Global Standardization or National Differentiation of HRM Practices in Multinational Companies? A Comparison of Multinationals in Five Countries

Drawing on a unique dataset, constructed from a parallel series of nationally representative surveys of MNCs, we compare the HRM practices of MNCs in the UK, Ireland, Canada, Spain and Denmark. 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 dominance effects and convergence in the nature of practices across countries, something that shows through particularly in the analysis of US MNCs, but also of nationally-conditioned practices, which is more evident in our analysis of the five sets of indigenous MNCs.