Human Resource Management, National Culture, and the Transfer of HRM Practices in Nigerian Subsidiaries of Chinese Multinational Corporations

This study investigates the transfer of HRM practices from Chinese parent companies to their Nigerian subsidiaries, examining the mediating and moderating roles of national cultural distance, institutional environment, and subsidiary HRM agency. The growing Chinese economic presence in Nigeria across infrastructure, manufacturing, and telecommunications sectors creates a distinctive cross-cultural HRM transfer context with significant implications for Nigerian workers, trade unions, and policy-makers. The study employs a comparative multi-case design, investigating five Chinese-owned firms in Lagos, Ogun, and Abuja through 55 in-depth interviews with Chinese expatriate managers, Nigerian HR managers, and frontline Nigerian employees, complemented by documentary analysis of HR policy documents. The Transfer of HRM Practices Framework, Cultural Distance Theory, Comparative Institutionalism, and Subsidiary Agency Theory jointly provide the multi-level theoretical foundation. Findings reveal a highly selective and conflict-laden pattern of HRM practice transfer, characterised by the imposition of Chinese productivity management models, including high-intensity output targets and minimal collective bargaining tolerance, alongside partial adoption of Nigerian statutory requirements under institutional pressure. Nigerian employees experience significant HRM quality deficits relative to both Chinese parent firm standards and Nigerian employer norms, particularly in safety management, discipline procedures, and grievance handling. Nigerian HR managers play a critical translation role, mediating between Chinese management expectations and Nigerian worker norms. Original contributions include a Contested HRM Transfer Model, a Sino-Nigerian HR Practice Compatibility Matrix, and policy recommendations for Nigerian regulatory strengthening. Keywords: HRM Transfer, Chinese MNCs, Nigeria, Cultural Distance, Subsidiary Agency.