Human resource management in multinational companies

Globalisation has provoked some interesting speculation on the part of enthusiasts about a 'globalised economy' in which distinct national economies are subsumed into region-states and companies follow the same set of 'best practices', adopt a convergent model of organisation that leads to a process of homogenisation in their behaviour and a deterioration of national management models (Rowley & Benson 2002; Bartlett & Goshal 1989). On the other hand, nationalists point out that, for the time being, the world economy is still fundamentally characterised by exchanges between relatively distinct national economies, in which many outcomes, such as the competitive performance of firms and sectors, are substantially determined by processes occurring at the national level (Harzing & Noorderhaven 2009; Rowley & Benson 2002). Far from being stateless, evidence suggests that MNCs remain primarily rooted to their country-of-origin's national business system (Ferner & Quintanilla 1998). Companies are under pressure to maximise the benefits of global co-ordination, while maintaining responsiveness to differences at a local, national or regional level. As a result, MNCs are faced with a 'think global', 'act local' paradox (Harzing & Noorderhaven 2009; Rowley & Benson 2002; Smale 2008).