International human resource management

International human resource management (IHRM) is a well-established body of work within the broader fields of human resource management (HRM) and research on multinational enterprises (MNEs). This chapter explores how IHRM is increasingly confronted with complex challenges that are transforming how HR leaders manage and organise their dispersed workforce on a global scale. First, this chapter begins by introducing the overarching focus of IHRM in MNEs, outlining how rampant turbulence in today’s global business environment characterised by volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) is rendering conventional methods increasingly obsolete. Second, building on this context, the chapter analyses some main themes that have dominated the IHRM field over the last few decades. We explore three overarching themes: global staffing, HRM practice transfer, and global talent management. Looking forward and building on emerging debates on the increased digitisation of work, our chapter discusses how IHRM practitioners and scholars might adopt an artificial intelligence (AI) perspective of IHRM as a comprehensive way to manage an increasingly younger cross-border workforce in times of a disruptive world of work. We consider how the last decade has witnessed significant growth and adoption of AI-based technologies, transforming the role of the IHRM function, how work is organised in international firms and the critical challenges this presents.