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Interaction Effects of Globalization and Institutional Forces on International HRM Practice: Illuminating the ConvergenceDivergence Debate
By Yongsun Paik Irene Hau-Siu Chow Charles M. Vance
In the face of globalization, scholars continue to debate about whether a convergence in human resources practices will prevail, or a trend of divergence perspective will persist. Building on institution theory, this article helps to explicate this debate by examining how globalization may interact with different dimensions of local institutional forces to lead to convergence, divergence, or crossvergence

Correspondence to: Yongsun Paik, PhD, Professor of International Business & Management, Department of Management, Hilton Center for Business, Loyola Marymount university, One LMu Dr., Los angeles, Ca 90045-2659, 310.338.7402 (phone), 310.338.3000 (fax), yspaik@lmu.edu.

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. • DOI: 10.1002/tie.20440

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in international HRM practices for enhanced performance. We also present useful propositions for guiding future empirical research and theory development on the interaction between globalization and different forms of local institutional forces, which in turn influence the formation of successful international HRM practices. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Int r o d u c t i o n

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otwithstanding the current worldwide economic crisis, the globalization of business is increasing at an unprecedented rate, and its impact on the management of human resources (HR) has become critical to the success of global business (Vance & Paik, 2006). International human resource management (IHRM) broadly covers a wide range of issues related to the management of people in an international context. When conducting