1992 Reports

The transfer of human resource management systems overseas: An exploratory study of Japanese and American maquiladoras

Beechler, Schon; Taylor, Sully

The field of international management has, until recently, largely ignored how human resources management (HRM) systems in overseas subsidiaries are designed and how design impacts performance. In addition, there is virtually no research comparing the HRM systems in Japanese and Western affiliates. In an attempt to begin to address this important issue, this chapter presents the results of a study of Japanese and American maquiladoras (in-bond assembly plants) in Mexico. This chapter examines the relative influence of parent company strategy, strategic role of the affiliate, parent company administrative heritage, and host country environment on the HRM systems in eight maquiladoras, four Japanese and four American, located in Tijuana, Mexico. Using a contingency framework, this chapter also describes the fits between each maquiladora's HRM system and its internal and external environments. Finally, it identifies the resulting impact of these fits on performance, both at the individual employee and affiliate levels.