Journal of Management Seeks Papers on Global Work in the Multinational Enterprise

Journal of Management invites scholars to submit research for an upcoming Special Issue entitled “Global Work in the Multinational Enterprise: New Avenues and Challenges for Strategically Managing Human Capital Across Borders.” The issue will be guest edited by David Allen of Rutgers University, Yih-teen Lee of IESE Business School at University of Navarra and Sebastian Reiche of IESE Business School at University of Navarra.

Journal of Management particularly welcome studies that apply wider theoretical lenses and multilevel approaches in order to better capture the complexity of global work in multinational enterprises (MNE). Specifically, this special issue seeks to promote and shape the future direction for research addressing questions at the intersection of the following themes: (1) global work in MNEs – what structures, systems, and policies and practices do MNEs need to facilitate global work? (2) strategic HRM in MNEs – how does the system design and implementation fit an MNE’s global strategy?, and (3) global talent management in MNEs – how do we define, conceptualize, and identify global talent, and how do we manage it within multiple MNE contexts? Original empirical research, theory development, and meta-analytic reviews are all suitable for potential inclusion in the special issue.

Below is an illustrative list of topics that are consistent with the scope of the special issue, but other topics may be appropriate as well:

1. Global Work and the MNE:

• What are the challenges for HRM given the growing fragmentation of forms of global work (e.g., corporate expatriation, self-initiated expatriation, business travel, virtual collaboration)?
• How does global work affect the debate between global standardization vs. local adaptation of HR policies and practices, e.g. to which extent is a global compensation system needed, etc.
• What are the key competencies for individuals to perform global work effectively? What are the corresponding HR practices to identify and develop them?
• How to deal with the geographic dispersion (extent of coordination across borders needed) and multiculturalism/multilinguism (extent of coordination among people from diverse cultures and native languages needed) of global work?

2. Strategic HRM in the MNE:

• How do institutional, cultural, and other contextual influences affect the development, implementation, and effectiveness of high performance work systems and practices in MNEs?
• How should human resources be managed on a global scale (when to move jobs; where to move people; where to leverage local talent versus sourcing talent globally)?
• How does centralization/localization strategy affect performance? How does global staffing strategy affect performance? What is the best staffing strategy for starting new multinational facilities (Taking over existing vs. turning around ongoing operations)?

3. Global Talent Management and the MNE:

• To what extent do MNEs evaluate global talent issues (e.g., integrating national cultures; relative competencies across locations; availability of talent) in making cross-border acquisition decisions? To what extent do these factors affect cross-border acquisition success?
• To what extent does the make-up of the top management team (in terms of national origin and experiences) affect MNE success and cross-border acquisition strategies/decisions?
• What are strategic issues in forming and managing multinational teams?

Please submit papers through the journal’s online submission system. To do so, please click here, create your user account (if you have not done so already), and for “Manuscript Type” choose the corresponding Special Issue. You will be able to submit your paper for this Special Issue between the 1st and the 30th of September 2016.

For more information, including submission timeline and contact information, click here. Want to know about all the latest news and research from Journal of Management? Click here to sign up for e-alerts!