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HANDBOOK OF INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT:

INTEGRATING PEOPLE, PROCESS AND CONTEXT

Edited by

PAUL R. SPARROW

Paul Sparrow is Director of the Centre for Performance-Led HR and Professor of International HRM at Lancaster University Management School.

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Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

Notes on the Contributors

Part I: Method and Research lenses

1. Integrating people, process and context issues in the field of IHRM

PAUL SPARROW

2. Multilevel issues in International HRM: Mean differences, explained variance, and moderated

relationships.

PAT WRIGHT AND KARINA VAN DE VOORDE

3. Comparative analysis of HR

WOLFGANG MAYRHOFER AND ASTRID REICHEL

4. Contextual influences on culture resejrch: shifting assumptions for new workplace realities

SONJA SACKMANN

Part II: Managing key staff groups and individual processes in international organizations

5. Beyond international experience: the strategic role of cultural intelligence for executive selection

in international HRM

KOK-YEE NG, LYNN VAN DYNE AND SOON ANG

6. Mutual Adjustment of Expatriates and International Team Members: The Role of Political and

Social Skill

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MIKE HARVEY AND MILORAD NOVICEVIC

7. Beyond expatriation: different forms of international employment.

VESA SUUTARI AND CHRIS BREWSTER

8. Inpatriates as agents of cross-unit knowledge flows in multinational corporations

SEBASTIAN REICHE, MARIA KRAMER AND ANNE-WIL HARZING

9. Independent consultants: How International project operations create IHRM issues and challenges

CATHERINE WELCH, DENICE WELCH AND MARILYN FENWICK

10. Gender issues: women in international management.

HELEN DECIERI

Part III: Managing globalisation processes at the level of the firm

11. Multinational companies, national business systems and reverse diffusion

TONY EDWARDS

12. Performance management across borders

INGMAR BJÖRKMAN, WILHELM BARNER-RASMUSSEN, MATS EHRNROOTH AND KRISTIINA

MÄKELÄ

13. Managing Knowledge Across Boundaries: a Learning Mix Perspective

BERTRAND MOINGEON, ALEXANDRE PERRIN AND FABRICE LUMINEAU

14. Structuring the IT-enabled Transformation of HR: an HRM Frames Analysis in an International

Company

TANYA BONDAROUK AND HUUB RÜEL

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15. Employer branding and Corporate Reputation Management in an international context

GRAEME MARTIN AND SUSAN HETRICK

16. Developing a theory of skills for global HR.

DAVID ASHTON, PHIL BROWN AND HUGH LAUDER

17. HR Offshoring and Outsourcing: Research Issues for IHRM

FANG LEE COOKE AND PAWAN BUDHWAR

18. Globalising human resource management: examining the role of networks.

PAUL SPARROW, CHRIS BREWSTER, AND PAUL LIGTHART

Part IV: Organizational action in context

19. International HRM in Non Governmental Organizations: Challenges and Issues

MARILYN FENWICK AND MARGARET-ANN MCLEAN

20. The Role of International HRM in the Formulation and Implementation of Ethics Programs in

Multinational Enterprises.

ABIHIJEET VADERA AND RUTH AGUILERA

21. The ethnic factor in International HRM: A Research Agenda.

STEPHEN NYAMBEGERA

22. Shaping History: Global Leadership in the Twenty-First Century

NANCY ADLER

Index

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List of Figures

1.1 Conceptual overview of the book structure

3.1 Levels and units of analysis in comparative HRM research

3.2 Type of reasoning in comparative HRM research

3.3 Core themes in comparative HRM research

3.4 Comparative research cube (coreQB) and comparative HR analyses

5.1 Theoretical Model of Cultural Intelligence and Experiential Learning

6.1 Model of Mutual Adjustments in Global Teams

6.2 Bases of Expatriate Power in International Teams

8.1 Determinants of Inpatriates’ Knowledge Sharing in MNCs

9.1 Independents and project partners

12.1 Four Archetypes of Subsidiary Adoption Patterns

14.1 The interactions of human agents and institutional properties, mediated by modalities of structures

14.2 Generalizations for the Structuring of the IT-enabled HRM Transformation

15.1 Model of the employer branding process in international context

15.2 Choices in International Employer Branding Strategies

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15.3 The Finco Global Employing Framework

