operations were they not to develop global HR strategies accounting for such
developments.
The fourth component addressed in this chapter dealt largely with the issue of
corporate social responsibility as it applies to global HR strategies. As the con-
tinued expansion and reach of corporate globalization is bound to lead to increas-
ing FDI in and outsourcing to low-wage, developing countries of the world (dare I
say China and India?), the issues of labor standards and the shedding of domestic
workforces will undoubtedly stay at the forefront of public concern and debate. As
discussed, the CSR literature provides useful insight into how MNCs can frame
their strategic assessments regarding CSR more broadly. Missing in the literature,
however, are any empirical analyses of the costs incurred and beneWts derived from
MNC eVorts to accommodate public demands regarding improvements in labor
standards abroad and minimization of the loss of jobs at home. Hence, another
important future direction for scholarly enquiry and practical strategic assessment
would be the study of how MNCs have responded to calls for greater social
responsibility along these lines and evaluations of the eVects of alternative global
strategies deployed to accommodate these CSR demands on MNC performance
and worker outcomes.
The last component of strategic decision-making addressed in this chapter was
about the alignment of global HR strategies with business strategies. Although
there have been a number of empirical analyses showing some linkage between HR
and competitive positioning strategies, the literature is nearly void of any empirical
enquiry as to how MNCs go about aligning their global HR and global market-
positioning strategies. Additionally, little attention has been paid in the literature
until very recently to how MNCs integrate HR capabilities with other resource-
based asset capabilities, in particular with regard to technological capabilities.
Further study along this line wherein we examine the transnational diVusion of
HR policies and practices integrated with technology-driven policies and practices
(as well as other resource-based capabilities) would appear to be a promising and
needed line of enquiry. Importantly, the literature has yet to oVer any empirical
analyses of theeVectsof alternative choices of alignment on MNC performance,
a limitation in the literature that also warrants our attention.
Finally, in addition to the future directions just identiWed, there are numerous
other issues and challenges that fall just below the strategic decision-making level
about the formulation of global HR strategies but that are, nonetheless, critical to
the success of any strategies deployed. Stated diVerently, it is one thing to ‘talk
a good game’ (strategy formulation) and another to ‘play a good game’ (strategy
implementation). With respect to strategy implementation, theWrst set of issues
includes decisions about the actual HRM policies and practices that will be
embraced and applied. These are addressed in some detail by the authors of the
other chapters in this Handbook, albeit they have not focused on the global
dimension of HR strategy and practice. MNC choices about these actual HRM
global human resource strategy 503