Introduction

Abstract

Discussions about transferring human resource practices across national borders inevitably raise the question as to whether practices in different countries will converge on a common model or whether they will be characterized by continued divergence. The convergence hypothesis is a product of the landmark study by Kerr, Dunlop, Harbison, and Myers (1960), who sought to understand the forces shaping national industrial relations systems by analyzing the experiences of national economies at various stages of industrialization. They predicted a convergence of practices as industrial societies adopted plural market economies in which major actors shared beliefs about the nature of industrialism, the efficacy of the market economy, and the need for mechanisms to reconcile the interests of employers, the public, and workers.

Citation

Hundley, G. and Lawler, J.J. (2008), "Introduction", Lawler, J.J. and Hundley, G. (Ed.) The Global Diffusion of Human Resource Practices: Institutional and Cultural Limits (Advances in International Management, Vol. 21), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1571-5027(08)00012-0