17.1 Methods of sourcing HR services

17.2 A model of a global HR structure with HR offshoring/outsourcing

18.1 The network based on 13 egos and up to 5 alters

18.2 Legend for the social network analysis

19.1 The Global Institutional Context

19.2 World Vision Partnership structure

20.1 Multilevel Issues in Understanding the Role of IHRM in Formulating and Implementing Ethics

Programs

22.1 Number of Women Political Leaders

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List of Tables

3.1 Search Terms for Comparative HR research

3.2 Categories coreQB – results for empirical articles

4.1 Three different conceptualisations of culture

4.2 Implications for Research in the Field of IHRM

7.1 Advantages and disadvantages of different forms of international working

8.1 Recent Studies on Knowledge Sharing through International Assignments

8.2 Distinctions between Inpatriates and Expatriates

9.1 Issues and Associated Actions for Independents and Supplier Firms

14.1. Key points of the structuration theory for empirical research

14.2. Nature of the IT-enabled HRM transformation: HRM frames of HR specialists, line managers

and employees

14.3. Strategy of the IT-enabled HRM transformation: HRM frames of HR specialists, line managers

and employees

14.4. Implementation of the IT-enabled HRM: HRM frames of HR specialists, line managers and

employees

14.5. Globalisation issues: HRM frames of HR specialists, line managers and employees

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15.1 Key findings from recent employer branding studies

15.2 Finco’s International Engagement Performance

15.3 Finco’s Global Employing Principles

18.1 Role of 13 interviewees

18.2 Network nodes

19.1 Indicators of Aid Effectiveness and 2010 Targets in the Paris declaration

20.1 Current research on ethics programs

21.1 Ethnic Minority employment, by region 2004

22.1 Women Political Leaders: A Chronology

22.2 Countries Having Selected More than One Woman Leader

22.3 Global Women Business Leaders

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Notes on the Contributors

NANCY ADLER

Nancy Adler is Professor of Organizational Behavior at McGill University, Canada. She has a BA,

MBA and PhD all at the University of California Los Angeles. She has held leadership positions in the

Academy of International Business, the Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research

(SIETAR), and the Academy of Management. She has taught executives in the People's Republic of

China, at INSEAD, France, and at Bocconi University, Italy, and has held the Citicorp Visiting Doctoral

Professorship at the University of Hong Kong. Her research interests cover: Strategic international

human resources management, expatriation, global women leaders, international negotiating, and

international organization development.

RUTH AGUILERA

Ruth V. Aguilera is an Associate Professor in the Department of Business Administration at the College

of Business and in the Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations and Center for Professional

Responsibility of Business and Society Fellow at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She

received a Graduate Diploma in Business Analysis from the University of Lancaster (1990), a

Licenciatura in Economics (1992) from the University of Barcelona, and M.A. (1996) and Ph.D. (1999)

degrees in Sociology from Harvard University. Her research interests are in: corporate governance,

organizational theory, and historical comparative methods.

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SOON ANG

Soon Ang is the Goh Tjoei Kok Chair Professor in International Management & IT at the Nanyang

Business School, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She holds concurrent appointments as

director of the Human Resource Round Table Singapore (HARRT-Singapore); executive director for the

Center for Leadership and Cultural Intelligence (CLCI), and academic advisor to the Singapore's

Ministry of Defense SAFTI Leadership Development Center. She received her PhD in management

from the University of Minnesota. Her research interests are in: global leadership; outsourcing; and

cultural intelligence.

DAVID ASHTON

David Ashton is Professor (Emeritus) at The Centre for Labour Market Studies at the University of

Leicester, UK. His research interests cover: the theory of skill formation; the impact of globalisation on

national VET systems; the comparative analysis of skill formation systems; workplace learning; high

performance work organizations; and the skill strategies of multi-National and Trans-National

Corporations

WILHELM BARNER-RASMUSSEN

Wilhelm Barner-Rasmussen holds the Hanken Foundation assistant professorship in management and

organisation. His previous work experience includes several acting professorships in management and

organisation at Hanken, and the academic directorship of Hanken & IFL Corporate Development,

Hanken's executive education alliance with the Stockholm School of Economics. His current academic

interests focus on knowledge transfer in multinationals, specifically issues related to language,

communication, organisational identity, and location of headquarters units.

