The Corporate Integration of Highly Skilled Professionals - A Social Capital Perspective

Authors: K. Zigan

Abstract:

Not with standing the importance of foreign highly skilled professionals for host economies, there is a paucity of research studies investigating the role of the corporate social context during the integration process. This research aims to address this paucity by exploring the role of social capital in the integration of foreign health professionals. It does so by using a qualitative research approach. In this pilot study the hospital sector forms this study-s sample and interviews were conducted with HR managers, foreign health professionals and external HR consultants. It was found that most of the participating hospitals had not established specific HR practices and had only partly linked the development of organisational social capital with a successful integration process. This research contributes, for example, to the HR literature on the integration of self-initiated expatriates by analysing the role of HRM in generating organisational social capital needed for a successful integration process.

Keywords: Corporate integration, hospitals, self-initiated expatriates, organisational social capital.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1070945

References:

[1] E. S. Ng, and R. J. Burke, "Person-organization fit and the war for talent: does diversity management make a difference?", International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol. 16, pp. 1195-1210, 2005.
[2] J. S. Ribeiro, "Gendering migration flows: Physicians and nurses in Portugal", Equal Opportunities International, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 77-87, 2008b.
[3] J. R. Dobson, "Labour mobility and migration within the EU following the 2004 Central and East European enlargement", Employee Relations, vol. 31, no. 2, pp. 121-138, 2009.
[4] J. A. Larsen, H. T. Allan, K. Bryan, and P. Smith, "Overseas nurses- motivations for working in the UK: globalization and life politics", Work, Employment and Society, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 349-368, 2005.
[5] B. Rechel, C.-A. Dubois, and M. McKee, "Introduction: Critical challenges facing the health care workforce in Europe in: The Health Care Workforce in Europe- Learning from Experience", Rechel, B.; Dubois, C.-A. and McKee, M. (Eds.), World Health Organization on behalf of European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, pp. 1- 18, 2006.
[6] A. McDermott, and M. Keating, "Managing professionals: exploring the role of the hospital HR function", Journal of Health Organization and Management, vol. 25, no. 6, pp. 677 - 692, 2011.
[7] P. Tharenou, and N. Caulfield, "Will I stay or will I go? Explaining repatriation by self-initiated expatriates", Academy of Management Journal, vol. 53, no. 5, pp. 1009-28, 2010.
[8] P. Boselie, "High performance work practices in the health care sector: a Dutch case study", International Journal of Manpower, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 42-58, 2010.
[9] J. Buchan, "What difference does (ÔÇÿgood-) HRM make?", Human Resources for Health, vol. 2, no. 6, pp. 1-7, 2004.
[10] S. Bach, and I. Kessler, "Human resource management and the new public management", in The Oxford Handbook of Human Resource Management, P. Boxall, J. Purcell, and P. Wright (Eds.), Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2007.
[11] K.-L. Chou, and N. W. S. Chow, "The roles of human capital and social capital in the economic integration of new arrivals from Mainland China to Hong Kong", Habitat International, 33, pp. 340-346, 2009.
[12] S. L. Herfst, J. P. Oudenhoven, and M. E. Timmerman, "Intercultural effectiveness training in three Western immigrant countries: A crosscultural evaluation of critical incidents", International Journal of Intercultural Relations vol. 32, pp. 67-80, 2008.
[13] J. Syed, "Employment prospects for skilled migrants: A relational perspective", Human Resource Management Review, vol. 18, pp. 28-45, 2008.
[14] J. S. Ribeiro, ÔÇÿÔÇÿMigration and occupational integration: foreign health professionals in Portugal--, in E. Kuhlmann, and M. Saks, (Eds.), Rethinking Professional Governance: International Directions in Health Care, The Policy Press, Bristol, 2008a.
[15] J. Nichols, and J. Campbell, "Experiences of overseas nurses recruited to the NHS", Nurse Management, vol. 17, no. 5, pp. 30-35, 2010.
[16] T. Fang, J. Zikic, and M. M. Novicevic, "Career success of immigrant professionals: stock and flow of their career capital", International Journal of Manpower, vol. 30, no. 5, pp. 472-488, 2009.
[17] L. Meijering, and B. van Hoven, "Imagining difference: the experiences of ÔÇÿtransnational- Indian IT professionals in Germany", Area, vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 174−182, 2003.
