Engaging Hong Kong businesses in environmental change: drivers and barriers

Hong Kong's businesses have been slow to embrace environmental management principles, particularly in the SME sector. This article analyses key barriers and incentives to engaging Hong Kong businesses with voluntary environmental initiatives and compares their relevance for companies of different sizes. As in other countries, SMEs show a much lower uptake of such activities than larger companies. Their approach towards environmental management is predominantly reactive, and legislation remains the key driver for engaging them with environmental change. Inadequate government policy and support, societal attitudes and corporate culture all contribute significantly to the comparatively poor development of corporate environmental management among Hong Kong companies. As long as most SMEs regard voluntary environmental activities as costly and unnecessary ‘extras’ that endanger their competitiveness and detract resources from their core business without offering any tangible benefits, fundamental improvements in their environmental performance will be difficult to achieve. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

HRM practices used to promote pro-environmental behavior: a UK survey

To date, the extent to which UK organizations use human resource management (HRM) practices to promote pro-environmental behavior through workplace HRM policies and initiatives is under-researched within the literature. Therefore, this paper presents results of a survey investigating current HRM practices used to promote pro-environmental behavior in a sample of 214 UK organizations representing different sizes and industry sectors. Overall, findings indicated that HRM practices are not used to a great extent to encourage employees to become more pro-environmental. The most prevalent practices used within organizations incorporated elements of management involvement supporting the idea that managers are the gatekeepers to environmental performance. Although organizations indicated that some HRM practices were more effective than others at encouraging pro-environmental behavior in their staff, only a very small percentage of organizations actually conducted any form of evaluation; organizations consequently lack clear evidence as to whether their HRM practices actually result in employee behavior change. Practical implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Organizational context and human resource management strategy: a structural equation analysis of Hong Kong firms

Previous studies to explain why companies utilize particular human resource management (HRM) strategies have not adequately addressed the influence of contextual variables such as size, location, ownership, competitive pressure, technological change, age and growth. In this study, we investigate the extent to which these contextual variables are related to HRM strategy in seventy-six private-sector firms located in Hong Kong. Our analysis uses structural equations to examine the relationships among contextual variables and HRM strategy to develop and retain managers. The results show that contextual variables have both direct and indirect effects on an organization's HRM strategy. The indirect effects occur through the top management involvement of the HR function within an organization. Use of a human capital development HRM strategy reduces organizational uncertainty about having an adequate supply of managers to meet firm objectives. Contrary to our expectation, in Hong Kong firms, greater reliance on internal development and promotion tends to increase uncertainty and greater competition tends to reduce training investment. Both of these unanticipated relationships may reflect the high mobility of managers peculiar to the Hong Kong labour market.     

Collaborative-based HRM practices and open innovation: a conceptual review

Abstract

This conceptual paper analyses the role of collaborative-based HRM practices in supporting open innovation. There is already an extensive literature that investigates the impact of HRM practices on organizations’ innovation performance. As organizational boundaries become increasingly permeable and knowledge flows more freely, open innovation continues to receive close attention in management studies. However, relationships between HRM practices and open innovation have still not been examined. From a knowledge management perspective, we identify three kinds of barrier that may deter or impede open innovation. These relate to cognitive biases, concerns about transaction costs, and shortfalls in terms of organization capability. We also discuss the role of four types of collaboration-oriented HRM practices (i.e., teamwork-based recruitment, training in teamwork skills, team-based appraisals and rewards, and rotational job design) in reducing barriers to open innovation. Based on our analyses, we envisage future research directions about the role of collaborative-based HRM practices in supporting open innovation.     

Organizational citizenship behaviour and turnover intention: a cross-cultural study

This study investigated the relationship between organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) and turnover intention in 162 production workers in the same organization within Malaysia, Germany and England. Further, differences in ratings of OCB across cultures were examined. Self-report questionnaires measuring turnover intention and five dimensions of OCB (altruism, courtesy, conscientiousness, sportsmanship and civic virtue) were administered to the samples. Results illustrated that OCB related significantly to turnover intention, with sportsmanship emerging as the strongest predictor of turnover intention across cultures. Cultural differences in OCB ratings were seen, with the Malaysian sample generally scoring higher than the other two samples. However, the relationship between OCB and turnover intention was similar within each culture group. Explanations of the findings and limitations are discussed.     

