This study extends past research regarding the impact of human resource management (HRM) practices on performance by investigating the mediating mechanism. The employee-organization relationship, which is defined as a dual-commitment relationship, was hypothesized to be a crucial mechanism of high commitment HRM systems and unit performance. Collecting data from store managers and customer-contact employees in 176 stores in Taiwan, including retail stores, beauty salons, and restaurants and caf

The increased attention to multinational companies¡¦ (MNC) sustainability in both academic and practitioner realms has raised an important question of why more and more firms behave in a socially responsible manner, especially in today¡¦s global economy. Drawing upon RBV and institutional theory incorporating theoretical insights from international business and stakeholder or CSR-related theories, this research was conducted in an attempt to offer a systematic analysis on antecedents and consequences of MNC subsidiaries¡¦ sustainability conducts. Combining the results of preliminary qualitative and empirical quantitative studies, this research identified the internal factors within MNC and external institutional factors outside of MNC that influence subsidiary¡¦ resources and capabilities developments for sustainable developments, and that in turn collectively contribute to MNC¡¦s sustainability in modern complex, dynamic global economy. With the sample of 114 MNCs¡¦ subsidiaries, this research used SEM (structural equation modeling) technique to test an integrated framework addressing how the diverse stakeholder demands and institutional pressures facing MNCs can be managed through internal mechanisms and processes to gain sustainable competitive advantages. Findings of this research offered better explanation for the widely debated relationships between CSR and firm performance from CSR theorists. Furthermore, by integrating RBV and institutional theory, this research theoretically and empirically demonstrated the way MNCs develop firm-specific advantages and country-specific advantages through their proactive CSR management conducted by subsidiaries, and hence provided theoretical and practical insights in international management.

Begreppet Human Resource Management, d.v.s. ledning av de mänskliga resurserna, har de senaste åren vuxit sig större. Detta beror bl.a. på att medvetenheten kring organisationer och hur man får anställda att öka produktiviteten har blivit större. Idag vet vi att de psykosociala faktorerna på en arbetsplats är av stor vikt för att få en ökad produktivitet och effektivitet. Före och under 30-talet ansåg forskare att människan drevs och motiverades av ackordslöner och andra belöningar. Idag vet vi bättre och företag som har ett HR-perspektiv arbetar aktivt för att skapa delaktighet, motivation, engagemang, socialt stöd, kompetensutveckling etc. Detta för att personalen ska må bra och bidra till organisationen med sin kunskap och kreativitet. På så sätt blir organisationen mer effektiv och de anställda mer produktiva. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka hur HRM-arbetet ser ut på ett mindre företag där det inte finns någon specifik HR-funktion. Lyckas företaget skapa delaktighet, motivation, engagemang, kompetensutveckling, goda relationer och socialt stöd och hur påverkas de anställda av dessa komponenter? Med en kvalitativ metod undersöks dessa frågor. Datamaterialet besår av åtta semistrukturerade intervjuer. Utifrån den såkallade Harvardmodellen studeras komponenterna delaktighet, motivation, engagemang, kompetensutveckling och goda relationer. Vidare studeras även komponenten socialt stöd då detta spelar en avgörande roll enligt Krav-kontroll-stödmodellen. Resultatet visar att det finns en del brister på arbetsplatsen gällande delaktighet, tydlighet, dokumentation och delvis socialt stöd. Företaget har dock lyckats skapa trivsel, engagemang och motivation trots avsaknaden av en specifik HR-funktion. Studien visar att goda relationer och de sociala stöd som erbjuds verkar ha fungerat som en buffert som kompenserar bristerna i delaktighet.

