C. F. Fey, A. G. Pavlovskaya, N. Tang. How Similar Should Human Resource Management Be Around the World? A Comparison of Russia, China, and Finland
V.2, N1, 2004
Based on in-depth case studies of three Swedish multinational corporations, this paper compares the HRM practices used by these firms’ Chinese, Russian, and Finnish subsidiaries and explain why important differences in HRM in the three countries exist for good reasons. The article shows that while the most recent literature has considered the overall degree HR practices were standardized, in fact MNCs should and do standardize different practices to varying degrees. Further, a central point of this article is that it is important to move beyond the «what» of HR and also consider the «how» of HR. Both formal and informal systems should be used and both HRM staff and line managers have a role to play to make HRM practices work optimally. The repertoire of systems used and their balance is significantly influenced by national context.