Key factors influencing HRM practices of overseas subsidiaries in China's transition economy

In seventy items measuring fourteen constructs of human resource management practices in 286 Chinese foreign subsidiaries headquartered in the United States, Japan and Germany, significant differences are related to financial control from the foreign parent, organizational form (joint venture, wholly owned foreign subsidiary or representative office) and time since entry into the Chinese market. The differences appear to be governed more by the push from parent-firm economic considerations and venture structure and the pull from specific Chinese HRM conditions than by the push related to home country of parent or factors associated with industry type. In addition, a fair number of HRM practices appear unaffected by any of these factors, and these may be more universal in form.     

HRM and performance: the vulnerability of soft HRM practices during recession and retrenchment

This multi‐method case explores how change in HRM implementation can impact performance metrics in a recessionary climate. Qualitative HR outcome data are mapped against financial metrics to explore adoption of hard‐line HRM practices in a major UK retailer. Despite record profits throughout the recession, the organisation responded strategically to worsening conditions in the labour market, firstly to maintain operational flexibility, but then to opportunistically enlarge jobs and intensify work to help achieve immediate gains in financial metrics, including a gain of 37 per cent in profit per employee over 3 years. These gains were achieved by derailing commitment‐based approaches to HRM, pointing towards the vulnerability of soft HRM systems during times of austerity or retrenchment.     

Attitudes towards different sources of executive appraisal: a comparison of Hong Kong Chinese and American managers in Hong Kong

This study examines the attitudes of three groups of managers in Hong Kong, namely, Hong Kong Chinese managers in local Chinese firms (HK/HK), Hong Kong Chinese managers in US firms (HK/US) and American managers in US firms (US/US), towards supervisory, peer, subordinate and multi-source appraisal of executive performance. The more recent perspective of crossvergence, within the convergence-divergence debate, provides the theoretical foundation for formulating the hypotheses. The findings indicate support for this new perspective of crossvergence. There is also evidence of the coexistence of all the three perspectives of convergence, divergence and crossvergence. The study found that the practice of supervisory appraisal is supported more by HK/US and US/US managers than by HK/HK managers. Furthermore, both HK/US and US/US managers are more supportive of subordinate evaluation than peer evaluation. Overall, the findings indicate that the traditional Chinese values may be more congruent with the notion of supervisory appraisal than with peer and subordinate evaluation. The study thus points out the importance of the compatibility of norms and beliefs regarding a management practice such as performance appraisal with the local national cultures in determining the acceptance and hence the transferability of that practice across countries.     

Complexities and Controversies in Linking HRM with Organizational Outcomes

Our understanding of the way in which human resource management (HRM) is linked to organizational performance is still limited, despite recent advances that use a quantitative approach to argue for a strong positive relationship between 'High Performance Work Practices' and firm financial performance. These studies are limited by their reliance on a single informant in each organization, and their emphasis on financial performance at the expense of a broader range of outcome variables. This paper contributes to the debate by analysing in detail the human resource policies and practices of one case-study organization over a two-year time period, using a variety of methodologies and drawing on a broad range of informants across the organization. Instead of devising a list of 'best practice' HRM from the literature and testing its impact on performance, we instead invert the question and take a firm that is financially successful and ask what HR policies and practices it uses. We also examine the way in which these policies are enacted. This methodology enables us to show that even successful organizations do not always implement 'best practice' HRM, and that there is frequently a discrepancy between intention and practice. Outcomes at the individual and organizational levels are complex and often contradictory; we question the extent to which is it possible or meaningful to attempt to measure the interrelationship between HRM, at the level of the formal system, and organizational performance, without taking into consideration the role played by the informal organization in the process and implementation of HR policies.     

Behavioural responses to employment discrimination: a study of Hong Kong workers

This study examines the behavioural responses of Hong Kong workers to employment discrimination. Based on the exit-voice framework proposed by Hirschman, five possible responses (i.e. neglect, quit, internal voice, external voice and litigation) are identified. The effects of certain personal attributes and work-related factors on these responses are evaluated. Two different data sets, focusing on gender discrimination and family status discrimination, are analysed. The results of logistic regression indicate that workers with higher levels of education and sensitivity to discrimination are more likely to complain and less likely to neglect their work or resign. Additionally, men and women respond differently to sex-based discrimination. Work-related factors such as employment sector, job tenure and employer size are also found to exert significant effects. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

From a labour-surplus to a labour-scarce economy: challenges to human resource management in Hong Kong

In this paper, the acute problems faced by the market economy of Hong Kong are assessed. These are seen to arise from the shift in the labour market from labour surplus to labour scarcity. The major geo-political role of Hong Kong both in servicing the extendal capital requirements of South China and as a key state within the conurbation of ‘little dragons’ is also examined. The consequences of this structural shift in terms of the challenges being mounted to HRM both strategically and functionally are also evaluated and are interpreted as an evolutionary process.     

