Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Recruiting channels of foreign subsidiaries in Japan

  • ZfB-Special Issue 3/2011
  • Published:
Zeitschrift für Betriebswirtschaft Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Despite increasing interest in recruitment and selection, surprisingly little is known regarding recruiting practices and channels in foreign subsidiaries. This study focuses on the utilization and success of recruiting channels of foreign subsidiaries in Japan. Interviews with 40 company managers show that recruitment strategies in foreign subsidiaries progress through different stages. Lacking social networks but possessing substantial financial resources, small and newly established subsidiaries rely primarily on headhunters. However, larger subsidiaries with longer presence in Japan tend to diversify and localize their recruitment channels. Owing partly to a reduction in ethnocentric attitudes, foreign subsidiaries in certain industries are capable of attracting high-quality job candidates. Overall, the interviews revealed that referrals are the best recruiting channel for the production of high-quality candidates who fit in well, exhibit high company loyalty, and perform well on the job.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abegglen JC (1958) The Japanese factory: aspects of its social organization. Free Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahmadijian CL, Robinson P (2001) Safety in numbers: downsizing and the deinstitutionalization of permanent employment in Japan. Adm Sci Q 46:622–654

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aldrich HE (1999) Organization evolving. Sage, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Barber AE, Wesson MJ, Robertson QM, Taylor MS (1999) A tale of two job markets: organizational size and its effects on hiring practices and job search behaviour. Pers Psychol 52:841–867

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Behrenz L (2001) Who gets the job and why? An exploratory study of employers’ recruitment behaviour. J Appl Econ 2:255–278

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhaskar-Shrinivas P, Harrison D, Schaffer MA, Luk DM (2005) Input-based and time-based models of international adjustment: meta-analytical evidence and theoretical extensions. Acad Manag J 48(2):257–281

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Björkman I, Lu Y (1999) The management of human resources in Chinese-Western joint ventures. J World Bus 34(2):1–19

    Google Scholar 

  • Björkman I, Smale A, Sumelius J, Suutari V, Lu Y (2008) Changes in institutional context and MNC operations in China: subsidiary HRM practices in 1996 versus 2006. Int Bus Rev 17:146–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bouquet C, Birkinshaw J (2008) Weight versus voice: how foreign subsidiaries gain attention from corporate headquarters. Acad Manag J 51:577–601

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breaugh JA, Greising LA, Taggart JW, Chen H (2003) The relationship of recruiting sources and pre-hire outcomes: examination of yield ratios and applicant quality. J Appl Psychol 33:2267–2287

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carroll M, Marchington M, Earnshaw J, Taylor S (1999) Recruitment in small firms: processes, methods and problems. Empl Relat 21:236–250

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chiavacci D (2006) Die “Schwarzen Schiffe” in der japanischen Arbeitswelt: Wahrnehmung und Popularität von ausländischen Firmen als Arbeitgeber. In: Japanstudien: Jahrbuch des Deutschen Instituts für Japanstudien, vol 18. Iudicium, Munich, pp 27–59

  • Finlay W, Coverdill JE (2000) Risk, opportunism, and structural holes: how headhunters manage clients and earn fees. Work Occup 27(3):377–405

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finlay W, Coverdill JE (2002) Headhunters: matchmaking in the labor market. Cornell University Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Froese FJ, Vo A, Garrett T (2010) Organizational attractiveness of foreign-based companies: a country of origin perspective. Int J Sel Assess 18(3):271–281

    Google Scholar 

  • Gatewood RD, Growan MA, Lautenschlager GJ (1993) Corporate image, recruitment image, and initial job choice decisions. Acad Manag J 36(2):414–427

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grund C (2006) Mitarbeiterrekrutierung ueber das Internet—Marktanalyse und empirische Untersuchung von Determinanten und Konsequenzen fuer die Arbeitnehmer. Z Betriebswirtschaft 76(5):451–472

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han Z, Froese FJ (2010) Recruiting and retaining R&D professionals in China. Int J Technol Manag 51(2/3/4):387–408

    Google Scholar 

  • Han J, Han J (2009) Network-based recruiting and applicant attraction in China: insights from both organizational and individual perspectives. Int J Hum Resour Manag 20(11):2228–2249

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hausdorf PA, Duncan D (2004) Firm size and internet recruiting in Canada: a preliminary investigation. J Small Bus Manag 42(3):325–334

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holtbrügge D, Friedmann C, Puck J (2010) Personnel recruitment and retention in foreign firms in India: a resource-based view. Hum Resour Manag 49(3):439–455

    Google Scholar 

  • Honda Y (2004) The formation and transformation of the Japanese system of transition from school to work. Soc Sci Jpn J 7(1):103–115

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jacoby S (2005) The embedded corporation: corporate governance and employment relations in Japan and the U.S. Princeton University Press, Princeton

