The effect of human resource management practices on Japanese MNC subsidiary performance: a partial mediating model

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between a bundle or system of human resource (HR) practices and firm performance and the processes through which these HR practices affect organizational outcomes. Using a sample of fifty-two Japanese multinational corporation subsidiaries operating in the United States and Russia, we examine the impact of HR systems on firm performance mediated by employee skills, attitudes and motivation in an attempt to shed light on the so-called ‘black box’ through which HR practices lead to firm performance. The results support the notion that employee skills, attitudes and behaviours play a mediating role between HR systems and firm outcomes in multinational corporations. These findings illustrate the varying impact of synergistic systems of HR practices and their generalizability in different national contexts.

Keywords:

• Human resource practices
• firm performance
• mediation

Notes

Hyeon Jeong Park (address for correspondence), Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Department of Human Resource Studies, 393 Ives Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853 3901, USA (tel: [phone]; fax: [phone]; [email protected]); Hitoshi Mitsuhashi, University of Tsukuba, Institute of Policy and Planning Sciences, Tennoudai 1-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305 8573, Japan (tel: [phone]; fax: [phone]; [email protected]); Carl F. Fey, Stockholm School of Economics, S-11383 Stockholm, Sweden (tel: [phone]; fax: [phone]; [email protected]) and Stockholm School of Economics in St. Petersburg. Ingmar Björkman, Swedish School of Economics, PO Box 479, 00101 Helsinki, Finland ([email protected]) and INSEAD Euro-Asia Centre.