Human Resource Management, Human Resource Management, November–December 2009, Vol. 48, No. 6, Pp. 973– 995 © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/hrm.20325 GLOBAL CHALLENGES TO REPLICATING HR: THE ROLE OF PEOPLE, PROCESSES, AND SYSTEMS SHAD S. MORRIS, PATRICK M. WRIGHT, JONATHAN TREVOR, PHILIP STILES, GÜNTER K. STAHL, SCOTT SNELL, JAAP PAAUWE, AND ELAINE FARNDALE Global firms often struggle to replicate practices among their culturally and geographically dispersed subsidiaries. Part of the reason for this is that cer- tain practices, including human resource management (HRM) practices, are complex and context specific. In this study, we develop a framework to help identify how firms might overcome challenges of practice replication through alignment of information systems, application processes, and people. We find that managerial alignment of formal processes and systems, along with informal alignment of people (shared objectives), improve the capability of a multinational corporation (MNC) to replicate human resource practices across subsidiaries. We also discuss managerial implications. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Keywords: replication, knowledge management, international human resource management, alignment, cultural distance, principles and templates Introduction A s part of the broader field of knowledge-related competition, replication is defined as reproduc- ing a successful practice in a new location (Winter & Szulanski, 2002). International business scholars have studied how replication of human resource (HR) practices can be important to firm ob- jectives (Pudelko, 2005; Teagarden & Von Glinow, 1997). In general, they conclude that multinational corporations (MNCs) able to replicate practices among their subsidiary units more effectively than their competitors will typically gain a competitive advantage (Morris, Snell, & Wright, 2006). For example, a firm able to link pay to performance across geographical units consistently is expected to outperform competitors who cannot coordi- nate such an effort, all else being equal (Schuler & Tarique, 2007). Even though researchers recognize that replication can lead to competitive advan- tage, MNCs still struggle to replicate practices across their boundaries. For example, research Correspondence to: Shad S. Morris, 718 Fisher Hall, 2100 Neil Ave., Columbus, OH 43210, Phone: 614-247-1732, Fax: 614-292-7062, E-mail: morris@fisher.osu.edu