Abstract

We compare how far companies based in Africa, India and the ‘global North’ operating
in Mauritius adopt high-trust flexible working practices and how these are linked to
different clusters of wider labour management practice. Using comprehensive firmlevel
data collected in late 2011, we find that African/Indian company practices are
closer to those of indigenous firms than to those of Northern companies. The different
company groups operate in quite different ways but regional multi-national enterprises
operate in a similar way to indigenous companies. We therefore conclude that Rugman
and Verbeke’s ‘regionalization’ theory also applies to the HR field. We further find that
both a relatively strategic approach to HRM and measures to develop employer–
employee interdependence are, respectively, linked directly and indirectly to flexible
working incidence.