Still in search of strategic human resource management? A review and suggestions for future research with China as an example

Strategic human resource management (SHRM) has been an important strand of research in the HRM field for over three decades, and has attracted heated debates in recent years. One main critique of the state of SHRM research is its increasing detachment from HRM practice, in the pursuit of more theoretical rigor and methodological sophistication. Our review article has two main tasks. First, we review SHRM research published in two leading HRM journals—Human Resource Management and Human Resource Management Journal—in the light of the criticisms on SHRM research and use this as a backdrop of our second task. Second, we critically examine SHRM research conducted in the Chinese context by drawing on a systematic review on extant literature. In doing so, we draw on a wider range of HRM journals such as Human Resource Management Review, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, and so forth. We find that while the trend of psychologization in SHRM research is gathering pace, the range of theoretical perspectives mobilized to inform the studies is actually expanding. We call for SHRM research to be more contextualized and more practical phenomenon‐driven SHRM research. We indicate several avenues for future research, using China as an example.     

Quality and cost? The evolution of Walmart's business strategy and human resource policies and practices in China and their impact (1996–2017)

This study responds to calls for more in‐depth and qualitative studies, the return to a focus on external factors, and the inclusion of business strategy and industrial relations in human resource management (HRM) research, as well as more research in the retail sector in the Chinese context. We examine the coevolution of the business strategy and HR strategy of Walmart (China) in the last two decades and identify tensions in the context of intensifying competition in the Chinese retail market. We highlight the interactive effect of business and HR strategies through a historical lens. Our study reveals a shift from the original employee‐oriented win–win strategy through rent sharing between the firm and the employees to a win–lose strategy through the introduction of more cost conscious HR policies and practices. Findings of our study challenge the conventional wisdom that firms adopt either the cost or quality strategy and, along with it, the suggestion of matching the quality strategy with employee‐oriented HR policies and practices, and cost leadership with a transactional approach to HRM. We argue a cost and quality business strategy may be adopted, which requires the support of employee‐oriented, rather than cost‐oriented, HR policies and practices.     

Women's Managerial Careers in China in a Period of Reform

This contribution examines the opportunities for and barriers to women's managerial careers in China, drawing on first-hand empirical data and existing literature. It focuses on four groups of managers: managerial leaders in government administration, academics in higher education, entrepreneurs in private and self-employed businesses, and rural women managers. The paper explores the Chinese characteristics of gender inequality in management careers against the current political and economic background. It highlights the low level in both quantity and hierarchy of women in management. The contribution argues that women are discouraged managerial candidates for a number of legislative, social and personal reasons.     

The globalization of Chinese telecom corporations: strategy,challenges and HR implications for the MNCs and host countries

This paper investigates the motives of internationalization of two leading Chinese multinational corporations, their entry strategy and strategic responses to overcome internationalization barriers. In particular, we explore the political strategy and the corresponding political behaviour these two firms adopt to facilitate their internationalization process. We also examine the business strategy and human resource strategy they deploy in their internationalization endeavour and what impacts these may have on host country development, including human capital development and employment creation.     

Why Development Programmes Fail: William Easterly and the Political Economy of Intervention

Throughout his considerable body of work, William Easterly has identified several critical problems with foreign aid and economic development programmes. In particular, he argues that many working in areas of development act as ‘planners’, who believe they can implement effective policies but who in fact lack the necessary knowledge. Moreover, Easterly claims that these agents face perverse incentives that lead to suboptimal development outcomes. This article explores the theoretical roots of Easterly's critiques and relates them to the work of two Nobel prize‐winning economists, F.A. Hayek and James M. Buchanan. It explores the broader applicability of Easterly's criticisms by applying a similar framework to military activity.     

Chinese industrial relations research: In search of a broader analytical framework and representation

The transformation of industrial relations (IR) in China over the last three decades has been (partially) captured by the growing number of scholarly studies in the English language literature. Despite the major contribution of these studies in advancing our understanding of contemporary IR in China and the (changing) roles of traditional institutional actors, significant research gaps remain. This review paper argues that research on Chinese IR needs to include a broader category of IR actors, including more categories of workers than the current focus, to examine the new role of traditional actors and the role of emerging actors in shaping the IR processes and outcomes, even if their role may be episodic and spatially confined. It also argues that Chinese IR research needs to embrace a wider range of disciplinary perspectives, for example cultural perspective and human resource management, to go beyond the radical-pluralist and structuralist approaches that have often been deployed. Equally, it argues that instead of focusing primarily on conflicts as IR issues for research, we should also examine forms of collectivism, sources of bargaining power, and scope for cooperation. Finally, this paper argues for a closer link between Chinese IR research and public policy.     

Gender Roles and Organizational HR Practices: The Case of Women's Careers in Accountancy and Consultancy Firms in China

The Chinese finance industry has experienced significant expansion both within the state sector and into the private sector. Professional consultancy firms have also emerged as a result of the rising interest in the outsourcing of accounting and management services. However, the study of women's careers in the accountancy profession in contemporary China remains largely an uncharted territory. Drawing on data from 69 interviews with auditors in five firms, this article investigates the nature of work of external auditors in China and how women auditors view their work‐life choices and constraints. We explore the likely differences between male and female auditors in their career aspirations and the extent to which these self‐perceived differences are informed by social conventions of gender role, organizational practices, and personal preferences. The study has strong implications for human resource management in professional service firms in China, with particular reference to job design, work organization, career support, and work‐life balance initiatives. The study contributes to the debate on gender, employment, and career development in the accountancy profession in different parts of the world. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Corporate Capital Budgeting Decisions and Information Sharing

Firms must overcome agency and information asymmetry problems to make efficient corporate capital budgeting decisions; this is particularly true for firms with multiple units dispersed across geographic locations. Internal communication and coordination may therefore be crucial in reducing information asymmetry and achieving efficient resource allocation. We examine the relationship between corporate capital budgeting decisions and the degree of internal information sharing using a dataset of 342 U.S. firms from 1993 to 2002. Information sharing is measured by the internal linkages observed in firms’ research and development activities worldwide. The efficiency of a firm's capital budgeting decisions is measured by the deviation of the firm's estimated marginal q from the theoretical tax‐adjusted benchmark. We observe a significant relationship between value‐enhancing capital budgeting decisions and stronger internal linkages. Specifically, corporate overinvestment is significantly reduced with better information sharing across units. All results are robust to firm‐ and industry‐level controls.     

Rational drug design, the knowledge value chain and bioscience megacentres

This paper seeks to trace important shifts and cluster evolutionin the healthcare industry. Its key aim is to examine the implicationsof the rise of science-based clusters for economic geographyand related policies. A special focus is biosciences and therise of ‘biologics’ more generally at the expenseof fine chemistry in drug development. The old agglomerationsof pharmacy are no longer leaders in knowledge exploration,as universities, research laboratories and medical schools takeover research, they are beginning to lose prominence to dedicatedbiotechnology firms (DBFs) in knowledge examination, and retaintheir most important involvement as financiers and marketersof DBF exploitation knowledge. This has profound geographicalas well as industry organisation equilibrium effects. Over-concentrationof the bioscientific knowledge value chain has given rise tothe new spatial policy practice of developing regional sciencestrategies. Aspects of these are commented upon.