ABSTRACT
This study examines the relationship between the commitment of firms to human resource management (HRM) in their host countries and their level of globalness. Despite numerous studies on the relationship between HRM and firm performance, it remains unclear how HRM commitment on the part of multinational corporations (MNCs) in their host countries influences their globalness. It is of interest to study this issue for several reasons:
First, for academic researchers, our review of the literature on the relationship between HRM and firm performance gives rise to the conclusion that insufficient research has been conducted on the issue of the HRM of MNCs in their host countries. It would therefore be of use to academic researchers to obtain more empirical evidence on this issue from the MNCs with different levels of globalness.
Second, for practitioners, this study will also be helpful in several ways. For instance, as it focuses mainly on HRM in a country that plays host to many major MNCs — China — the findings may also help the management of MNCs to formulate better HRM strategies and achieve a competitive advantage in this fast-growing market. The findings may also be useful for MNCs in developing competitive strategies for other emerging markets.
Finally, this work will be of significance for both academic researchers and practitioners because it will help us to understand the relationship between globalness and the localization of human resources among MNCs. The results of this study should also improve our understanding of the competitiveness of MNCs that is derived from the human resources that they possess in their host countries.
