Global Staffing in the Big Four; Perspectives of Decision-Makers

Abstract: Existing literature on professional service firms (PSFs) has mainly focused on global integration and factors impacting global staffing on a macro-level. Little attention has been paid to how individuals take global staffing decisions at the micro-level. The aim of this thesis is to fill this void in literature by analysing the purposes driving global staffing and the enablers and barriers affecting global staffing decisions through interviews with HR-Managers and Partners in the consulting divisions of the Big Four in Sweden and Germany. We find that HR-Managers and Partners have partly conflicting approaches to global staffing, paradoxically resulting in enhanced international collaboration. Our results support and nuance previous research: we confirm empirical findings from other markets and identify previously unrecognized purposes and barriers to global staffing in PSFs. We contribute to academic literature by furthering the understanding of how decision-makers at PSFs choose global staffing, as well as by extending the geographic scope of research in this area. We offer guidance to practitioners on the value-creating design and execution of global staffing.