High-performance work systems in mainland China: a review and research agenda

ABSTRACT

This paper reviews the empirical studies on high-performance work systems (HPWSs) in the context of Mainland China at different levels of analysis, published in leading English- and Chinese-language journals in the relevant field between 2008 and 2018. In particular, we examine the factors that have affected the adoption of HPWSs in Chinese organizations and study the specific characteristics of Chinese HPWSs. We explore the nature and direction of the HPWSs-performance relationship as well as the underlying mechanism for the relationship in Chinese organizations. We present a research agenda for future directions in theoretical development, context, characteristics, and methodology. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• High-performance work systems
• China
• national business system theory
• employment relationship
• levels of analysis

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank Editor Professor Chris Rowley and the four anonymous reviewers for their encouragement and very helpful suggestions. The author also wishes to thank Ms. Weimiao Yu for her research assistance in the data collection process.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. We included high-commitment work system based on its similar nature to HPWS as a bundle of best practices for enhancing intended outcomes, and its acceptance in the Chinese context (Xiao and Björkman 2016).

2. The internal employment mode is characterized by long-term or lifetime employment and promotion from within the organization, and is associated with the training and development of knowledge or skills, the socialization of employees, and an emphasis on loyalty to the organization (Li et al. 2008).

3. The dormitory labour regime is more than a way of housing migrant workers who move between hometown and industrial zones. It is a highly paternalistic, coercive, and intensive production system, in which workers’ lives are dominated by employers, and work time is more closely under the control of the employers than in systems where work and home life are separated (Smith and Pun 2006).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yujie Cai

Dr Yujie Cai is a Lecturer/Assistant Professor in Human Resource Management and Leadership in Swansea University, UK. He obtained his PhD degree in Management from Peking University jointly with Cornell University sponsored by Fulbright Scholarship. His research interests centre on high-performance work systems, occupational safety, employee relations and the volunteer workforce, with articles published in Advances in Industrial and Labor Relations, Frontiers of Business Research in China, International Journal of Global Management Studies, Human Resource Management Review, Human Resource Development of China, among others.