ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the insights that might be gained into the past and future globalization processes of executive search through the case of entry into the BRICS by focusing on how the new profession of executive search institutionalised its role as a labour market intermediary in these economies. The coining by Jim O'Neill (2001) of the term BRICs as an acronym for Brazil, Russia, India and China is a well-known story. The chapter explains that exactly how the institutional work associated with legitimising the services of executive search was translated into the BRICS, particularly focusing upon how the geographical specificities of labour markets and institutions generated unique challenges and opportunities for firms as they sought to internationalise. The BRICS economies are all characterised in one way or another by fundamental economic transitions, some more radical than others. The chapter provides the lessons that the BRICS economies provide about the current and likely future dynamics of executive search globalization.
