A social institutionalist perspective on HR diffusion: historical and cultural receptivity to HRM in a post-communist context |
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Authors: | Kevin Dalton Cecilie Bingham |
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Institution: | HRM Department Westminster Business School, University of Westminster, London, UK |
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Abstract: | This research considers cross-national diffusion of international human resource management (IHRM) ideas and practices by applying an emergent frame of sociological conceptualisation – ‘social institutionalism’ (SI). We look at cultural filters to patterns of diffusion, assimilation and adoption of IHRM, using Romania as a case study. The paper considers the former Communist system of employment relations, suggesting that through institutionalisation former ways of thinking have a residual influence on definitions and practice of people management in post-Communist Eastern Europe. The paper provides a new perspective on HRM by discussing the value of SI as a general model for understanding cross-cultural receptivity to HR ideas, sensitising the HR practitioner and academic to institutionalised culture as a historical legacy influencing absorption of international management ideas. |
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Keywords: | Central and Eastern Europe cross-national HRM HR diffusion Social institutionalism |
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