Is climate action transforming IHRM strategies? A multiple case study of international mobility in French multinationals

L’action climatique transforme-t-elle les stratégies GIRH ? Le cas de la fonction mobilité internationale dans les multinationales françaises

Anne Bartel-Radic () and Sophie Serizier ()
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Anne Bartel-Radic: CERAG - Centre d'études et de recherches appliquées à la gestion - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes, IEPG - Sciences Po Grenoble-UGA - Institut d'études politiques de Grenoble - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes
Sophie Serizier: CERAG - Centre d'études et de recherches appliquées à la gestion - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes, IEPG - Sciences Po Grenoble-UGA - Institut d'études politiques de Grenoble - UGA - Université Grenoble Alpes

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Abstract: Corporate social responsibility (CSR) in multinational enterprises (MNEs) poses crucial strategic and societal challenges, giving rise to a vast body of academic literature. However, this literature has so far paid little attention to the environmental impact of international human resource management (IHRM), despite the significant carbon footprint generated by the international mobility (IM) of expatriates and international executives. This article aims to examine how IM departments in MNEs address environmental responsibility and how climate action is transforming IHRM strategies. Through a multiple case study conducted between 2021 and 2023 among nine French MNEs, we identify the changes that have been implemented. In some MNEs, obstacles have led to inaction on climate change. In most cases, IM policies are being ‘greened' through incentives and employee accountability rather than constraints. Only one of the MNEs studied goes further and transforms its IHRM strategies by linking IM to talent management. These results contribute to our understanding of the implementation of CSR from the perspective of neo- institutionalist theories and organisational learning, as well as to the emergence of green IHRM.

Keywords: Climate action; Corporate social responsibility (CSR); Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); International mobility (IM); International human resource management (IHRM); Multinational enterprises (MNEs); Responsabilité sociale de l’entreprise (RSE); Action climatique; Entreprises multinationales (EMN); Gestion internationale des ressources humaines (GIRH); Mobilité internationale (MI); Objectifs de Développement Durable (ODD); Action climatique Entreprises multinationales (EMN) Gestion internationale des ressources humaines Climate action Multinational enterprises (MNEs) International human resource management (IHRM) International mobility (IM) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Corporate social responsibility; Gestion internationale des ressources humaines Climate action; Corporate social responsibility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-09-23
Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-05331177v1
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Published in Revue de gestion des ressources humaines, 2025, 137 (3), pp.3-20. ⟨10.54695/grhu.137.0003⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05331177

DOI: 10.54695/grhu.137.0003

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