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The vulnerability of multinational corporation (MNC) knowledge network is one of the major causes for the failure and even the death of MNCs in the fierce global market competition. Employee turnover and knowledge loss are the triggers for the MNC knowledge network vulnerability and a matter of serious concern in the evolution and development of MNC knowledge network. The purpose of this work is to propose a valid and quantitative measurement method to investigate the influence of employee loss and knowledge loss on the vulnerability of MNC knowledge network.

MNC knowledge network is inherently a heterogeneous network where there are mainly two types of units: employees and their knowledge. Therefore, this paper establishes a weighted super-network model for MNC knowledge network to depict its heterogeneous composition. On the basis of the weighted MNC knowledge super-network, the static and dynamic vulnerability measurement methods are further proposed to investigate and evaluate MNC knowledge network vulnerability.

A real case is given to illustrate the applicability of the proposed weighted MNC knowledge super-network model and the network vulnerability measurement methods. The results show the super-network model proposed in this paper can effectively embody the complex features of MNC knowledge network, and the vulnerability measurement methods can effectively investigate the influence of employee loss and knowledge loss on network vulnerability.

From the perspective of super-network, researchers and practitioners can get a more systematic and deeper understanding of the MNC knowledge network and its human and knowledge resource constitute which are vital for the evolution and development of MNC. Moreover, the MNC knowledge network vulnerability measurement methods can effectively measure and analyze the influence of resource loss on network vulnerability, which can provide a helpful decision support for monitoring and managing of MNC knowledge network vulnerability to reduce its adverse effects.

Multinational corporations (MNCs) at their foreign subsidiaries hire local employees, whose cultural values may differ from the organisations' home cultures. Such value differences may pose managerial difficulties, making it critical to observe whether working at MNCs changes local employees' cultural values, reducing these differences. This study investigates how and to what extent local employees from a collectivistic culture acculturate their ethics-related values when working at MNCs' foreign subsidiaries. The authors examine (1) whether local employees change their values to become closer to the MNCs' home cultures, and if so, (2) whether the cultural distance between the MNCs' home and host national cultures affect the degree of such adaptation.

Survey data were collected through stratified random sampling from Thai employees of a Japanese-owned MNC (n = 196), a UK-owned MNC (n = 143) and a Thai-owned organisation (n = 137), all operating in Thailand. Hypotheses were developed using Berry's bidimensional acculturation model and were tested using OLS and logistic regression analyses.

The study's findings indicate that MNCs' local employees from collectivistic cultures adopt Berry's integration acculturation strategy and acculturate their ethics-related values – collectivism, ethical relativism, collective responsibility preference and executive pay differentiation tolerance – towards the values prevalent in MNCs' home cultures. Overall, acculturation is greater when cultural distance is greater. New insights are presented in relation to collective responsibility preference and pay differentiation tolerance.

Findings add to current knowledge on acculturation in management by (1) providing new insights into value acculturation (2) utilising Berry's acculturation model to analyse employees' acculturation within an organisation in the context of an emerging economy, outside the more frequently studied topic of mergers and acquisitions, and (3) investigating the impact of cultural distance on the degree of employee acculturation outside the field of expatriate adjustment.

The purpose of this paper is to examine one aspect of the implementation of the performance appraisal with a focus on its operation in an economic downturn and particularly a global economic crisis.

It identifies the stated purposes of the performance appraisal in multinational corporations (MNCs) and explores the unstated purposes of the performance appraisal, which emerge during performance evaluation and feedback stages. The paper then investigates the different expectations employees and managers have of the performance appraisal and finally examines the changes to these expectations in an economic downturn.

The principal conclusion that can be drawn from this analysis is that there is a weakness in the design and substance of the performance appraisal research. The international appraisal is not exclusively conditioned by culture but also by the numerous contextual-organizational, institutional and economic factors found in the typical MNC.

It is suggested that possible strategies could include careful implementation of performance appraisal with attention to both the cultural and contextual environment. It is argued that by addressing both cultural and contextual variables the appraisal will be effective in helping achieve not only the MNC's strategic goals in a time of global economic crisis, but also recovery and survival following economic crisis.

This paper adds to the body of knowledge of international human resource management research by illuminating the consequences of an uncertain economic environment on performance management across borders and also paves the way for future research in this important area of management research.

The competitive international environment of the twenty‐first century is said to require greater collaboration between the multinational corporation (MNC) units, where local employees work toward global as well as local goals. What does it take to motivate local employees to go the extra mile for the sake of the MNC as a whole? This article reports the results of a study conducted among 317 local managers at the Indian and Pakistani subsidiaries of a British MNC in the consumer products industry. Organisational identification, or a psychological bonding with the organisation, was one of several factors contributing to the willingness of local managers to exert extra effort toward organisational goals. Implications of the findings are drawn for expatriate managers who work alongside local managers, and for international human resource management.

