Impact of Emerging Markets on Global Staffing

Journal of International Management
5 (1999) 167–186

The impact of emerging markets on staffing the global organization:
A knowledge-based view
Michael G. Harvey a,*,1, Cheri Speier b,1, Milorad M. Novicevic a,1 a Michael F. Price College of Business, University of Oklahoma, 307 West Brooks,
Norman, OK 73019-4006, USA b Management Information Systems, The Eli Broad Graduate School of Management,
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA

Abstract
As organizations become more global in their strategic orientation, the need for developing global managers becomes imperative. One of the distinguishing features of global organizations is to effectively manage global operations in a consistent manner but at the same time allow flexibility at the country level to effectively compete. Acquisition and sharing of tacit social knowledge necessary to work globally but with a contextual understanding of local markets require a unique set of management skills. The process of inpatriating host and third country nationals into the home country organization appears to hold significant potential in developing a pool of future global managers. This article presents a theoretical perspective to analyze the contextual factors influencing the staffing choice when to utilize expatriate and inpatriate managers in global organizations. © 1999 Elsevier Science
Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Global; Staffing; Knowledge-based; Expatriation; Inpatriation

1. Introduction
Many experts thought that globalization was “approaching” the status of a strategic norm in the early 1990s, more recent evidence suggests that it is a strategic necessity in today’s business environment. Almost a decade later, there is a strong belief that markets and compe* Corresponding author: Tel: [phone]; fax: [phone].
E-mail address: [e-mail] (M.G. Harvey)
1
Michael G. Harvey is a Puterbaugh Chair of American Free Enterprise. Milorad M. Novicevic is

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