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8th Edition
INTERNATIONAL
HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT
Peter J. Marion Allen D.

DOWLING FESTING ENGLE, SR
INTERNATIONAL
HUMAN RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT
EIGHTH EDITION
PETER J. DOWLING
MARION FESTING
ALLEN D. ENGLE, SR
Australia • Brazil • Canada • Mexico • Singapore • United Kingdom • United States
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International Human Resource © 2023, Cengage Learning EMEA
Management, Eighth Edition
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work may be reproduced,
Peter J. Dowling, Marion Festing, transmitted, stored, distributed or used in any form or by any means,
Allen D. Engle, Sr electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the
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Print Number: 01 Print Year: 2023
BRIEF CONTENTS
Preface viii
Acknowledgments xi
About the Authors xiv
Chapter 1 Introduction1
Chapter 2 The Context of IHRM: Culture and Institutions 22
Chapter 3 The Organizational Context: Structure, Merger and Acquisition
and Global Small Business 59
Chapter 4 Global Work 105
Chapter 5 Sourcing People for Global Markets: Staffing, Recruitment and Selection 148
Chapter 6 Global Performance Management 188
Chapter 7 International Training, Development and Careers 215
Chapter 8 Global Talent Management 261
Chapter 9 Global Compensation 298
Chapter 10 IHRM Trends and Future Challenges 324
Case 1 Balancing Values: An Indian Perspective on Corporate Values from Scandinavia 342
Case 2 Quality Compliance at the Hawthorne Arms: Selection Issues 352
Case 3 Strategic Forecasts and Staffing Formulation: Executive and Managerial
Planning for Bosch, Kazakhstan 355
Case 4 Just Another Move to China? The Impact of International Assignments
on Expatriate Families 363
Case 5 Finding the Right View: Developing Local Talent in Local Markets370
Case 6 Challenges to Global Training and Development: Spanning the Globe 377
Case 7 Keeping Global Talent Local: The Challenges of Retaining Global Talent
in a Multinational Company’s Subsidiaries 383
Case 8 Local and International? Managing Complex Employment Expectations 388
Case 9 Redesigning a Global Mobility Policy: Developing Expatriate Compensation
Options for a German Mid-Sized Company 395
Case 10 Wolfgang’s Balancing Act: Rewarding Healthcare Executives in a Dispersed
Yet Integrated Firm 408
Glossary419
Index429
iii
CONTENTS
Prefaceviii
Acknowledgmentsxi
About the Authors xiv
Chapter 1 Introduction1
Chapter Objectives 1
Scope of the Book – Approaches to IHRM 2
Defining IHRM and Global Work 2
Differences between Domestic and International HRM 5
Variables that Moderate Differences between Domestic and International HRM 9
The Cultural Environment 10
Industry Type 12
Extent of Reliance of the Multinational on its Home-Country Domestic Market 13
Attitudes of Senior Management to International Operations 14
Applying a Strategic View of IHRM 14
Summary17
Discussion Questions 18
Further Reading 18
Notes and References 18
Chapter 2 The Context of IHRM: Culture and Institutions 22

Introduction to the Context of IHRM 23
Introduction to the Cultural Context 23
Value Considerations across Cultures 27
Beyond Values – Other Influential Approaches to Conceptualizing Culture 42
The Development of Cultures and Cultural Research 45
Introduction to the Institutional Context of IHRM 46
Summary49
Further Reading 50
iv
CONTENTS v
Chapter 3 The Organizational Context: Structure, Merger and Acquisition and Global Small Business 59
Introduction60
Standardization and Localization of HRM Practices 61
Factors Driving Standardization 63
Factors Driving Localization 63
The Path to Global Status 67
Control Mechanisms 76
Cross-Border Alliances 80
Cross-Border Mergers and Acquisitions 81
International Equity Joint Ventures 85
International SMEs 88
Summary93
Further Reading 95
Chapter 4 Global Work 105

Introduction106
Global Work in the Twenty-First Century 106
Expatriation and IHRM Support 112
Other Forms of Global Work and IHRM 125
Migration and IHRM 129
Challenges for the Future of Global Work and IHRM 132
Summary137
Further Reading 138
Chapter 5 Sourcing People for Global Markets: Staffing, Recruitment and Selection 148
Approaches to Global Staffing 149
Recruitment and Selection of International Managers 157
Selection Criteria 161
Expatriate Selection Processes 168
Dual Career Couples and Female Assignees 173
Summary179
Further Reading 180
vi CONTENTS
Chapter 6 Global Performance Management 188

Introduction189
Multinational Performance Management 190
Control and Performance Management 192
Performance Management of International Employees 193
Performance Appraisal of International Employees 200
Strategic Links: From Individual Performance Review to Strategic Assessment
and MNE Redirection 206
Summary208
Further Reading 209
Chapter 7 International Training, Development and Careers 215

Introduction216
Components of Effective Pre-Departure Training Programs 218
The Effectiveness of Pre-Departure Training 224
Developing Staff Through International Assignments 225
Trends in International Training and Development 232
Re-Entry and Career Issues 233
The Repatriation Process 234
Individual Reactions to Re-Entry 237
Responses by the MNE 242
Designing a Repatriation Program 248
Summary250
Further Reading 252
Chapter 8 Global Talent Management 261

Introduction to the Global Talent Management 262
Understanding Global Talent 263
Global Talent Management Approaches 265
Global Talent Management Practices 268
Drivers and Balance of Global Talent Management 272
Outcomes of Global Talent Management 274
Global Talent Management in Different National and Cultural Settings 275
Excursus: Macro Talent Management 280
Global Talent Management Challenges 281
Summary284
Further Reading 285
CONTENTS vii
Chapter 9 Global Compensation 298

Introduction299
Key Components of a Global Compensation Program for Expatriates 300
Approaches to Global Compensation of Expatriates 305
Tentative Conclusions: Patterns in Complexity, Challenges and Choices 316
Summary318
Further Reading 319
Chapter 10 IHRM Trends and Future Challenges 324

Introduction325
Threads to IHRM 334
Summary and Concluding Remarks 334
Further Reading 336
Case 1 Balancing Values: An Indian Perspective on Corporate Values from Scandinavia 342
Case 2 Quality Compliance at the Hawthorne Arms: Selection Issues 352
Case 3 Strategic Forecasts and Staffing Formulation: Executive and Managerial Planning
for Bosch, Kazakhstan 355
Case 4 Just Another Move to China? The Impact of International Assignments on
Expatriate Families 363
Case 5 Finding the Right View: Developing Local Talent in Local Markets 370
Case 6 Challenges to Global Training and Development: Spanning the Globe 377
Case 7 Keeping Global Talent Local: The Challenges of Retaining Global Talent in
a Multinational Company’s Subsidiaries 383
Case 8 Local and International? Managing Complex Employment Expectations 388
Case 9 Redesigning a Global Mobility Policy: Developing Expatriate Compensation
Options for a German Mid-Sized Company 395
Case 10 Wolfgang’s Balancing Act: Rewarding Healthcare Executives in a Dispersed
Yet Integrated Firm 408
Glossary419
Index429
PREFACE
During the writing of the Eighth Edition, the world has changed tremendously. The COVID-19 pandemic
has hit us in a somewhat unexpected way. It has not only influenced the ways we work but also the ways
of organizing cross-border interactions and thus of International Human Resource Management (IHRM).
Lockdowns and travel bans have limited global mobility to a large extent and topics such as resilience of
global workers, risk management and health and safety programs have gained importance. While digital
collaboration opportunities have emerged and been strengthened, implications for the way we do global
work, selection, training, performance management, careers, as well as compensation need to be discussed,
when IHRM is concerned.1 At the same time, global uncertainty has increased further in the context of
the war between Russia and the Ukraine. The number of refugees from this region has increased and
migration is emphasized. Travel bans have limited global mobility further, and as many countries have
imposed sanctions against Russia for the Ukraine invasion, discontinuities in global supply chains and
the withdrawal of investments in Russia have led to important disruptions in global trade with strong
implications also for international (human resource) management.2 These two major events combined
with already existing disruptions often due to digital transformation and remote work, the scarcity of
talent intensified by the Great Resignation, an increased focus on individuality, human needs and purpose,
skilling and reskilling needs, a stronger focus on sustainability, inclusivity and accountability3 describe the
context of the world of global business we are looking at today.
This is not only very different than it was in 1990 when the first edition of this text was introduced but
also very different from the time when we finalized the Seventh Edition of this textbook in 2017. Our task
remains to capture key human issues, those complexities, challenges and choices faced by individuals and
organizations engaged in global business and exchange. This world remains as compelling and critical as it
was some 33 years ago.
These changes in our environment and emerging topics have prompted significant changes to the Eighth
Edition of our IHRM textbook. The updated content is particularly evident in the new chapters introduced
in this edition. However, in addition to this new content, we explicitly take account of the fact that this is a
textbook and provides a variety of opportunities that teachers can use for the didactical design of courses
(recommendation of a serious game, shorter ‘IHRM in Action Cases’ and longer Case Studies with basic
and more advanced/demanding questions tailored to the needs of undergraduate or graduate students).
The most important changes are described in the following section.
CHAPTERS
While all chapters have been updated, especially with respect to megatrends, new insights and emerging new
topics, we have introduced three new chapters in this edition and unfortunately – for reasons of space – had to
drop the chapter on International Industrial Relations. The changes are described in detail as follows.
We have thoroughly reworked Chapter 2: The Context of IHRM – Culture and Institutions. While
we still refer to the seminal work of Hofstede and the GLOBE studies focusing on identifying national
viii
PREFACE ix
differences in values, we have now integrated more recent cultural insights, acknowledging that the country
level might not represent the only and most appropriate unit of analysis for cross-cultural and international
HR management. For example, we outline concepts such as cultural archetypes (differentiating between
culturally distinct groups within countries as well as culturally similar groups between countries) or
polyculturalism indicating that individuals are not only shaped by one single culture but that they engage
partially and plurally with cultures. Thus, we further differentiate the cultural insights and also add insights
about the institutional environments as important context variables for IHRM. The enhanced cultural
understanding is also well reflected in the serious game ‘Moving Tomorrow – an Intercultural Journey’,
which can be used as a training tool for the cultural context of IHRM (https://cim.escp-business-school.de/
learning/moving-tomorrow/).
Chapter 4: Global Work is a completely new chapter which takes into account the increased variety
in global work. While for a long time we have focused on traditional expatriate assignments, we now
include various types of global work (corporate long-term expatriates, short-term assignees, flexpatriates,
self-initiated expatriates, international business travelers, international commuters, global virtual team
members, global domestics), the various status levels associated with them, and discuss the IHRM
implications of assigned and non-assigned expatriation processes. We have also added a section on the
specific situation of migrants and HRM. At the end of this chapter, we take the opportunity to discuss the
future of global work by looking at some major influences, including the global COVID-19 pandemic,
sustainability, generational challenges, digitalization, and diversity and inclusion.
Chapter 8: Global Talent Management is also a completely new chapter, because of the importance
of talent management in multinational enterprises due to the global scarcity of talent, which is further
intensified by the Great Resignation (employees resigning voluntarily from their jobs). Further, to date, the
number of concepts addressing this topic allows for a complete chapter on this topic. After an introduction
to talent management and understanding talent in general, we outline approaches to global talent
management (GTM), describe global talent attraction, development and retention practices and discuss
possible outcomes and KPIs for global talent management. By introducing the concept of Macro Talent
Management and giving examples about important features of talent management in selected countries
such as China, Russia and the Middle East, we show how the country context matters for the design of
talent management practices. Also in this chapter we take the opportunity of outlining some important
challenges faced by GTM. These include talent analytics, diversity and the management of virtual talents.
IHRM IN ACTION CASES

