Human resource management issues in global R&D organisations: A case study

This case study illustrates the major implications of R&D globalisation for the management of an R&D organisation. It focuses on human resource management (HRM) in an international R&D organisation; specifically, it deals with two issues: to what extent firms need to adapt their managerial system in a foreign R&D unit and how HRM may contribute to the integration and coordination of dispersed R&D units. Our analysis shows that organisational adaptation is required when the central task of a unit is to learn from the external context. It also shows that HRM is a key integrating instrument. How HRM can contribute to the coordination of research efforts among dispersed units depends on the international R&D structure, i.e. on how R&D units are linked to each other. Two main structure types are identified, the specialisation-based structure and the integration-based structure. The study provides evidence of how HRM can be an integrating instrument in each structure.