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This paper aims to contribute to the literature on global talent management by examining how multinational corporations (MNCs) from developed and emerging economies manage talented employees in other emerging economies. Specifically, it aims to understand why MNCs from developed economies are likely to face lower levels of challenge than MNCs from emerging economies when translating corporate-level talent management strategies to their subsidiaries located in emerging economies and how local contextual factors influence the translation processes.

This paper undertakes a matched-case comparison of two MNCs, one from a developed economy and the other from an emerging economy, that operate in the emerging economy of Thailand. Evidence was obtained from semi-structured interviews field visits and a review of archival documents and Web resources.

Based on the obtained evidence, this paper proposes that MNCs from developed economies tend to face challenges in terms of skill shortages, and these challenges affect their translation of talent management strategies to the subsidiary level. By contrast, MNCs from emerging economies tend to face challenges in terms of both skill shortages and the liability of origin (LOR) (i.e. weak employer branding) in the translation process. Both groups of MNCs are likely to develop talent management practices at the subsidiary level to address the challenge of successfully competing in the context of emerging economies.

One limitation of this research is its methodology. Because this research is based on a matched-case comparison of an MNC from a developed economy and an MNC from an emerging economy, both of which operate in the emerging economy of Thailand, it does not claim generalizability to all MNCs and to other emerging economies. Rather, the results of this research should lead to further discussion of how MNCs from developed and emerging economies translate corporate-level talent management strategies into subsidiary-level practices to survive in other emerging economies. However, one important issue here is that there may be a tension between the use of expatriates and local top managers at MNCs’ subsidiaries located in other emerging economies as drivers for knowledge sourcing in that the importance of expatriates may diminish over time as the subsidiaries located in those economies age (Dahms, 2019). In this regard, future research in the area of global talent management should pay special attention to this issue. The other important issue here is that it is possible that the two case study MNCs are very different from one another because of their organizational development stage, history and current globalization stage. Thus, this issue may also influence the types of talent management strategies and practices that the two case study MNCs have developed in different countries. In particular, MNCs from emerging economies (ICBC) may not have developed their global HR strategies, as they have not yet operated globally as in the case of MNCs from developed economies (Citibank). This can be another important issue for future research. Additionally, both MNCs examined in this research operate in the banking industry. This study, therefore, omits MNCs that operate in other industries such as the automobile industry and the hotel and resort industry. Future researchers can explore how both groups of MNCs in other industries translate their talent management strategies into practices when they operate in other emerging economies. Moreover, this study focuses only on two primary contextual factors, the skill-shortage problem and LOR; future research can explore other local contextual factors, such as the national culture, and their impact on the translation of talent management strategies into practices. Furthermore, quantitative studies that use large sample sizes of both groups of MNCs across industries might be useful in deepening our understanding of talent management. Finally, a comparison of talent management strategies and practices between Japanese MNCs and European MNCs that operate in Thailand would also be interesting.

The HR professionals and managers of MNCs that operate in emerging economies or of companies that aim to internationalize their business to emerging economies must pay attention to local institutional structures, including national skill formation systems, to successfully implement talent management practices in emerging economies. Additionally, in the case of MNCs from emerging economies, HR professionals and managers must understand the concept of LOR and look for ways to alleviate this problem to ensure the success of talent management in both developed economies and other emerging economies.

This paper provides policy implications for the government in Thailand and in other emerging economies where the skill-shortage problem is particularly severe. Specifically, these governments should pay attention to solving the problem of occupation-level skill shortages to alleviate the severe competition for talented candidates among firms in the labor market.

This paper contributes to the prior literature on talent management in several ways. First, this paper is among the first empirical, qualitative papers that aim to extend the literature on global talent management by focusing on how MNCs from different groups of countries (i.e. developed economies and emerging economies) manage talented employees in the emerging economy of Thailand. Second, this paper demonstrates that the institutional structures of emerging economies play an important role in shaping the talent management practices adopted by the subsidiaries of MNCs that operate in these countries. In this regard, comparative institutionalism theory helps explain the importance of recognizing institutional structures in emerging economies for the purpose of developing effective talent management practices. Finally, there is scarce research on talent management in the underresearched country of Thailand. This study should, therefore, assist managers who wish to implement corporate-to-subsidiary translation strategies in Thailand and other emerging economies.