The IHRM in Action Cases are small cases which support an interactive way of teaching within courses
and should help students grasp the principles and models in the chapter and better apply these ideas to a
range of settings or contexts. Several of these have been newly introduced, suggest specific study questions
or have been significantly updated. In the following we present a few highlights of new ‘IHRM in Action
Cases’ included in this edition:
● IHRM in Action Case 2.6 ‘A witch hunt in Taiwan’ addresses phenomena of the COVID-19 pandemic in a
particular cultural context.
● IHRM in Action Case 4.1 ‘Beyond expatriation – hidden dreams for a better life’ addresses an example of the
specific situation of lower status expatriates in the UAE.
● IHRM in Action Case 5.1 ‘Local embeddedness of personnel selection – the impact of informal networks
in Lebanon’ introduces the notion of a sometimes overlooked factor in international selection – informal
networks, often found in Arabic countries, but with similar phenomena that can also be found in other parts
of the world. Examples from South Korea, Japan and other countries are outlined in an excursus entitled,
‘Informal Networks’.
● IHRM in Action Case 5.2 ‘Intercultural Assessment Center roleplay’, which helps to develop an understanding
of how intercultural competence can be assessed.
x PREFACE
● IHRM in Action Case 7.1 ‘Expatriate coaching – a hidden gem for expatriate success’ illustrates the topic of
expatriate coaching and provides insights and individual case-based training opportunities.
● IHRM in ACTION CASE 8.1 ‘The talent drain – emerging-market challenges facing a GTM program’ focuses
on the opportunities and challenges of doing global talent management in an emerging market.
CASES
All cases have been updated for the new edition and further insights and recommended references have
been added to indicate the possibility of using the cases for various purposes and on various levels. As for
the ‘IHRM in Action Cases’, in the following we present a few highlights of the three new cases included
in this edition:
● Case 6 ‘Challenges to Global Training and Development: Spanning the Globe’. While this case addresses
classic training and development issues it can also be used to discuss staffing strategies and focus on
psychological contracts from an IHRM perspective.
● Case 7 ‘Keeping Global Talent Local: The Challenges of Retaining Global Talent in a Multinational Company’s
Subsidiaries’ takes a focus on Eastern European subsidiaries and their attractiveness for global talent. For an
advanced discussion, a strategic focus can be used following arguments set out by the resource-based view
of the firm or social identity issues, and their consequences can be discussed in the context of global talent
management.
● Case 9 ‘Redesigning a Global Mobility Policy: Developing Expatriate Compensation Options for a German
Mid-Sized Company’ provides encompassing real data that support decisions about global mobility. Advanced
discussions can include equity considerations within the multinational enterprise.
The ten in-depth cases at the end of the text have been written by the co-authors or solicited from
global experts to provide a range of in-depth applications for all of the major functional areas of IHRM.
Extensive teaching notes are provided for adopters of the text. Long-time users of the text will find a more
systematic and extensive set of cases, but hopefully our loyal adopters will still find some of their favorite
cases remain as well. Our feedback on these end-of-text cases was outstandingly positive in the previous
editions and we feel this new edition builds on that strength.
As in previous editions, the challenge of this Eighth Edition has been to organize the complexities
particular to HRM activities in MNEs in such a way that provides teachers (of both undergraduate and
graduate students) real choice as to how they will present the material. We have tried to find a balance
that is meaningful and appropriate to the varying cultures represented by potential adopters and readers,
and across educational traditions, institutions and forms, while accurately capturing the compelling
realities facing HRM professionals in MNEs. As always, we welcome your comments and suggestions for
improvement in this task.
The author team remains an excellent example of collaborative work (across a significant number of time
zones) in the particularly disruptive period of the twenty-first century with tri-continental representation
from Asia Pacific, Europe and North America.
ENDNOTES
1. Caligiuri, P., De Cieri, H., Minbaeva, D., Verbeke, A., & against-ukraine-abridged-version-6224dc77/, retrieved
Zimmermann, A. (2020). International HRM insights for on 26 August 2022.
navigating the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for 3. www.kornferry.com/content/dam/kornferry-v2/
future research and practice. Journal of International featured-topics/pdf/FOW_TrendsReport_2022.pdf,
Business Studies, 51(5), 697–713. retrieved on 16 August 2022.
2. www.oecd.org/ukraine-hub/policy-responses/
international-investment-implications-of-russia-s-war-
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First, we would like to thank the scores of academics and practitioners who have come up to us at
conferences and workshops, as well as communicated by emails sent over the last four years, sharing with
us their comments and suggestions. Many of the improvements to this new edition of the book outlined
above are the direct result of these conversations. The tricky task of balancing the need for continuity
and meeting expectations for an enduring and highly successful title with the need to update and revise
materials in what is still a very young and dynamic academic area of study is made easier by the support
of our peers and colleagues around the world. We thank you for your patience, ongoing interest in and
commitment to our book.
As with previous editions, we have received a great deal of assistance from numerous colleagues in
various educational institutions and organizations across the globe. Particular thanks go to the following
colleagues for their assistance with this edition of the book:
Ruth Alas; Estonian Business School
John Boudreau; University of Southern California
Helen De Cieri; Monash University
Barry Gerhart; University of Wisconsin-Madison
Sven Horak; St. Johns University
Wolfgang Mayrhofer; Vienna University of Economics and Business
Mark Mendenhall; University of Tennessee-Chattanooga
Maral Muratbekova-Touron; ESCP Business School Paris Campus
Molly Pepper; Gonzaga University
József Poór; University János Selye, Komárno
Susanne Royer; University of Flensburg
Hugh Scullion; University of Hull
Günter Stahl; Vienna University of Economics and Business
Shuming Zhao; Nanjing University
Cherrie Zhu; Monash University
Particular thanks go to Maike Andresen, Domitille Bonneton, Stephanie-Eva Dietz, Gabi Dorner, Claudia
Fischer, Manfred Froehlecke, Martine Cardel Gertsen, Sina Kraus, Yvonne McNulty, Ihar Sahakiants and
Mette Zølner for their case contributions. For the contributions of the IHRM in Action Cases we would
like to thank Dana Abeouva, Judith Eidems, Washika Haak-Saheem, Alisa Hankache, Sina Kraus, Maral
Muratbekova-Touron and Tobias Schumacher.
xi
xii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We also gratefully acknowledge the support of the following institutions:
LA TROBE UNIVERSITY
Peter Dowling, Professor Emeritus at La Trobe, thanks Tim Majoribanks, Associate Head of the School
of Business and his HRM and International Business colleagues for providing a supportive academic
environment.
ESCP BUSINESS SCHOOL, BERLIN CAMPUS

Marion Festing thanks the Dean of ESCP Business School, Professor Frank Bournois and her colleagues
for providing a supportive environment for writing and research. Special thanks go to the team of the
Chair of Human Resource Management and Intercultural Leadership for outstanding support: Michael
Volk for organizing the whole complex process of creating a textbook with so many parties involved
and Agnès Cretté for her dedicated patient and persistent work on establishing and managing our new
Endnote System; Sina Kraus for providing general feedback and support, contributing her knowledge
on international HRM especially to Chapter 4 (Global Work), IHRM in Action Cases and the newly
designed Case Spanning the Globe; Tobias Schumacher for contributing his knowledge on the intercultural
context especially to Chapter 2 (The Context of IHRM) and IHRM in Action Cases; Katharina Salmen
for contributing her knowledge on talent management to the new Global Talent Management chapter;
and Lynn Schäfer for providing valuable feedback on the new Global Talent Management chapter. Further,
I would like to thank the other (partly former) team members Alexandra Ballnat, Linda Baulecke and
Maximilian Tallgauer for their team spirit, input and support.
EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

Allen Engle thanks the EKU Foundation Board, as well as Lana Carnes, the now retired Chair of the now
defunct Department of Management, Marketing and International Business in the College of Business for
their ongoing financial support of research and travel. He would also like to acknowledge the longstanding
technical and creative help of Ron Yoder and Florencia Tosiani.
The assistance from staff at Cengage Learning UK has been greatly appreciated. In particular, we thank
Virginia Thorp for her ongoing assistance and advice with this edition and for all of her work on the
production of the book.
The Publisher would like to thank the following academics who supplied feedback on this and the
previous edition:
Francois Bester; Canadian University in Dubai
Alan Burton-Jones; Bond University
Thomas Degener; University of Kassel
Etieno Enang; Coventry University
Elaine Farndale; Penn State University
Anne-Marie Francesco; Hong Kong Baptist University
Amlan Haque; CQ University
Robert Kase; Ljubljana University
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xiii
Jay Leighton; Curtin University of Technology
Nancy Long; San Jose State University
Peter Mclean; University of Wollongong NSW
Hossein Mohammedi; Curtin University
Gabriele Murry; AmbergWeiden Fachhochschule
Rosmini Omar; University Teknologi Malaysia
Bernard Wach; Bielefeld Fachhochschule
Mark Williams; University of Surrey
Rachel Williams; Cardiff University
Finally, our personal thanks to the following individuals for their understanding, support and
encouragement throughout the process of completing this Eighth Edition:
Fiona Dowling
Christian Daubenspeck, Janik and Annika
Elizabeth Hoffman Engle, Kathryn, Caroline and Allen Engle

Peter J. Dowling,
Melbourne
Marion Festing,
Berlin
Allen D. Engle, Sr.,
Richmond, Kentucky
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
(PhD, PETER J. DOWLING

Flinders University) is Professor Emeritus of
International Management and Strategy at
La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
Previous academic appointments include the
University of Melbourne, Monash University,
the University of Tasmania and Victoria
University of Wellington. He has also held
visiting appointments in the US at Cornell
University and Michigan State University and
in Germany at the University of Paderborn
and the University of Bayreuth. He has
co-authored a number of books including
Strategic Management: Competitiveness and
Globalization (Pacific Rim, 3rd ed.) and Human Resource Management in Australia (2nd ed.) and written
or co-authored over 70 journal articles and book chapters. He was Founding Editor of Asia Pacific Journal
of Human Resources (1987–1996); one of three Editors-in-Chief of The International Journal of Human
Resource Management (2012–2015); and serves on the editorial boards of Asia Pacific Journal of Human
Resources; International Studies of Management & Organization; Management International Review;
Thunderbird International; and ZfP-German Journal of Human Resource Research.
Peter is a Life Fellow of the Australian Human Resources Institute and a Life Fellow of the Australian
and New Zealand Academy of Management. Former roles include past President of the Australia and New
Zealand International Business Academy, past President of the Australian and New Zealand Academy of
Management and past President of the International Federation of Scholarly Associations of Management.
Marion Festing (PhD) is Professor of Human Resource Management and Intercultural Leadership
at ESCP Business School’s Berlin campus. Previous appointments include the University of Paderborn,
Germany. Further, Marion gained educational, research and work experience in many countries of the
world including various European countries, especially France, Australia, the US, several Asian countries
and Tunisia. She has contributed to ESCP’s development in recent years as the Rector/Dean of the
Berlin campus, the former Associate Dean for Research of ESCP and the holder of the Renault Chair of
Intercultural Management. Marion founded ESCP’s Talent Management Institute (TMI) and the Excellence
Centre for Intercultural Management, Diversity and Inclusion (CIMDI), which both link academic and
practitioner communities by creating new knowledge and building platforms for networking and exchange.
In terms of teaching innovations, she has established ESCP’s Female Leadership Program, contributed to a
MOOC on Intercultural Management and co-developed the award-winning Serious Game Series Moving
Tomorrow – A Cultural Journey.
xiv
ABOUT THE AUTHORS xv
Marion’s research interests include International Human Resource Management and talent
management in various institutional and cultural contexts as well as a specific focus on diversity and
inclusion. She has co-authored and edited a number of books, including a monograph on Strategic
International Human Resource Management (Strategisches Internationales Personalmanagement, 2nd ed.)
and a co-authored text on International Human Resource Management in German (Internationales
Personalmanagement, 3rd ed.). Marion has also written or co-authored over 100 book chapters and
journal articles and published in international journals such as Academy of Management Perspectives,
Human Resource Management, Human Resource Management Review, The International Journal of
Human Resource Management, Journal of World Business, Thunderbird International Business Review,
Journal of Global Mobility, Economic and Industrial Demography, European Management Journal,
European Management Review, European Journal of International Management, Journal of Personnel
Psychology, German Journal of Human Resource Management, Journal for East European Management
Studies and International Journal of Globalization and Small Business. As Co-Editor-in-Chief, Marion
has also contributed to the internationalization of the German Journal of Human Resource Management.
Currently, she serves as the chairperson of the section ‘Human Resource Management’ (Kommission
Personal) in the The German Academic Association of Business Research (VHB). She is also the German
ambassador of the HR-Division of the Academy of Management and is involved in many academic
organizations.
ALLEN D. ENGLE, SR. (DBA, University of Kentucky) is a Professor of Management

in the College of Business and Foundation Professor at Eastern Kentucky University. For three years
he was the Harold Glenn Campbell Endowed Chair in International Business. He was a national and
regional professional member of World at Work (formerly the American Compensation Association)
and of the Society for Human Resource Management, and a long-time member of the US Academy of
Management and the Academy of International Business. While at Eastern, he has taught courses in
management (undergraduate and graduate), a number of areas within human resource administration,
organizational behavior, organizational theory and international management (undergraduate and
graduate). For nine years he held an appointment as Visiting Professor at ESCP Europe in Berlin. For
three years he was Visiting Instructor of International Human Resource Management at the Department
of Human Resources and Organization at the FH Wien der WKW, the University of Applied Sciences for
Management and Communication, Vienna, Austria. He has been Visiting Lecturer at the FHS Hochschule
für Technik, Wirtschaft und Soziale Arbeit, St. Gallen in Switzerland and Visiting Professor of International
Management at the University of Pécs in Hungary. Allen is a founding member of the Central and Eastern
European International Research Team (CEEIRT).
His research interests are in the topic areas of compensation theory and practices, global performance
management, leadership and organizational change, job analysis, managerial competencies and organizational
design, particularly as they impact on multinational firms. He has published in regional, national and
international academic journals, presenting academic papers on many of the topic areas presented above at
conferences in the US, Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, H
ungary, Ireland, Italy,
Japan, Poland, Slovenia, Spain and the UK. Allen has consulted for regional firms and p resented professional
seminars in the areas of performance-appraisal systems, executive team building, strategically responsive
compensation systems, intercultural management issues and organizational change.
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CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
In this introductory chapter, we establish the scope of the book. We:
● define key terms in international human resource management (IHRM) and consider several
definitions of IHRM.
● introduce the significant issue of expatriate assignment management and review the evolution of
these assignments to reflect the increasing diversity with regard to what constitutes international
work and the type and length of international assignments.
● outline the differences between domestic and international human resource management and
detail a model that summarizes the variables that moderate these differences.
● present the complexity of IHRM, the increasing potential for challenges to existing IHRM practices
and current models and the increasing awareness of a wide number of choices within IHRM
practices due to increased transparency and faster and more detailed diffusion of these practices
across organizational units and firms.
2 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
SCOPE OF THE BOOK – APPROACHES TO IHRM

The field of IHRM has been characterized by three broad approaches, which all have different
implications for the main perspectives taken to understand IHRM.1
● The first approach emphasizes cross-cultural management and HRM, examining human
behavior and people management within organizations from a cultural perspective.2
● A second approach developed from the comparative industrial relations and HRM literature and
seeks to describe, compare and analyze HRM systems in various countries. Thus, we speak
about comparative HRM.3
● A third approach seeks to focus on aspects of HRM in multinational firms.4 This is concerned
with all activities that emerge in the cross-border management of people.
In this textbook, we mainly take the third approach and focus on HRM in the multinational
enterprise, but also consider the impact of the cultural context and some insights into
comparative HRM. Our objective is to explore the implications that the process and challenges
of internationalization have for the activities and policies of HRM. The three approaches
are depicted in Figure 1.1 with a clear emphasis on how HRM is practiced in multinational
enterprises.
FIGURE 1.1 IHRM approaches and their interrelationships
IHRM in the Comparative

Cross-cultural
a multinational b HR and IR
management
context systems
As Figure 1.1 demonstrates, there is an inevitable overlap between the three approaches
when one is attempting to provide an accurate view of the global realities of operating in the
international business environment. Obviously, cross-cultural management issues are important
when dealing with the cultural aspects of cross-border operations. Some of these aspects will
be taken up in Chapter 2, where we deal with the cultural context of HRM, especially when
comparing the challenges of home and host country context – indicated by (a) in Figure 1.1.
The global institutional context is also explicitly addressed in Chapter 2, and insights drawing
on literature from comparative HRM, which are often explained by the institutional context,
are integrated in all chapters focusing on IHRM practices (Chapters 4 to 9) outlining also
country-specific particularities – (b) in Figure 1.1.
While the focus of much of this book is on the established multinational enterprise (MNE) – a
firm which owns or controls business activities in more than one foreign country – we recognize
that small, internationalizing firms which are yet to reach multinational firm status, and
family-owned firms, also face IHRM issues and many of these issues are addressed in
Chapter 3.
DEFINING IHRM AND GLOBAL WORK

