A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Multinational Firms’ Recruitment Practices in Mexico and the United States

Eileen Daspro

Keywords: Recruitment, Discrimination, Multinationals, Culture, Institutions

The Study: This study examines whether U.S. multinational corporations maintain non-discriminatory recruitment practices when hiring in Mexico and analyzes how legal, cultural and institutional factors influence the way these organizations operate across borders. A total of 900 job advertisements from a binational job portal were analyzed, enabling comparisons among U.S. multinationals recruiting at home, those same firms recruiting in Mexico, and Mexican domestic companies. Each advertisement was assessed for discriminatory indicators such as age, gender, physical appearance, marital status, educational background and socioeconomic status. The central question concerns the degree to which corporate ethical commitments are upheld or relaxed when organizations operate in less regulated or culturally distinct environments.

Main Findings: Results show a clear gradient across contexts. In the United States, U.S. multinationals avoid discriminatory language almost entirely due to strict legislation and strong enforcement. When operating in Mexico, these same firms display a moderate increase in discriminatory content, though significantly less than what is observed among Mexican companies, which demonstrate the highest levels of exclusionary criteria. These variations reflect broader cultural and institutional differences between the two countries, particularly Mexico’s greater tolerance for discriminatory practices in recruitment. The findings support the notion that multinational firms adopt hybrid behaviors, balancing home-country ethical expectations with host-country norms.

Practical Implications: The research underscores that ethical codes and diversity policies do not automatically ensure uniform global practice. Local enforcement, cultural expectations and institutional pressures exert significant influence on how subsidiaries behave. Therefore, multinational corporations must strengthen cross-border compliance, invest in cultural training and implement rigorous monitoring systems to ensure that non-discriminatory standards are upheld regardless of location. The article also highlights the importance of continued investigation into how MNCs navigate ethical tensions across diverse cultural and regulatory environments.

Reference: Daspro, E. (2009). A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Multinational Firms’ Recruitment Practices in Mexico and the United States. Latin American Business Review, 10(1), 1–19.

Daspro 2009.pdf

Download PDF • 148KB