International HR strategy in Brazilian technology multinationals

Abstract

Four cases of Brazilian Multinationals from the information technology [IT] sector were compared in their international Human Resources strategy. The analysis is focused on the development and application of two research models. One analyzes the level of subsidiary autonomy in terms of strategic HR decisions, including difficult decisions regarding coordination in multinationals, following the theoretical approach of the autonomy of subsidiaries (Kidger, 2002; Nohria & Ghoshal, 1997). The other is related to the level of internationalization of HR strategies, defined as the capacity to take advantage of globalization, providing the best resources for the company regardless of where they are located (Sparrow, 2007). Both models were applied in a multiple case study method (Eisenhardt, 1989). Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and company reports, and analyzed through content analysis. The results show: (a) a more centralizing characteristic of the multinational companies examined, despite the limitations of this choice as shown by the literature; and (b) that Brazilian IT multinationals tend to rely more on their national competencies when managing human resources instead of going global to aggregate differentiated competencies.