The Transfer of HRM Practices to Indian Subsidiaries in a
South Korean MNC in the Auto Industry
Abstract
As Korean multinational corporations (MNCs) expand their businesses into major Asian
economies and intensify the depth of engagement with key Asian emerging markets, one of the
key issues is how they manage their overseas workforce in foreign operations. The chapter
presents a case study which examined a Korean parent company’s approach to its Indian
subsidiaries’ employment practices as well as their responses to the Korean parent. A multi-sited
case study of the Korean MNC in the auto industry, conducted at the headquarters in South
Korea and at Research and Development (R&D), manufacturing and sales subsidiaries in India,
exhibit an incident of the “dominance effect” and highlight the role of Korean MNCs in the
diffusion of so-called, “global best practices” to India, one of key emerging markets in Asia.