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INGMAR BJÖRKMAN

Ingmar Björkman is Professor of Management and Organization and Head of the Department of

Management and Organization. He is affiliated with the INSEAD Euro-Asia and Comparative Research

Center. He has held visiting professor positions at Hong Kong University, ESSEC, and INSEAD. His

research interests focus on international human resource management, knowledge creation and transfer

in multinational corporations, and integration of international mergers & acquisitions.

TANYA BONDAROUK

Tanya Bondarouk is Assistant Professor of Human Resource Management at the University of Twente,

the Netherlands. Her PhD was in the field of Information Technology Implementation. Her research

interests concern electronic HRM and Human Resource Information Systems in both private and public

sectors. She has conducted research projects with the Dutch Ministry of Internal Affairs, KPN (Dutch

Telecom Company), Dow Chemical, Ford, IBM, ABN AMRO bank, Shell, and Unit4Agresso.

CHRIS BREWSTER

Chris Brewster is Professor of International Human Resource Management at Reading University, UK.

He has substantial experience as a practitioner and gained his doctorate from the LSE before becoming

an academic. He researches in the field of international and comparative HRM; and has published over

twenty books and more than a hundred articles. In 2002 he was given the Georges Petipas award by the

practitioner body, the World Federation of Personnel Managers Associations. In 2006 Chris was

awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of Vaasa, Finland.

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PHIL BROWN

Phil Brown, is Professor of Management at Cardiff University’s School of Social Sciences. He is the

Research Convenor for Work, Employability and the Labour Market (WELM) network. His research

interests cover: the knowledge Economy; global labour markets; opportunity, inequality and social

stratification;; skill formation and workforce development; the future of work; and graduate

employability.

PAWAN BUDHWAR

Pawan Budhwar is Professor of International HRM and Head of Group at Aston Business School. He

has a BA (Economics and Geography), University College, Rohtak, India; M.B.A. (Personnel

Management and Marketing), M.D. University, Rohtak, India; MA (Industrial Sociology), M.D

University, Rohtak, India; M.Phil. (Industrial Sociology), M.D. University, Rohtak, India; and Ph.D.

(Cross-National Comparative HRM), Manchester Business School. His current research interests are:

Transfer of HRM policies and practices from headquarters of multinational companies to Indian

subsidiaries, Expatriation, HRM and firm's performance, and Work processes in Indian call centres.

FANG LEE COOKE

Fang Lee Cooke is Professor of HRM and Chinese Studies at Manchester Business School. Prior to

coming to the UK, she had four years lecturing experience in Sun Yat-sen (Zhongshan) University and

five years working experience in the energy industry with Sino-British engineering project teams in

Guangdong Province, China. Her research interests cover three main strands within an overarching

theme of organizational and societal change and impact on the nature of work, employment relations and

human resource management (HRM): the role of employee involvement in technological and business

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innovations; employment relations and labour market restructuring, effectiveness of employment

legislation, gender and HRM in China; and comparative and international studies.

HELEN DECIERI

Helen De Cieri (M.A., Ph.D.) is a Professor of Management and the Director of the Australian Centre

for Research in Employment and Work (ACREW) in the Department of Management. From 1996 to

2002, Helen was the Editor of the Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources. She is a departmental

editor (Strategic Human Resources and Industrial Relations) for the Journal of International Business

Studies and currently serves on several editorial boards, including the Academy of Management Journal,

and Human Resource Management. Her research interests are in: Strategic human resource

management (HRM); global HRM; HRM in multinational networks.

TONY EDWARDS

Tony Edwards is Reader in Comparative HRM at King’s College, London. His doctorate examined the

ways in which multinationals identify innovative practices in their international operations and

subsequently diffuse these across the firm. His current research focuses on the management of labour in

multinational companies. He has investigated the influence of the US business system on employment

relations in American MNCs and the management of human resources during and after international

mergers and acquisitions.

