1. ¹University of Lugano, Lugano, Switzerland
2. ²University of Gieen, Gieen, Germany
3. ³Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Jena

Correspondence: N Beck, University of Lugano, Via Giuseppe Buffi 13, 6904 Lugano, Switzerland. Tel: +41 58 666 44 68; Fax: +41 58 666 46 47; E-mail: nikolaus.beck@lu.unisi.ch

Received 7 February 2007; Revised 8 June 2008; Accepted 20 June 2008; Published online 26 March 2009.

Abstract

Do headquarters influence the subsidiaries' arrangements of vocational training in foreign countries? Our analyses of the amount of training offered to employees by organizations in 14 countries in which different training systems prevail (either continuing vocational training or initial vocational training) show that the cultural models of training diffuse between training systems in both directions. Independent from their own location, headquarters have the power to export their expectations concerning the training of employees to their subsidiaries that are located in countries with training systems different from those of the headquarters. This result is in accordance with the country-of-origin effect.