A defining feature of international business is the necessity for people from diverse cultural backgrounds to interact and collaborate but intercultural interaction is difficult and may give rise to disagreement and conflict. I have been working on the dynamics that promote positive intercultural interaction in the international business context, and two streams of my research, one empirical and the other conceptual, are reviewed here. The first stream is concerned with fairness issues surrounding the pay disparity between locals and expatriates in multinational enterprises operating in China, which has implications for MNC operations in other emerging economies. My research has shown that the pay disparity is associated with negative reactions from local employees but some management practices associated with the relationship between locals and expatriates, attributions made by locals, and salient norms about the pay disparity can buffer such negative reactions. In this research program, the focus is not on the actual interaction between locals and expatriates. To address this gap, a conceptual framework is presented, which provides insight about the factors that contribute to positive interaction between locals and expatriates. This paper ends with implications for future research on intercultural interaction in the MNC context.

This paper aims to identify antecedents for, and consequences of, low-intensity inter-unit conflict in multinational corporations (MNCs). Inter-unit conflict in MNCs is an important and well-researched theme. However, while most studies have focused on open conflict acknowledged by both parties, much less research has dealt with low-intensity conflicts. Still, low-intensity conflicts can be highly damaging – not least because they are rarely resolved.

The authors used a qualitative approach to understanding low-intensity conflict relying on 170 interviews in four Danish MNCs.

They describe consequences of low-intensity conflict and identify three types of actions by headquarters’ representatives that could lead to the development of low-intensity conflicts, namely, ignoring, bypassing and educating.

Very few studies have dealt with low-intensity conflict – not least in international business research. The authors argue that the study of low-intensity conflict in MNCs can provide relevant, novel knowledge of MNC functioning.

The purpose of this paper is to use a diachronic analysis to explore the influence of country of origin effect and country of management effect on the adoption of human resource management (HRM) practices at different stages.

The methodology starts with an intensive literature review to establish an analytical framework by bringing country of origin and country of management effects on the HRM transfers. By using a longitudinal qualitative research design, a total of 164 interviews from four British subsidiaries of four Taiwanese multinationals were conducted to explore the change over time during the HRM transfer processes over a five‐year period.

The results provide evidence of the paradox as a result of country of origin effect and country of management effect on the adoption of HRM practices over time.

It is problematic to conclude absolutely regarding the convergence or divergence of HRM practices. This is due to HRM practices being in a constant state of flux between global integration and local adaptation during the transfer process.

This is the first empirical study to examine the impacts of country of origin effect and country of management effect on the HRM transfers from emerging multinationals in the advanced economy from a diachronic perspective.

This conceptual work examines how, in times of post-COVID-19 paradigm shift, the employee performance management (PM) process can help multinational corporations (MNCs) strengthen their talent management and, at the same time, meet their future needs.

We take a conceptual approach and present our perspective on what we see as the most critical trends shaping PM and talent management. Contingency theory and Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA) theory provide a sound theoretical framework for understanding and responding to the complex and rapidly changing business context post-COVID-19.

Drawing on these theories, we create a framework providing a means of understanding why and how MNCs can maintain talent and, at the same time, develop new talent through the PM process.

Importantly, our study emphasizes the critical role that project management and talent management techniques play for both practitioners and scholars. In order to gain and sustain a competitive edge in the ever-changing VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) landscape, these processes necessitate ongoing reassessment and adaptation. As Plato eloquently stated, “Our Need Will Be the Real Creator,” encapsulating our vision for the proactive and dynamic nature of effective project management and talent management practices.

The study establishes the benefits of an agile and flexible PM approach to help develop talent and pave the way for future research in this increasingly critical area

This article argues that critical realism (CR) offers an ontological position suited to understanding the dynamic relations between multinational companies (MNCs) and the complex political spaces within which they operate. After outlining the core assumptions of CR, the key arguments are elaborated through two case studies which focus on issues of staffing and expatriation. The first case concerns recent developments in the Middle East, highlighting the shifting reality of nationality-based definitions of staffing the MNC, and the second examines the internationalisation of Chinese firms, exploring the way MNCs restructure space to retain access to home-country advantages.

The purpose of this paper is to generate insights into how multinational companies (MNCs) promote global mobility in their Employer Branding (EB) messages on Facebook.

The authors analyzed 13.340 EB messages found on the Facebook career pages of 30 major MNCs (10 of each in the US, UK and Germany) drawing on a methodological approach combining Grounded Theory and text-mining.

Building on the perspective of psychological contracts as sensitizing concept, the analysis of the overall sample reveals a range of core themes in EB messages across all MNCs studied. With regards to global mobility, MNCs emphasize relational, i.e. socio-emotional, contents, particularly, highlighting opportunities of experience and personal development. While global mobility is an overall marginal theme, German MNCs extensively promote global mobility, whereas US- and UK-based MNCs do not explicitly make it a subject of their messages. The findings are discussed in the light of institutional theory.

Despite mega-trend, little is known about social media EB, especially when it comes to the contents that MNCs communicate to (potential) employees. Applying an innovative methodological approach, the authors offer insights into these contents. Discussing the findings in the light of institutional theory, it is concluded that promoting global mobility in socio-emotional terms seems of high importance to reduce uncertainties associated with living and working abroad. This might help firms to hire internationally mobile employees, especially in countries where job mobility is generally low.