importance of emerging economies has led to an upsurge of strategy research on the topic (Wright, Filatotchev, Hoskisson, & Peng, 2005); however, research on human resource management has not paid enough attention to emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs). Many EMNEs tend to be smaller in size with considerably fewer resources and less international experience than their counterparts from developed markets, limiting their ability to transfer management practice across their subsidiaries (Thite, Wilkinson, & Shah, 2012), although there are important exceptions to this rule. This introductory article seeks to contribute to the emerging body of literature in this area, through seeking to encourage fresh insights, particularly on the varieties of people management encountered in different national contexts. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Business has entered a new reality, one that is more complex and dynamic, in which timely adaptation is critical for a firm's survival. Intense pressures brought into the Latin American markets by foreign investments made indigenous firms start to internationalise their activities as a way of balancing out the sheer competition in the market. This study focuses on the impact of the process of internationalisation of the Multilatinas. During a period of three months, in-depth structured interviews were carried out to business and human resources executives of Latin American companies that encouraged the challenging path towards internationalisation.
Multinationals from emerging countries such as Brazil now take the path of internationalisation where early movers have already been. However, these companies have to develop new tools to deal with their own challenges, since they come from countries with different historical backgrounds and specificities. This paper explores challenges for Brazilian MNCs in terms of HRM when operating abroad. It presents the results of six cases of Brazilian MNCs through a grounded theory study. Results show these companies had to deal with their former economic turbulence, shortage of qualified workforce to work internationally and the need to develop HRM competencies to operate globally.
This study investigates how the concept of talent is understood, what talent management practices are in place, and what talent-management challenges may be confronting firms in China and India through the perspectives of 178 non-HR managers. The study reveals the centrality of materialistic values in the evolving, contemporary employment relationships in the two countries. The findings shed light on the different needs of capacity-building for the HR institutions in each of the two countries, as well as the need to adopt a more particularistic (vs. a universalist) approach to conceptualizing and operationalizing talent management in the international context.
Strategic international human resource management (SIHRM) is crucial for the effective leveraging of human resources in organizations to achieve the desired business strategies. There is a rich collection of studies on western multinational corporations (MNCs) in China, but few studies that explore the SIHRM of Chinese MNCs operating overseas. This study utilizes cross-level, in-depth interviews to analyse SIHRM of three large Chinese multinationals. The paper contributes to literature by addressing two contextual SIHRM issues, namely the characteristics of the SIHRM for Chinese multinationals and how their SIHRM orientation facilitates their international investment and operation. The findings indicate that organizational transformation is the starting point for latecomers matching their international HRM strategies. Their SIHRM approaches, such as forming learning organizations, reliance on host-country nationals, reconciling both home and host-country effects and promoting 'best practices', facilitate their international operations.
This study examines the internationalization of high technology small and medium enterprises (HTSMEs). It explores how they develop and use networks to penetrate their first foreign market relying on information collected via direct interviews with the CEOs or founders of 58 high technology small firms that operate internationally. It uses mixed methods to discuss the network building mechanisms identified — client–supplier relationships, existing personal contacts, contacts acquired by chance, and contacts acquired through specific strategies. The findings provide the basis for developing propositions for further comparative analyses of the internationalization of HTSMEs based in emerging and developed markets. The study contributes to the literature on networks, internationalization and international entrepreneurship.
The rapid rise of multinational Corporations (MNCs) from emerging economies has led to greater interest and urgency in developing a better understanding of the deployment and diffusion of managerial strategies from their perspective and without assuming the prevailing Western ethnocentric orthodoxy. This paper develops a conceptual framework of global HR strategies and practices in MNCs from emerging economies across their subsidiaries in both developed and developing markets. Using data from a pilot study of an Indian MNC, it provides insights and guidance into the motives, strategic opportunities and constraints in cross-national transfer of HR policies and practices in a multi-polar world.