Agnes Slavic

Factors Influencing Human Resource Management Solutions at Subsidiaries of Multinational Companies in Central and Eastern Europe

There is a shortage of empirical human resource management (HRM) literature in respect to identifying new patterns of multinational company (MNC) involvement in the Central and Eastern Europe region and the impact of ongoing MNC operations on the patterns of the HRM behavior of these companies. To counter this lack of understanding within the field, our broadly based, international survey asked 279 subsidiaries located in Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, and Slovakia and was conducted in 2010. It aimed to describe the relationships within the companies involved—between the influencing factors and the HR solutions applied—in a statistically valid way.

Industrial relations in South-Eastern Europe: disaggregating the contexts

This study critically evaluates industrial relations (IR) in South-Eastern Europe and points towards future practical and research-oriented opportunities in the region. A survey of organizational policies and practices has been used to explore the state of IR in both private and public organizations in this region. Specifically, the data, collected in 2009–2010 (including the latest changes due to the economic crisis), cover 840 different organizations located in Slovenia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Cyprus. We discuss the development of ‘regional-specific’ IR policies, the ‘importing’ of varieties of capitalism models, the diffusion of the European Union social model and the role of foreign MNCs in changing IR in the region.

Training practices and organisational performance: A comparative analysis of domestic and international market oriented organisations in Central & Eastern Europe

The paper explores organisational level training practices in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region and tests their impact on overall organisational performance. We draw upon data from the CRANET international survey of HR practices in order to provide a comparative overview of training and development in selected CEE Countries. Distinguishing between organisations focusing on the international and on the domestic market, and drawing upon data from 1147 companies in eight countries (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Serbia), we examine training practices and approaches and test their impact on organisational performance. Our findings demonstrate that the use of more developed training practices contributes to better organizational performance assessed by reference to service quality, productivity, profitability and rate of innovation. The market focus of the organisation in terms of serving a domestic or an international one also appears consequential with those operating internationally recording more extensive training practices.

Management compensation systems in Central and Eastern Europe: a comparative analysis

Abstract Drawing upon a large scale comparative data-set we explore the preferred approaches to managerial compensation pursued by organizations operating in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) transition economies of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia and Serbia. In order to generate insights on the state of management compensation and the extent to which these transition economies are characterized by idiosyncratic elements, relative to their Western European counterparts, we compare management compensation practices in these CEE economies (N = 1147) with approaches pursued in more developed western European economies (N = 2698). Overall, our results suggest that organizations in the CEE region share some similarities with their western counterparts, most especially in terms of the individual level of determination of pay for managers. Within the CEE region, we find that financial participation is less common than performance-related pay in the composition of the overall managerial reward package, though there are some variations between countries. National culture does appear significant as a determinant of variations in the preferred approach to management compensation.

The Development of Compensation System in Serbia: A Comparison of Two Successive Cranet Research Rounds

Abstract The aim of this paper is to explore the development of the compensation practice in the context of human resource management (HRM) in Serbia. The objectives are to detect the extent of the usage of different elements in the compensation packages, the level of negotiation during the determination of the basic pay, the responsibility for decision making process regarding basic pay, the extent of the usage of different types of benefits, and to explore the differences between these data in the two research periods, 2008-2010 and 2014-2016. The methodology in this paper includes the theoretical analysis of the compensation systems, as well as the comparative analysis of the data on compensation in Serbia based on the Cranet research. The sample of the study consisted of 210 organisations from Serbia, 50 organisations in the 2008-2010 period and 160 organisations in the 2014-2016 period. This paper brings new insights to the development of comparative compensation management since it points to the development/changes of the compensation practice (in years) in Serbian HRM.

Is there Something as an Ex-Yugoslavian HRM Model? – Sticking to the Socialist Heritage or Converging With Neoliberal Practices

Abstract The question of this paper is whether there is an ex-Yugoslavia HRM model drawing upon Western imported features fused with ethno open-socialistic and self-management elements? In the empirical part Cranet data for 341 companies from Croatia, Slovenia and Serbia are analysed. Main characteristics of HRM systems in ex-Yugoslavia are: the HRM strategic partner role is still neglected, the mind-set of taking care for everybody is omnipresent, the value of performance management is not fully entrusted, the full-time employment still predominates, and the trade unions retained their barging power. Although 30 indicators revealed specifics of ex-Yugoslavia HRM model, the theorized hybrid HRM system was not disclosed.

The Role of Human Resource Management in Small and Medium Sized Companies in Central-Eastern Europe

Human resource management (HRM) in contemporary economics is linked to a company’s success measured through numerous organizational measures (profitability, productivity, rate of innovation, market share, environmental performances, etc.). The role of HRM in large enterprises is relatively known, especially when the competitiveness and sustainable development are in question. On the other hand, small entrepreneurial and medium sized (SME) companies have not been greatly studied in relation to the HRM in the past. Although there is a lack of literature and empirical research in this area, several studies in the past decade and recent years emphasized the importance of the HRM for the survival and success of the SMEs. The reason why more and more authors today are arguing about the success of the SMEs is the perceived advantages of SMEs in a turbulent and unpredictable business environment. SMEs are seen as the driving force for vulnerable economies, a source of innovation, employment, and flexibility. Bearing in mind SMEs and their advantages, the authors have focused their attention on the economies in the Central and Eastern Europe countries (Slovenia, Serbia, Hungary and Bulgaria) where the SMEs are recognized as potential possibilities for economic recovery and development. Since human capital is recognized as one of the most important factors of enterprise success, the aim of this work was to explore the role of HRM in SMEs in the economies of Serbia, Bulgaria, Hungary and Slovenia, to determine the type of linkage between HRM and the success of small and medium-sized companies that operate in the CEE region, in light of the Cranet 2008/2010 survey data. The objective in this chapter was the exploration of the existence of organizations’ business strategy and HR strategy in SMEs, as well as HR departments, and the role of HRM in the business of the SMEs. The special task in this research was the exploration of the HRM activities and trends (recruitment, selection, compensation, performance management, training and development, human resource information system, etc.) that are present in the SMEs in the CEE region. The ranking of the SMEs’ performances is also presented and the relations between the existence of HRM and the several performance measures in these companies. Descriptive statistical methods, t-test of independent samples and ANOVAs tests have been used during quantitative analysis to explore the presented relations.

Idealism and relativism in ethics: The results of empirical research in seven CEE countries & one North European country

The aim of this paper is to determine the ethical position of respondents in Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, Poland, Estonia, Finland and Croatia, and to this end the authors studied the relationship between ethical positions and certain variables (gender, nationality and citizenship). The paper also investigates the relationship of an ethical position to cultural dimensions with the underlying hypothesis that, due to differing national culture and history, ethical positions will differ in these countries. The results obtained may contribute to a better understanding of moral standards in the Central and East European (CEE) business context.

The Competences of HR Managers and their Impact on the Organizational Success of MNCs’ Subsidiaries in the CEE Region

Multinational companies that have settled in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) significantly contribute to the recognition of modern HRM concepts and implementation of the relevant HRM practices in the region (Lewis, 2005). To be a strategic partner, HRM managers have to possess various professional and personal competences (Orme, 2010). The aim of this paper is to analyze the main competences of HR managers and their impact on companies’ performances. The research hypothesis, based on 2012-2013 CEEIRT data, is that there is a statistically significant relationship among the HR managers’ competences and the performances of the MNCs’ subsidiaries in Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia. The analyzed HR competences are: business knowledge, strategic contribution, personal credibility, HR services, HR information system and foreign language competences. The research analyzed the following organizational performances: profitability, service quality, rate of innovations and environmental matters.