| The dramatic and discontinuous changes taking place | | | | There is a body of academic research employing |
| in the global environment have contributed to the | | | | network analysis to examine the structural and |
| evolution of traditional multinational corporations (MNCs) | | | | relational aspects of global strategy implementation. |
| into global organisations that are more of a network | | | | Network analysis is a well established theory used in a |
| nature (Gimeno & Woo 1996, Wolf 1997, Galunic | | | | variety of situations in the business literature. While at |
| & Rodan 1998, Westney 1999). The global | | | | the same time, the strategic human resource aspects |
| network form of organizing roles and activities infuses | | | | of creating and maintaining global organisations and |
| into the firm a heightened need for cross-functional | | | | networking processes have, curiously, been neglected |
| interdependence, which in turn, can increase role | | | | in the past research in the strategic international human |
| ambiguity for a human resource manager (Grimm | | | | resource management (i.e., SIHRM) literature. |
| & Smith 1997). | | | | The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical |
| On the one hand, an important function of a global | | | | framework for flexible modes of strategic human |
| human resource manager is to shape a culture of | | | | resource management within a global network |
| developing external linkages (i.e., to local organisations | | | | organisation configuration. A model of the SGHRM |
| and critical stakeholders) for a global organisation. On | | | | system, developed from a combined |
| the other hand, it is vital the global human resource | | | | knowledge-based view and relational contracting |
| manager facilitates the integration of internal functional | | | | theoretical perspectives, is proposed for empirical |
| (i.e., international human resource management) and | | | | research and practical use in global organisations. In |
| crossfunctional (i.e., global marketing, R&D and | | | | addition, specific barriers and competencies, associated |
| operations) relationships within the various competency | | | | with role transformation of human resource managers |
| centres of the global organisation (Mudambi & | | | | in global organisational networks, are identified. In |
| Helper 1998). Moreover, the expanded number of | | | | conclusion, practical implications of the SGHRM system |
| relationships needed in both the internal and external | | | | for assignments in global organisations, as well as |
| global network settings further increases the | | | | various approaches and challenges to the empirical |
| complexity of establishing an appropriate global human | | | | research of SGHRM systems, are discussed. |
| resource system (Zucker 1987). | | | | |