In the following sections we outline what is understood by IHRM and indicate the complexity
of the field. Then, related to the international dimension in HRM, we also look at the
international dimension of work and define global work. In this context, we highlight the
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 3
important role of international assignments and explain the specific features of expatriates,
who have for a long time dominated the discussion of IHRM and are – despite the increasing
variety in the field – still an important type of global work.
The three dimensions of IHRM

Before we can offer a definition of IHRM, we should first define the general field of HRM.
Typically, HRM refers to those activities undertaken by an organization to effectively utilize its
human resources (HR). These activities would include at least the following:5
● HR planning
● staffing (recruitment, selection, placement)
● performance management
● training and development
● talent management
● compensation and benefits.
The question is, of course, which activities change when HRM goes international? To answer
this question, we draw on the excellent early model developed by Morgan.6 Morgan presents
IHRM in three dimensions:
1 The broad HR activities of procurement, allocation and utilization. (These three broad activities can
be easily expanded into the six HR activities already listed.)
2 The national or country categories involved in IHRM activities:
● the host country where a subsidiary may be located
● the parent country where the firm is headquartered
● ‘other’ countries that may be the source of labor, finance and other inputs.
3 The three categories of employees of an international firm:
● host-country nationals (HCNs)
● parent-country nationals (PCNs)
● third-country nationals (TCNs).
In order to illustrate the three categories of employees we take the example of the US
multinational IBM, which employs British citizens in its British operations (HCNs), often
sends US citizens (PCNs) to Asia-Pacific countries on assignment and may send some of its
Singaporean employees on an assignment to its Chinese operations (as TCNs). The nationality of
the employee is a major factor in determining the person’s ‘category’, which in turn is frequently
a major driver of the employee’s employment contract, determining the compensation package
and the extent of further support measures in case of international assignments.
Morgan defines IHRM as the interplay among the three dimensions of human resource
activities, countries of operation and type of employees. We can see that in broad terms IHRM
involves the same activities as domestic HRM, e.g., procurement, allocation and utilization,
HR planning, staffing (recruitment, selection, placement, performance management, training
and development, talent management, and compensation and benefits). However, by definition
domestic HRM is involved with employees within only one national boundary. In practice,
increasingly, domestic HRM is taking on some of the flavor of IHRM as it deals more and
more with a multicultural workforce, partly due to immigration. Thus, some of the current
focus of domestic HRM on issues of managing workforce diversity may prove to be beneficial
to the practice of IHRM and vice versa. However, the way in which diversity is managed within
a single national, legal and cultural context may not necessarily transfer to a multinational
context without some modification.
We would like to note that we deliberately still use the term (international) human resource
management although we are aware that especially in the corporate world more and more
former HRM functions are renamed and conceptualized toward ‘People and culture’. This
reflects very much the current focus on corporate cultural and individual values7 as compared
to the formerly often dominating focus on the administration of HR. We incorporate these
more recently emerged priorities also in the various chapters of the book, but do so within the
framework of HRM practices.
Global work and the special role of expatriates

One obvious difference between domestic HRM and IHRM is that the staff concerned – besides
technical knowledge – also need to develop an international perspective. We summarize this
under the umbrella term ‘global work’, which comprises a variety of work arrangements.
Global work has become an increasingly common organizational phenomenon reflecting the
growing interconnectedness between countries and organizations worldwide,8 and it implies
that collaborating workers are embedded in and operate from different national contexts,
sometimes geographically distant from each other. As detailed in Chapter 4, we distinguish
different types of global workers: corporate long-term and short-term expatriates, flexpatriates,
self-initiated expatriates, international business travelers, international commuters, global
virtual teams members and global domestics.9 Distinctive criteria for these types of global
work include the duration, e.g., of an international assignment, whether the task is carried out
virtually or face to face, who has initiated the assignment, how many countries are involved,
and to what extent a potential family is involved.
Those persons who are moved across national boundaries into various roles within the
international firm’s foreign operations have traditionally been called ‘expatriates’. An expatriate
is an employee who is working and temporarily residing in a foreign country. Many firms
prefer to call such employees ‘international assignees’. While it is clear in the literature that
PCNs are always expatriates, it is often overlooked that TCNs are also expatriates, as are
HCNs who are transferred into parent-country operations outside their own home country.10
The latter might also be called inpatriates.11 For many managers this term has added a level of
confusion surrounding the definition of an expatriate. The (US) Society for Human Resource
Management defines an inpatriate as a ‘foreign manager in the US’. Thus, an inpatriate is also
defined as an expatriate. For clarity reasons, we use the term ‘expatriate’ throughout this text to
refer to employees who are transferred out of their home base/parent country into some other
area of the firm’s international operations. Figure 1.2 illustrates how international assignments
between the various parts of an MNE create expatriates.
The length of the international assignments can differ, with flexpatriates staying up to three
months in the foreign country, short-term expatriates who are assigned for a maximum of one
year, and long-term expatriates who live abroad for several years. Another group of expatriates
is called self-initiated expatriates. Their stay abroad has not been initiated by the firm but by
themselves. As we will outline throughout this book, the IHRM responses to these different
types of corporate international assignments are not identical. In addition, expatriates’ global
work is carried out by international business travelers; international commuters, whereby the
employee commutes between the home country and their place of work in another country;
and global virtual team members or virtual assignees who stay in their home country but are
digitally connected to employees worldwide (for further details on the different types of global
work, refer to Chapter 4).
FIGURE 1.2 International assignments create expatriates
Parent-country
HQ/operations
HCNs
HCNs National
border
PCNs
PCNs
Subsidiary TCNs Subsidiary

operations – operations –
country A country B
National
border
Stahl, Björkman and Morris have recognized this expansion in the scope of the field of IHRM in their
Handbook of Research in International Human Resource Management, where they define the field of
IHRM:
We define the field of IHRM broadly to cover all issues related to managing the global workforce and its contribution
to firm outcomes. Hence, our definition of IHRM covers a wide range of HR issues facing MNEs in different parts
of their organizations. Additionally we include comparative analyses of HRM in different countries.12
We believe that this broad definition accurately captures the expanding scope of the IHRM field and we
will use this definition in this book.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DOMESTIC

AND INTERNATIONAL HRM
In our view, the complexity of operating in different countries and employing different national categories
of workers is a key variable that differentiates domestic and international HRM, rather than any major
differences between the HRM activities performed. Dowling argues that the complexity of international
HR can be attributed to six factors when international assignments are concerned:13
1 more HR activities
2 the need for a broader perspective
3 more involvement in employees’ personal lives
4 changes in emphasis as the workforce mix of expatriates and locals varies
5 risk exposure
6 broader external influences.
Each of these factors is now discussed in detail to illustrate its characteristics.
More HR activities
To operate in an international environment, an HR department must engage in a number
of activities that would not be necessary in a domestic environment. Examples of required
international activities are:
● international taxation
● international relocation and orientation
● administrative services for expatriates
● host-government relations
● language translation services.
International taxation mainly becomes relevant when employees work in different

national contexts, such as in the case of international assignments. Thus, expatriates are
subject to international taxation, and often have both domestic (i.e., their home country) and
host-country tax liabilities. Therefore, tax equalization policies must be designed to ensure
that there is no tax incentive or disincentive associated with any particular international
assignment. 14 The administration of tax equalization policies is complicated by the wide
variations in tax laws across host countries and by the possible time lag between the completion
of an expatriate assignment and the settlement of domestic and international tax liabilities. In
recognition of these difficulties, many MNEs retain the services of a major accounting firm for
international taxation advice. This is reflected in detail in Case 9 of this book.
International relocation and orientation involves the following activities:
● arranging for pre-departure training

● providing immigration and travel details
● providing housing, shopping, medical care, recreation and schooling information
● finalizing compensation details such as delivery of salary overseas, determination of various
allowances and taxation treatment.
The issues involved when expatriates return to their home country (‘repatriation’) are covered
in detail in Chapter 7. Many of these factors may be a source of anxiety for the expatriate and
require considerable time and attention to successfully resolve potential problems – certainly
much more time than would be involved in a domestic transfer/relocation such as London to
Manchester, Frankfurt to Munich, New York to Dallas, Sydney to Melbourne or Beijing to
Shanghai.
An MNE also needs to provide administrative services for expatriates in the host countries
in which it operates. Providing these services can often be a time-consuming and complex
activity because policies and procedures are not always clear-cut and may conflict with local
conditions. Ethical questions can arise when a practice that is legal and accepted in the host
country may be at best unethical and at worst illegal in the home country. For example, a
situation may arise in which a host country requires an AIDS test for a work permit for an
employee whose parent firm is headquartered in the US, where employment-related AIDS
testing remains a controversial issue. How does the corporate HR manager deal with the
potential expatriate employee who refuses to meet this requirement for an AIDS test, and
the overseas affiliate which needs the services of a specialist expatriate from headquarters?
Another example includes vaccinations during the COVID-19 pandemic. In many countries
of the world such vaccination proof is an entry requirement. However, not all employees may
want to get vaccinated. This has implications for international travel and for the management
of international staff. These issues add to the complexity of providing administrative services
to expatriates.
Host-government relations represent another important activity for the HR department

in an MNE, particularly in developing countries where work permits and other important
certificates are often more easily obtained when a personal relationship exists between the
relevant government officials and multinational managers. Maintaining such relationships
helps resolve potential problems that can be caused by ambiguous eligibility and/or compliance
criteria for documentation such as work permits. US-based multinationals, however, must be
careful in how they deal with relevant government officials, as payment or payment-in-kind,
such as dinners and gifts, may violate the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).15
Further, provision of language translation services for internal and external official
correspondence is an additional international activity for the HR department. While to date
many digital devices are available for translations, some official documents such as diplomas
still need a formal approval of the translation. This might be organized by the international HR
department as a support function for global workers.
The need for a broader perspective

HR managers working in a domestic environment generally administer programs for a single
national group of employees who are covered by a uniform compensation policy and taxed
by one national government. Because HR managers working in an international environment
face the challenge of designing and administering programs for more than one national group
of employees (e.g., PCN, HCN and TCN employees who may work together in Zurich at the
European regional headquarters of a US-based multinational as well as other global workers),
they need to take a broader view of issues. For example, a broader, more international
perspective on expatriate benefits would endorse the view that all expatriate employees,
regardless of nationality, should receive comparable foreign service or expatriate premiums
when working in a foreign location. In this vein, it is also interesting to compare the situation of
corporate expatriates and self-initiated expatriates, who might also be working in strategically
important positions in the MNE and are often treated in different ways by their companies.16
Another issue arises when managers are on a virtual international assignment, for example
during the COVID-19 pandemic, when international travel was difficult if not impossible. In
this case, international remote work became more common and needed consideration of the
legal and regulatory complexity as well as new compensation strategies.17 In summary, complex
equity issues arise when employees of various nationalities work together. The resolution of
these issues remains one of the major challenges in the IHRM field. (Equity issues with regard
to compensation are discussed in Chapter 9.)
More involvement in employees’ personal lives

Especially in cases of international assignments, a greater degree of involvement in employees’
personal lives is necessary for the selection, training and effective management of both PCN
and TCN employees. The HR department or HR professional needs to ensure that the
expatriate employee understands housing arrangements, health care and all aspects of the
compensation package provided for the assignment (cost-of-living allowances, premiums,
taxes and so on). Many MNEs have an ‘international HRM’ section that co-ordinates
administration of these programs and provides services for PCNs and TCNs, such as
advice and information on matters relating to banking, investments, home rental while on
assignment, coordinating home visits and final repatriation. This responsibility would lie
partly with the HR staff and partly with area specialist consultant services. In the domestic
setting, the HR department’s involvement with an employee’s family is relatively limited and
may not extend beyond providing employee benefits such as health insurance coverage for
eligible family members and some assistance in relocating the employee and family members.
In the international setting, however, the HR department must be much more involved
in order to provide the level of support required and will need to know more about the
employee’s personal life. For example, some national governments require the presentation of
a marriage certificate before granting a visa for an accompanying spouse. Further, the extent
to which same-sex relationships and marriages are accepted is different in different countries.
Thus, marital status could become an aspect of the selection process, regardless of the best
intentions of the MNE to avoid using a potentially discriminatory selection criterion. In such
a situation, the HR department should advise all candidates being considered for the position
of the host country’s visa requirements with regard to marital status and allow candidates
to decide whether they wish to remain in the selection process. Especially as it has become a
goal of many international organizations to overcome barriers to global mobility for women,
people of the LGBTQ+ community, people of color and other underrepresented groups, in
order to increase diversity and inclusion,18 solutions for country-specific constraints need to
be found.
Apart from providing suitable housing and schooling in the assignment location, the HR
department may also need to assist children placed at boarding schools in the home country – a
situation that is less frequently encountered in the US but relatively common in many other
countries, particularly former British colonies such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and
New Zealand and in Europe. In more remote or less hospitable assignment locations, the HR
department may be required to develop, and even run, recreational programs. For a domestic
assignment, most of these matters either would not arise or would be seen as the responsibility
of the employee rather than the HR department. In a sense the ‘psychological contract’, i.e.,
the informal working contract, which is based on mutual expectations and obligations, is now
between the MNE and the entire immediate family of the international assignee.19
Changes in emphasis as the workforce mix varies

As foreign operations mature, the emphasis put on various HR activities changes. This is
the case if the mix of PCNs, HCNs and TCNs changes. As the need for PCNs and TCNs
declines and more trained locals become available, resources previously allocated to areas
such as expatriate taxation, relocation and orientation are transferred to activities such as
local staff selection, training and management development. The latter activity may require
the establishment of a program to bring high-potential local staff to corporate headquarters
for developmental assignments. The initial group of expatriates could also include migrants,
i.e., persons who have decided to live outside their home country for various reasons. 20
These could be sent as expatriates of host-country origin 21 into the host country. They could
facilitate the relationship between headquarters and subsidiaries because of language skills,
institutional and cultural knowledge, their readiness to accept the assignment, and rapid
adaptation to the host country. These persons could be localized in the host country after a
certain period of time if attractive career plans and or compensation packages are designed.
In summary, the need to change emphasis in HR operations as a foreign subsidiary matures
is clearly a factor that would broaden the responsibilities of local HR activities such as HR
planning, staffing, training and development, and compensation. However, if the MNE decides
to replace the assigned expatriates by another form of global work, such as virtual assignments
or international business travelers, this would then create other obligations in the headquarters’
HR department.22
Risk exposure
Frequently, the human and financial consequences of failure in the international arena are
more severe than in domestic business. For example, while we discuss the topic in more
detail in Chapter 5, expatriate failure (defined as the premature return of an expatriate from
an international assignment) and underperformance while on international assignment is

a potentially high-cost problem for MNEs. The direct costs of failure (salary, training costs,
travel costs and relocation expenses) to the parent firm may be as high as three times the
domestic salary plus relocation expenses, depending on currency exchange rates and location
of assignments. Indirect costs such as loss of foreign market share and damage to key
host-country relationships may also be considerable. However, also the human implication
should not be neglected, especially if a high-potential employee or global talent is assigned
abroad and has to cope with the experience of failure, possibly for the first time.
Other aspects of risk exposure that are relevant to IHRM are terrorism (refer to Chapter 10),
particularly since the World Trade Center attack in New York in 2001; or military conflicts,
such as the war between Russia and Ukraine in 2022 and its implications. Most major
MNEs must now consider political risk and terrorism when planning international meetings
and assignments, and spending on protection against terrorism is increasing. Terrorism has
also clearly influenced the way in which employees assess potential international assignment
locations.23 The HR department may also need to devise emergency evacuation procedures
for highly volatile assignment locations subject to political or terrorist violence, or major
epidemic or pandemic crises such as Zika virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS),
avian influenza24 and the COVID-19 pandemic. For a comprehensive analysis of the IHRM
implications of the COVID-19 pandemic refer to Calgiuri et al.25 as well as the discussions in
the various chapters of this book.
Broader external influences

