Converging human resource management: a comparative analysis of Hungary and Turkey

Abstract

This study is a comparative examination of human resource management (HRM) in Turkey, as an EU candidate country, and Hungary, as a recent member of the EU. After a brief review of the literature on the convergence and divergence debate in HRM, the similarities and differences in HRM in Turkey and Hungary are empirically investigated. In the research, HRM in the two countries is compared in four dimensions: the HR departments' structure; the top HR managers' characteristics and qualifications; the strategic nature of HRM; and HR practices. The research was conducted in the banking sector. In total 50 banks (32 banks from Turkey and 18 banks from Hungary) participated in the research with an overall response rate of 53%. The data obtained are analyzed via the Mann–Whitney U test. The results are descriptive in nature. Except for the differences observed, especially in HR departments' organizational structures, the findings provide evidence for convergence of HRM in the two countries.

Keywords:

• banking sector
• convergence versus divergence
• cross-national comparisons
• human resource management (HRM)
• Hungary
• Turkey

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank Dr Henriett Primecz and Dr Gyula Bakacsi from Corvinus University of Budapest, Dr Zsuzsanna Arnold Csentericsné from the National Bank of Hungary and Magdolna Forgács from the Hungarian Banking Association for their support in enabling the contact with HR managers in Hungary. The author is also grateful to Dr Cavide Uyargil and Dr Ahmet Cevat Acar from Istanbul University Faculty of Business Administration for providing suggestions to improve the quality of this article.