The main objective of the present chapter is to address empirically the impacts of institutional distance (ID) on the multinationality level of firms from developing countries and interpret how the interaction between ID and firm resources affects firms from developing countries. Using data of firms from developing countries, we estimated an empirical cross-section model. The results show that while cultural distance was not found statistically significant, ID, on the other hand, was statistically significant. The higher the distance between home and host country, the higher the multinationality of firms from developing countries. We also found a positive and statistically significant correlation between intangible resource and multinationality, which suggests a tendency toward new pattern in the internationalization of firms from emerging economies.

HRM practices in foreign subsidiaries have been the subject of much attention in recent years. However, research on HRM practices by subsidiaries of multinationals (MNCs) has so far focused largely on subsidiaries of western multinationals in western and or emerging economies. The authors have little knowledge concerning HRM practices of subsidiaries of multinationals from emerging economies in developed western countries. The purpose of this paper is to examine HRM practices of MNCs from emerging economies operating in western developed countries.

Survey.

A blend of practices has been adopted by the subsidiaries, ranging from emulating home country practices, adapting host country practices, and a Melange of home and host country practices.

First, HRM practices used by emerging economy MNCs in an advanced economy have been identified. Second, the results suggest that MNCs from emerging economies behave differently from MNCs from developed countries such as Japan, the USA and Western European countries. Past research shows that MNCs from advanced economies such as Japanese MNCs in the UK tend to transplant the ideas and practices of so‐called excellent human resource management systems from their own parent companies. However, Taiwanese MNCs deliberately adopt a varied HR approach to operate in an advanced economy as a result of dual pressures of home and host country effect. Consequently, apart from strategic issues wholly made by headquarters in Taiwan, other HR practices either adapt to local practices or use a hybrid style.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the control mechanisms used by multinational corporations (MNCs) from emerging economies to manage their subsidiaries in developed countries and their implications for human resource management practices.

The paper draws on data collected through in-depth case studies and interviews with senior subsidiary managers of 12 major Indian information technology (IT) MNCs operating in Australia.

Indian IT MNCs rely heavily on the use of people-centric controls exerted through global staffing practices (via the transfer of parent-country nationals), which, in turn, influence their subsidiary’s discretion over their HR practices. The use of people-centric controls allows Indian IT multinationals to replicate parent-country HRM practices in their Australian subsidiaries in an ethnocentric manner and significantly leverage the people-based competitive advantages from India through short- and long-term expatriate assignments.

The study investigates control and HRM practices from a single country and a single industry perspective. It provides an insight into the normative means of control in foreign subsidiaries of MNCs and enhances our understanding by explaining the integrated relationship that control mechanisms (and their people-centric components) have with HRM practices including the global staffing approaches and expatriate management practices of emerging MNCs.

Indian MNCs are using their business model to leverage the Australian immigration and skilled visa programme to maintain cost advantages. However, the immigration legislation in developed countries needs to be capable of allowing emerging multinational corporations (EMNCs) to maintain such advantages as developed countries seek to attract foreign direct investment from emerging economies.

The results indicate that the control practices of EMNCs are similar to the controls exerted by MNCs from developed countries. They also show that EMNCs do not adopt a portfolio approach to global staffing, and that the people-centric components of their control have a clear impact on their subsidiaries’ HRM practices.

This paper examines how personal networks influence the internationalization process of Russian multinational corporations.

We identify and review 78 articles published in five International Business journals that address the role of networking and relationships in firm internationalization. We then use the network perspective to examine how Russian multinationals internationalize.

Combining the key conclusions of the reviewed studies with insights from the network perspective, and adding insights that we have gained both through first-hand experience and by following the Russian business media, we develop a model that links personal networking and Russian multinationals’ internationalization. We outline four functions that personal networking plays – access to information and knowledge, resource commitment, development of marketing and sales capabilities, and further network expansion.

This paper challenges established views of how firm internationalization occurs. It combines two previously unrelated streams of literature, the network model of internationalization and the role of personal networking within the Russian business environment, and argues that personal networking plays a much larger role in how Russian MNCs internationalize than has the International Business literature has acknowledged.

This paper aims to analyse the characteristics of Chinese multinational corporations in other emerging economies using evidence from Latin America (LA) vis-à-vis the features found in previous studies of Chinese companies operating in developed countries.

It does this by studying the fit of theoretical frameworks recently developed for Chinese firms, the support from the government and the strength of their capabilities in relation to those of local competitors. The analysis is based on case studies with data collected from a theoretical sample of Chinese companies operating in LA.