The major external factors that influence IHRM are the type of government, the state of
the economy and the generally accepted practices of doing business in each of the various
host countries in which MNEs operate. A host government can, for example, dictate hiring
procedures by establishing affirmative action rules, and foreign firms have to comply with
them.
Governments also require compliance with legal regulations on issues such as labor
relations, taxation, and health and safety. These factors shape the activities of the subsidiary
HR manager to a considerable extent. In less-developed countries, labor tends to be cheaper,
less organized and government regulation is less pervasive, so these factors take less time. The
subsidiary HR manager must spend more time, however, learning and interpreting the local
ways of doing business and the general code of conduct regarding activities such as gift giving
and employment of family members. It is also likely that the subsidiary HR manager will
become more involved in administering benefits either provided or financed by the MNE, such
as housing, education and other facilities not readily available in the local economy.
VARIABLES THAT MODERATE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN

DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL HRM
Earlier in this chapter it was argued that the complexity involved in operating in different
countries and employing different national categories of employees is a key variable that
differentiates domestic and international HRM, rather than any major differences between
the HRM activities performed. Even successful firms from advanced economies with limited
experience in international business tend to significantly underestimate the complexities
involved in successful international operations – particularly in emerging economies. There
is considerable evidence to suggest that business failures in the international arena are often
linked to poor management of HR. In addition to complexity, there are four other variables
that moderate (that is, either diminish or accentuate) differences between domestic and IHRM.
These four additional moderators are:
● the cultural environment

● the industry (or industries) with which the multinational is primarily involved
● the extent of reliance of the multinational on its home-country domestic market
● the attitudes of senior management.
Together with the complexity involved in operating in different countries, these five variables
constitute a model that explains the differences between domestic and international HRM
(refer to Figure 1.3).
FIGURE 1.3 A model of the variables that moderate differences between domestic and international HRM
The industry
The cultural (or industries) within
environment which the multinational
is primarily involved
Domestic and
international
activities of the Complexity involved in
Extent of reliance of
HRM function operating in different
the multinational on
countries and employing
its home-country
different national
domestic market
categories of employees
Attitudes of
senior management
Source: Dowling, P. J. (1999). Completing the puzzle: Issues in the development of the field of international human
resource management. Management International Review, Special Issue, 3(99), 27–44, p. 31. Reproduced with kind
permission from VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
THE CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT

In Chapter 2, we cover the concept of culture in considerable detail, so our comments in this
introductory chapter are necessarily brief. There are many definitions of culture, but the term
is usually used to describe a shaping process of individuals or a group of individuals over time
by their environment. This process generates relative stability, reflecting a shared knowledge
structure that attenuates (i.e., reduces) variability in values, behavioral norms and patterns of
behavior.26 An important characteristic of culture is that it is so subtle a process that we are not
always conscious of its relationship to values, norms, attitudes and/or behaviors. You usually
have to be confronted with a different culture in order to fully appreciate this effect. Anyone
traveling abroad, either as a tourist or on business, experiences situations that demonstrate
cultural differences in language, food, dress, hygiene and attitudes to time. While the traveler
can perceive these differences as novel, even enjoyable, for people required to live and work in a
new country, reaching certain objectives in a defined period of time, such differences can prove
difficult. They may experience culture shock – a well-documented phenomenon experienced by
people who move across cultures (refer also to Chapter 5). The new environment requires many
adjustments in a relatively short period of time, challenging people’s frames of reference to such
an extent that their sense of self, especially in terms of nationality, comes into question. People,
in effect, experience a shock reaction to new cultural experiences that cause psychological
disorientation because they misunderstand or do not recognize important cues. Culture shock
can lead to negative feelings about the host country and its people and a longing to return home.27
Because international business involves the interaction and movement of people across
national boundaries, an appreciation of cultural differences and when these differences are
important is essential. Research into these aspects has assisted in furthering our understanding
of the cultural environment as an important variable that moderates differences between
domestic and IHRM. However, while cross-cultural and comparative research attempts
to explore and explain similarities and differences, there are problems associated with such
research. A major problem is that there is little agreement on either an exact definition of
culture or on the operationalization of this concept. For many researchers, culture has become
an omnibus variable, representing a range of social, historic, economic and political factors that
are invoked post hoc to explain similarity or dissimilarity in the results of a study. As Bhagat
and McQuaid have noted, “Culture has often served simply as a synonym for nation without
any further conceptual grounding. In effect, national differences found in the characteristics
of organizations or their members have been interpreted as cultural differences”.28 To reduce
these difficulties, culture needs to be defined a priori rather than post hoc and it should not
be assumed that national differences necessarily represent cultural differences. Further, recent
evidence in cross-cultural research has questioned the concept of cultural value homogeneity in
countries, i.e., that cultural values are common to the whole population of the whole country.
There is evidence that also within countries there are groups of persons who have distinct
common values and are more similar to the same professional or generational group with
another country-of-origin.29 We discuss these issues in detail in Chapter 2.
Another issue in cross-cultural research concerns the emic-etic distinction. 30 ‘Emic’ refers
to culture-specific aspects of concepts or behavior, and ‘etic’ refers to culture-common
aspects. These terms have been borrowed from linguistics: a phonemic system documents
meaningful sounds specific to a given language, and a phonetic system organizes all sounds
that have meaning in any language.31 Both the emic and etic approaches are legitimate research
orientations. A major problem may arise, however, if a researcher imposes an etic approach
(that is, assumes universality across cultures) when there is little or no evidence for doing
so. A well-known example of an imposed etic approach is the ‘convergence hypothesis’ that
dominated much of US and European management research in the 1950s and 1960s. This
approach was based on two key assumptions. 32 The first assumption was that there were
principles of sound management that held regardless of national environments. Thus, the
existence of local or national practices that deviated from these principles simply indicated a
need to change these local practices. The second assumption was that the universality of sound
management practices would lead to societies becoming more and more alike in the future.
Given that the US was the leading industrial economy at that time, the point of convergence
was the US model.
To use Kuhn’s terminology, the convergence hypothesis became an established paradigm that
many researchers found difficult to give up, despite a growing body of evidence supporting a
divergence hypothesis.33 In an important early paper that reviewed the convergence/divergence
debate, Child made the point that there is evidence for both convergence and divergence. 34
The majority of the convergence studies, however, focus on macrolevel variables (for example,
organizational structure and technology used by MNEs across cultures) and the majority of the
divergence studies focus on microlevel variables (for example, the behavior of people within
firms). His conclusion was that, although firms in different countries are becoming more alike
(an etic or convergence approach), the behavior of individuals within these firms is maintaining
its cultural specificity (an emic or divergence approach). As noted above, both emic and etic
approaches are legitimate research orientations, but methodological difficulties may arise
if the distinction between these two approaches is ignored or if unwarranted universality

assumptions are made. 35 The debate on assumptions of universality is not limited to the
literature in international management as this issue has also become a topic of debate in the
field of international relations and strategic studies where international management research
is cited.36 For an excellent review of the convergence/divergence question, refer to Brewster.37
Cultural awareness and the role of the international HR manager

Despite the methodological concerns about cross-cultural research, it is now generally
recognized that culturally insensitive attitudes and behaviors stemming from ignorance or from
misguided beliefs (‘My way is best’, or ‘What works at home will work here’) are not only
inappropriate but can all too often contribute to international business failure. Therefore, an
awareness of cultural differences is essential for the HR manager at corporate headquarters as
well as in the host location.38 Activities such as hiring, promoting, rewarding and dismissal will
be determined by the legal context and practices of the host country and are usually based on a
value system relevant to that country’s culture. A firm may decide to head up a new operation
abroad with an expatriate general manager but appoint a local national as the HR department
manager to ensure that they have a person who is familiar with the host country’s HR practices.
This particular policy approach can assist in avoiding problems but may still lead to dilemmas
for senior managers. For example, in a number of developing countries local managers are
expected (i.e., there is a perceived obligation) to employ their extended family if they are in a
position to do so. This may lead to a situation where people are hired who do not possess the
required technical competence or do not have sufficient experience. While this could be seen as
a successful example of adapting to local expectations and customs, from a Western perspective
this practice would be seen as nepotism, a negative practice which is not in the best interests
of the enterprise because the best people have not been hired for the job (for the importance of
informal networks in IHRM refer to the excursus in Chapter 8).39
Coping with cultural differences and recognizing how and when these differences are
relevant are constant challenges for international firms. Helping to prepare assignees and their
families for working and living in a new cultural environment has become a key activity for
HR departments in those MNEs that appreciate (or have been forced, through experience,
to appreciate) the impact that the cultural environment can have on staff performance and
wellbeing (refer also to Chapter 7).
INDUSTRY TYPE
Porter suggests in his seminal work that the industry (or industries if the firm is a conglomerate)
in which an MNE is involved is of considerable importance because patterns of international
competition vary widely from one industry to another. 40 At one end of the continuum of
international competition is the multidomestic industry, one in which competition in each
country is essentially independent of competition in other countries. Traditional examples
include retailing, distribution and insurance. At the other end of the continuum is the global
industry, one in which a firm’s competitive position in one country is significantly influenced
by its position in other countries. Examples include commercial aircraft and semiconductors.
The key distinction between a multidomestic industry and a global industry is described by
Porter as follows:
The global industry is not merely a collection of domestic industries but a series of linked domestic
industries in which the rivals compete against each other on a truly worldwide basis [. . .] In a
multidomestic industry, then, international strategy collapses to a series of domestic strategies. The
issues that are uniquely international revolve around how to do business abroad, how to select
good countries in which to compete (or assess country risk), and mechanisms to achieve the
one-time transfer of know-how. These are questions that are relatively well developed in the literature.
In a global industry, however, managing international activities like a portfolio will undermine the
possibility of achieving competitive advantage. In a global industry, a firm must in some way integrate
its activities on a worldwide basis to capture the linkages among countries.
The role of the HRM function in multidomestic and global industries can be analyzed
using Porter’s well-known value-chain model.41 In Porter’s model, HRM is seen as one of four
support activities for the five primary activities of the firm. Since HRM is involved in each of
the primary and support activities, the HRM function is seen as cutting across the entire value
chain of a firm. If the firm is in a multidomestic industry, the role of the HR department will
most likely be more domestic in structure and orientation. At times there may be considerable
demand for international services from the HRM function (for example, when a new plant
or office is established in a foreign location and the need for expatriate employees arises), but
these activities would not be pivotal – indeed, many of these services may be provided via
consultants and/or temporary employees. The main role for the HRM function would be to
support the primary activities of the firm in each domestic market to achieve a competitive
advantage through either cost/efficiency or product/service differentiation.
If the multinational is in a global industry, however, the ‘imperative for co-ordination’
described by Porter would require an HRM function structured to deliver the international
support required by the primary activities of the MNE. The need to develop co-ordination
raises complex problems for any multinational. Increasingly, multinationals are taking a more
strategic approach to the role of HRM and are using various kinds of global work and training
programs to assist in co-ordination of activities. We discuss these issues in more detail in
Chapter 3 and subsequent chapters of this book.
EXTENT OF RELIANCE OF THE MULTINATIONAL ON ITS

HOME-COUNTRY DOMESTIC MARKET
A pervasive but often ignored factor that influences the behavior of MNEs and resultant HR
practices is the extent of reliance of the multinational on its home-country domestic market.
When, for example, we look through lists of large firms in business magazines, it is frequently
assumed that a global market perspective would be dominant in the firm’s culture and
thinking. However, size is not the only key variable when looking at a multinational – the
extent of reliance of the multinational on its home-country domestic market may also be very
important. In fact, for many firms, a small home market is one of the key drivers for seeking
new international markets.
The US firms in the top ten multinationals ranked by global revenues (Table 1.1) are
Walmart, Amazon, Apple, CVS Health and the United Health Group. A very large domestic
market (for US firms this is in effect the United States, Mexico, Canada agreement (USMCA)
market from 2020) influences all aspects of how a multinational organizes its activities.
A large domestic market will also influence the attitudes of senior managers toward their
international activities and will generate a large number of managers with an experience base
on predominantly or even exclusively domestic market experience. Thus, multinationals from
small more advanced economies such as Switzerland (population 8 million), Ireland (5 million),
Australia (26 million) and the Netherlands (17 million), and medium-sized more advanced
economies such as Canada (38 million), the UK (67 million) and France (65 million) are in a
quite different position compared to multinationals based in the US, which is the largest of the
more advanced economies in the Western world with a population of 324 million. A similar
point has been made by Van Den Bulke and his colleagues in their study of the role of small
nations in the global economy.42 As already noted, US multinationals also enjoy the advantage
of a dominant position in the large USMCA market. In terms of large domestic markets, it is
also important to look at China (1,426 million) and India (1,417 million). China is represented
with three Chinese firms in the top 10 of the Fortune 500.
TABLE 1.1 Fortune 2021 Global 500 Top 10 ranked by US$ millions in revenues
1. Walmart (US) $559,151
2. State Grid (China) $386,612
3. Amazon (US) $386,064
4. China National Petroleum (China) $283,957
5. Sinopec Group (China) $294,344
6. Apple (US) $274,515
7. CVS Health (US) $268,706
8. UnitedHealth Group (US) $257,141
9. Toyota Motor (Japan) $256,721
10. Volkswagen (Germany) $253,965
Source: Fortune.com, accessed 30 July 2022.
ATTITUDES OF SENIOR MANAGEMENT TO

INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS
A final variable that may moderate differences between international and domestic HRM
is the attitude of senior management to international operations.43 It is likely that, if senior
management does not have a strong international orientation, the importance of international
operations may be underemphasized (or possibly even ignored) in terms of corporate goals and
objectives. In such situations, managers may tend to focus on domestic issues and minimize
differences between international and domestic environments.
Not surprisingly, senior managers with little international experience may assume that
there is a great deal of transferability between domestic and international HRM practices.
This failure to recognize differences in managing HR in foreign environments – regardless
of whether it is because of ethnocentrism, inadequate information or a lack of international
perspective – frequently results in major difficulties in international operations. The challenge
for the corporate HR manager who wishes to contribute to the internationalization of their firm
is to work with top management in fostering the desired ‘global mindset’. This goal requires,
of course, an HR manager who is able to think globally and to formulate and implement HR
policies that facilitate the development of globally oriented staff.44
APPLYING A STRATEGIC VIEW OF IHRM

Our discussion up to this point has suggested that a broader or more strategic view of IHRM
is required to better explain the complexity and challenges of managing IHRM issues. An
example of a theoretical framework that has been derived from a strategic approach using
a multiple methodological approach is that of De Cieri and Dowling.45 Their framework is

depicted in Figure 1.4 and assumes that MNEs operate in the context of worldwide conditions,
including the influences of industry (global or multidomestic) and regional, national and local
markets that include geopolitical, legal, socio-cultural and economic characteristics.
FIGURE 1.4 A framework of SHRM in MNEs
External Factors
• PESTLE
• Organizational links with other
MNEs and with national
governments
• Asymmetric events
• Environmental dynamics HR Function
MNE Performance
• Global corporate HR role
• Financial performance
• HR practices
• Social performance
Organizational Factors • Crisis management and
• Enterprise resilience
co-ordination
• MNE balance of global integration
and local responsiveness
• MNE structure
• Firm size and maturity
• MNE strategy
• Corporate governance
• Headquarters’ international
orientation
• MNE culture
Source: De Cieri, H., & Dowling, P. (2012). Strategic human resource management in multinational enterprises:
Developments and directions. In Stahl, G., Björkman, I., & Morris, S. (Eds.), Handbook of research in international
human resource management. (2nd ed., pp. 13–35). Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. Reproduced with permission
from Helen De Cieri and Peter J. Dowling.
In strategic management practice, the acronym ‘PEST’, which represents the political,
economic, sociological and technological acronym and analytical tool, has often been used to
describe the macroenvironmental factors that may influence MNEs. Recent additions to this
set of factors include legal and environmental/ecological elements (PESTLE). Although this
analytical tool is popular in consulting and management practice, it appears to have received
little academic research attention or usage.46 De Cieri and Dowling suggest that exploration
and adoption of the PESTLE acronym in academic work would help to bring research and
practitioner approaches closer together. They propose that external factors have a direct
influence on both internal/organization factors and strategic human resource management
(SHRM) strategy and practices, and that external factors have a direct influence on MNE
performance. A large body of research has explored these relationships; of particular note is the
CRANET Research Network that originated in western Europe and has now expanded on a
global scale with 50 countries represented.47
Other external factors include organizational links with other MNEs and national
governments, asymmetric events and environmental dynamics. Organizational networks
and alliances may be complex relationship webs based upon personal relationships and may
include parent-country managers and employees, host-country managers and employees, and
host-country governments. Central to network management is an emphasis on HR that
recognizes that knowledge, power and perceived trustworthiness are often person-specific
rather than organization-specific.
In the twenty-first century, the context for international business also reflects heightened
concerns about security, risk and volatility in global markets. In particular, terrorism has been
identified by several international business scholars as an important concern.48 In relatively

common usage since the unexpected terrorist attacks in New York in September 2001,
asymmetric events have been described by Gray as threats that our political, strategic and
military cultures regard as unusual.49 In terms of trying to define asymmetric events, Gray notes
that they tend to be:
● unmatched in our arsenal of capabilities and plans – such events may or may not appear truly
dangerous, but they will certainly look different from war as we have known it
● highly leveraged against our particular assets – military and, probably more often, civil
● designed not only to secure leverage against our assets but also intended to work around, offset
and negate what in other contexts are our strengths
● difficult to respond to in a discriminate and proportionate manner.
Thus, asymmetric events are not only difficult to deal with when they occur, they are difficult
to plan for, recognize and respond to with specific planning processes and training. 50 The
COVID-19 event can be regarded as a similar event. Reactions by IHRM practitioners to these
kinds of events are outlined in the various chapters of this book.51 The influence of external
factors on MNEs involves complex environmental dynamics. As Andreadis has noted, MNEs
operate in a dynamic environment and that environment should be taken into consideration
when evaluating organizational effectiveness.52
Organizational (or ‘internal’) factors have been a major focus of international business and
SHRM research because these factors are suggested to hold implications not only for areas
such as HRM but also for overall MNE performance. The first organizational factor listed in
Figure 1.4 is MNE balance of global integration and local responsiveness. The act of balancing
global integration and local responsiveness refers to the extent to which MNEs can maximize
local responsiveness and also integrate units into a cohesive, global organization. To achieve this
balance is no easy task because, as Morris et al. have noted, replication of HR practices across
subsidiaries may be difficult due to the influences of external factors in the local context.53 With
regard to MNE structure, the organizational structure literature has shown the importance not
only of the structure of international operations54 but also of mechanisms of co-ordination and
mode of entry into foreign markets for HRM in MNEs.55
With regard to firm size and maturity, for both the MNE overall and for each subsidiary,
the size and maturity of the organization (or unit) may influence decisions with respect to
HRM. For example, staffing decisions and demand for HR practices such as training will be
influenced by the skill and experience mix within the firm and/or subsidiary.56 In terms of MNE
strategy, as has been well documented, organizational strategy in the MNE has substantial
implications for HRM in MNEs.57 Issues related to corporate governance and incorporation
of ethical principles and values into international business practice have become increasingly
important for MNE managers, particularly in light of cases of corporate wrongdoing.58 HR
managers may be required to play important roles in corporate governance, such as the design,
implementation and maintenance of corporate codes of conduct.
Following on from the pioneering work of Perlmutter (refer to Chapter 5), the organizational
factor headquarters’ international orientation recognizes that international orientation of the
MNE’s headquarters will involve aspects such as the extent and diversity of experience in
managing international operations.59 These elements are well established as important factors
for HRM in MNEs, as is the factor organizational culture, which is defined by Kidger as the
“sense of common identity and purpose across the whole organization”, 60 and is the final
organizational factor included in the framework. For MNEs seeking a high level of global
integration, this factor may facilitate the development of a global mindset and enhance firm
performance. 61 Overall, the model offered by De Cieri and Dowling aims to assist in the
cross-fertilization of ideas to further develop theory and empirical research in strategic HRM
in multinational firms.
Environmental complexity, MNEs and IHRM

As the field of IHRM develops in tandem with the inevitable changes in the pace and nature of
global economic activity, complexity in environments, interactions, co-ordination and activities
grows. Environmental complexity makes necessary significant changes in how organizations
operate and the nature of work itself. It is the task of IHRM to organize these complex issues.
Systems are designed and implemented to:
● Identify the work that must be done.

● Determine the talents, skills and experiences necessary to do the work.
● Create training and development activities and reward systems to enable and reenforce the
work.
● Assess and acknowledge performance and goals attained.
The discussion in Chapter 1 has highlighted the domain of IHRM, investigated some of
the complexities involved and (in Figure 1.1) presented an initial overview of the remaining
chapters of this book. The goal was to define the domain and present a series of issues and a
context for subsequent chapters. We will revisit this framework model in Chapter 10.
SUMMARY
The purpose of this chapter has been to provide an overview of the emerging field of IHRM.
We did this by:
● Defining key terms in IHRM and considering several definitions of IHRM, concluding that the
complexity involved in operating in different countries and employing different national categories
of employees is a key variable differentiating domestic and IHRM, rather than any major
differences between the HR activities performed.
● Introducing different types of global work occurring in the MNE to reflect the increasing diversity
of international assignments and outlining the differences between domestic and IHRM by looking
at six factors which differentiate international and domestic HR (more HR activities; the need for a
broader perspective; more involvement in employees’ personal lives; changes in emphasis as the
workforce mix of expatriates and locals varies; risk exposure; and more external influences).
● Detailing a model which summarizes the variables that moderate these differences including the
cultural environment; the industry (or industries) with which the multinational is primarily involved;
the extent of reliance of the multinational on its home-country domestic market; the complexity
of operations, functions, products or customer groups; and the attitudes of senior management.
These five variables are shown in Figure 1.3.
● Discussing a model of SHRM in multinational enterprises (Figure 1.4) which draws together a
number of external factors and organizational factors that impact on IHRM strategy and practice
and, in turn, MNE goals.
In our discussion of international human resources, we shall be drawing on the HRM literature.
Subsequent chapters will examine the cultural and institutional contexts of HRM as well as its
organizational context (including MNEs), cross-border mergers and acquisitions, international
alliances, and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); staffing, recruitment and selection
as well as the important topics of dual career couples and female expatriates; international
performance management; training, development and careers; global talent management; global
compensation; and trends and future challenges in IHRM. We will provide comparative data on
HRM practices in different countries, but our major emphasis is on the IHRM in MNEs, whether
large or small, when facing the challenge of managing people globally.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1 What are the main similarities and differences 5 Why is a greater degree of involvement in employees’
between domestic and international HRM? personal lives inevitable in many IHRM activities?
2 Define these terms: IHRM, PCN, HCN and TCN. 6 Discuss at least two of the variables that moderate
differences between domestic and international HR
3 Which types of global work can occur?
practices.
4 Discuss two HR activities in which a multinational
7 What are the major influence factors in strategic
firm must engage that would not be required in a
IHRM?
domestic environment.
CASE STUDIES FOR DEEPENING THE DISCUSSION

Case 4 - Just Another Move to China? The Impact of International Assignments on Expatriate Families
FURTHER READING
Andersen, N. (2021). Mapping the expatriate literature: A Cooke, F. L., Wood, G., Wang, M., & Veen, A. (2019). How far
bibliometric review of the field from 1998 to 2017 and has international HRM travelled? A systematic review of
identification of current research fronts. The International literature on multinational corporations (2000–2014). Human
Journal of Human Resource Management, 32(22), 4687–4724 Resource Management Review, 29(1), 59–75.
Brewster, C., Mayrhofer, W., & Farndale, E. (2018). Handbook Gooderham, P. N., Mayrhofer, W., & Brewster, C. (2019). A
of research on comparative human resource management. framework for comparative institutional research on HRM.
(2nd ed.). London, UK: Edward Elgar. The International Journal of Human Resource Management,
Caligiuri, P., & Bonache, J. (2016). Evolving and enduring 30(1), 5–30.
challenges in global mobility. Journal of World Business, McNulty, Y., & Selmer, J. (2017). Research handbook of
51(1), 127–141. expatriates. London, UK: Edward Elgar.
Caligiuri, P., De Cieri, H., Minbaeva, D., Verbeke, A., & Reiche, B. S., Lee, Y.-T., & Allen, D. G. (2019). Actors,
Zimmermann, A. (2020). International HRM insights for structure, and processes: A review and conceptualization
navigating the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for future of global work integrating IB and HRM research. Journal of
research and practice. Journal of International Business Management, 45(2), 359–383.
Studies, 51(5), 697–713.
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psychology. (Vol. 2: ‘Methodology’). Boston, MA: Allyn & 9–40.
Bacon; De Cieri, H., & Dowling, P. (1995). Cross-cultural 41. Porter, M. (1985). Competitive advantage: Creating and
issues in organizational behavior. In Cooper, C., & sustaining superior performance. New York, NY: The Free
Rousseau, D. (Eds.), Trends in organizational behavior. Press.
(Vol. 2, pp. 127–145). Chichester, UK: John Wiley & 42. Van den Bulke, D., Verbeke, A., & Yuan, W. (Eds.). (2009).
Sons; and Teagarden, M., & Von Glinow, M. A. (1997). Handbook on small nations in the global economy:
Human resource management in cross-cultural contexts: The contribution of multinational enterprises to national
Emic practices versus Etic philosophies. Management economic success. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
International Review, 37(1), 7–20. 43. Laurent, A. (1986). The cross-cultural puzzle of
31. Refer to Buckley, P., Chapman, M., Clegg, J., et al. international human resource management. Human
(2015). A linguistic and philosophical analysis of emic Resource Management, 25, 91–102, p. 100.
& etic and their use in international business research. 44. Refer to Bartlett, C., & Beamish, P. (2014). Transnational
Management International Review, 54, 307–324. management: Text, cases & readings in cross-border
32. Refer to Hofstede, G. (1983). The cultural relativity management. (7th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
of organizational practices and theories. Journal of 45. De Cieri, H., & Dowling, P. (2012). Strategic human
International Business Studies, 14(2), 75–89. resource management in multinational enterprises:
33. Kuhn, T. (1962). The structure of scientific revolution. (2nd Developments and directions. In Stahl, G., Björkman, I.,
ed.). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. & Morris, S. (Eds.), Handbook of research in international
34. Child, J. (1981). Culture, contingency and capitalism in human resource management. (2nd ed., pp. 13–35).
the cross-national study of organizations. In Cummings, Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar.
L., & Staw, B. (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior. 46. Hughes, T., O’Regan, N., & Wornham, D. (2008). The
(Vol. 3). Greenwich, CT: JAI Publishers. credibility issue: Closing the academic/practitioner gap.
35. Refer to Ricks, D. (1993). Blunders in international Strategic Change, 17(7–8), 215–233.
business. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell for a comprehensive 47. Refer to for the CRANET Research network:
collection of mistakes made by MNEs that paid https://cranet.la.psu.edu/; Brookes, M., Croucher,
insufficient attention to their cultural environment in R., Fenton-O’Creevy, M., et al. (2011). Measuring
their international business operations. For further competing explanations of human resource management
literature on this topic refer to the following: Tayeb, M. practices through the CRANET survey. Human Resource
(1994). Organizations and national culture: Methodology Management Review, 21(1), 68–79.
48. Henisz, W., Mansfield, E., & Von Glinow, M. A. (2010). American multinationals: An institutional model. Journal of
Conflict, security, and political risk: International business International Business Studies, 42(2), 202–220.
in challenging times. Journal of International Business 56. Lawler, J., Chen, S., Wu, P., et al. (2011). High
Studies, 41(5), 759–764. performance work systems in foreign subsidiaries of
49. Gray, C. (2002). Thinking asymmetrically in times of terror. American multinationals: An institutional model. Journal of
Parameters, 32(1), 5–14. International Business Studies, 42(2), 202–220.
50. Refer to Colville, I., Pye, A., & Carter, M. (2013). 57. Crook, T., Ketchen Jr, D., Combs, J., et al. (2010).
Organizing to counter terrorism: Sensemaking amidst Strategic resources and performance: A meta-analysis.
dynamic complexity. Human Relations, 66(9), Strategic Management Journal, 29, 1141–1154.
1201–1223. 58. Czinkota, M., & Ronkainen, I. (2008). Trends and
51. Caligiuri, P., De Cieri, H., Minbaeva, D., et al. (2020). indications in international business: Topics for future
International HRM insights for navigating the COVID-19 research. Management International Review, 49,
pandemic: Implications for future research and practice. 249–266.
Journal of International Business Studies, 51(5), 59. Perlmutter, H. (1969). The tortuous evolution of the
697–713. multinational corporation. Columbia Journal of World
52. Andreadis, N. (2009). Learning and organizational Business, 4(1), 9–18; Harzing, A.-W. (2000). An
effectiveness: A systems perspective. Performance empirical analysis and extension of the Bartlett and
Improvement, 48(1), 5–11. Ghoshal typology of multinational companies. Journal of
53. Morris, S., Wright, P., Trevor, J., et al. (2009). Global International Business Studies, 31(1), 101–120.
challenges to replicating HR: The role of people, 60. Kidger, P. (2002). Management structure in multinational
processes, and systems. Human Resource Management, enterprises: Responding to globalization. Employee
48, 973–995. Relations, 24(1), 69–85.
54. Czinkota, M., & Ronkainen, I. (2008). Trends and 61. Ernst & Young. (2010). Redrawing the map: Globalization
indications in international business: Topics for future and the changing world of business. London, UK: Eygm
research. Management International Review, 49, Limited.; Levy, O., Beechler, S., Taylor, S., et al. (2007).
249–266. What we talk about when we talk about ‘‘global mindset’’:
55. Lawler, J., Chen, S., Wu, P., et al. (2011). High Managerial cognition in multinational corporations.
performance work systems in foreign subsidiaries of Journal of International Business Studies, 38, 231–258.
CHAPTER 2
THE CONTEXT OF
IHRM: CULTURE AND
INSTITUTIONS*
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
Chapter 1 observed that international human resource management (IHRM) differs from nationally
oriented human resource management (HRM) predominantly in the complexities that result from employees
of various national origins working in different countries. Individuals who work in internationally
operating companies, as well as customers, suppliers or representatives of government institutions in the
host country, often face very different cultural and institutional environments due to various socialization
experiences. In this chapter, we systematically review the environment of international HRM decisions
so that the complexity of these decisions can be better understood and adequate solutions for their
management developed. The following themes are discussed:
● definitions of culture
● cultural concepts
* The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution of Tobias Schumacher to the cultural sections of this chapter. Together with
Marion Festing, he has developed the award-winning serious game ‘Moving Tomorrow’ (https://cim.escp-business-school.de/learning/
moving-tomorrow/), which aims at developing intercultural competence among players/students and creating a more inclusive environment
in organizations and society. Cultural concepts used in the game are to a large extent reflected in this chapter. Tobias Schumacher was also
involved in the Renault Chair of Intercultural Management at ESCP Business School.
22
CHAPTER 2 THE CONTEXT OF IHRM: Culture and Institutions 23
● results of intercultural management studies such as Hofstede and the Global Leadership and
Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) study
● other influential approaches employed to conceptualize culture, going beyond the understanding of
it as static national values
● the development of cultures and cultural research
● the IHRM institutional environment.

