policies and practices would need to take into account the global dimension of HR
strategies and be tailored accordingly as companies seek to act rationally in the
pursuit of optimizing proWts. Analyses of these global HRM choices oVer yet
another important future direction for enquiry.
The second set of issues germane to the implementation of global HR strategies
includes global control, coordination, and integration at the center and related
international staYng. At the heart of this challenge is the ability to manage a
multinational enterprise that, on one hand, ‘thinks globally’ but, on the other hand,
‘acts locally’ (a well-worn mantra but a poignant one, nevertheless). At question
here is: how can the corporate center best develop and manage its human resour-
ces across multidivisional or transnational organizational structures, allowing
for appropriate degrees of variation and autonomy while integrating diverse, inter-
dependent units via the exercise of suYcient control over and coordination of
international operations? (See, in particular, Schuler et al. 1993 ; Bartlett and Ghoshal
1998 ; and Boxall and Purcell 2003 .) Especially challenging to MNCs is the control,
coordination, and integration required in managing HR disruptions incurred as a
result of joint ventures, mergers, and acquisitions, the latter which have historically
accounted for much of FDI (see e.g. Aguilera and Dencker 2004 ; Boxall and
Purcell 2003 ).
An emerging literature regarding the eVective control, coordination, and inte-
gration of global HR strategies addresses the central role of building ‘social capital’
throughout the global operations of MNCs (see e.g. Tsai and Ghoshal 1998 ; Inkpen
and Tsang 2005 ). Taylor ( 2005 : 8 ) summarizes the importance of global integration
via the building of social capital in the following way: ‘in order to be truly eVective,
IHR [international HR] must become a champion of an integrated HR system,
a communicator of the reasons for it, and a booster for the overarching global
vision of theWrm that underpins the need for interdependence.’ She also makes a
strong case that MNCs seeking to act socially responsibly in regard to environ-
mental sustainability would enhance their success in doing so by developing social
capital throughout their global operations. Applying this same logic to analyses of
CSR in regard to labor standards and the shedding of domestic workforces oVers
another potentially fruitful line of enquiry.
Invariably tied to the success of eVorts at control, coordination, and integration
are staYng decisions regarding expatriate assignments. Here the literature empha-
sizes that international work experience can be a vital asset to MNCs if, indeed,
a MNC’s cadre of expatriates can serve as an eVective conduit for developing
essential cross-border relationships and social capital throughout global networks,
and their unique international experiences and knowledge are fully tapped by
corporate headquarters (see e.g. Takeuchi et al. 2005 ; Suutari and Brewster 2003 ).
Future enquiries that link more closely how the development of social capital
and expatriate assignments facilitate the implementation of global HR strategies
hold promise of illuminating the role played by the center in controlling,
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