This thesis is about human resource management (HRM) in project-based organisations. Firms have over the last decades tended to rely increasingly on project-based structures. This process of projectification implies a changed work situation for individuals in modern organisations. Researchers from the project field of research as well as from the HRM field of research have pointed to possible implications that projectification might have for HRM. This thesis explores this area through a combination of multiple, comparative, and single case studies of project-based organisations. The studies aim at identifying and analysing the changes and challenges for HRM in this particular context. The studies are presented in four separate papers. The findings suggest a number of important and empirically nested challenges related to Competence, Trust, Change, and Individuals. Moreover, the changing roles of HR departments and line managers in the overall HR organisation are discussed and analysed. The thesis proposes alternative roles for line managers, depending on the organisational context, and it also proposes two ’ideal types’ of HR-departmental structures.

Mergers and acquisitions have received much attention through the years due to the waves of modernity it has implicated. Three crucial aspects that can shape a merger or an acquisition are culture, leadership and human resource management. These aspects are studied and analyzed in a Swedish company that has been involved in an acquisition process with a French company.  The purpose of this dissertation is to explore the role of culture, leadership and human resource management in an acquisition process between a French/Swedish company. An abductive research approach is adopted for the research since a mixture between inductive and deductive research approach is used. The method chosen was semi-structured interviews, which was fulfilled with the management team in the chosen company as well as with a consultant.  The findings of the study are that the three aspects have an impact on the acquisition process where culture is the most central. The culture had a significant impact on the acquisition process and affected the leadership and the human resource management within the company as well. In the company studied, the human resource management was lacking and found that communication is crucial during an acquisition process.  The limitations are that only one company is studied and the aspects are limited to culture, leadership and human resource management. The original value of the study can give a clearer picture on how the three aspects affect each other and the total acquisition process. Suggestions for further research include analyzing additional processes and cultures, not only the ones chosen in this dissertation.

This thesis examines and explains multinational employers' experiences of localized shortages of skilled process workers in Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP), China. It explains three challenges facing SIP employers in accessing sufficient skilled process workers and their responses within HRM to such challenges. These three challenges are employers' experiences with vocational education and training (VET) deficiencies in students' skill development, employers' experiences of poaching of skilled process workers by other companies, and employers' experiences of provision of workplace training for skilled process workers in their own companies. In response to these challenges, SIP employers have adopted various HRM measures that include differing combination of recruitment and selection, employee retention, training and development, and employment relations management. These policies and practices represent the different ways that SIP employers have attempted to meet the challenges of localized skill shortages in the context of their own business strategies.

Workforce Localisation policies in Saudi Arabia (commonly known as ‘Saudisation’) have passed their nineteenth year, aiming at replacing foreign employees in the private sector with local employees. The government’s rationale behind the localisation of the workforce includes both the high rate of unemployment amongst Saudi nationals and the massive presence of expatriates in the labour market. The government acted firmly in this issue as organisations are threatened by closure and severe financial penalties if they do not comply with the policy requirements. Although these policies apply to all private firms, the regulations have been even tougher on Multi-National Enterprises (MNEs) as one of the main objectives of Saudi’s foreign investment policy is to create employment opportunities for locals. However, many MNEs have been found to be lagging behind in implementing the policies. Despite the importance of these policies and their implications on MNEs’ performance, research in this area remains very limited. The literature available has focused on issues of rationales and barriers of WL polices. One of the main gaps in literature is the lack of multi-dimensional models that identify the factors associated with the success of such policies. In an attempt to overcome the mentioned limitations, this research identifies the determinants of localisation success through the employment of multi-dimensional model. From the model proposed, the research evaluates the impacts of Institutional determinants, HR determinants, and firm characteristics on localisation success. The study draws its conclusion from the analysis of quantitative data collected from Human Resource Directors representing 157 MNEs. Hypothetical relationships are examined using multiple regression analysis. With regard to the first group of localisation determinants, the results support the institutional determinants of cause and control whilst supporting only the consistency proposition in the content determinants. With regard to HR determinants, the roles of HR director, recruitment, and training were found to be powerful determinants of localisation success. Finally, the results have shown that determinants related to MNEs’ characteristics—namely MNE size and MNE age—have no significant impact on localisation success. We also found that MNEs operating in the petrochemical industry are more likely to succeed in their localisation polices than other industries namely high and low technology industries. The overall findings have raised a number of areas of interest. First, the drivers of these policies were specifically social perception in the form of legitimacy and extrinsic economic pressure. Secondly, it was also duly observed that legislative and regulatory influence was found to be a strongly positive determining factor. From a theoretical perspective, it is concluded that greater diffusion of policies which acknowledge the potential variations in skill sets and labour availability and capability would, in fact, result in a more transparent approach. In the long term increased trust between organisations and policy-makers could have the effect of accelerating the localisation process because MNE’s work collaboratively with policy-makers and are prepared to invest resource in improving the level of localisation as a form of strategic and competitive advantage.

