Introduction

Employee recruitment is one of the factors that help an organization hire the right staff in line with organizational culture and goals. While the recruitment of employees has evolved from traditional interviews to virtual interviews and online hiring, multinational enterprises (MNEs) struggle to hire employees to operate beyond the confinement of one country. As a result, international human resource managers employ other recruitment approaches such as the systematic hiring of foreign fresh graduates (FFGs) into MNEs. Hiring foreign staff is essential in solving international human resource management (IHRM) challenges such as staffing, the search for boundary spanners, and diversity challenges. Through the FFGs approach, MNEs can promote the viability and use of international personnel development methods to create a diverse workforce, overcome ethnocentrism, and meet global production demands.

While small and medium enterprises (SMEs) work with employees from the same demographics and physical locations, MNEs have to consider global business demands when hiring their staff. According to Conrad and Meyer-Ohle (2017), FFGs can be a solution utilized in MNEs in Japan. The recruitment approach can be used as an international human resource development method that overcomes aspects of ethnocentric firms. The authors researched to examine Japan's domestic configurations and dealing with liberal market economies. Works of literature covered in this section follow Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill's (2019)'s research opinion concept of deductive research, where generic information is shared and used to lead to more specific hypotheses and conclusions.

Literature Review

In the context of the article, understanding IHRM practices in Japanese MNEs requires a deeper understanding of the meaning of ethnocentrism. Using past literature, Conrad and Meyer­ Ohle, (2017) define ethnocentrism as the aspect of hiring more staff with home-country nationals dominating the headquarters while expatriates operate the international subsidiaries of an MNE. In contrast, polycentric MNE allows autonomy of international expatriates and their involvement in home-country operations while geocentric MNEs fill positions without any regard for nationality, just ability. In their examination of literature, Conrad and Meyer-Ohle, (2017) revealed three key points; a) Japanese companies are perceived to be ethnocentric, b) Japanese companies implemented FFGs approach in foreign graduate students from Japanese universities in 2010 c)FFG shares similarities with inpatriation (Conrad and Meyer-Ohle, 2017).

Although Japanese companies are perceived to be ethnocentric, it does not mean that other countries have done any better in fully exploiting the potential in their multinational labor force. Chinese companies and customers have been reported to have ethnocentric characteristics in their product judgment, willingness to buy, and animosity towards foreign products. In particular, Parker, Haytko, and Hermans (2013)'s study found out that Chinese consumers show high levels of ethnocentrism towards U.S products and they were unwilling to buy them (Parker,

Haytko and Hermans, 2013). This is in contrast with the authors' literature on the assumption that Japanese companies are perceived to be more ethnocentric (Conrad and Meyer-Ohle, 2017).

Another important point from the literature is that Japanese companies implemented FFGs approach in foreign graduate students from Japanese universities until recently. Although FFGs are fairly new to other international spectrums, Japan is one of the countries that has benefitted from the international human resource development method. The company expanded its reach to include students from overseas by focusing on Chinese and South-east Asia universities.  Furthermore, pieces of literature for this study argue that FFG shared similarities with inpatriation, an approach that was favored in Japan. Inpatriation is an approach where foreign nationals were hired and trained in their countries and later transferred to Japanese

MNEs' headquarters. Such an approach aimed to hire more non-Japanese employees, develop global talent, and support language learning of English as an official corporate language. The major difference between inpatriation and FFG recruitment is that FFG focuses on fresh graduates without prior work experience in the industry. Despite such a difference, the authors were keen to show that they share similarities in systematically introducing foreign employees into an organization's home country and building a diverse environment. (Conrad and Meyer- Ohle, 2017).

