Balancing Global Standardisation and Local Adaptation in Human Resource Management: Evidence from an African Emerging Market Multinational Subsidiary. A Case Study of Equity Bank Uganda Limited

Résumé fourni par la source

This study examines how Equity Bank Uganda Limited, a subsidiary of Kenya-headquartered Equity Group Holdings Plc, balances globally standardised human resource management (HRM) practices with locally responsive adaptations within the context of African South–South expansion. While international human resource management (IHRM) research has extensively examined the standardisation-adaptation dilemma, limited attention has been paid to how African Emerging Market Multinational Enterprises (EMNEs) negotiate competing institutional demands across their regional subsidiaries. Drawing on Institutional Theory, Institutional Logics, and Contingency Theory, the study employed a qualitative single-case study design involving semi-structured interviews, documentary analysis, and non-participant observation. Findings indicate that HRM implementation at Equity Bank Uganda is neither a process of rigid policy transfer nor unrestricted local autonomy. Instead, it involves continuous managerial negotiation between headquarters' standardisation requirements and Uganda's institutional realities. Local HR managers act as institutional interpreters, selectively translating corporate HR policies to accommodate regulatory requirements, socio-cultural expectations, and operational conditions while maintaining strategic alignment with the parent organisation. The study further shows that these practices constitute an evolving process of institutional accommodation rather than a fully institutionalised hybrid HRM model. The study contributes to IHRM scholarship by extending understanding of African EMNEs and South–South expansion, while demonstrating how competing institutional logics are actively negotiated during HR policy implementation. The findings also highlight the importance of structured subsidiary discretion in achieving contextual legitimacy without compromising multinational strategic coherence.

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