Int. J. of Human Resource Management 16:4 April 2005 584– 598

The challenge of international human resource management: balancing the duality of strategy and practice

Helen De Cieri, Marilyn Fenwick and Kate Hutchings
Abstract Over the last two decades there has been an unprecedented increase in the number of organizations that have internationalized their operations. The international movement of labour that has been concomitant with such expansion of international business has meant that issues associated with the management of human resources across international borders are increasingly important to international human resource managers and academics. The research presented in this paper examines international human resource management (IHRM) pedagogy and practice in Australia. It reports IHRM academicians’ and practitioners’ understanding of the major issues for teaching and practice in IHRM and elucidates current developments and directions for this field. Keywords International human resource management; pedagogy; Australia.

Introduction During the last two decades academicians and practitioners of international management have paid increasing attention to the impact of globalization on the management of human resources across national boundaries. International businesses have increasingly turned their attention to issues such as expatriate management (employees being transferred by organizations to work outside their country of origin/permanent residence), managing in other cultures and managing diversity in multicultural domestic workforces. Simultaneously, academicians have advanced understanding in these areas through the development of a distinct sub-field within the management discipline, namely international human resource management (IHRM) (Dowling et al., 1999). As more markets internationalize, more nations become integrated into the