"International Strategic Human Resource Management:
A Comparative Case Analysis of Spanish Firms in China"

Abstract
This study examines the role of human resources in strategy formulation processes in China’s emerging market. Employing a qualitative data-driven thematic analysis, we present evidence collected from six comparative case sites of Spanish firms in China. Our findings suggest that high performing firms use a dynamic– adaptive logic while lower performing firms use a static–structural logic. A dynamic-adaptive model of strategic human resource management is identified, emphasizing a fluid and informal process between strategy, human resources and international management.

Keywords: strategy, human resources, international business, Spain, China

 
"INTRODUCTION

Strategic human resources (hereafter SHR) is proposed as a key imperative in many parts of the world in achieving sustainable competitive advantages in an increasingly competitive global market (e.g., Brewster, 1993; Hendry & Pettigrew, 1992; Truss & Gratton, 1994). Human resources can also be positioned in terms of the Resource-Based View of the firm (Barney, 1991): being rare, imperfectly imitable and not substitutable is a source of competitive advantage. Nonetheless, despite agreement on the added values of human resources to both a firm’s strategy formulation and its strategy implementation (e.g., Schuler, 1992), the latter has been considered as central to SHR (Becker & Huselid, 2006), whilst the former has been less explored. The strategic role of human resource management (HRM) in the strategic formulation process may be particularly important for multinationals operating within a dynamic business environment, such as China’s emerging market. This study examined the strategic role of human resources in gaining and sustaining competitive advantages within the context of Spanish firms in China..."