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This paper aims to explore the key risk factors affecting the Personnel Localization Management of international construction projects under the major public emergencies represented by the novel coronavirus pneumonia pandemic (hereinafter COVID-19) and how the public emergency affected the Personnel Localization Management from three levels: staff turnover rate, the number of different personnel, the salary and performance of workers. The paper also helps to enhance the construction enterprises' response capacity of major public emergencies and provides a comprehensive framework of optimization strategies for the Personnel Localization Management of international construction projects (hereinafter projects).

The main research method of this paper is the case study, and ten representative international construction projects are selected for case study in China construction enterprises (hereinafter CCE). And this study used the failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) and comparative analysis to find out all potential risk factors under the COVID-19 and analyze how the epidemic affects the Personnel Localization Management of projects which based on the primary data from 10 projects obtained through in-depth interviews and the secondary data from China First Metallurgical Group and Central South Construction Group's Overseas Enterprise.

The findings show that the outbreak of the major public emergencies not only greatly increased eight risk factors but also directly led to an increase in staff turnover rate. Meanwhile, the numbers of Chinese and local managers and workers are all affected, and an increase in the number and the salary performance of local workers can be reduced, to a certain extent, to the cost-to-output ratio of the projects. The findings would help construction enterprises better cope with Personnel Localization Management and enhance the response capacity of major public emergencies.

This study will broaden researchers' horizons regarding “Personnel Localization Management under major public emergencies” and “risk factors of Personnel Localization Management in an international context.” Furthermore, construction enterprises looking for a better mechanism of Personnel Localization Management can benefit from research findings and lessons learned from the authors' case study during or before an outbreak of major public emergency. Lastly, the framework of optimization strategies for Personnel Localization Management can be used both for research purposes and practice issues in international construction projects.

The findings from the authors' case study offer the direction for international construction enterprises in China and other countries to formulate effective measures, strengthen overseas business and establish a crisis management mechanism for Personnel Localization Management under major public emergencies, and the findings provide emergency plans for projects to improve the public crisis handling capacity and respond to major public emergencies such as the COVID-19.

This study analyzes the impact of the COVID-19 on the Personnel Localization Management of international construction projects from the perspective of personnel. This study provides a theoretical reference for the international construction industry to actively respond to major public emergencies. Besides, the research is conducive to improving the emergency response mechanism in the construction industry, and further promoting the high-quality and globalized development of international construction.

This study provides other researchers with a comprehensive understanding of the risk factors affecting the Personnel Localization Management of projects under the COVID-19 and insight for further research on localization management, risk management, and project management.

This study aimed to contribute to the field of Human Resource Management (HRM) by providing a critical review of existing scholarly research and a thematic analysis of the workforce nationalization domain in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. To strengthen the literature on this topic, it seeks to identify key gaps and areas for further exploration.

A two-step systematic research methodology (qualitative and quantitative) and a thematic analysis of empirical and theoretical studies were used in this study. The quantitative review was conducted using a predesigned coding framework.

The study identified and discussed four perspectives of workforce nationalization in the GCC countries. These were (1) the conceptualization of workforce nationalization; (2) the role of institutional policies in achieving it; (3) the practices and outcomes of nationalization efforts and (4) the impact of gender and women in the nationalization process.

This study has several limitations, which the authors have addressed by proposing several future research avenues. For example, the reviewed studies are skewed toward certain countries (e.g. UAE and Saudi Arabia), which limits the generalizability of their findings.

A more comprehensive definition of nationalization, development of qualitative and quantitative measures to enhance HRM practices and outcomes, and the identification of alternative approaches to improve the employment of locals are emphasized as needs. Additionally, revised measures and mechanisms to rectify negative perceptions about entitlement and the revision of policies to integrate females in the national labor force are suggested.

Workforce nationalization initiatives in the GCC region offer a unique and rich research phenomenon replete with managerial, organizational, economic and political dilemmas. The investigation of this phenomenon would profoundly enlighten employers, policymakers and scholars.

The aim of this paper is twofold. First, to understand the degree to which the intended outcomes of Saudi’s Nitaqat labour market policy corresponds to the actual responses from private companies. Second, to investigate how these gaps between policy intentions and actual outcomes have informed recent changes to Nitaqat policy.

