By examining the case of American and European firms operating in Japan, this article contributes to the central debate of how and when multinational corporations (MNCs) learn from their foreign subsidiaries. Through structural equation modeling, we assess how specific human resource management (HRM) practices (critical thinking encouragement, supervisory encouragement, learning incentives, deployment of internal mechanisms and processes, expatriation, and corporate training) enhance (1) knowledge transfer outflows from the subsidiary to other parts of the MNC and (2) the subsidiary's performance in its local market. We find learning orientation to be a key antecedent of all HRM practices we investigated. From a practical point of view, a noticeable finding relates to the lack of effects of critical thinking encouragement on market knowledge acquisition and dissemination when (1) there is a significant presence of expatriates in the subsidiary and (2) when local managers have access to training programs at headquarters (HQ) and other affiliates.

The retirement of baby boomers along with a smaller cohort group of young people replacing them poses a challenge for employers in the future—where will they find the workers they need? One largely untapped source of human resources is people with disabilities (PWDs). Why have employers mostly ignored this large labor pool? This research used a semistructured interview approach with 38 executives across a broad array of industries and geographic regions to examine why employers don't hire PWDs and what they believe can be done to change this situation. Results show that most employers are not very proactive in hiring PWDs and that most employers hold stereotypical beliefs not supported by research evidence.

The potential to influence survivors of downsizing via electronic communication is empirically examined in an experimental setting. Individuals exposed to electronic mail messages perceived a significantly higher level of normative influence than those receiving no electronic mail messages. Implications for human resource managers include the ability to efficiently and effectively influence employees across geographic locations and organizational settings via electronic communication.

The potential to influence survivors of downsizing via electronic communication is empirically examined in an experimental setting. Individuals exposed to electronic mail messages perceived a significantly higher level of normative influence than those receiving no electronic mail messages. Implications for human resource managers include the ability to efficiently and effectively influence employees across geographic locations and organizational settings via electronic communication.

This article examines AT&T's efforts to deal with force management issues by developing Resource Link sm , an internal service unit that uses payroll management employees to help meet the variable work force needs of AT&T. Resource Link is discussed in terms of its contributions to increasing employment stability, improved learning, better governance, and helping to renew the psychological contract between employees and employers. The paper calls for future research in four major areas: skills development, teamwork, reward systems, and career management. It also addresses the potential applicability of this type of program to other firms.

Recent discussions of corporate heroes focus on benefits without examining costs. Although our perceptions are not entirely negative, we have discovered several reasons to be cautious about corporate heroes. We present some of the potential problems associated with creating heroes, and another set of dysfunctions occurring once heroes have been created. Our intention is not to debunk heroes, but to attach a cautionary note to their use in organizations. We fully expect the natural emergence of heroes in many organizations, but also propose that managers can accomplish as much, and often less hazardously, by working on perspective, praise, and trying to influence daily practice in their organizations. This approach is both more explicit and direct in infusing organizations with the same benefits of motivation and meaning derived from having heroes. Moreover, it can lay a foundation of values that ultimately determines what kinds of individuals emerge as heroes.

Drawing on the recruitment, marketing, and explanation literatures, we examine how the language used to describe diversity practices in employee recruitment advertisements influences the organizational attractiveness perceptions of white, black, and Asian prospective applicants. Results show that prospective applicants' reactions to advertised support for identity‐conscious diversity practices were moderated by applicants' race, applicants' previous discrimination experiences, and the type of explanation a firm used to support its use of diversity practices. The results of this article provide new insights into how firms can effectively attract a diverse applicant pool.