Within‐Country Workforce Migration: The Impact of Place on HRM in Regional Australia

ABSTRACT The human resource management literature has investigated the impact of workforce mobility, including cross‐country HR practices, finding evidence about the nuances of HR practices in cross‐country contexts. However, the impact of within‐country contexts on HR practices has not been studied to the same extent. This qualitative study explored the impact of place, an element of context, within regional northern Australia. The study investigated the experiences of HR practitioners to identify if, and how, HR practices are influenced by place, thus contributing to the broader literature about HR and context. A purposive non‐probability sampling approach was adopted, with 24 interviews conducted with HR practitioners. The study identified 16 aspects of place that influence HR practices. Overall, the findings suggest that while HR practices are generic, place influenced the localised implementation. Future research should focus on the intersection of context and identity.