Human capital in multinational enterprises: Does strategic alignment matter?

Abstract

This research proposes a strategic human capital alignment framework to examine whether the alignment between subsidiary strategy (i.e., export-oriented vs local market-oriented strategy) and human capital (i.e., parent firm vs local-specific human capital) is positively related to subsidiary performance in multinational enterprises (MNEs). We further explore two important exogenous (i.e., foreign exchange rate change) and endogenous (i.e., MNE international experience) boundary conditions, since they may adjust the positive effect of strategic human capital alignment on performance. The analysis, based on 5604 subsidiary observations of 423 MNEs from 1990 to 2012, confirms the positive synergic effect of aligning subsidiary strategy and human capital and shows the moderating effects of foreign exchange rate change and MNE international experience. By presenting the importance of subsidiary strategy - global staffing alignment and the roles of external economic environments and internal organizational capabilities as boundary conditions, the strategic human capital alignment framework suggests that what makes human capital valuable for the firm is its alignment with strategic orientation. Thus managers should carefully deploy the appropriate type of human capital to fulfill the requisite organizational strategy and take into account changing external and internal contextual conditions in applying the framework.