Discerning HRM Practices for Blue Collar Workers in Foreign and Domestic Firms in Indian Manufacturing Sector an Exploratory Study

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine human resources management (HRM) practices of manufacturing organizations in India for their blue-collar workers and the outcome of these HRM practices in terms of labour productivity. As the western multinational enterprises (MNEs) started investing in emerging economies like India, there was an influx of the technical know-how, advanced logistics and supply chain systems, and managerial capabilities etc. in the country (Ghosh and Roy, 2018). However, this also increased the international competitiveness (Feenstra and Hamilton, 2006). To survive in this competitive environment, managing human resources effectively became an issue of critical importance for MNEs as well as domestic firms (Jackson, 2004). In managing its workforce efficiently MNEs face the dilemma of balancing contrasting forces of local adaptation and global integration (Horwitz, Camoche, and Chew, 2002). In response to these challenges and to remain competitive in the international arena both MNEs as well as domestic firms adopt hybrid HRM models that retain some elements of traditional people management practices while simultaneously embracing highly integrated HRM strategies and models (Ge and Zhao, 2020). newline