Multinational companies (MNCs) employ a significant proportion of the Australian workforce and are influential in shaping local human resource management (HRM) practices. Notwithstanding this influence, there have been few studies of Australian HRM comparing local companies with MNCs. This study systematically compares the nature of the HRM function in local and overseas firms using data from the 1999 PricewaterhouseCoopers-Cranfield Project on HR in Australia. The study makes these comparisons against the backdrop of theoretical arguments for overseas companies to either adapt to the local HR environment or adopt HR practices from other parts of their overseas networks.
The main conclusions are that while overseas companies as a group differ from locals in some important ways, particularly in having higher levels of representation on company boards and being more influential in overall decision on HR matters, in terms of formal HR policies the two groups are substantially similar. The main differences between the three main overseas groups are that UK companies report a lower level of influence and representation than their US or European counterparts.
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