Global standardization or national differentiation of HRM practices in multinational companies? A comparison of multinationals in five countries

Drawing on a dataset constructed from a parallel series of nationally representative surveys of multinational companies (MNCs), we compare the performance management (PM) practices of MNCs in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Spain, Denmark and Norway. In each country we analyze data relating to MNCs from that country and of the foreign affiliates of US MNCs. We argue that there is evidence of standardization in the nature of practices across countries, particularly evident in the analysis of US MNCs. Standardization of practices among MNCs is also evident in the rather limited variation in practices between US and indigenous MNCs within each country. Moreover, even where there is evidence of variation across and within countries, this cannot be fully explained by adaptation to local institutional constraints but rather can be seen as the product of how distinct national contexts can promote the take-up of practices.The project was supported by a number of funding bodies and research centres: Canada’s Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (the SSHRC Major Collaborative Research Initiatives, Initiatives on the New Economy and International Opportunities Fund), the Fonds québécois de recherché sur la société et la culture (Équipes and Regroupements stratégiques), the Canada Research Chair on Globalization and Work, the Interuniversity Research Centre on Globalization and Work (CRIMT); Ireland’s Labour Relations Commission, the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences, the University of Limerick Research Office; Spain’s Ministries of Education and Science (Ref. SEJ2007-03096, Award 01/0010/2006) and Science and Innovation (Ref: ECO2009-10287), the Directorate-General for Scientific Investigation of the Madrid region (Award 06/0009/2000), the BBVA Foundation (Ref. 216/06), the Autonomous University of Madrid/Banco Santander (Ref: CEAL-AL/2011-28), IESE Business School; the UK’s Economic and Social Research Council (Awards RES-000-23-0305 and RES-062-23-2080); Danish Research Council for Independent Research (FSE) (Ref. 275-09-0146); and the European Commission’s International Research Staff Exchange Scheme (FP7 IRSES-GA-2008-230854 – INTREPID