Four research questions were presented in the study and they addressed the use of FFG as a new recruitment trend in organizations. The second question addressed elements of FFG selection, recruitment, and onboarding in relation to organizational objectives. The third question considered the challenges of FFG while the last question was about the company characteristics that are shaping FFG hiring (Conrad and Meyer-Ohle, 2017). By outlining research questions, the authors make it clear that their focus is FFG as a new international human resource development method

Study Design

Although the authors do not explicitly share the hypothesis of the study, its literature review reveals that the development of FFG hiring in Japanese MNEs is an IHRM approach that helps organizations overcome ethnocentrism, global production needs, and diversity. Suing semi­ structured interviews, the author collects data from human resource departments of nineteen MNEs and 33 recruits working for a Japanese MNE for less than four years. The interview took place between June 2014 and April 2016 where the minimum time per interview was one hour and a maximum of two hours. Most of the interviews were conducted in Japanese while others were conducted in English, depending on the interviewee's preference and proficiency in each language (Conrad and Meyer-Ohle, 2017).

Leveraging knowledge about firms that openly hire fresh graduates, Conrad and Meyer­ Ohle, (2017) followed a non-random approach in selecting their sample size. This approach was appropriate for their research, especially since companies are always conscious of young foreign graduates sharing information about company practices and policies. For that reason, the sample size was not as large as they could expect. The non-random sample from different HR departments in Japanese MNEs was however inclusive of the top known Japanese MNEs (Conrad and Meyer-Ohle, 2017).

As the authors gathered their sample population, they also used their existing contacts in Japan to interact with graduates from different academic institutions. It was through such an approach that they interviewed FFGs from different nationalities and company affiliations. More importantly, they sought access to a Tokyo-based non-profit association to enroll more FFGs for the study. This approach led to more samples of Chinese FFGs, thus raising an issue of bias in participants' responses. The authors' decision to ignore the possible selection bias of participants presents a challenge on how such data can be analyzed without presenting a one-sided response and undermining the hypothesis. By doing so, the authors undermined their research philosophy and their development of new knowledge about new international human resource development approaches (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2019).

Additionally, the study design showed bias in its data collection as the authors admitted that they did not hear from HR departments and employees from the same company. Intending to use a pragmatic approach in their research, the authors failed to deductively gain a comparative perspective their interviews and qualitative data collections (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2019). Nevertheless, they argued that their research focus was on individual feedback on FFGs and its effectiveness in Japanese companies, and not a comparative analysis in company HR practices. As the authors addressed inefficiencies in their sample collection, they noted that during the actual interviews they emphasized to their respondents the fact that all responses were anonymous. This was a strategy that aimed to ensure that HR departments and employee participants from the same companies were not afraid to provide their honest responses about FFGs approaches in the company.  Additionally, anonymity was an important factor in any study as it promotes honest responses without fear of victimization (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2019). Despite their efforts, the authors found out that respondents from the same MNEs were not honest and transparent in their responses, thus making the four FFG's interview irrelevant in the study. One valuable lesson learned from the study design is that researchers should always select participants independently, especially when the major focus is not comparative. In contrast, researchers can also hire participants from the same workspace, if the study focus area is limited to a specific case study of an organization or a specific region (Conrad and Meyer- Ohle, 2017)

During the interviews, HR participants were asked about company objectives, socialization, selection criteria for FFGs. Furthermore, the interview included questions about HR's experience in training new employees, organizational challenges, and other changes that had to be made about FFG recruitment. Similarly, FFG participants were asked questions about the perceptions and experiences relating to the same issues addressed by the HR participants.

Moreover, FFG participants were also asked about the aspects that inspired and motivated them to seek job opportunities in Japan. The authors were also keen to include questions about FFG's experiences with their co-workers, interactions with other stakeholders, and how the Japanese employment system can be improved in the future (Conrad and Meyer-Ohle, 2017).

Based on the study design, there was a clear advantage in the use of qualitative methods of data collection. For instance, the authors recorded all interviews, with the permission of participants, thus making it easy to reference back on key details and judge the honesty of respondents based on their tone, and reaction to questions. A major challenge with the design is that it was time-consuming and resource-intensive.  For instance, the researchers had to spend time with their contacts before they could use a referral snowball approach to recruit participants.

