A Strategic Human Resources Management Generic Framework for the Shipping Industry

This chapter discusses human resources management in the shipping industry. It is acknowledged that literature on the issue is rich; however, it mostly focuses on matters related to seafarers. Studies exploring issues related to onshore staff or the role of human resource management (HRM) systems in shipping companies are rather limited. There is a gap in the literature that this chapter aims at addressing. Towards this direction, the chapter proposes a methodological framework for the analysis of HRM systems for global shipping companies, which lies on three interrelated levels: national, industrial and international. This generic framework allows the development of HRM systems taking into account parameters of shipping companies which act as drivers for their adoption: the sector(s) in which companies operate, their corporate strategy and their size.