Recruitment source practices in foreign and local firms: a comparative study in Japan

While an important human resource management (HRM) function, little is known about the differences in recruitment source practices in foreign and local firms. Research on recruitment source practices is also important due to the potential HRM differences between foreign and local firms. To partially bridge this research gap, we conducted two studies to examine differences in recruitment source practices in foreign and local firms in Japan and the reasons that explain these differences. First, we conducted a qualitative, interview-based study with 110 employees and recruitment consultants and found that not only firm ownership (foreign firm versus local firm) but also firm age, size, and industry explain differences in recruiting source practices. Second, we conducted a quantitative, survey-based study with 800 employees in foreign and local firms to further examine contingencies in recruitment source practices. We found that foreign firms rely more on recruitment consultants but less on college recruiting, and that firm size and industry moderate the relationship between firm ownership and recruiting source practices. Taken together, our findings contribute to international HRM research by suggesting that not only firm ownership, but also firm size and industry influence recruiting source practices in foreign and local firms.