    Google Scholar 

  • Japan Federation of Economic Organizations (1997) Survey on the change in corporate staffing and training practices. Federation of Economic Organizations, Tokyo

    Google Scholar 

  • Japanese Ministry of Labor (1999) White paper on labor

  • Japan Institute for Labor Policy and Training (2004) Labor situation in Japan and analysis 2004/2005. Japan Institute for Labour Policy and Training, Tokyo

    Google Scholar 

  • Leung A (2003) Different ties for different needs: recruitment practices of entrepreneurial firms at different developmental phases. Hum Resour Manag 42(4):303–320

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leung A, Zhang J, Wong PK, Foo MD (2006) The use of networks in human acquisition for entrepreneurial firms: multiple “fit” considerations. J Bus Ventur 21:664–686

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McNerney DJ (1996) The shape of things to come. Hum Resour Manag Int Dig 4(4):23–25

    Google Scholar 

  • Mourdoukoutas P (1992) Economic barriers for foreign affiliates in Japan: the high cost of local labour. Int J Manpow 13(9):65–73

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newburry W, Gardberg N, Belkin LY (2006) Organizational attractiveness is in the eye of the beholder: the interaction of demographic characteristics with foreignness. J Int Bus Stud 37(5):666–686

    Google Scholar 

  • Ono H (2007) Careers in foreign-owned firms in Japan. Am Sociol Rev 72(2):267–290

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peltokorpi V, Froese FJ (2009) Organizational expatriates and self-initiated expatriates: who adjusts better to work and life in Japan? Int J Hum Resour Manag 20(5):1095–1111

    Google Scholar 

  • Peltokorpi V (in press) Performance-related reward systems (PRRS) in Japan: practices and preferences in Nordic subsidiaries. Int J Hum Resour Manag

  • Phillips JM (1998) Effects of realistic job previews on multiple organizational outcomes: A meta-analysis. Acad Manag J 41:673–690

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ployhart RE (2006) Staffing in the 21st century: new challenges and strategic opportunities. J Manag 32(6):868–897

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pudelko M, Harzing AW (2007) Country-of-origin, localization, or dominance effect? An empirical investigation of HRM practices in foreign subsidiaries. Hum Resour Manag 46(6):535–559

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raisanen H (2007) Comparative analysis on the job-broking market in Japan and Finland. Discussion Papers, No. 370, Government Institute for Economic Research Finland (VATT), Finland

  • Ranger-Moore J (1997) Bigger may be better, but is older wiser? Organizaitonal age and size in the New York life insurance industry. Am Sociol Rev 62:903–920

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson P (2003) The embeddedness of Japanese HRM practices: the case of recruiting. Hum Resour Manag Rev 13:439–465

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saks AM, Ashforth BE (1997) A longitudinal investigation of the relationships between job information sources, applicant perceptions of fit, and work outcomes. Pers Psychol 50:395–426

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schuler RS, MacMillan IC (1984) Gaining competitive advantage through human resource management practices. Hum Resour Manag 23(3):241–255

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schultz TW (1971) Investment in human capital. Free Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Sekiguchi T (2007) A contingency perspective of the importance of PJ fit and PO fit in employee selection. J Manag Psychol 22(2):118–131

    Google Scholar 

  • Sekiguchi T (2006) How organizations promote person-environment fit: using the case of Japanese firms to illustrate institutional and cultural influences. Asia-Pacific J Manag 23:47–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tokoro M (2005) The shift towards American-style human resource management systems and the transformation of workers’ attitudes at Japanese firms. Asian Bus Manag 4:23–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turban DB, Lau CM, Ngo HY, Chow IH, Si S (2001) Organizational attractiveness of firms in the People’s Republic of china: a person-organization fit perspective. J Appl Psychol 86:194–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Windolf P (1986) Recruitment, selection, and internal labor markets in Britain and Germany. Organ Stud 7(3):235–254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zaheer S (1994) Overcoming the liability of foreignness. Acad Manag J 18(6):341–363

    Google Scholar 

  • Zottoli MA, Wanous JP (2000) Recruitment source research: current status and future directions. Hum Resour Manag Rev 10(4):353–382

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Korea University, Seoul. Anam-dong, Seongbuk-Gu, 136-701, Seoul, South Korea

    Fabian Jintae Froese

  2. HEC School of Management, Paris, France

    Vesa Peltokorpi

Authors
  1. Fabian Jintae Froese
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Vesa Peltokorpi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fabian Jintae Froese.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Froese, F.J., Peltokorpi, V. Recruiting channels of foreign subsidiaries in Japan. Z Betriebswirtsch 81 (Suppl 3), 101–116 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11573-011-0454-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11573-011-0454-y

Keywords

JEL-classifications

Search

Navigation