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South Korean multinational enterprises (MNEs) have developed rapidly since the late 1950s. This chapter investigates South Korean MNEs’ talent management, more specifically international recruitment and selection policies and practices in their Chinese operations.

Using the snowball method through Chinese and Korean networks we recruited ten Korean MNEs to participate in this research. We conducted semi-structured interviews with key individuals within the organisations.

It reveals that South Korean MNEs tend to adopt the polycentric approach or a mixed approach of being polycentric and ethnocentric to international staffing, with the number of expatriates reducing gradually over time. South Korean MNEs adopt ‘one-way selection’ in recruiting and selecting expatriates and localise recruitment procedures and selection criteria for host-country nationals.

South Korean MNEs have paid inadequate attention to: firstly, expatriates’ career development; and secondly, personal and family issues emerging from expatriation and repatriation. This study highlights these issues.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how the risk of war aroused by North Korea’s threatening actions trigger strategic responses from US multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in South Korea. The authors compare two competing perspectives of real options and risk diversification to see which prevails when US MNEs are facing risk of war.

The authors hand collected news articles regarding North Korea’s threatening actions that may trigger strategic responses from MNEs operating in South Korea. The authors use archival data of US MNEs to verify our results.

Empirical tests of the two competing perspectives reveal that US MNEs adopt the risk diversification strategy when threatened by the risk of war. However, as MNEs have more available foreign markets outside the host country that is at risk of war, MNEs tend to take an operational flexibility approach more seriously and shift their productions to the remaining global operations. The ownership structure of the subsidiary does not appear to have significant effect on US MNEs’ strategic risk management.

This paper compares two perspectives, namely, real options and risk diversification, to observe how US MNEs treat their subsidiaries when facing risk of war in South Korea.

This study aims to examine whether and why subsidiary-unit managers’ prior international work experiences across multinational enterprises’ (MNEs) home and host countries impact their subsidiary-unit performance, considering the mediating effect of their advice networks.

A survey on 222 subsidiary-unit managers (154 parent country nationals [PCNs] and 68 host country nationals [HCNs]) of a Korean MNE operating in China, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Hungary and Slovakia was conducted. The authors analyzed the data using partial least square structural equation modeling, multigroup analysis and bootstrapping techniques.

PCN subsidiary managers with more prior international work experience manage better-performing units due to the strength of the manager’s advice networks across local parties. However, for HCN subsidiary managers, this study did not find such mediating roles of the size and strength of their advice networks in the MNE home country.

This study provides novel insights and empirical evidence about the effect of the length of prior international work experience of subsidiary managers on their advice-seeking networks and subsidiary-unit performance. In addition, it draws on and add to social capital theory about how international work experience impacts dealing with local businesses and the relationship with corporate headquarters.

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 research proposition of this paper is that multinational enterprises (MNEs) were important in the process of growth and divergence that took place in the world in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The rate of growth of GDP per capita was unprecedented, but it was coupled with an increasing gap between the developed and the developing countries. MNEs are even more important in the growth and convergence process that started at the beginning of the twenty-first century where the gap is closing. Global sourcing is the strategy that has led to closing the gap while high growth continues. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The study is based on macroeconomics general equilibrium model in an imperfect market and on looking at the inventive process as the driving process of the development and the location of MNEs. Using a financial economics model of assets and liabilities, it is shown that MNEs affect the geopolitical distribution of income and wealth through expanding their liabilities. The methodology is a combination of applying economic model and using historical and current data to motivate the use of the model and to validate the models and the conclusions derived from them.

MNEs and major global companies before the name MNE was used were shaped by major macroeconomic processes like the inventive process and the same time they were the prime movers of the two major economic processes of the last 200 years: growth and divergence and growth and convergence. The ideas-led growth model shows why MNEs are becoming larger. As MNEs became bigger they start to import inputs through value maximizing strategy of global sourcing. This led to transfer of value to suppliers in emerging markets that grow over time and eventually it led to new MNEs from emerging markets large countries like China and from smaller countries in Asia and elsewhere. The growth convergence process and the resulting changes in the geopolitical distribution of MNEs is assisted by rapid changes in technology that reduces transactions cost. The continuation of rapid changes in transactions costs is likely to change the current structure, strategy and the location of MNEs and may reverse the growth convergence process once more.

The study begins with aggregate macroeconomic processes and relates them to the development of MNEs and in particular to the development of MNEs from emerging markets. It highlights the importance of global value chains and global sourcing in the process of growth and divergence and the turning of the “Wheel for Fortune” toward China and India as it has been prior to the sixteenth century.

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.

The sample is made up of 17 multilatinas (Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Colombia). Semi- structured interviews were conducted with Corporate Global Talent Managers.

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.

This paper attempts to fill a perceived gap in the literature investigating, empirically, the talent identification strategy in multilatinas.

La identificación del talento es un proceso crítico de todo sistema de Gestión del Talento Global, y poco se conoce sobre el mismo en las multinacionales de origen latinoamericano. Este estudio cualitativo tiene por objetivo comprender, a través de las percepciones de los directores globales de talento corporativo, la estrategia de identificación de talento adoptada, los factores involucrados en esas elecciones estratégicas y el origen de las herramientas utilizadas en su implementación.

La muestra de este estudio está compuesta por 17 multilatinas de Argentina, Brasil, México, Chile y Colombia. Entrevistas cualitativas fueron realizadas con los responsables globales de gestión del talento.

