MNC Human Resources Architectures: A new conceptual model beyond expatriation

Much research in international human resource management has focussed almost exclusively on the concept of expatriation and the international transfer. This paper presents a theoretical model of a multinational corporation’s workforce and the human resources architectures that are applied to that workforce. This approach seeks to account for an array of emerging issues that have remained largely outside the scope of traditional expatriate research. By redefining the key outcome in terms of strategic goals for the organization, the model allows for the consideration of new influences such as different forms of mobility, new employment relationships at the domestic level and the interaction between expatriates and local employees. In particular, this paper will suggest a typology for establishing both stocks and flows of resources in the model, and suggest outcomes for the development of MNCs human resources architectures.