Integration or disintegration? Human resource implications of a common corporate language decision in a crossborder merger

The primary purpose of introducing a common corporate language in crossborder mergers is to integrate two previously separate organizations and facilitate communication. However, the present case study of a cross-border merger between two Nordic banks shows that the common corporate language decision may have disintegrating effects, particularly at organizational levels below top management. We identify such effects on performance appraisal, language training and management development, career paths, promotion and key personnel. Our findings show that top management needs to work through the consequences of the language decision upon those who are expected to make such a decision work

Inpatriate career profiles: a historical review and future outlook

The infectious need to globalize has ostensibly led firms to increasingly appoint inpatriates, although their defined value and impact across contexts such as country location and hierarchical levels remain largely unexplored (Maley and Kramar 2010; Moeller and Reiche 2017; Reiche et al. 2009). Recent research suggests that inpatriates are progressively used to a similar extent as expatriates (Collings et al. 2010; Harzing et al. 2016) as a way to achieve a global core competency at headquarter (HQ) locations (Harvey and Novicevic 2000b; Harvey and Buckley 1997; Tungli and Peiperl 2009). Mirroring the growth in corporate interest in inpatriate staffing is survey data which observes a relatively high percentage (57%) of employees being relocated either to or from the HQ country (BGRS 2015), although this non-discerning relocation percentage includes estimated inpatriate (to HQ) and expatriate (from HQ) statistics. Parallel to the discussion of inpatriate value and impact at HQ and beyond, the pattern of inpatriate career lifecycles which could possibly impact their value proposition remains inconclusive at best