Inclusion of other mixed methods such as surveys and questionnaires could have sufficed and complemented the semi-structured interviews by overcoming its limitations (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2019).

Findings

Findings from the study were categorized as per the research questions. When asked about their objectives for using FFG recruitment, HR participants gave varied reasons; however, the most dominant ones were to increase diversity and overseas sales. Unlike the previous inpatriation approach, respondents were not keen on the objective of knowledge exchange when using FFG. When it came to selection, socialization, and training, the respondents revealed that they were not keen on the type of degree, but rather the perceived communicable abilities in a candidate's potential to perform in a diverse workforce. Additionally, findings indicated that new employees underwent orientation programs that helped them understand company philosophies, histories, and code of ethics. Also, employees were assigned their first positions in the first three years and could rotate positions after they were familiar with the core business needs. (Conrad and Meyer-Ohle, 2017). These findings showed how Japanese MNEs automatically assign FFGs to their initial positions of domestic sales as a way of preparing them for other roles within the company.

The authors share a lot of challenges encountered by the FFGs and HR representatives. While these challenges are covered in detail, it does not take away from the fact that FFGs have been embraced in Japanese MNEs because of their benefits in diversity and increasing company sales on a global scale. HR respondents revealed that FFGs were not happy because of the lack of clear job descriptions, uniform evaluation standards, and the slow pace of professional development. Although career progression in MNEs and SMEs differs, research by Sijdea, Nair, and During (2013) contradicts the study's findings showing that most graduates prefer to work in MNEs because it offers more salary benefits, job security, and career development. The graduates found MNEs to have attractive opportunities as they have a favored work environment and career progression (Sijdea, Nair and During, 2013).

Consequently, the study found out that MNEs were not shy about the challenges relating to culture. Companies shared culture-related challenges with FFGs to manage their expectations. HR respondents were keen to share that organizational practices had changed over the years as inpatriation became redundant and FFG gained momentum. (Conrad and Meyer-Ohle, 2017).

Such findings fuel the notion that Japanese MNEs are embracing the new recruitment trends of FFG approaches.

Discussions

From the study's findings, MNEs used the FFG recruitment approach to meet labor force needs, rather than improve headquarter subsidiary communication. The need for workforce diversity and globalization needs are driving factors behind FFGs use in Japanese MNEs.

Further, most Japanese companies retain the dominance of hiring more Japanese graduates in host-countries because of challenges in integrating foreign subsidiaries and their lack of strong socialization about the local staff dichotomy. The authors explain that the frustration of FFG employees is due to their lack of knowledge and understanding of the Japanese employment practices. As result, they make a recommendation for organizations to communicate such issues before employees. (Conrad and Meyer-Ohle, 2017). While communicating such issues can help reduce the FFG expectations, The MNEs have a responsibility to do better than communicate. They should also put more effort into helping FFGs understand the Japanese employment framework by training their senior staff, supervisors, and managers about intercultural practices and international employment practices.

Limitations

The study presented limitations in its small sample size of 9 HR representatives, thus making it hard to apply in a larger context. Further, the semi-structured interviews were time­ consuming, especially since the study could have benefited from mixed-methods such as questionnaires.  Although the data was collected over 20 months, the authors used a cross­ sectional approach in presenting a snapshot of the FFG recruitment approach in different MNEs and HR departments. The extended periods of data collection affected the respondents' views, especially since MNEs can change recruitment practices to meet their organizational needs (Saunders, Lewis and Thornhill, 2019).

Conclusions

The use of FFG recruitment as a new international human resource development approach can help MNEs achieve workforce diversity and meet global production demands. While the study does not offer a quantitative figure on the number of organizations and respondents that are currently using FFG recruitment, the interview responses reveal that Japanese MNEs are embracing the new recruitment approach because it helps them meet labor force requirements and global performance needs. Some of the challenges that were shared included poor career progression and lack of job descriptions to guide employees during their first assignments. Nevertheless, the aspects of improved communication and intercultural training were recommended to overcome such challenges.