The pivotal role of actors in the decision process on reward practices.

Abstract

The localization vs standardization debate has dominated the international management literature and from the vast amount of literature it can already be concluded that neither the assertions of localization nor the internally focused assertions of strategic alignment fully account for the complexity in managerial decisions with regard to reward practices. Despite this topic being studied extensively, the role of the manager making these decisions (referred to as actor), has been neglected. Heavily inspired by the work of Rupidara and McGraw (2008), this study used a blended perspective from three different theoretical stances to formulate a conceptual model that explores the decision process for implementing reward practices from the perspective of the actor. An explorative case study at a multinational organisation was done, executing 16 interviews with managers from different affiliates of this multinational. The study resulted in a conceptual model that illustrates the relationships between the different institutional and organisational pressures, the process of decision making and the factors that influence this process. Unravelling the role of the actor in implementing HR practices could help organisations align their global staffing policies better with their globalisation strategies and strategic goals. However, more research is necessary to sufficiently understand new concepts like the background of the actor and to validate the hypothesized relationships.