Abstract: Human resource management (HRM) does not occur within a vacuum: Managing people in the workplace is influenced by an array of contextual factors, especially at an international level. I suggest an "institutional multiplicity" approach to researching, teaching, and practicing international HRM to address this complexity. This approach involves considering multiple layers of context—strategic, HRM systems, organizational, (inter)national, and temporal—when developing and implementing HRM practices globally. Rather than controlling context away, the institutional multiplicity approach involves exploring the embeddedness of management practices across this broad range of contexts. Much of this theorizing has been informed by the CRANET research network of scholars who examine organizational HRM policies and practices, spanning over forty countries and three decades.

About the speaker: Elaine Farndale (Ph.D., Doctor in Economics and Management h.c.) is professor of HRM and director of the School of Labor and Employment Relations at Penn State, where she is also founder and director of the Center for International Human Resource Studies. She is also a founding member of the IHRM Webinar Series team. Her widely published research encompasses the broad field of strategic (international) HRM. She has served as co-editor-in-chief for Human Resource Management Journal, co-editor for Routledge’s Global HRM Series, and associate editor for Human Resource Management and International Journal of Human Resource Management. She has published over 100 scholarly articles, book chapters, and books from her international collaborations.

Moderator: Maral Muratbekova-Touron, professor in the Department of Strategy, Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources at the ESCP Business School, Paris Campus, France.

This event is part of an IHRM Webinar Series, registration is free.