The results show that these companies seem to be following a pattern similar to that described by Mathews’s (2006) Linkage–Leverage–Learning, that the support from the government does not seem to play an important role in their internationalisation process, that they appear to have developed a set of capabilities strong enough to compete in the host market (in particular how to combine their strengths with those of local partners) and that they are engaged in a positive cycle of development that helps them to overcome some of the challenges and barriers of operating in Latin American emerging markets by complementing/leveraging their strengths with those of local firms.

The findings indicate that Chinese companies are following patterns in their internationalisation to Latin American emerging markets that seems to be a combination of conventional theories (including previous studies on emerging markets-based firms) with idiosyncratic elements.

This paper aims, by a direct comparison, to address the differences and similarities of the internationalization processes of multinational companies both from developed and emerging countries.

This study employed qualitative approach, using an integrated model of internationalization process. Multiple case studies, with two companies with significant involvement in foreign markets and originating in countries with different levels of development, were carried out.

The results reveal that the case companies show some differences with regards to their use of ownership advantages to facilitate their internationalization. On the other hand, learning and experience of internationalization, coupled with the use of networks, have been factors that have influenced the pace and the pattern of the case companies' internationalization. An integrated model, which includes variables related to networks and learning/experience, may contribute to the understanding of the case of multinational companies from emerging economies.

Although the research field of emerging multinationals has been growing lately, very few attempts have been made in the sense of directly comparing the internationalization process of firms from both developed and emerging countries. The authors proposed an integrated analytical model that draws on insights from the eclectic paradigm and the Uppsala internationalization model.

Based on the review of extant international business and management literature, this paper aims to examine the global integration (GI) and local responsiveness (LR) paradigm and its impact on the adoption of international business strategy (IBS) by multinational corporations (MNCs); second, discuss determinants that are critical in the process of forming IBS by MNCs; and third identify the lacuna in current research with respect to strategic implications of the framework for MNCs from emerging economies such as Chinese multinational corporations (CMNCs).

Based on the extant literature review, this paper identifies a research gap and proposes several research questions for future study. First, the paper reviews prior studies on the GI‐LR model and its impact on and strategic implications for IBS. Second, it examines how MNCs from developed countries adopt different types of IBS and what determinants drive their decision‐making. Third, it attempts to discuss why CMNCs should be studied in terms of their choice of IBS based on the GI‐LR mode. The paper concludes with research questions for future study.

This paper summarizes determinants of IBS in a three‐category table mainly based on prior studies on the GI‐LR model from developed countries. As a consequence, it identifies a future research area in the field of international management.

This paper is based on a comprehensive review of prior studies related to the GI‐LR framework. The aim of the study is to identify a new research area in international management, that is, how MNCs from emerging country contexts, such as China, to co‐ordinate GI and LR for their IBS.

Prior studies have argued that multinational firms with dynamic capabilities can reconfigure and upgrade their internal and external resources and adapt to an ever-changing competitive global environment. The impact of home country networks exerting on multinational corporations’ (MNCs) dynamic capabilities has been rarely discussed in extant research. This paper aims to explore how two types of home country networks’ relational embeddedness (from domestic firms and foreign firms) affect Chinese MNCs’ dynamic capabilities.

Several hypotheses were tested by analyzing the survey data from 204 multinational companies in china.

The results reveal the impact mechanism of the home country network on dynamic capabilities. Embeddedness in domestic networks positively affects embeddedness in the foreign network; embeddedness in foreign firms exerts positive effects on the three dimensions of MNC’s dynamic capabilities. Additionally, the effect of domestic firms’ relational embeddedness on resource reconfiguring capability is mediated by foreign firms’ embeddedness. Consequently, this study provides a theoretical introduction for MNCs from emerging economies.

This study has several managerial implications for emerging MNCs’ international operations. For MNCs from emerging economies, close cooperation with domestic firms helps firms to develop a close relationship with foreign firms; meanwhile, developing a close relationship with foreign firms can obtain spillover about technology and management experience better, improving dynamic capability. Specifically, domestic embeddedness, through foreign embeddedness, can extend the impact to focal firms in developing resource reconfiguring capability.

This study provides an alternate view of how home country networks influence the dynamic capabilities of Chinese MNCs and outlines its impact mechanism. Therefore, the study contributes both to the international business literature and social network literature.