Human resource management under changes at foreign subsidiaries in Slovakia in light of regional comparison

Abstract

A model of human resource management practices in the subsidiaries of multinational corporations in Slovakia was developed by the Central and Eastern European International Research Team (hereafter CEEIRT) – composed of researchers from universities from the Central and Eastern European Region. This model describes the changes of key HR variables in the light of different firm specific factors. Based on this model, an interview and on-line survey of top level HR executives at 22 subsidiaries of large multinational companies in Slovakia and at 267 foreign owned firms in other CEE countries was completed. The paper describes how these practices and roles have developed in response to the sweeping economic changes within the region and points out the expectations of practitioners for the future. Initially our article focuses on the analysis of previous relevant HR results and models. Next way we present an overview of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) development in new member states of the European Union, particularly in Slovakia. Besides the analysis of the FDI origin country the sectoral structure of FDI and employment practices in foreign firms on the Slovak territory is analyzed.