This paper uses a qualitative approach with a case study design and thematic analysis procedures. Data were obtained from the following three sources: semi-structured interviews completed during the early stage of Nitaqat in 2013–2014 with nine policymakers and 44 key stakeholders from six private Saudi companies; policy documents and gray literature on the aims and effects of the Nitaqat program; and available peer-reviewed literature on the subject.

This paper sets out and analyses the following four main goals of Nitaqat: First, to increase the Saudi national employment rate, second, increase company efficiency, third, improve human resource capabilities, and fourth, increase female labour participation. This paper reveals that although Nitaqat has certainly resulted in a positive change in some of these areas, in other areas, there remain gaps between the intentions and the actual effects of Nitaqat. This paper analyses recent changes to Nitaqat and argues that further changes may be needed to achieve the full goals of Nitaqat.

This paper’s originality lies in its analysis of the aims of labour market policies and organisational responses. It highlights the reasons for disconnections between the policy aims and organisational practices and explores how policymakers react and respond to these implementation gaps.

The influx of expatriates to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries has led to labor imbalance inducing these countries to initiate workforce nationalization policies. However, despite the policies' emphasis on increasing the presence of nationals in all sectors, employing nationals in the private sector is still a critical challenge for policymakers. This paper explores local job seekers' and employees' perceptions of employment choices in the private and public sectors.

Adopting a qualitative approach, data were collected through in-depth interviews with 28 local job seekers, either not currently employed or employed but seeking another job.

The data revealed a contextualized understanding of positive and negative connotations pertaining to employment in the private and public sectors in Qatar.

Understanding nationals' negative preconceived notions against working in the private sector and the perceived benefits of public sector employment lays the groundwork for developing measures to help policymakers to create labor market-oriented policies that stimulate mobility between the public and private sectors.

This study contributes to the workforce nationalization literature in the GCC countries by examining local job seekers' perceptions associated with employment in the private sector and the public sector. A closer examination of why nationals are hesitant to enter the private sector can propel the pendulum towards higher success rates of workforce nationalization.

This paper aims to investigate how the gap between a multinational enterprise’s (MNE) productivity and that of its competitor determines the utilization of expatriate managers in its foreign subsidiaries.

The authors first develop a formal analytical model where expatriate managers are relatively more reliable and expensive while local managers are prone to job-hopping. The authors then test the predictions of the analytical model using subsidiary-level data of Korean MNEs.

The findings show a positive relationship between the productivity gap and the share of expatriate managers in a foreign subsidiary. The empirical findings also show that the job position (middle versus top managers) is another key determinant of the utilization of expatriate managers.

The results of this paper are consistent with the literature that finds that MNEs choose a governance structure that minimizes the hazard of opportunism in their subsidiaries, yet the paper reveals a novel aspect of the determinants of expatriate utilization.

The literature on how emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs) overcome the liability of emergingness/origin has sidestepped a prerequisite for any efforts to overcome liability, namely, corporate compliance. The authors argue that EMNEs build corporate compliance capability as a knowledge-based firm-specific advantage (FSA) to adapt to institutional norms in advanced economies. In this study, the authors empirically examine the intricate relationships between corporate compliance capability and performance in the US subsidiaries of Chinese firms.

In this study, the authors use survey data to empirically examine the intricate relationships between corporate compliance capability and performance in the US subsidiaries of Chinese firms.

The findings reveal a positive relationship between corporate compliance capability and subsidiary performance, as mediated by local financing.

The study suggests that corporate compliance capability helps a subsidiary gain legitimacy, which leads to local resource acquisition and utilization. Corporate compliance capability thus serves as a source of a knowledge-based FSA for EMNEs in developed economies.

Due to their multifarious backgrounds, multinational enterprises from emerging economies offer unique research opportunities to push the boundaries of our understanding knowledge of diversity management in transitional contexts. In that regard, Central and Eastern European multinationals present a blind spot in diversity management research.