These cultural insights are highly relevant to developing a more comprehensive understanding and
explanation of the complexity of IHRM.
INTRODUCTION TO THE CONTEXT OF IHRM1

The context of IHRM has mainly been addressed in two of the three IHRM focal points
introduced in the first chapter – in cross-cultural HRM and in comparative HRM.
Cross-cultural HRM uses insights from cross-cultural psychology and intercultural
management studies to explain variations and intercultural challenges in HRM. For a long time,
national boundaries were used to determine cultural influences,2 as reflected by the prominent
intercultural management studies by Hofstede and GLOBE, both of which aimed at identifying
national cultural values that can be compared across countries.3 Subsequently, the impact of
these value differences on HRM policies and practices was analyzed and discussed.4 In this
introduction, we not only present these seminal studies, but we also outline other important
cultural constructs5 such as cultural archetypes,6 norms,7 schemas and polyculturalism that
have recently gained increasing scientific attention.8
Comparative human resource management is concerned with similarities and differences
between HRM practices in different countries.9 Often, comparative HRM studies are based
in CRANET,10 an international research network that has collected respective empirical data
since 1989.11 A major explanatory framework for comparative HRM is the institutional
perspective.12 In this introduction to the context of HRM, we briefly introduce various facets
of the institutional environment of HRM. Both perspectives, namely, the cross-cultural and the
institutional, have the potential to add important insights to IHRM as distinct approaches and
in combination.13 In summary, the consideration of context is a core focus in IHRM.14
INTRODUCTION TO THE CULTURAL CONTEXT

Consideration of the foreign environment is viewed in the literature as a key problem in
international management.15 Professional employees and managers working abroad are in a
special situation, because these individuals are exposed to influences that greatly differ from
their country-of-origin environment.16 An environmental analysis is particularly useful for
identifying HR issues associated with international operations. The discipline that primarily
deals with the comparison of various cultures is called ‘intercultural comparative research’,
while the way in which to deal with the various cultures found in organizations is referred to
as ‘cross-cultural management’. A central role in this discussion is occupied by cross-cultural
management studies by Hofstede 17 and the GLOBE study, which we shall review in this
chapter.18 However, for now, it is notable that both concentrate on identifying national values.
More recent research suggests that the country level might not represent the most appropriate
unit of analysis for cross-cultural researchers,19 and so they have developed new concepts like
24 CHAPTER 2 THE CONTEXT OF IHRM: Culture and Institutions
cultural archetypes,20 or polyculturalism21 or investigated interactions between context and

culture.22 We will elaborate on these in this chapter.
Introduction to cross-cultural management research

The first contributions to cross-cultural management research were made in the early 1960s.
Engagement in this subject area was prompted by the increasing international complexity of
the global economy and the resulting problems experienced by managers when dealing with
employees, customers and suppliers in various host countries. The resulting unforeseen conflicts
and low performance of many foreign business enterprises began to create doubts about the
assumption that management research and knowledge from the English-speaking world was
readily transferrable to other countries and cultures. 23 This problem was initially the focus of
research at US universities24 but is now studied at business schools and universities around the
world,25 which has led to the well-established broad international business research field.
The goals of cross-cultural management studies include:26
● describing organizational behavior within countries and cultures

● comparing organizational behavior between countries and cultures
● explaining and improving interactions between employees, customers, suppliers and/or business
partners from different countries and cultures.
The common feature of cross-cultural management research is the basic assumption that
there are differences between management practices in various countries and that the respective
environment is of particular significance in explaining these variations. This perspective
rejects the approach of researchers who assume the universal transferability of management
knowledge, i.e., a universalistic, culture-free approach to management.27
Cross-cultural studies have often been the focus of substantial debate and criticism. The
rather atheoretical foundations of some cross-cultural research, aligned with methodological
weaknesses in many empirical studies, are problematic and they have frequently caused
contradictory research results and led to vigorous debate in this field. Criticisms have been
voiced on the nature and use of the construct ‘culture’ – a collective term or residual variable that
is undefined or inadequately defined and/or operationalized at the start of a research study – as
an independent variable for explaining variations in management practices between different
countries. Despite numerous critical arguments, the knowledge gained from intercultural
comparative research is a first step toward understanding the complexity of international
management and HRM. The next section covers the possibilities of conceptualizing the concept
of culture and its content.
Definition of culture
Numerous definitions and concepts of culture have been discussed in the relevant literature.
The term originated from the Latin word colere, which was used in the context of tilling the soil
and simply signified plant cultivation. To date, there is no predominant consensus on the exact
meaning of culture.28 As early as the 1950s, Kluckhohn and Kroeber had already put together
164 definitions from English-speaking countries and condensed them into a comprehensive,
well-established and accepted definition of culture:
Culture consists in patterned ways of thinking, feeling, and reacting, acquired and transmitted
mainly by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups [...] including their
embodiments in artefacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional [...] ideas and especially
their attached values.29
This understanding was labeled by the well-known Dutch researcher Geert Hofstede as
‘mental programming’ or Software of the Mind, the title of his 1991 book:30
Using the analogy of the way in which computers are programmed, this book will call such patterns
of thinking, feeling, and acting mental programs, or, as the subtitle goes: ‘software of the mind’. This
does not mean, of course, that people are programmed the way computers are. A person’s behavior
is only partially determined by her or his mental programs: (s)he has a basic ability to deviate from
them, and to react in ways which are new, creative, destructive, or unexpected. The ‘software of the
mind’ [...] only indicates what reactions are likely and understandable, given one’s past.31
The diversity of definitions and concepts underlines the need for a clear, unambiguous
definition of the term ‘culture’. This is even more important because this brief discussion has
already indicated that the basic understanding of culture affects its operationalization and
eventually the handling of the phenomenon.32
The concept of multilevel culture

Adding to the complexity of defining culture is the fact that we can look at it on various
levels. Researchers have suggested differentiating between global, national, organizational,
group and individual culture, which reciprocally influence each other. 33 Globalization has
allowed economically strong countries to (attempt to) export their own cultural principles
to other countries, making globalization the mechanism through which global culture
evolves. Core values of Western societies, such as freedom of choice, individual rights and
the free market,34 can therefore be considered part of this global culture, although the current
geopolitical shifts we observe might affect or fragment what this term exactly constitutes.
Especially in view of the current (at the time of writing) war between Russia and Ukraine,
this might be more uncertain than ever.
The national level equates culture with a nation state and represents the layer that has
arguably received the most attention of researchers.35 Prominent research endeavors focusing
on this point include the aforementioned cross-cultural management studies by Hofstede
and GLOBE.36 At the organizational level, researchers have looked at the degree to which an
organizational culture emphasizes innovation, attention to detail or risk-taking.37 Importantly,
the strengths of organizational cultures have been said to result from the diversity existing in a
company, in that more homogeneous firms in terms of their members’ beliefs possess a stronger
culture than more heterogeneous companies.38 The group level of culture comprises the shared
values of a team, which can include its learning orientation, the psychological safety to express
doubts, or interpersonal trust among team members.39 Lastly, the individual level encompasses
the internalized aspects of culture, which can include cultural schemas or individual values,40
both of which we shall address later on in this chapter. Importantly, individual culture does
not refer to a culture that is exclusive to an individual person, but rather it addresses those
cultural elements that we internalize due to being exposed to different group, organizational
or national cultures. In addition to looking at the different levels of culture, another approach
to distinguish cultural elements from each other has been developed by Edgar Schein, who
differentiates them in terms of how easily they can be observed.41
Schein’s concept of culture

Schein’s concept of culture was developed in the course of organizational and not national
culture research;42 however, it can be applied to the analysis of national cultures, given that
these two constructs are not exact equivalents. The important contribution of this concept is
that Schein considers various levels of culture: artifacts or creations, values and underlying
assumptions:
26 CHAPTER 2 THE CONTEXT OF IHRM: Culture and Institutions
● Artifacts are described as visible organizational structures and processes. They can be analyzed
using conventional methods of empirical social research, but their meaning is often hard to
decipher. In addition to tangible artifacts like computers or artworks, artifacts also comprise
non-tangible structures and processes like vocabularies, stories or rituals,43 the latter of which
can be differentiated into complete rituals or ritual-like activities and encompass standardized and
repetitive behaviors occurring under specific conditions that can enhance group solidarity and
promote inclusion. An example would be an office Christmas party.44 Stories are detailed narratives
of past management actions or employee interactions that are communicated informally within
the organization.45 Examples of stories that are often told in an organization are: Can the little
person rise to the top? How will the boss react to mistakes? How will the organization deal with
obstacles? Vocabularies are systems of words that are used by communities to describe roles,
processes or even the nature of reality.46 As such, role descriptions such as ‘Chief Executive
Officer’ represent an example of vocabulary, as does the word ‘talent’. Depending on the cultural
group we are looking at, however, the vocabulary structure surrounding these words is different.
In communities that value performance and achievement, the ‘Chief Executive Officer’ description
might be embedded in positively connoted words such as ‘successful’ or ‘powerful’, while it might
likely be the complete opposite in communities that are critical of the impact that businesses have
around the world (e.g. promoting unfair working conditions or generating CO2 emissions).
● The middle level comprises the values of a company or society, which are found in the
intermediate level of consciousness; in other words, they are partly conscious and partly
unconscious. We provide an in-depth review of values in the next section of this chapter, as they
arguably represent the construct through which culture has been conceptualized the most in
current research.47
● The third level is described as underlying assumptions, which are often presumed to be
self-evident. They include convictions, perceptions, thoughts and feelings, which are usually invisible
and unconscious. Nevertheless, they are the sources of values and the actions based on them.
Schein emphasizes that relationships that lead from artifacts through values to underlying
assumptions are much weaker than those leading in the contrary direction, because the influence of
underlying assumptions on values and artifacts is stronger than vice versa. The basic assumptions
of Schein’s ideas originate in the work of Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck.48 According to the authors,
assumptions are organized independently of individual cases in typical patterns in each culture,
based on the human capacity to survive. Some of these underlying assumptions are explained in
more detail below.49 The following questions are implicit in the six underlying assumptions:50
1 The nature of reality and the nature of truth: What is real and what is not? Do members of a
culture assume more of an experimental position, where decisions about true and false outcomes
depend on an experiment, or do they follow more traditional convictions?
2 The time dimension: How is the time dimension defined and calculated? How important is time?
Do members of a culture live more in relation to the past or to the future? Are they oriented more
to the long term or the short term?
3 The effect of spatial proximity and distance: How is space attributed to members of a society?
What objects and locations are private and what are public? What role does spatial distance play
in evaluating relationships, e.g., in regard to the level of intimacy?
4 The nature of being human: What does it mean to be human? Is human nature marked more by
good or bad intentions? Can people change and develop, even as adults?
5 The type of human activity: How is the relationship with the environment evaluated? Is the
environment considered more compelling or overpowering? Are the members of a society more
passive in their fate or do they try to actively change it?
6 The nature of human relationships: What ideas about social order criteria dominate in a society
(e.g., age, origins and success)? What characterizes relationships between people? Is team
success or individual success important?
VALUE CONSIDERATIONS ACROSS CULTURES