MATS EHRNROOTH

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Mats Ehrnrooth is a Researcher and Doctoral Student, Affiliated with the Department of Management

and Organization, Swedish School of Economics, Finland.

MARILYN FENWICK

Marilyn Fenwick (PhD, University of Melbourne), is Honorary Senior Research Fellow with the

Department of Management, Monash University, and Director of the HRM research consultancy, Global

Mobility Management. She researches, consults and publishes in the areas of global mobility and project

team management, and international HR performance management and development.

MIKE HARVEY

Michael Harvey was appointed Professor of International Business at Bond University in 2006. He also

he holds the position of Distinguished Chair of Global Business at the University of Mississippi. He has

a B.B.A. (Southern Methodist University), an M.B.A. (Southern Methodist University) and Ph.D

(University of Arizona).

ANNE-WIL HARZING

Anne-Wil Harzing is Professor in International Management at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

She has a BA in Economics & Linguistics Hogeschool Enschede, Netherlands, MA in Business

Administration & International Management from Maastricht University, Netherlands and PhD in

International Management, University of Bradford, United Kingdom. Her research interests are in: HQ-

subsidiary relations; International HRM; Cross-cultural management; and the role of language in

international business.

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SUSAN HETRICK

Dr Susan Hetrick is joint Managing Director of People Academy. She works with Company Boards and

senior teams to deliver innovative people solutions to challenging strategic business issues. A former

Board level HR Director, she has extensive practitioner experience working with global companies in

the financial services, telecoms, FMCG and business advisory sectors. Susan has a doctorate in

Organisational Behaviour and Human Resource Management from City Business School, and is a

visiting fellow at Glasgow University and the Helsinki School of Economics.

MARIA KRAIMER

Maria Kraimer is an Associate Professor at the Henry B. Tippie College of Business, University of

Iowa, US. She was previously Associate Professor and Reader, University of Melbourne, Australia.

She has a B.S., M.B.A. and PhD. from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her research covers issues

related to employee empowerment, career development, and expatriate assignments

HUGH LAUDER

Hugh Lauder is Professor of Education and Political Economy at the Department of Education,

University of Bath, UK. He is Head of the Policy and Management Research Group. His research

interests cover: Political economy of skill formation; Educational policy; and the Political economy of

education. He is working on a research programme that examines the tensions between the role of

education as an engine for economic competitiveness and national wealth creation that results in the

production of inequalities between nations, institutions and social groups.

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PAUL LIGTHART

FABRICE LUMINEAU

Fabrice Lumineau is a researcher at IMD. He received his PhD in strategic management from HEC Paris

in 2008. His main research interests focus on inter-organizational relationships, opportunism, and

contractual design.

KRISTIINA MÄKELÄ

Kristiina Mäkelä is a Post Doctoral researcher at the Department of management and Organization at

Hanken. She earned her PhD at Helsinki School of Economics. Her research interests cover:

International business, knowledge and competence issues in Multinational Corporations, interpersonal-

level knowledge sharing, innovation She is currently working on a Tekes-funded project on Cross-

Border Competence Management at Hanken and an international research project on the

commercialization of innovations at London Business School.

MARGARET-ANN MCLEAN

Margaret-Ann McClean(BA, Graduate Diploma in Educational Psychology and Careers Education) is an

International Staffing Specialist with World Vision International, currently based in Singapore. She has

17 years work experience in the Human Resources field, working in the public and not-for-profit sectors

and is a registered psychologist in Australia.

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GRAEME MARTIN

Graeme Martin is Professor of HRM at the Business School, University of Glasgow, UK and Director of

Centre for Reputation Management through People (CRMP). He also teaches and holds visiting

appointments in Sweden, the USA, Italy, Columbia and Australia. His research interests cover:

Strategic HR and Leadership, Organisational Reputation Management, Branding and Human Resources,

Information and communications technologies and Managing People, and Human Capital.

WOLFGANG MAYRHOFER

Wolfgang Mayrhofer is a Professor of Business Administration and holds a chair for Management and

Organizational Behaviour at Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien, Austria. Previously, he held teaching and

research positions at the University of Paderborn and the Dresden University of Technology, both in

Germany. His research interests focus on international comparative research in human resource

management and leadership, careers and systems theory.

