Drawing on several theoretical perspectives, including institutionalism and strategic choice, this article examines the impact of home and host country national business systems on the diffusion of human resource management practices by American multinational corporations to their subsidiaries in Spain. Our evidence suggests that the tight control that American multinational corporations usually exert over their subsidiaries has recently increased. In most of the case studies, successful implementation of corporate human resource policies has mainly been achieved due to the degree of malleability and openness that characterized the Spanish business system. However, increased control also reflects the legitimacy given to managerial human resource practices originating in the USA and the willingness of host country managers to implement corporate policy. To this extent, it can be argued that subsidiary management plays a critical role in the configuration and implementation of human resource management and industrial relations policies and practices in multinational corporations.
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