Values represent the intermediate layer of Schein’s concept of culture, and they are the most
researched cultural construct to date.51 Thus, we will start by looking at some general insights
about values, before we move on with the cross-cultural management studies by Hofstede and
the GLOBE project.
In 1992, psychologist Shalom Schwartz published his seminal paper about individual
values, in which he originally described ten examples resulting from empirical research in
20 different countries and which were universally recognized across cultures.52 Schwartz defines
values as trans-situational goals, varying in importance, that serve as guiding principles in the
life of a person or group,53 and in 2012, a team of researchers updated this set to encompass
19 different values in total.54 Inherent in Schwartz’s definition is the fact that values apply to
various situations and not only to very specific ones.
Let’s illustrate that by an example. A person who highly values universalism-nature,
for instance, is concerned with preserving the natural environment. Following the logic of
trans-situational applicability, this person is thus likely to vote for a political party that places
preserving the natural environment on its political agenda and prefers to consume organic
rather than conventional products. In addition, values are conceptualized as rather stable
across adulthood, although they can change as a response to life-changing events.55 Imagine,
for instance, a family’s home being destroyed by a forest fire, which might lead the family
members to increase how they value universalism-nature. Another important aspect in
Schwarz’s conceptualization of values is that some are incompatible, which is reflected in the
circular topology of values. Values located opposite to each other are usually incompatible, so
that an individual appreciating power-dominance, for instance, is unlikely to simultaneously
appreciate benevolence-caring.
The values identified by Schwartz et al. include the following:
● Self-Direction: Thought, Action

● Stimulation
● Hedonism
● Achievement
● Power: Dominance, Resources
● Face
● Security: Societal, Personal
● Tradition
● Conformity: Interpersonal, Rules
● Benevolence: Dependability, Caring
● Universalism: Tolerance, Nature, Concern.
This conceptualization also has important implications for working in teams, as research
has found that those with a high degree of value consensus (e.g., team members with similar
values) are less likely to experience conflict than work teams with low value consensus.56 This
is not to say, however, that it is necessarily desirable to have a high level of value consensus in
work teams, as diverse values might help to increase team performance. 57 In some situations,
for instance, an individual who values power-dominance might help to push a team to reach a
deadline, thereby asserting themselves against the team members, even though the rest of them
might have some reservations in relation to a highly dominant character. While Schwartz and
Another random document with
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The Project Gutenberg eBook of L'homme
couvert de femmes
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and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
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you are located before using this eBook.
Title: L'homme couvert de femmes
Author: Pierre Drieu La Rochelle
Release date: January 29, 2024 [eBook #72808]
Language: French
Original publication: Paris: Gallimard, 1925
Credits: Laurent Vogel and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team

at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from
images generously made available by the Bibliothèque
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK L'HOMME

COUVERT DE FEMMES ***
DRIEU LA ROCHELLE
L’HOMME
COUVERT DE FEMMES
Deuxième édition
PARIS
Librairie Gallimard
ÉDITIONS DE LA NOUVELLE REVUE FRANÇAISE
3, rue de Grenelle (VIme)
DU MÊME AUTEUR
POÉSIE
Interrogation.
Fond de Cantine.
L’échappement (en préparation).
ESSAIS
Mesure de la France.
Confession d’un Français (en préparation).
FICTION
État-Civil.
Plainte contre Inconnu.
Lettres des derniers jours (en préparation).
Muriel ou l’Américaine en France (en préparation).
THÉATRE
Le Chef, tragédie en quatre actes (inédit).

IL A ÉTÉ TIRÉ DE CET OUVRAGE, APRÈS
IMPOSITIONS SPÉCIALES, CENT NEUF
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I, CENT EXEMPLAIRES RÉSERVÉS AUX
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NAVARRE, DONT TREIZE EXEMPLAIRES HORS
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RÉSERVÉS POUR TOUS LES PAYS Y COMPRIS LA RUSSIE.
COPYRIGHT BY LIBRAIRIE GALLIMARD, 1925.
A LOUIS ARAGON
PREMIÈRE PARTIE
— Ce Gille va venir, dit Finette, mais goûtons. Ce n’est pas un

monsieur exact, il retardera peut-être Luc jusqu’à demain.
— Ce garçon que nous avons rencontré aux courses et au
concert ? demanda Molly.
— Oui, Luc l’amène.
— Luc le connaît ! Qu’en dit Luc ?
— Assez drôle.
— Ça m’amuse qu’il vienne.
— Gille… comment dites-vous ? demanda l’autre amie de
Finette.
— Gille, cela suffit.
— Qu’est-ce que c’est ?
— Il a un corps convenable et une frimousse qui peut être
attrayante pour certaines.
— D’où sort-il ?
— Je ne sais pas.
— Qu’est-ce qu’il fait ?
— Quelque chose.
— Il a de l’argent ?
— Il a l’air de s’en sortir. Les voilà.
Une petite voiture apparut au bout de l’allée. Le frère de Finette
et Gille y étaient. Ils virent les trois femmes claires, assises sur le
perron bas, devant la façade assez noble de cet ancien rendez-vous
de chasse.
— Bonjour Finette, je t’amène un charmant jeune homme.
— Bonjour Luc, bonjour Monsieur.
Il y eut un silencieux ajustement. Gille s’inclinait, souriait, sa
silhouette était fière, mais son visage était blême.
— Je suis content d’être chez vous, Madame, j’aime votre
maison.
— La maison a été bien réparée par un vieux fou, avant moi.
Vous voulez du thé ?
— Vous restez longtemps ici ?
— Des mois. J’oublie qu’il y a beaucoup de choses plus belles.
Vous êtes resté tard à Paris ?
— Je suis parti.
— Vous êtes arrivé, restez.
— Il m’a parlé, en venant, dit Luc, d’un tas de projets compliqués,
je n’y ai rien compris.
— Ni moi non plus, répliqua Gille avec placidité.
— Il est toujours temps de se priver en choisissant, marmotta
Finette, le nez dans la théière.
— Je ne sais pas s’il se prive, mais en tout cas il ne choisit
jamais, nota Luc.
— Je vais à Biarritz, assura Gille.
— Nous verrons bien.
Les regards de Gille erraient autour des trois femmes. Ils
revenaient plus souvent près de Finette, mais ils n’abandonnaient
pas les deux autres.
Il avait eu un sourire narquois quand la maîtresse de maison
avait répondu à ce petit nom de Finette. Mais déjà il comprenait que
l’on mît en évidence ce flair qui guidait délicatement ses gestes. Elle
semblait faible sur sa chaise longue, mais son visage était en éveil,
et rien ne s’y abandonnait. Gille qui ne l’avait aperçue auparavant
que deux ou trois fois, et de loin, eut sous les yeux une ligne qui
entre deux coussins offrait un heureux raccourci. Si le regard
s’aiguisait vite, la bouche pouvait être tendre.
On s’interrogea un peu sur ses façons. Comment vivez-vous ?
Quelle recette inconnue pour tirer parti des jours pourrais-je vous
emprunter ? Puis, il fallut bien régler le sort du prochain. Gille en
parla avec peu de retenue ; il semblait aller assez avant dans le
caractère des gens, parce qu’il en montrait ensemble des traits
favorables et d’autres déplaisants. Il ne songeait pas à jouir de ce
qu’il découvrait. Ses propos étaient hâtés et exagérés par le désir
d’arriver à un résultat. Ses paroles d’un moment faisaient une
allusion impatiente à un autre. Enfin, il prononçait un jugement avec
une sévérité ingénue.
Finette se plut à voir quelqu’un découvrir sinon son jeu, du moins
une de ses façons de jouer et si tôt. « Est-il imprudent pour de vrai,
se demandait-elle, ou ne court-il ces petits risques que pour donner
le change ? Vivrait-il vraiment à son aise ? »
— Est-ce que vous connaissez madame de B…? lui demanda-t-
elle.
— De nom.
— Elle m’écrit qu’elle viendra peut-être chez moi, un peu plus
tard. Je voudrais que vous la connaissiez. Vous ne l’avez jamais
vue ? C’est une beauté. Je n’ai rien vu de mieux. Du reste, il n’y en a
pas des tas.
— Quel genre ?
— Elle a un visage et des bras ! La pire littérature devient
possible ; vous savez, tous les grands mots.
Il n’en fallait pas tant pour Gille qui tressaillit d’espoir, et prêta à
l’inconnue un visage qui attendait parmi ses souvenirs, puis s’étonna
d’être déjà familier avec un vieux rêve qu’il croyait nouveau.
— Qu’est-ce qu’elle fait ?
— Elle a un mari, je crois. Elle voyage. Elle est intelligente.
— Et…?
— Je ne sais pas… On dit que… Il y a un homme qui a été fou
d’elle…
— Ah !
— Je crois qu’elle n’est pas contente, qu’elle n’a pas trouvé…
pourtant une fois elle a eu l’air très absorbée, très tendre.
— Ah !
Gille sent déjà s’altérer le bonheur.
Mais Finette repoussa la belle inconnue pour feindre d’écouter
une anecdote de Luc qui embaumait les vivants avec une
satisfaction funèbre comme un petit prêtre sardonique. Très en
verve, il alignait, les unes à côté des autres, des momies vidées de
leur sens et figées dans une attitude d’un ridicule désolant. Pourtant
Finette surveillait son hôte plus qu’elle n’écoutait son frère, si connu.
Il y avait un certain temps qu’elle le rencontrait à droite et à
gauche : il paraissait n’être que laisser-aller et pourtant le résultat de
ses actes forçait à supposer parfois qu’il avait calculé. En même
temps on lui en avait parlé : revenaient des histoires de femmes, où
Gille était animé de désirs chauds qui faisaient fondre leur défense,
puis sa chaleur devenait lucidité. Les gens qui étaient dans le
voisinage voyaient apparaître dans un relief cruel les défauts de ses
partenaires. Pour lui, l’indignation devant tant d’imperfection le
chassait au loin. Il revenait bientôt tendre et goguenard vers une
autre.
Preste rebelle contre la lourdeur de l’ordre, contre la négligence
des humains à être heureux, contre leur mauvais vouloir à l’égard de
ceux qui veulent l’être, et bien qu’elle doutât de rencontrer beaucoup
de semblables, Finette imaginait aujourd’hui que ce lâcheur était
comme elle, un hors-la-loi subtilement mêlé aux rangs de la foule.
C’est ce que Gille doutait d’être, en dépit du concours des
apparences, car il se disait : « Suis-je tel aujourd’hui ? peut-être,
mais c’est demain que je serai moi-même. » Effet de l’âge : il était
jeune et peu précoce.
Il était venu chez Finette attiré par la curiosité qu’elle lui portait, et
aussi par l’envie de s’égarer dans une maison assez mal réputée,
cotée bas par le snobisme. Il craignait son ironie, mais il comptait
bien lui découvrir des faiblesses et pouvoir en user contre elle. Fille
d’un petit courtier en bijoux, elle était la veuve fort riche d’un homme
qui avait vécu brutalement, pris aux autres beaucoup d’argent et de
femmes. La soumission passionnée dont elle l’avait flatté pendant
plusieurs années laissait le monde encore étonné. Gille, par orgueil,
doutait que cet attachement fût encore inattaquable. Et pourtant il
prenait un air de respect distant, qui masquait la crainte qu’elle ne fût
restée inexpugnable dans quelque retrait de sa personne, par
exemple dans sa sensualité. Du reste, les premiers plaisirs de cette
rencontre étaient assez sûrs pour qu’il ne songeât pas à ceux qui
pourraient les suivre. Il goûtait les fléchissements presque
imperceptibles mais précis de ce corps nonchalant. Il regardait sa
robe, la courbe de ses propos. Elle soignait tous les détails et tous
les moments ; elle était présente à tous les points.
Il ne vit pas son visage ce jour-là, car il lui fallait faire face à Luc
et à leurs deux amies et il n’était pas dans sa nature de saisir les
choses avec promptitude.
Il craignait aussi la perspicacité de Luc et dès la première minute
qu’il avait été en présence de Finette il avait commencé de
dissimuler son intérêt à cause de lui.
Du reste la forme des seins que mettait en vue une des amies de
Finette facilita la diversion de ses regards.
C’est ce que nota aussitôt Finette avec un amusement léger et
sans le moindre esprit de concurrence. Elle était décidée depuis
longtemps pour protéger la pointe de son esprit et grâce au grand
assouvissement qu’elle savourait encore, à regarder tous et toutes
de loin et à ne rien rapporter à elle de leurs agitations.
C’était donc d’une façon fort détachée qu’elle se plut, ce premier
jour, aux traits du corps de Gille comme à ceux de sa vie qu’on lui
avait contés ou qu’elle attrapait déjà.
— Vous avez sommeil ? demanda Gille à Luc, à la fin de la
soirée.
— Non. Je viens chez vous. Elle me plaît beaucoup, vous savez,
votre sœur. C’est bien, sa maison, elle a de la tête.
— Moi, je ne sais pas, en dehors de la naissance, il se trouve
que c’est ma plus vieille amie. C’est un des rares êtres supportables.
— Mais, dites donc, la grosse brune qui ne parlait pas, elle a l’air
d’en vouloir.
— Vous pouvez y aller.
Gille s’intéressa à la grosse brune, demandant des
renseignements inutiles. Luc répondait patiemment. Il avait le
penchant de reculer aussi loin que possible les limites de la liberté
pour lui et même pour les autres ; il satisfaisait leurs petites
habitudes et son égoïsme ne l’arrêtait qu’assez tard dans ces soins,
car il ne se prêtait pas le moins du monde par une telle souplesse
qui était coquetterie plus que dévouement de la sympathie.
Ils demeurèrent ensemble jusqu’à une heure du matin. Ils
parlaient de leurs amis, ils en échangeaient les portraits hâtivement
crayonnés, mais leur curiosité était futile et ne mordait pas. Aussitôt
qu’ils en venaient à la manière de se servir des humains, de les
aimer, leurs propos mal soutenus hésitaient et défaillaient.
— Vous ne vous rendez jamais dépendant des êtres, vous, hein ?
demanda Luc, avec une ironie tout à fait indulgente, son opinion déjà
faite.
— Aucun être ne mérite qu’un autre lui rende les armes, répondit
Gille, qui n’alla pas plus avant vers la contradiction et la difficulté.
Luc y prit la déclaration d’indépendance qui flattait sa morale.
— J’ai peut-être pourtant rencontré, ajouta Gille, deux ou trois
fois, des hommes et des femmes qui auraient pu m’entraîner jusqu’à
l’amour ou l’amitié, mais les circonstances ont toujours fait que nous
avons été séparés : ils n’ont pas eu le temps de me faire sentir ces
effets incroyables…
— Les circonstances, railla Luc, on dit cela.
— Vous croyez ? non, je ne crois pas que je cherche une excuse.
Gille ne dit pas grand’chose de plus net et Luc ne l’y força pas,
recherchant chez son nouveau camarade d’amusantes incertitudes.
Quand Luc fut sorti de la chambre, Gille ouvrit un livre, mais au
bout d’un moment il entendit chantonner à la fenêtre voisine.
Aussitôt il leva un regard assez gai : « C’est la grosse brune, qui est
à côté. »
Il se leva et se pencha brusquement.
— Vous m’avez fait peur, s’écria Molly, surprise par le brusque
déclic de son piège.
— Vous me faites plaisir. Vous n’avez pas sommeil ?
— Si. Je n’ai qu’à m’étendre : dans deux minutes, je dormirai
comme une souche. Mais la nuit est trop bonne. Et vous ?
— Vous m’avez bien réveillé.
— Vous en avez taillé une bavette avec Luc. De quoi parliez-
vous ?
— De nous ! Des femmes !
— Son indifférence lui permet d’avoir des idées générales.
Qu’est-ce que vous dites des femmes ?
— Moi je les aime. Et vous ?
— Moi, je suis comme vous : j’adore les hommes.
— Qu’est-ce que vous préférez : les hommes, ou l’amour ?
— Quand je regarde un homme, c’est un amour. Je n’ai plus de
cigarettes, vous en avez ? Apportez-les-moi.
— Bon, je viens.
Tandis que Gille se recoiffait, il pensait à Finette pour la prendre
à témoin de son succès, mais les formes largement ondulées de
Molly lui firent oublier son hôtesse. Pourtant, après le premier sourire
de triomphe ouvert et dur, il en avait un autre, mêlé d’inquiétude,
quand il passa dans la chambre de sa voisine.
Cette simple démarche supprima les autres. Elle était déjà sur
son lit, très déshabillée.
« Ne fumons pas », dit Gille en posant les cigarettes.
« Ma bouche ne goûte pas des lèvres si étroites : pourtant elles
sont bien souples. J’ai beau les aimer, ces grosses-là à quarante
ans deviennent un peu poussives. Mais un plaisir dont je ne me
lasserai jamais, c’est de reconnaître sous la graisse la ligne idéale
de la jeunesse. Comme elle a dû être mince, celle-ci. Elle garde sa
ligne ; elle la suit de loin mais elle ne la perd pas. Elle a une taille : le
ventre est séparé de l’estomac, la hanche ne s’épaissit pas trop
haut, les reins font leur creux. C’est un beau morceau. Par exemple,
j’aime mieux le goût de l’ail que de la pâte dentifrice.
« — Vous êtes charmant. Charmant visage. Vous embrassez
bien. Oui. Oui. Oui.
« Elle parle, quelle horreur ! Elle retrouve sa voix de petite fille.
C’est comme la ligne engorgée dans la graisse, mais ça fait
comique. Ne rions pas trop, c’est dangereux. Elle est soignée. Une
peau fine, une dent en or : pourquoi l’or, là, dégoûte-t-il ? Un peu de
ventre, autant que dans le gilet de mon père qui croyait qu’il n’en
avait pas. J’inspecte la bouche, le cou, les seins, le ventre. Et
maintenant ? Je crois qu’il faudrait profiter du premier élan ? Oh oui !
il ne faut pas s’attarder. Cette main, du reste, qui vient vers moi, rend
tout aisé. C’est drôle ; il suffirait d’un mot pour lancer cette femme
dans l’espoir. Elle a des mérites ; franche du collier. Mais avec
n’importe qui. A la fin, ce petit visage et ce gros corps, cela
m’entraîne vers le comique, or le comique et le désir ! Enfin, je m’en
suis tiré. Regardez-la, elle est aussi belle que si elle était morte. On
pourrait croire que c’est arrivé. »
Gille, poli, mit dix minutes à faire croire à cette bonne Molly qu’il
ne pouvait s’arracher à elle. Puis il put décemment s’écarter un peu.
Il la regarda se livrer à ses ablutions, avec un sans-gêne si innocent
qu’il la débarrassa du ridicule qui était passé sur elle.
Mais quand elle revint, elle n’osa rester nue, cherchant dans ses
yeux un jugement. Il prolongea un silence dans l’ombre qui la força à
en rabattre. Elle s’allongea pour lui donner des remerciements et
jeter de l’huile sur le feu. Mais le feu était mort. Gille avait envie de
dormir. « Un lit pas large, encombré par un corps de plus en plus
étranger, et le matin il faudrait décamper avant l’arrivée des
domestiques. » Sous un reproche muet et fourmillant il se leva.
« Je suis éreinté, ce voyage… »
— Comment l’as-tu trouvé, demandait Luc à sa sœur.