This article examines the extent to which context shapes the discourse on diversity management in the Oil and Gas industry across Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) through a qualitative approach based on content analyses of corporate communication data matched with data on national institutional contexts.

The data suggests a lack of effective pro-diversity pressures across CEE except for cultural pressure in European Union member countries. However, CEE Oil and Gas companies report a broader scope of diversity management than studies of Western counterparts suggest. Companies with subsidiaries in Western countries show convergence towards etic diversity approaches, while local and regional companies are more divergent.

This article defines the boundary conditions of diversity management in the Oil and Gas industry across nine CEE countries and how they impact the diversity discourse in the industry. This article also showcases the impact of foreign market presence in the West as a driver for diversity management reporting.

A majority of higher education institutions (HEIs) in Oman, and internationally, have adopted English as the language of education, driven by its power and its globally accepted status as the language of knowledge and communication. Such an internationalisation policy has been inadequately evaluated to examine its actual effects. This paper aims at analysing the existing literature with a view to hypothesise the effects of adopting English as a medium of instruction (EMI) on establishing intellectual capital in the Omani context.

The paper employs a case study design that draws on data generated through a systematic review of 94 peer-reviewed papers that are synthesised using thematic analysis.

The findings indicate that EMI negatively affects the optimal creation of intellectual capital through limiting access to HE, hindering knowledge transfer, impeding Omanis' employability and hindering faculty's professional growth. EMI leads HEIs to mirror the supplying countries' cultures in terms of materials, ideologies and standards. It affects teaching and research quality, training and communication, the sense of equity, belonging and self-worth amongst students and the relationships amongst faculty members. It also increases reliance on external stakeholders.

The paper highlights the interconnection between the forms of intellectual capital and how some components are antecedents to the creation of the intellectual capital forms. It establishes the moderating role the language of instruction plays in relation to the three sub forms of intellectual capital in higher education.

The paper calls for maximising higher education intellectual capital through adopting bilingual rather than monolingual higher education. It calls upon policymakers to revisit the assumptions underlying higher education systems in order to optimise their outcomes.

The paper is the first one that sheds light on the role of language in intellectual capital construction. Such a moderating role has received almost no attention in the higher education literature that is largely busy quantifying its outcomes rather than ensuring they are actually sustainably generated.

This study aims to investigate why and how shared service centres (SSCs) are implemented as well as how they affect audit firm practice and audit quality.

In this qualitative study guided by the theoretical framework of institutional theory, the authors conducted 25 semi-structured interviews in seven European countries, including 16 interviews with audit partners from Big 4 firms, 6 with audit team members, 2 with interviewees from second-tier audit firms and 1 with a member of an oversight body.

The authors show that the central rationale for audit firms to implement SSCs is economic rather than external legitimacy. The authors find that SSC implementation has substantial effects on audit practices, particularly those related to standardisation, coordination and monitoring activities. The authors also highlight the potential impacts on audit quality.

By exploring the motivation for and effects of SSC implementation amongst audit firms, the authors offer insights into the best practices related to subsequent change processes and audit quality.

Saudi Arabia (SA) is amongst the few countries with a significant foreign workforce who are employed in the higher education sector. More specifically, 39% of SA's academic staff members are foreign nationals and 63% of that proportion occupy professorial positions. Drawing from a workforce localisation perspective, the study was framed as an exploration of equity and social justice amongst Saudi nationals and foreign nationals in a university work setting. The authors employ the lens of how human resource development (HRD) opportunities are administered.

Following the choice of an exploratory qualitative study, the authors employed a multi-case study approach where each of the six universities represented a unit of analysis.

The authors found that nationality differences influenced access to HRD opportunities. These differences are reinforced by practices associated with procedural processes, managerial discretion and selective restrictions in accessing HRD opportunities.

The findings have both practical and social implications, specifically for the SA government's strategic vision of developing local human capabilities.

The workforce localisation agenda within the higher education sector has both a compounding effect on local human capital and supports SA's 2030 Vision and human capital target. Nonetheless, perceived inequity and injustice in accessing HRD opportunities by foreign nationals potentially undermine morale, academic quality standards and research performance, which impacts the development of future human capital and the ‘Saudization’ goals.