Judy Y. Sun

Clarifying the boundaries of human resource development

This article clarifies the boundaries of human resource development (HRD) with respect to other concepts frequently used and misused in HRD literature. Through a proposition, a set of criteria for human resources is presented. A cross-culture literature comparison of the criteria demonstrates the consistency of the connotation in two contrasting cultures. This study has important implications for HRD research, practice and continued theory development effort. It relates to the identity and distinctiveness of HRD discipline, as well as the domain of HRD research and practice.

Career transition in the Chinese context: a case study

This study explores career transition in the transitioning Chinese context. Given the transitioning nature in the overall Chinese society and the affected individuals involved in equally massive career transitions, this study investigates the career transition phenomenon through the lens of an MBA case in China. We examine career transition types and associated constraints and challenges. Two distinctive types of career transitions emerged as context specific career transitions that have not been documented in the literature. As the study only presented the tip of the iceberg of the large-scale career transition taking place in China, we further discuss the implications and future research directions on the career transition phenomenon.

The “Science of HRD Research” Reshaping HRD Research Through Scientometrics

We explore opportunities for assessing and advancing Human Resource Development (HRD) research through an integrative literature review of scientometric theories and methods. Known as the “science of science,” scientometrics is concerned with the quantitative study of scholarly communications, disciplinary structure and assessment and measurement of research impact. The integrative review of scientometric literature showed importance in evaluating HRD research and publications, including citation analysis, citing behavior analysis, and Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) journal quality control process. We discuss three major implications for engaging HRD scholars in evaluating and assessing HRD research and scholarly communications for the quality control and self-regulation of HRD research.

Integrating disparate literatures on voluntary career transition and voluntary turnover: Implications for research in the Chinese context

Purpose – The multidisciplinary research on the phenomena of voluntary career transition (VCT) and voluntary turnover (VTO) remains disparate. This integrative review examines literatures in these two areas in relation to research in the Chinese context. The purpose of this paper is to identify future research directions for Chinese indigenous research in this area.Design/methodology/approach – This review adopted an integrative literature review approach.Findings – The authors found that research on VCT and VTO in different disciplines has shared identical or similar constructs and produced complementary empirical findings. This suggests that combining the disparate research in VCT and VTO in the Western literature to address the large‐scale career phenomenon in China may produce unexpected research outcomes, particularly when integrating the research with Chinese‐specific contexts in socioeconomic, cultural, and organization dynamics.Research limitations/implications – Taking advantage of, and linking e...

Understanding the Corporate University phenomenon: a human capital theory perspective

Corporate Universities (CU) have become a global phenomenon in organisations. This study investigated the CU phenomenon through the lens of human capital theory. Combined with a reflexive approach, we conducted a comprehensive review and analysis of literatures in economics and Human Resource Development (HRD). We found that, different from existing CU literature, as a HRD operational entity, the CU and the traditional university were rooted in different skills contexts. Theorising the CU phenomenon is to theorise HRD. We further explored an alternative model to understand the CU phenomenon. Implications for HRD research were also discussed.

How is HRD doing in research and publications? An assessment of journals by AHRD (2005-2011)

Purpose – This study aims to examine human resource development (HRD) research as represented by the citations to the publications in the four journals sponsored by the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) from 2005 to 2011. Design/methodology/approach – The authors collected citation data from Google Scholar (GS) using Publish or Perish 3 (PoP3) and compared the four journals on the metrics of h, hc, g, e and other Social Science Citation Index (SSCI) commonly reported indexes. Findings – Citation data during the seven-year period provided an overall picture on the status of HRD research and publications. It showed that while HRD journals have made impressive research impact by generating worldwide scholarly citations in multiple languages, additional effort in improving the quality and the impact of research and publications is needed. Research limitations/implications – This study offers new insights on a number of important issues related to HRD research assessment, research quality, journal i...

Contextualizing or decontextualizing? The peril of using Western social capital scales in China

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to promote Chinese indigenous research by examining a case in which adopting social capital (SC) scales developed in the Western context for Chinese samples can decontextualize inter-firm guanxi management in the Chinese context. Design/methodology/approach – Adopting the existing Western scales to measure SC, we collected data from Chinese executives participating in executive master of business administration programs on buyer–supplier relationship. Using the same items and data source, we identified post hoc factors representing guanxi dimensions. Ordinary least squared regressions were used for both guanxi and SC dimensions to test the hypotheses. Findings – Our analysis showed that Chinese natives responded to the Western SC items according to their understanding and mindsets rooted in guanxi. This was evidenced by the results from the post hoc-derived guanxi dimensions with the same data, which show better regression results for the hypotheses tested, although ...

For public causes or personal interests? Examining public service motives in the Chinese context

The western concept and scale of public service motivation (PSM) have recently been generalized to China. We analyze the western-centric PSM scale in the Chinese cultural, historical, and sociopolitical contexts. We find that PSM scale developed in the United States has limited applicability and generalizability in China. Instead, we adopt the career orientation inventory as an alternative to measure Chinese PSM with a sample of 403 government employees in relation to their job and career satisfactions and job involvement. We found that lifestyle, security and stability, technical/functional competence and service dedication to a cause were dominating motives for Chinese civil servants studied. The results not only partially explained the recent puzzling ‘civil servant fever’ phenomenon taking place in China, but also demonstrated that not all western developed scales could be directly adopted to the Chinese contexts. We offer important implications and future directions for research on PSM in the Chinese context.

Can good impression and feedback-seeking behavior help Chinese graduates get a job?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of feedback seeking (FBS) and impression management (IM) on candidates’ evaluative performance and final hiring decision in a recruiting assessment center (AC) by a multinational corporation (MNC) in China. Design/methodology/approach – The authors adopted a mixed-methods design. The authors first surveyed 234 candidates and 12 recruiting managers as assessors in four Chinese cities in one year. The authors then collected 23 candidates’ qualitative data in the forms of online blogs, diaries or letters sharing their recruitment experiences from 2005 to 2014. Findings – The quantitative results showed that both candidates’ FBS and IM behaviors were positively related to their evaluative performance, yet with no significant effects on hiring decision. However, the interaction of FBS and IM significantly reduced the likelihood of a positive evaluative performance and hiring decision. Qualitative findings showed that IM was adopted by the candidates,...

Toward a Framework for Comparative HRD Research.

Purpose – This paper seeks to address the recent challenges in the international human resource development (HRD) research and the related methodological strategy.Design/methodology/approach – This inquiry is based on a survey of literatures and integrates various comparative research strategies adopted in other major social science disciplines.Findings – Based on comparative strategies found in other disciplines, the authors propose a framework to advance comparative HRD research and theory development.Research limitations/implications – The proposed framework emphasizes methodological consistency in HRD research and improving the relevance and rigor in theory development. It also highlights the required qualities of comparative researchers.Originality/value – This is an initial effort in analyzing the emerging comparative HRD literature for an alternative framework to advance methodological research on HRD theory building.