— C’est un serpent qui dort au soleil. Il est en bois, mais il faut
voir, une minute après, comme il se tortille bien pour avaler la grosse
bête qui se laisse faire.
— Il a la folie de plaire. Et pourtant…
— Et pourtant !
— … tout d’un coup on sent qu’il renonce entièrement à la
personne qu’il a commencé de poursuivre… On m’en a raconté de
raides sur sa façon de plaquer les gens.
— Mais qu’est-ce que cette coquetterie, crois-tu ?
— Ce n’est pas tant de la vanité. C’est même le contraire, c’est
de la curiosité. Il est fasciné par les êtres dans le premier moment,
mais tout de suite après la réalité le délivre, le dégoûte.
— Et il ne pardonne pas aux autres d’avoir marché.
— Il oublie de leur en vouloir, il les oublie. Pourtant tout n’est pas
désintéressé dans les coquetteries de ce monsieur. Il y a aussi la
peur de ne pas exister.
— Je ne vois pas ça.
— Si, il a besoin d’être soutenu par des regards, pour avoir
l’impression qu’il se tient debout.
— C’est un garçon qui existe, pourtant.
— Peut-être, je ne vois pas très bien comment. Il est bien
détraqué celui-là encore, comme nous tous.
Pourquoi Luc avait-il amené Gille chez Finette ? Ils avaient
l’habitude de mettre en commun leurs humeurs. Le spectacle du
monde, quand Luc ne s’en détournait pas dans des moments de
malaise abominable, provoquait son esprit à des trépignements
burlesques que des applaudissements redoublaient. Bien que
fasciné par la vie mondaine, Luc ne s’y mêlait pas beaucoup car, en
plus de ces misérables défaillances qui l’enfermaient chez lui, une
extrême susceptibilité lui rendait tout commerce difficile, et son esprit
barbelé faisait lâcher prise à bien des séductions pas assez
mordantes. Alors il revenait vers sa sœur. Ils se vautraient
incestueusement dans la complaisance d’eux-mêmes.
Luc avait donc amené Gille pour les distraire tous deux. Mais il
avait prévu que Gille s’occuperait plus de Finette que de lui. Or il
était fort capable de jalousie à propos de sa sœur ; il craignait tout
mouvement qui dérangeât leur immobile égalité. Mais pour rien au
monde il ne se serait dérobé à de pareilles épreuves.
II
Finette et Luc, Gille et Molly se retrouvèrent au déjeuner. Molly

ne faisait pas un geste qui ne commentât son plaisir, et Gille, flatté,
regardait Finette. Celle-ci l’avait reçu d’un air qui l’avertissait que la
grosse enfant avait couru à son lit pour lui conter son aubaine. Luc
goûtait beaucoup le sans-façon de ces amours. Enfin tout le monde
déjeuna gaîment en jouissant de la liberté grande.
L’après-midi on fit les paresseux. Gille était assez empressé
auprès de Molly, lui apportait des coussins ; mais ses regards
sautaient beaucoup moins souvent que la veille et, après l’avoir
assuré encore de sa conquête, se posaient plus longtemps sur
Finette. Ils ne s’en détournaient plus guère que pour tâter de
l’opinion de Luc sur ses premiers pas dans la maison. Au lieu de
s’être éloigné de Finette, Gille présumait que dans l’esprit de cette
femme conciliante, il s’en était plutôt rapproché en prenant
possession d’un de ses objets familiers. Molly, sans éprouver la
moindre jalousie de cette distraction, regrettait seulement de perdre
quelques uns des frôlements qui eussent été un à-compte sur la
sieste que tout à l’heure elle pensait bien partager avec lui. Gille
trouva gênante cette revendication, pourtant modeste, et cachée
sous la bonne humeur. Que l’on sût que sa faveur pour elle n’était
faite que d’indulgence ! Il se retourna alors entièrement vers Finette
qui était demeurée immobile et imposante comme le premier jour, la
veille.
Mais on entendit un petit coup de trompe et l’on vit s’avancer
l’autre amie qui prenait le thé quand Gille était arrivé. Elle conduisait
une jolie torpédo qu’elle faisait rager sous ses petits poings et il y
avait à côté d’elle une inconnue d’un certain âge. « J’ai oublié de
vous dire, souffla Finette à Gille, notre phénomène de voisine…
Comme c’est gentil, notre chère grande voisine, de venir… Je vous
présente un charmant jeune homme, comme vous voyez… » Lady
Hyacinthia était une déesse faite comme tant de Saxonnes pour
frapper les Français d’un amour mêlé de terreur. Elle se composait
de métaux et de matières précieuses ; ivoires, corail, or, diamants,
perles. Fer : cette charpente ; charbon : ce ronflant feu intérieur.
Mais Gille, un instant ébaubi, se reporta sur celle qu’il avait mal
vue la veille.
— Comment s’appelle-t-elle ? demanda-t-il à mi-voix.
— Qui ? votre numéro 2 ?
— Oh !
— Françoise. Ce n’est pas le même article, vous savez.
— J’espère bien.
— Petit salaud. Vous n’avez même pas vu que cette pauvre Molly
était montée et qu’elle vous a attendu au coin de l’allée.
— Si, si.
Gille alla vers cette Françoise qui, les jambes écartées et les
mains plongées dans sa cotte rouge, regardait tour à tour sa voiture
et Luc. Celui-ci jetait un fracas de paroles sur Lady Hyacinthia qui
gloussait avec affabilité un excellent français.
Gille interrogea cette petite bonne femme. Elle habitait à une
lieue de là dans une grande ferme où elle élevait des chevaux.
— Vous comprenez, nous nous sommes mis au travail. Mon mari
fait de l’électricité pour tout le département et moi je travaille pour le
pari-mutuel. Paris, je l’ai assez vu. Au moins, en province on parle
encore français. Vous, vous êtes un de ces blêmes Parisiens qui
fumez l’opium, ou faites l’amour avec des Américaines, quand ce
n’est pas pire.
— Je voyage.
— Je suis sûr que vous étiez mieux pendant la guerre ; vous
n’aviez pas cette mine-là.
— C’est vrai, à Paris, je vis la nuit.

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International Human Resource

Management, 8th Edition Peter Dowling

Introducing Human Resource Management, 8th Edition Hook

Strategy and Human Resource Management Management Work

International Human Resource Management: Policies and

Canadian Human Resource Management 13th Edition Hermann

Strategic Human Resource Management and Employment

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, Global

Human Resource Management 2011th Edition Anonymous (At

Fundamentals of Human Resource Management Fifth Edition

Peter J. Marion Allen D.

Australia • Brazil • Canada • Mexico • Singapore • United Kingdom • United States

Publisher: Annabel Ainscow from the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd.

Typesetter: Straive British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Cover Design: Varpu Lauchlan

Cengage Learning is a leading provider of customized learning solutions

To learn more about Cengage platforms and services, register or access

Printed in United Kingdom by Ashford Colour Press Ltd

Chapter 2 The Context of IHRM: Culture and Institutions 22

Chapter 4 Global Work 105

Chapter 6 Global Performance Management 188

Chapter 7 International Training, Development and Careers 215

Chapter 8 Global Talent Management 261

Chapter 9 Global Compensation 298

Chapter 10 IHRM Trends and Future Challenges 324

IHRM IN ACTION CASES

Ruth Alas; Estonian Business School

John Boudreau; University of Southern California

Helen De Cieri; Monash University

Barry Gerhart; University of Wisconsin-Madison

Sven Horak; St. Johns University

Wolfgang Mayrhofer; Vienna University of Economics and Business

Mark Mendenhall; University of Tennessee-Chattanooga

Maral Muratbekova-Touron; ESCP Business School Paris Campus

Molly Pepper; Gonzaga University

József Poór; University János Selye, Komárno

Susanne Royer; University of Flensburg

Hugh Scullion; University of Hull

Günter Stahl; Vienna University of Economics and Business

Shuming Zhao; Nanjing University

Cherrie Zhu; Monash University

We also gratefully acknowledge the support of the following institutions:

ESCP BUSINESS SCHOOL, BERLIN CAMPUS

EASTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY

Alan Burton-Jones; Bond University

Thomas Degener; University of Kassel

Etieno Enang; Coventry University

Elaine Farndale; Penn State University

Anne-Marie Francesco; Hong Kong Baptist University

Amlan Haque; CQ University

Robert Kase; Ljubljana University

Jay Leighton; Curtin University of Technology

Nancy Long; San Jose State University

Peter Mclean; University of Wollongong NSW

Hossein Mohammedi; Curtin University

Gabriele Murry; AmbergWeiden Fachhochschule

Rosmini Omar; University Teknologi Malaysia

Bernard Wach; Bielefeld Fachhochschule

Mark Williams; University of Surrey

Rachel Williams; Cardiff University

Christian Daubenspeck, Janik and Annika

Elizabeth Hoffman Engle, Kathryn, Caroline and Allen Engle

(PhD, PETER J. DOWLING

Chapter 2 The Context of IHRM: Culture and Institutions 22

Chapter 4 Global Work 105

Chapter 6 Global Performance Management 188

Chapter 7 International Training, Development and Careers 215

Chapter 8 Global Talent Management 261

Chapter 9 Global Compensation 298

Chapter 10 IHRM Trends and Future Challenges 324