ABSTRACT
Localisation has emerged as a key issue in the management of multinational corporations (MNCs). Debates around localisation concern the employment of HCNs at lower levels in the organisational hierarchy. This chapter first outlines the key forces driving local responsiveness in international business. It then considers the business advantages and disadvantages of local responsiveness and focuses more specifically on the localisation of human resources. After exploring the nature of localisation in practice, it also considers the role of expatriates in the localisation process. While it might seem to make economic, financial and ethical sense to localise human resources, there are many barriers that may mean the continued use of expatriates is more practical and sometimes preferable. The chapter further outlines some of the key challenges in this regard. Most resistance to localising human resources is from the private sector organisations (national and international) where short-term costs are emphasised to the detriment of long-term benefits.