BERTRAND MOINGEON

Bertrand Moingeon is Professor of Strategic Management and Deputy Dean at HEC Paris He is in

charge of Executive Education and Academic Development. He holds a postgraduate diploma in

Strategy and Management (HEC Doctoral Program), a Ph.D. in Sociology and a postdoctoral diploma in

Management. He was a Visiting Research Scholar at the Harvard Business School. His research interests

cover: the management of change, strategic management, corporate identity and organizational learning.

KOK-YEE NG

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Kok-Yee Ng is Associate Professor of Human Resource Management at Nanyang Technological

University, Singapore. She is the Director of Research for the Center for Leadership and Cultural

Intelligence at the Nanyang Business School. She received her Ph.D in Organizational Behavior from

Michigan State University. Her primary research interests are in cross-cultural/international

organizational behavior, focusing on cultural intelligence, leadership, and teams. She has conducted

workshops on cultural intelligence for Hamilton Sundstrand, MTV Asia, and Tata Consulting Services.

She is currently co-leading a team of research investigators on a multi-year leadership project for the

Singapore Armed Forces.

MILORAD NOVICEVIC

Milorad M. Novicevic (Ph.D. University of Oklahoma) is an Associate Professor of Management at the

University of Mississippi. He has published more than 90 articles in various journals including the

Leadership Quarterly, Human Resource Management, European Management Journal, Journal of World

Business, Business Horizons, Organizational Dynamics, Business Ethics: A European Review, Research

in Personnel and Human Resources Management, International Journal of Human Resource

Management, Human Resource Management Review, and Journal of Vocational Behavior.

STEPHEN NYAMBEGERA

Stephen Nyambegera is Professor of Management and Dean Faculty of Social Science at Daystar

University, Nairobi, Kenya. He was previously a Senior Lecturer at Daystar University. He received a

BA and then MBA in India and his Ph. D. from the University of Sheffield. He research has specialised

on Human Resource Management and Organizational Psychology, HRM in developing countries vis-a-

vis developed countries, and the role of ethnicity in management.

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ALEXANDRE PERRIN

Alexandre Perrin is Assistant Professor in Strategic Management at Audencia Nantes School of

Management. His Doctorate was in Management Science at University of Nice Sophia Antipolis. he

has a Master in research, University of Nice Sophia Antipolis and Specialised in Knowledge

Management and Business Intelligence whilst at the European School of Management. His research

interests cover: Knowledge management; Organizational learning; Communities of practice; and

Collaborative tools.

SEBASTIAN REICHE

Sebastian Reiche is assistant professor in the Managing People in Organizations department at IESE. He

earned his Ph.D. from the University of Melbourne, Australia where he also taught in the fields of

Human Resource Management and Cross-Cultural Management. His research focuses on how

organizations access, maintain and leverage knowledge resources, primarily from a multinational and

cross-cultural perspective.

ASTRID REICHEL

Astrid Reichel works as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Management, WU

Wirtschaftsuniversitaet Wien, Austria. Previously, she held teaching and research positions at the

University of Vienna and the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna. She received

her Master and Doctoral degrees in Business Administration from the University of Vienna. Her

research focuses on international and comparative human resource management, the human resource

management-performance-link and career management.

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HUUB RÜEL

Huub Rüel is Assistant Professor International Management at the Nikos Capacity Group at the

University of Twente, the Netherlands. Previously he has worked at Kuwait-Maastricht Business

School (KMBS), Kuwait and the University of Utrecht. He has a Bachelor, Human Resource

Management (Saxion University of Applied Science), Master of Science, Psychology (Netherlands

Open University), PhD, Business Administration/Human Resource Management (Twente University).

SONJA SACKMANN

Sonja Sackmann is Professor, Institut for Human Resources and Organization Research at the University

Bw Munich, and a Managing Partner at MZSG, Management Zentrum, St. Gallen. Her research

interests cover organizational culture (assessment and development), organizational development,

intercultural management, team development, and management-/executive development. She is on the

advisory board of MUWIT, Kongress für Weiterbildung und Personalentwicklung and has served on the

Editorial Boards of Organization, Journal of East European Management Studies and Journal of

Management Inquiry.