Los resultados muestran que la estrategia de estandarización en la identificación del talento constituye la tendencia principal. Esta elección estratégica puede explicarse por diversos factores: nuevas estructuras corporativas, modo de ingreso a través de fusiones y adquisiciones, cultura nacional/regional, cercanía geográfica y afinidad cultural, cultura organizacional, prácticas de gestión de los países de destino y grado de integración entre Casa Matriz y subsidiarias. La mayoría de las multilatinas privilegian las herramientas de diseño propio, en lugar de aquellas “mejores prácticas”. Numerosos factores han sido identificados. Se presentan conclusiones y futuras líneas de investigación.

Este es el primer estudio que examina la estrategia de identificación de talento en las multinacionales latinoamericanas y los factores involucrados, cerrando una brecha en la literatura.

A identificação de talentos é um processo crítico de todo sistema de gestao global de talentos, e pouco se sabe sobre isso em multinacionais de origem latinoamericana. Este estudo qualitativo tenta compreender, através das percepções dos diretores globais de talento corporativo, a estratégia de identificação de talentos adotada, os fatores envolvidos nessas escolhas estratégicas e a origem das ferramentas utilizadas na sua implementação.

A amostragem do estudo foi baseada em 17 multilatinas da Argentina, Brasil, México, Chile e Colômbia. Entrevistas qualitativas foram realizadas com gerentes globais de gestão de talentos.

Os resultados mostram que a estratégia de padronização na identificação de talentos constitui a principal tendência. Essa escolha estratégica pode ser explicada por vários fatores: novas estruturas societárias, modo de entrada por meio de fusões e aquisições, cultura nacional/regional, proximidade geográfica e afinidade cultural, cultura organizacional, práticas de gestão dos países de destino e grau de integração entre Matriz e subsidiárias. A maioria das multilatinas privilegia as ferramentas de seu próprio design, em vez das “melhores práticas”. Diversos fatores foram identificados. São apresentadas as conclusões e futuras linhas de pesquisa.

Este é o primeiro estudo que examina a estratégia de identificação de talentos em multinacionais latinoamericanas e os fatores envolvidos, contribuindo a preencher uma lacuna na literatura

Despite the growing economic importance of Africa, the region has received scant attention in the international human resource management literature. The purpose of this paper is to address the gap in examining human resource management (HRM) practices in Western multinational enterprises’ (MNEs) subsidiary operations in Ghana, which is a significant foreign direct investment market in Africa. Focusing on recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management, and rewards management viewed through the ability, motivation and opportunity (AMO) framework, the research emphasizes that effectiveness of the MNEs’ cross-cultural operations has necessitated embracing localization across a range of practices in accordance with the Ghanaian cultural landscape and specificities.

The paper draws on 37 in-depth interviews with managers and employees in eight subsidiaries of British, European and US MNEs in Ghana. Interviews were conducted in 2015 in three locations – the capital city Accra, Tema (in the south) and Tamale (in the north).

The research reinforces earlier literature emphasizing the importance of paternalism and family and to a lesser extent patronage, but presents new findings in highlighting the erstwhile unexplored role of local chiefs in influencing HRM practices in Western MNEs in Ghana. Utilizing the AMO framework, this paper highlights practices within each HR area that influences performance through impact on employee AMO.

The research informs MNE managers about the strategic importance of observing local cultural practices and designing appropriate strategies for ensuring both operational effectiveness and successful cross-cultural collaboration with local managers and employees in Ghana. It is suggested that if managers implement practices that foster and enhance employee AMO, subsidiaries may benefit from employee potential and discretionary judgment.

This paper contributes to a dearth of literature on HRM practices of Western MNEs’ subsidiaries in Africa by examining the extent to which MNEs strategically localize their practices to accommodate specificities of the host country cultural context and operate successfully.

The purpose of this study is to determine the current status of strategic human resource management (SHRM) research in the context of Korea as well as to provide specific recommendations for future research.

An integrative literature review was performed to aggregate a body of studies in the Korean context. In total, 39 articles were carefully selected for inclusion in the present review.

The review demonstrated that prior studies conducted in Korea have examined whether the established relationship between strategic human resource (HR) practices and organizational outcomes has cross-national validity in Korean contexts, the extent to which the established relationship is moderated by contextual factors, as well as whether a combination of strategic HR practices and the congruence of HR practices with other organizational factors affect organizational outcomes. In addition, the review revealed four unique methodological characteristics of Korea-based studies, namely, the extensive use of self-reported questionnaires, personnel in managerial positions serving as the main sources of primary data, secondary data collected by Korean government research bodies being actively dealt with and an awareness of the necessity of a longitudinal design for causal research.

The present review makes an important contribution to the study of SHRM in general and the strategic human resources management model in Korea in particular. It is clear that more research is required, although it is encouraging to note the quality of prior research concerning Korean contexts and the specific mechanisms by which strategic HR practices influence organizational outcomes. Finally, there is a clear need for future research that explicitly considers employees' perceptions of strategic HR practices and specific contextual factors in Korea, and further, that utilizes more rigorous and diverse research methods to investigate the effectiveness of strategic HR practices in Korea.

This paper examines Western multinational enterprises’ (MNEs) application of ethnocentrism in human resource management (HRM) practices utilised in their subsidiaries in Ghana. The practices examined include recruitment and selection, training and development, performance management and rewards management.

The paper draws on interviews with 13 managers and 24 employees as well as documentary analysis in 8 British, European and US MNEs in Ghana.

The findings indicate that weak institutions in the local context, coupled with the technologically and economically advanced nature of Western countries compared to Ghana, account for ethnocentric HRM practices in MNEs’ Ghanaian subsidiaries.

The paper highlights that Ghanaian companies might learn from, and adapt, selected Western HRM practices to improve their competitiveness.

Utilising institutional theory, the paper extends extant research on ethnocentrism in HRM practices of Western MNE subsidiaries in other developing economies to Ghana; one of the fastest growing African economies.