Guanxi, the Chinese term for social connections, has long been a key subject of interest in Chinese management research. Despite the conceptual and empirical efforts of earlier studies to address the nature, instrumentality, and managerial implications of guanxi, the extent to and the ways in which guanxi is deployed in the actual decision-making process in contemporary Chinese organisations remains ambiguous.

Studiens syfte var att undersöka vilken kompetens HR-anställda innehar kopplat till digital HR, vilka kunskaper de efterfrågar för att möta digitalisering och hur Personalvetarprogram matchar arbetsmarknaden. Metoden hade en kvalitativ ansats och empirin inhämtades genom semistrukturerade intervjuer. I studien deltog fem informanter, tre från offentlig sektor och två från privatsektor. Informanterna valdes ut genom ett målinriktat urval. Resultatet analyserades med hjälp av tematiseringen kopplat mot studiens tidigare forskning.Resultatet förmedlar en intressant utveckling som är både positiv och utmanande. HR anställda har idag överlag för låg kunskap för att möta digitaliseringens utveckling.Förändringen innebär fler digitala HR-verktyg, mer specialiserade roller och ökade kunskapskrav. Det leder till en utmaning som vi genomgående kommer tillbaka till. Hur organisationer på arbetsmarknaden ska kompetensförsörja sina HR-avdelningar. Det insamlade materialet visar att generisk kunskap om digital HR och dess system blir avgörande och att utbildningssystemet måste utvecklas i högre takt än vad det gör idag.

L'objectif de ce travail doctoral est de caractériser ce que recouvre la notion de GRH territoriale, puis de comprendre comment celle-ci se construit. La recherche s'appuie sur les concepts issus des travaux sur l'instrumentation de gestion (Hatchuel et Weil, 1992 ; Oiry, 2003) ainsi que sur la théorie de l'acteur-réseau (Akrich et al. 1988, 2006 ; Callon, 1986). Une étude de cas multi-sites et longitudinale a été réalisée entre 2008 et 2010 auprès de deux projets de GRH territoriale en France. Les résultats de la recherche montrent que ces dispositifs ont été transformés au fil des négociations réalisées dans le temps entre les acteurs. Les résultats illustrent en outre des modalités de problématisation, d'intéressement, d'enrôlement et de mobilisation des alliés dissemblables, mettant en exergue une traduction partielle dans le cas 1, et une traduction aboutie, au moins temporairement dans le cas 2. / This PhD-work aims at characterizing the regional HRM notion, then at understanding how it can be successfully built. This research relies on a theoretical framework built from the management tool and device literature (Hatchuel and Weil, 1992; Oiry, 2003) and from the “actor-network theory” (Akrich et al., 1988, 2006; Callon, 1986; Latour, 1992 This research relies on a multisite and longitudinal case-study realized between 2008 and 2010 and based on two distinct regional projects in France. Our analyses show that these regional HRM devices have been transformed over time. Our results further show that these devices were built differently in terms of “problematisation”, “interessement”, “enrollment” and “mobilization of allies”. In the first case, the translation process remains partial, while the second project produced a more complete translation process.