The differential effects of work- and family-oriented women-friendly HRM on OC and OCB: the case for single female employees in Hong Kong

Research on women-friendly HRM often presumes working women are homogeneous in their wants and needs of organizational support. Few such studies have examined how female employees of different marital and parental statuses might perceive women-friendly HRM differently. This study categorizes organizational womenfriendliness into two aspects, namely work- and family-oriented, and explores if the two types of organizational support are equally important to single working women who do not have children. The effects of work- and family-oriented women-friendly policies on their job attitudes and organizational behaviours were examined. It was found that workoriented policies had a positive impact on single female employees' level of affective commitment and altruistic behaviours. In contrast, family-oriented policies were positively related to continuance commitment. Neither of the two sets of policies had any effect on compliant behaviours. The results highlight the importance of a careful examination of the demography of the workforce in trying to devise effective women-friendly organizational strategies and HR policies.     

Challenges to the psychological contract in Hong Kong

This study investigates empirically the psychological contract of a sample of 205 Hong Kong junior and senior managers. It determines the perceptions of factors that employers and employees see as relevant to the employment relationship, and then analyses perceptions of and attitudes towards recent changes in the Hong Kong business environment. In addition to exploring the nature and content of manager's psychological contracts in Hong Kong, the study explores how contracts are related to and affected by both the external environment and internal management practices. A survey questionnaire is used to measure the promises and commitments perceived to have been made by organizations, and the obligations that employees perceive they owe to their employer. In addition, the actual policies and practices of the employing organizations are determined. The impact of the HRM climate of the employing organizations (actual policies and practices) and the attitudes, expectations and feelings of organizational members about ongoing changes in the business and management environment on this exchange relationship are isolated. The study makes two contributions to the psychological contract literature: it examines the relevance of a psychological contract approach in a nonWestern geographical region; and it moves the concept of HRM preferences more centrally into the psychological contracting literature. This enables a better understanding of the construct in relation to the comparative management literature. The content of the psychological contract is shown to be multi-dimensional. Perceptions of organizational commitments and promises focus around four judgements: an intrinsically satisfying and challenging environment; a secure and rewarding job; equity; and supportive leadership. By Western standards the employee side of the employment relationship 'deal' is more one-sided. The proportion of managers who believe employees are strongly obligated to do certain things for their employers is very high. The study examines the factors that predict employees' psychological contracts. Actual HRM practices are shown to predict perceived commitments and obligations, and the strength of obligation is related to perceived promises and commitments. In contrast to the emphasis on the internal cognitive and individualized conception of the psychological contract in much of the literature, this study indicates that this decontextualizes psychological contracts. The true nature of a psychological contract is shown to be an exchange relationship firmly linked to a culture's reciprocity norms.     

Organizational and comparative institutionalism in international HRM: Toward an integrative research agenda

Over the past two decades, a growing body of research on human resource management (HRM) has analyzed the relationship between international HRM and institutions. This work has primarily been informed by two leading streams of theory—organizational institutionalism and comparative institutionalism. However, these two dominant streams have seen much juxtaposition, but little logical integration. Moreover, scholars have paid little attention to the dynamics of contextualization (more specifically, institutional development and evolution), which limits the relevance of extant research. In this article, we review the extant literatures and their intellectual origins and develop an integrative research agenda that emphasizes the multilevel nature of HRM and evolution under external institutional change.     

Bundles of HRM practices and performance: empirical evidence from a Latin American context

This article examines the extent to which the configuration of HRM practices in bundles and the interactions among them have a significant impact on manufacturing outcomes. Using a unique data set from a survey of a representative sample of the whole Uruguayan manufacturing industry, several hypotheses related to interactions between ability–motivation–opportunity bundles of HRM practices are tested. Analysis of 150 manufacturing plants partially highlights the existence of hierarchy between bundles, being the bundle of motivation‐enhancing HRM practices the most important to explain the enhanced manufacturing outcomes. Based on this bundle of practices, synergistic interactions with both ability and opportunity bundles of HRM practices were observed to explain different performance measures.