International human resource management practices for Swedish companies in California : an extension of the multinational Best IHRM Practices Project

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Background: Globalization has contributed to that most companies today are competing on an international market, which has increased the emphasis on international human resource management. Due to the shortage of empirical studies on international human resource management practices the multinational "Best International Human Resource Management Practices Project" was conducted and partially assessed in 2002. The results called for replications and extensions due to broad approach and the magnitude of the study. Purpose: The purpose of the thesis is to examine and describe the international human resource management practices in Swedish born global subsidiaries based in the California and to contribute with information on development possibilities for these organizations. Method: A qualitative study with an exploratory character that was conducted by interviewing the human resource practitioners at three Swedish born global subsidiaries in California. Result: The international human resource management practices in Swedish born global subsidiaries based in California are inefficient, decided upon in a randomly manner and they are not clearly integrated into the business strategy. The results of the study show that it is extremely important for born global companies from an IHRM stand point to focus on having a clear and defined IHRM strategy from the start in order to avoid much of the complications that might arise later on, to make the merger into an international market as smooth as possible, to develop as organizations and to gain a greater competitive advantage. Swedish born global companies that are planning to establish a subsidiary in California should hire or consult with a specialist in international human resource management, decide on the language to be used from the start and make sure that all documents and manuals are written in this language and give the expatriates cross-cultural competence and extensive training in international human resource management with an emphasis on...