PAUL SPARROW

Paul Sparrow is Professor of International HRM and Director of the Centre for Performance-led HR at

Lancaster University Management School. He has a BSc (Hons) Psychology from Manchester

University, and MSc Applied Psychology and PhD from Astin University. He is a former editor of the

Journal of Occupational and Organisational Psychology and is currently an Editorial Board Member of

the: British Journal of Management, European Management Review, Career Development International,

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International Journal of Cross-Cultural Management and Cross-Cultural Management: An International

Journal. His research focuses on the impact of globalisation on international HRM, changes in the

employment relationship, and the nature of strategic competence.

VESA SUUTARI

Vesa Suutari acts as a Professor of International Management and as a Vice Dean of the Faculty of

Business Studies at the University of Vaasa, Finland. His recent research interests are on international

human resource management and cross-cultural management. He has published various international

journal articles and book chapters on issues such as European management cultures, expatriate

management, self-initiated expatriation, global leadership, global careers, diversity management, and

international knowledge transfers.

ABHIJEET VADERA

Abhijeet Vadera is a Doctoral Student at the Department of Business Administration, University of

Illinopis at Urbana champaign. He has a P.G.D., Management from The Indian School of Business

(ISB) and a B.E., Civil Engineering from the University of Bombay. His teaching and research interests

cover Positive (creativity) and negative (white collar crime/ corruption) deviance in and of

organizations, organizational identity and identification.

KARINA VAN DE VOORDE

Karina Van De Voorde is a doctoral candidate in Human Resource Studies in the School of Social and

Behavioural Sciences at Tilburg University. Her research interests include Strategic HRM,

organisational climate, employee well-being, and research methods.

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LYNN VAN DYNE

Lynn Van Dyne is Professor of Management at the Eli Broad Graduate School of Management,

Michigan State University. She conducts research, teaches and provides consulting services on a variety

of topics in Organizational Behavior and Management - with a special emphasis on international

management and organizational behaviour. She is currently Associate Editor for Organizational

Behavior and Human Decision Processes, has served as Consulting Editor of Journal of Organizational

Behavior and on the Editorial Boards of Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management

Review, Academy of Management Executive, Academy of Management Perspectives, Human

Relations, and Journal of Organizational Behavior.

CATHERINE WELCH

Catherine Welch is a senior lecturer in international business at the University of Sydney. Her research

interests lie in the internationalisation of firms, including international project operations, and the use of

qualitative methods. Her research has appeared in journals such as Management International Review,

International Business Review and Journal of Business Ethics.

DENICE WELCH

Denice Welch is a Professor at Melbourne Business School. She has published in various international

journals including Journal of Management Studies, Management International Review, International

Business Review and the International Journal of Human Resource Management. Denice co-authored

three editions of the leading global textbook in International Human Resource Management.

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PAT WRIGHT

Patrick M. Wright is William J. Conaty GE Professor of Strategic Human Resources and Director of the

Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell

University, USA. He holds a BA in psychology from Wheaton College, and an MBA and a Ph.D. in

Organizational Behavior/Human Resource Management from Michigan State University. teaches,

conducts research, and consults in the area of Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM),

particularly focusing on how firms use people as a source of competitive advantage. He has published

widely in leading international journals and worked with a number of the world's leading firms in their

efforts to align HR with business strategy.

About the Author

Paul Sparrow is one of the UK’s leading authorities on international HR and its management. His

research focuses on the impact of globalisation on international HRM, changes in the employment

relationship, and the nature of strategic competence. In 2008 he was voted amongst the Top 25 Most

Influential HR Thinkers by Human Resources Magazine. An organisational psychologist by training,

he is the author of a number of books within the territory of HRM. He has a wide range of international

links and combines his extensive writing career with an academic involvement in executive education

and consulting. He has deep experience in the commercial world having worked as a consultant in his

earlier career with PA Consulting. Paul joined Lancaster in November 2006 to take up the Chair and

Director’s post in the Centre for Performance-Led HR.

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