John J. Lawler

Organizational and HRM Strategies in Korea: Impact on Firm Performance in an Emerging Economy

To examine the effects of organizational strategic variables, such as management values regarding human resource management (HRM) and the sources of competitive advantage, we developed a model and tested it with data from 138 firms in Korea. The workers studied were nonmanagers. Firms with high scores on valuing HRM and people as a source of competitive advantage were more likely to have high-involvement HRM strategies. These variables also had positive effects on firm performance. In addition, firms with high-involvement HRM strategies had better performance.

Empowerment and continuous improvement in the United States, Mexico, Poland, and India : Predicting fit on the basis of the dimensions of power distance and individualism

Although variations in national cultures predominate as explanation for the belief that universal approaches to management do not exist, there have been few reports of systematic studies. Data from employees of a single firm with operations in the United States, Mexico, Poland, and India were used to test the fit of empowerment and continuous improvement practices with national culture. Using the theoretical constructs of individualism-collectivism and power distance, the authors predicted that the practices would be more congruent in some cultures than in others and that value congruence would result in job satisfaction. Using structural equations modeling, the authors found that empowerment was negatively associated with satisfaction in India but positively associated in the other 3 samples. Continuous improvement was positively associated with satisfaction in all samples. Substantive, theoretical, and methodological implications are discussed.

The role of collective efficacy in the relations between transformational leadership and work outcomes

Using a sample of 402 employees from the banking and finance sectors in China and India, we found that transformational leadership is positively related to organizational commitment and job satisfaction, and negatively related to job and work withdrawal. We also found that collective efficacy mediated the contribution of transformational leadership to job and work withdrawal and partially mediated the contribution of transformational leadership to organizational commitment and job satisfaction. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Building effective organizations: transformational leadership, collectivist orientation, work-related attitudes and withdrawal behaviours in three emerging economies

Abstract Previous cross-cultural research on transformational leadership has focused mainly on replicating the augmentation effects of transformational leadership over transactional leadership on followers’ attitudes and behaviours. Relatively few studies have systematically examined cultural impacts in moderating the influence of transformational leadership on work-related outcomes taking a cross-cultural perspective. Using a field survey of 577 employees from banking and financial sectors in three emerging economies, namely: China, India and Kenya, we examined the moderating effect of collectivism on the relationships between transformational leadership, work-related attitudes and perceptions of withdrawal behaviours. Our results found support for the moderating effect of collectivism on the relationship between transformational leadership and work-related outcomes, such as facets of job satisfaction, organizational commitment and perceptions of organizational withdrawal behaviours. In addition, our results lend support to the view that transformational leadership might be effective across cultures. The implications of these findings for future research on transformational leadership and cross-cultural research are discussed.

The relationship between expatriates' personality traits and their adjustment to international assignments

This study investigates the relationship between personality traits of expatriates and their adjustment to international assignments. We focused in particular on the Big Five personality traits: extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness to experience. We sampled eighty-three US expatriates in Taiwan and found statistically significant relationships between expatriate adjustment and three personality traits in theoretically reasonable directions. Specifically, our results showed that a US expatriates general living adjustment in Taiwan is positively related to his or her degree of extroversion and openness to experience. We found that extroversion and agreeableness are both positively related to interaction adjustment (i.e. relationships with local people). Furthermore, a US expatriates work adjustment is positively related to his or her openness to experience. Unlike prior research on expatriate adjustment, we have examined multiple traits rooted in personality theory, and we have derived hypotheses that are specific to a Chinese context.

Human resource strategy and firm performance in Pacific Rim countries

This paper examines the impact of high-performance work system (HPWS) techniques on organizational performance in four East and Southeast Asian economies that have been at the forefront of Asias rapid development. All now face considerable competitive pressures from newer emerging markets (e.g. China, India, Vietnam, Eastern Europe) and thus experience many of the same sources of uncertainty from globalization as more economically developed countries, especially in the period following the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Many companies in Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Thailand are experimenting with features of American-style high-performance work systems. We collected data from nearly 700 companies in the region, both subsidiaries of MNCs (American, Japanese and European) and locally owned firms. Statistical techniques were used to measure the effects of HPWS techniques on perceived financial performance. In general, the results indicated HPWSs worked effectively, even under tremendously variable conditions. Most interesting is the finding that use of HPWS techniques in locally owned firms apparently has at least a marginally greater impact on firm performance than when used in MNC subsidiaries.

Variations in human resource management in Asian countries: MNC home-country and host-country effects

This paper investigates the determinants of HRM strategy in a random sample of firms operating in Korea and Taiwan. Both indigenous and foreign-owned firms are studied. HRM strategy is measured in terms of the companys reliance on high-performance, versus more traditional, HRM policies and practices in several different areas, including staffing, employee influence, employee rewards and employee autonomy. Independent variables include the firms country or region of origin (USA, Japan, Europe, Korea or Taiwan), the host country (Korea or Taiwan) and the internal culture of the firm, as measured by upper managements perception that human resources constitute a significant source of value for the organization. Pronounced differences are found across countries of origin and between the two host countries. Managerial values and various organizational characteristics that serve as control variables are also found to impact on HRM strategy.

Human resource management in developing economies: a comparison of India and Thailand

This paper reports the results of surveys of firms that were conducted both in India and Thailand. The surveys centred on a wide range of human resource management practices (staffing, training, compensation and evaluation). The sample consisted of both the subsidiaries of multinational corporations and locally owned companies. Statistical analysis suggests pronounced differences in employment practices between India and Thailand in some areas, while considerable similarities in other areas. The study controls for a variety of organizational factors (e.g., firm size, ownership (foreign versus domestic), union status).

Multinational corporations, human resource management and host-country nationals

This paper provides an overview of the articles contained in this special issue of the International Journal of Human Resource Management. The theme of this issue is the nature and impact of the human resource management practices of multinational corporations as applied to host-country nationals employed in subsidiaries. The editors first lay out some conceptual and ethical considerations relevant to this topic. We then provide a synopsis of each article and discuss some of the linkages among these. Finally, we lay out implications drawn for these articles, as well as the literature more generally, for future research in this area.

Toward a Model of Organizational Human Capital Development: Preliminary Evidence from Taiwan

This article seeks to explore the black box mediating between human resource management practices and firm performance. It is hypothesized that high performance work systems develop organizational human capital, which in turn, positively affect firm performance. Two organizational antecedents are also hypothesized to lead to the implementation of high performance work systems. They are a top management value that sees human resources and human resource management practices as major sources of competitive advantage, and organizational strategy that seeks to differentiate by product or service innovation. These hypotheses were tested by analysing questionnaires from 62 human resource managers and 206 engineers in 77 information technology companies. Research findings suggest that organizational human capital (employee competencies and commitment) mediates the relationship between high performance work systems and firm performance. Top management human resource values and organizational strategy have a joint effect on the implementation of high performance work systems. This study is exploratory and findings are not conclusive. The implications and limitations of this study are discussed.