Human Resource Management in the Germanic Context

This chapter examines how cultural and institutional differences within Germanic Europe shape cross-national variation in the approaches of firms to strategic integration of human resource management (HRM) and developmental HRM practices. Despite some cultural and institutional similarities, a comparison of societal cultural practices and institutional approaches reveals meaningful dissimilarities within the Germanic Europe cluster. Using data from the Cranet surveys 2004/5, 2009/10, and 2014/15, this chapter shows that the institutional and, to a lesser extent, cultural differences within the Germanic Europe cluster mirror the degree to which HRM is strategically integrated. In contrast, the study found many more similarities among the Germanic cluster countries and a high level of professionalization concerning developmental HRM practices. The findings indicate that cross-national differences in the strategic integration of HRM and developmental HRM practices are partially time-invariant, resulting from persistent differences in the institutional environment. The present study therefore contributes to the literature on the diffusion and adoption of HRM policies and practices from a comparative perspective.