[18] M. O'Connell, "How do high-skilled natives view high-skilled immigrants? A test of trade theory predictions", European Journal of Political Economy, vol. 27, pp. 230-240, 2011.
[19] R. Iredale, "The migration of professionals: Theories and typologies", International Migration, vol. 39, no. 5, pp. 7-26, 2001.
[20] C. R. Gowen, K. L. McFadden, and W. J. Tallon, "On the centrality of strategic human resource management for healthcare quality results and competitive advantage", The Journal of Management Development, vol. 25, no. 8, pp. 806-826, 2006.
[21] M. A. West, J. P. Guthrie, J. F. Dawson, C.S. Borrill, and M. Carter, "Reducing patient mortality in hospitals: the role of human resource management", Organizational Behavior, vol. 27, no. 7, pp. 983-1002, 2006.
[22] C. Harris, P. Cortvriend, and P. Hyde, "Human resource management and performance in healthcare organisations", Journal of Health Organization and Management, vol. 21, nos 4/5, pp. 448-459, 2007.
[23] P. Boselie, "High performance work practices in the health care sector: a Dutch case study", International Journal of Manpower, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 42-58, 2010.
[24] E. M. Whitener, "Do ÔÇÿhigh commitment- human resource practices affect employee commitment?: A cross-level analysis using hierarchical linear modelling", Journal of Management, vol. 27, pp. 515-535, 2001.
[25] P. Boxall, and K. Macky, "Research and theory on high-performance work systems: progressing the high-involvement stream", Human Resource Management Journal, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 1-21, 2009.
[26] S. Szreter, and M. Woolcock, "Health by association? Social capital, social theory, and the political economy of public health", Internal Journal of Epidemiology, vol. 33, pp. 650-667, 2004.
[27] L. J. Robison, A. A. Schmid, M. E. and M. Siles, "Is social capital really capital?" Review of Social Economy, vol. LX, no. 1, pp. 1-21, 2002.
[28] A. Smedlund, "The knowledge system of a firm: social capital for explicit, tacit and potential knowledge", Journal of Knowledge Management, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 63-77, 2008.
[29] J. Sobel, "Can we trust social capital?" Journal of Economic Literature, vol. XL: pp.139-154, 2002.
[30] T. Iosifides, M. Lavrentiadou, E. Petracou, and A. Kontis, "Forms of Social capital and the incorporation of Albanian immigrants in Greece", Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, vol. 33, no. 8, pp. 1343-1361, 2007.
[31] M. D. Giusta, and U. Kambhampati, "Women migrant workers in the UK: social capital, well-being and integration", Journal of International Development, vol. 18, pp. 819-833, 2006.
[32] M. B. Aguilera, "The impact of social capital on labor force participation: Evidence from the 2000 Social Capital Benchmark Survey", Social Science Quarterly, vol. 83, pp. 853-874, 2002.
[33] K. M. Donato, J. Durand, and D. S. Massey, "Changing conditions in the U.S. labor market: effects of the immigration reform and control act of 1986", Population Research and Policy Review, vol. 11, pp. 93-115, 1992.
[34] M. B. Aguilera, "The impact of the worker: How social capital and human capital influence the job tenure of formerly undocumented Mexican immigrants", Sociological Inquiry, vol. 73, no. 1, pp. 52-83, 2003.
[35] G. Dokko and L. Rosenkopf, "Social capital for hire? Mobility of technical professionals and firm influence in wireless standards committees", Organization Science, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 677-695, 2010.
[36] M. L. Hoelscher, J. J. Hoffmann, and D. Dawley," Toward a social capital theory of competitive advantage in medical groups", Health Care Management Review, vol. 30, no. 2, pp. 103-109, 2005.
[37] A. Hofmeyer, and P. Marck, "Building social capital in healthcare organizations: Thinking ecologically for safer care", Nurse Outlook, vol. 56, no.4, pp. 145-151, 2008.
[38] C. R. Leana, and H. J. van Buren III, "Organizational social capital and employment practices", Academy of Management Review, vol. 24, no. 3, pp. 538-555, 1999.
[39] E. L. Lesser, ÔÇÿÔÇÿLeveraging social capital in organizations--, in Knowledge and Social Capital, E. L. Lesser (Ed.), Burlington, MA: Butterworth-Heinemann, 2000.
[40] D. Salvatore, "Physician social capital: its sources, configuration, and usefulness", Health Care Management Review, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 213- 222, 2006.
[41] A. Behtoui, and A. Neergaard, "Social capital and wage disadvantages among immigrant workers", Work, Employment and Society, vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 761-779, 2010.
[42] M. Kilduff, and W. Tsai, Social Networks and Organizations. London: Sage, 2003.
[43] J. Ritchie, and L. Spencer, "Qualitative data analysis for applied policy research", in Analysing Qualitative Data, A. Bryman and R. G. Burgess (Eds.), London: Routledge, 1994. pp. 173-194.