Staffing policies of Swedish MNCs : case studies of motives, processes and factors influencing selection decisions of managerial positions for foreign markets

In today’s global economy, the area of International Human Resource Management has gained increased interest due to the significance of having ‘the right people at the right place’ in order to gain a sustainable competitive advantage. The purpose of this study is to investigate the staffing policies of Swedish MNCs for top managerial positions in foreign markets. This purpose has been addressed through a qualitative multiple-case study research where: (a) the factors influencing staffing decisions, (b) the actual selection process, and (c) the motives for MNCs to recruit locally in the foreign market as opposed to dispatching expatriates from home or a third country are investigated. The companies selected for this study are four Swedish MNCs with a long record of international activity: IKEA, Atlas Copco, SKF, and Sandvik. The findings of this study show that: (a) the mindset of an organization determines which candidates are considered during the selection process and the reason for the companies to engage in international transfers of managers is connected to their overall international strategy, (b) the selection process is often strategic and formalized, and vacant positions are announced publicly, (c) applying the concept of “grandfather approval” – i.e. the recruiting manager’s superior has to approve the selection decision- can be an effective way to decrease the risk of subjectivity in the selection process, (d) MNCs consider the Nationality of the selected manager to depend on the selection requirements along with the amount of cultural differences between host- and parent country, (e) MNCs view the cost of sending an expatriate abroad as not of importance as long as it is results in “having the right person at the right place”.Validerat; 20101217 (root