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Over the past several decades, Chinese universities have introduced various Western-style human resource management (HRM) practices to improve organizational performance. Such HRM innovations have resulted in new employment relations and paradoxical HR practices, which cannot be explained by the unitary institutional logic assumed by conventional HRM theories. Based on in-depth interviews of academic and administrative members, this study examines how Chinese universities struggle to reconcile competing institutional logics through HR innovations for ambidexterity. Our research reveals a unique transformation trajectory of personnel management in Chinese public universities. The findings indicate that human resource management in Chinese universities has been influenced by multiple logics of socialism, market, and corporation, heading along the neoliberal and managerial route while being shaped by strong state regulations. Chinese universities still have a long way to go to reconcile multiple institutional logics and achieve ambidexterity.

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) need to understand and handle various informal institutions in host countries to survive and succeed. How MNEs effectively manage informal institutional characteristics of host countries is an important question for both practitioners and scholars. This paper addresses this important but neglected topic based on an in-depth longitudinal qualitative study. It identifies some key informal institutions in Australia, examines how such institutional distinctiveness shapes the behaviour of Chinese expatriates and MNEs and how they handle such informal institutional differences between China and Australia. Our findings challenge some taken-for-granted assumptions regarding informal institutions in the literature and demonstrate that informal institutions of host countries significantly shape the behaviour of expatriates and firm-level strategies of MNEs.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of human resource management (HRM) reforms on job-related well-being of academics in Chinese universities. It also tests the mediating effect of work intensification (WI) and affective commitment (AC), and the moderating effect of perceived organizational justice (OJ) on the HRM‒well-being relationship to understand the influence mechanisms and boundary conditions.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire survey was conducted in 25 Chinese universities, obtaining 638 usable questionnaires. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used as the analytical technique to examine the model fit and test hypotheses.FindingsThe findings reveal that the relationship of HRM and well-being is neither direct nor unconditional, and a win‒win scenario for both management and employee well-being is possible when organizations pursue HRM innovations.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations of this study are that data were collected at once and at a defined time, with no time lag being involved. In addition, all variables were self-reported.Practical implicationsCommitment-oriented HRM practices can create a win‒win scenario; when control-oriented HRM practices are necessary, managers should ensure OJ to offset their negative influence on employees.Originality/valueThis study is among the first to examine the impact of HRM on employee well-being in the context of Chinese higher education, contributing to the limited studies on HRM in Chinese public sector and the on-going debate on the nature of HRM in China.

This research was supported under Australian Research Council's Linkage Projects funding scheme (project number LP110200526).

Expatriate management has evolved through the practices of developed economy multinational enterprises (DMNEs), with the aim of improving expatriate adaptability, cross-cultural adjustment, and performance. However, most of these studies focus on expatriates from developed countries and try to help DMNEs instead of emerging market MNEs (EMNEs). In a turbulent global economy, how EMNEs manage their expatriates when conducting business through their outward foreign direct investment (FDI) is understudied. This empirical study aims to address this research gap by utilising a qualitative approach and a multiple case study. It has conducted semi-structured interviews with expatriates, executives, and middle managers of Chinese MNEs in 2014. It contributes as one of the few to systematically examine expatriate related issues in the context of EMNEs with first-hand empirical evidence. The findings show that EMNEs are leapfrogging with their internationalisation and hence their expatriate policies are often ad hoc without systematic planning. Moreover, this study has contributed to practice, especially to EMNEs, regarding the way they need to improve their expatriate policies and practices.

Embracing the convergence–divergence–crossvergence debate in the field of international human resource management (IHRM) and linking it to the context of emerging market multinational enterprises (EMNEs), our key contribution is to provide a precise and feasible architecture of convergence–divergence–crossvergence response that takes into account the global versus local dilemma, as well as the headquarters–subsidiary relationship. By incorporating the latest theoretical development and case observations of EMNEs, we identify localization as a strategic goal and autonomy as a control means that foster EMNEs’ choosing their own paths in managing international human resources. Under the architecture, the two types of crossvergent IHRM strategies – deliberate and emergent – are further distinguished. Propositions are developed for future empirical testing.

We examine the impact of HPWS on the attitudes and retention of Chinese employees in multinational enterprises (MNEs) operating in China. More specifically, we examine the extent to which the degree of HPWS and the impact of these practices differ according to the country of origin of the MNE. We surveyed a sample of 410 Chinese employees currently working in Western and Asian MNEs. The findings indicate significant ‘country of origin’ effects, where employees of Western and Asian MNEs perceive different levels of HPWS are in operation in their respective organisations. Employee trust, job satisfaction and affective commitment are all important factors in the retention of Chinese employees of MNEs, with high levels of commitment being the most significant factor. However, the relative impact of these factors on employee retention differs by country of origin of the MNE.

Purpose – Expatriate management is a popular topic in international human resource management (IHRM) because expatriates play a critical role in a firm’s international business operations. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the existing studies that often examine the expatriate management of developed country multinational enterprises (MNEs), aiming to help them identify, employ, prepare and retain expatriates and address challenges these MNEs may face, while how MNEs from emerging countries manage their expatriates is understudied. Design/methodology/approach – The knowledge of expatriate management from emerging market MNEs (EMNEs) may help us understand whether there is anything new for IHRM theory and practice. This conceptual paper aims to address this research gap by selecting China, a leading emerging economy, and reviewing the existing literature in both English and Chinese to examine the status quo of the expatriate management in Chinese MNEs to highlight challenges facing these MNEs in managing their expatriates when conducting outward foreign direct investment (FDI). Findings – This paper aims to make theoretical contributions by generating research propositions to address an under-researched area, i.e., how EMNEs manage their expatriates and the role of their expatriates in the outward FDI. Originality/value – No other person’s work has been used in the main text of the paper. This paper has not been submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma in this or any other tertiary institution.

Agency work is one of the most rapidly growing forms of employment in leading economies over the past two decades, signifying a global shift towards non-standard flexible employment modes. The rapid growth of agency work has become one of the most notable global employment trends and is set to become a permanent feature of the modern workplace. The growth of agency employment raises a number of ethical challenges for governments and businesses. A key emerging challenge is to identify firm-level HRM strategies to effectively manage and protect agency employees. Based on an extensive review of the existing research on agency work, this article develops an organizational-level flexicurity model of HRM as a promising answer to effectively manage agency employees in responsible ways within the context of increasing employment flexibilization. This article also develops a research agenda, providing a platform to inform future research.

How firm-level outward foreign direct investment can happen is a central question for international business research. Similarly, how emerging market firms that have few ownership advantages but suffer from various disadvantages can successfully start their international expansion is also an important question with significant theoretical and practical implications. Drawing on the perspective of corporate entrepreneurship, this paper explores this under-researched topic through an in-depth single case study of a large Chinese enterprise. We find that pre-entry strategies are critical for successful internationalization. Elaborate pre-entry entrepreneurial initiatives make it possible for firms of emerging market to surmount institutional constraints, leverage their assets, and build up competences for international venturing with limited resources.