Regional HRM Trends in Private and Public Sectors: A Comparative Approach

This study analyses the similarities (convergence) and differences (divergence) in human resource (HR) practices in the private and public sectors in 32 countries over a 12 year period. The paper starts with New Public Management (NPM) overview and its critiques and then discusses HR convergence, divergence and cross-vergence tendencies. Using the Cranet database of HR practitioner-employee ratio, performance appraisal systems use and application, unionization levels and training days metrics, analysis focuses on the three groupings of NPM countries, Central and Eastern European countries and all other countries. The hypothesis that HR practices of private and public sectors differ less in NPM countries than in the other two groups of countries is partially supported.