Small and medium-sized enterprises in China: a literature review, human resource management and suggestions for further research

References

• Anderson , A.R. , Li , J. , Harrison , R.T. and Robson , P.J.A. 2003 . The increasing role of small business in the Chinese economy . Journal of small business management , 41 ( 3 ) : 310 – 316 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Bacon , N. , Ackers , P. , Storey , J. and Coates , D. 1996 . It's a small world: managing human resources in small businesses . International journal of human resource management , 7 ( 1 ) : 82 – 100 .
   Google Scholar
• Bacon , N. and Hoque , K. 2005 . HRM in the SME sector: valuable employees and coercive networks . International journal of human resource management , 16 ( 11 ) : 1976 – 1999 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Baron , J.N. and Kreps , D.M. 1999 . Consistent human resource practices . California management review , 41 ( 3 ) : 29 – 53 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Behrends , T. 2007 . Recruitment practices in small and medium size enterprises: an empirical study among knowledge-intensive professional service firms . Management revue , 18 ( 1 ) : 55 – 74 .
   Google Scholar
• Bryman , A. 2001 . Social research methods , New York : Oxford University Press .
   Google Scholar
• Carrol , M. , Marchington , M. , Earnshaw , J. and Taylor , S. 1999 . Recruitment in small firms – processes, methods and problems . Employee relations , 21 ( 3 ) : 236 – 250 .
   Google Scholar
• Cassell , C. , Nadin , S. , Gray , M. and Clegg , C. 2002 . Exploring human resource management practices in small and medium sized enterprises . Personal review , 31 ( 6 ) : 671 – 692 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Chandler , G.N. and McEvoy , G.M. 2000 . Human resource management, TQM, and firm performance in small and medium-size enterprises . Entrepreneurship: theory and practice , 25 ( 1 ) : 43 – 58 .
   Google Scholar
• Chen , M. 1995 . Asian management systems , London : Routledge .
   Google Scholar
• Child , J. and Warner , M. 2003 . “ Culture and management in China ” . In Culture and management in Asia , Edited by: Warner , M. 24 – 47 . London : Routledge Curzon .
   Google Scholar
• Chow , C.K.W. , Fung , M.K.Y. and Yue , N.H. 1999 . Job turnover in China: a case study of Shanghai's manufacturing enterprises . Industrial relations , 38 ( 4 ) : 482 – 503 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Cooke , F.L. 2002 . Ownership change and reshaping of employee relations in China: a study of two manufacturing companies . Journal of industrial relations , 44 ( 1 ) : 19 – 40 .
   Google Scholar
• Cooke , F.L. 2005 . Employment relations in small commercial businesses in China . Industrial relations , 36 ( 1 ) : 19 – 37 .
   Google Scholar
• Cully , M. , Woodland , S. , O'Reilly , A. and Dix , G. 1999 . Britain at work: as depicted by the 1998 workplace employee relations survey , London : Routledge .
   Google Scholar
• Cunningham, L., 2007. People management in small and medium-sized enterprises in China. Thesis (PhD). Cass Business School, City University, London
   Google Scholar
• Cunningham , L. and Rowley , C. 2007 . Human resource management in Chinese small and medium enterprises: a review and research agenda . Personnel review , 36 ( 3 ) : 415 – 439 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Cunningham , L. and Rowley , C. 2008 . “ Human resource management in small and medium-sized enterprise in Jiangsu, China ” . In International handbook of entrepreneurship and HRM , Edited by: Barrett , R. and Mayson , S. 285 – 301 . Cheltenham, UK : Edward Elgar .
   Google Scholar
• Deng , J. , Menguc , B. and Benson , J. 2003 . The impact of human resource management on export performance of Chinese manufacturing enterprises . Thunderbird international business review , 45 ( 4 ) : 409 – 429 .
   Google Scholar
• Ding , D.Z. , Akhtar , S. and Ge , G.L. 2006 . Organizational differences in managerial compensation and benefits in Chinese firms . International journal of human resource management , 17 ( 4 ) : 693 – 715 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ding , D.Z. , Ge , G. and Warner , M. 2004 . Evolution of organizational governance and human resource management in China's township and village enterprises . International journal of human resource management , 15 ( 4/5 ) : 836 – 853 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ding , D.Z. , Goodall , K. and Warner , M. 2000 . The end of the ‘iron rice-bowl’: whither Chinese human resource management? . International journal of human resource management , 11 ( 2 ) : 217 – 236 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Duberley , J.P. and Walley , P. 1995 . Accessing the adoption of HRM by small and medium-sized manufacturing organisations . International journal of human resource management , 6 ( 4 ) : 891 – 905 .
   Google Scholar
• Dundon , T. , Grugulis , I. and Wilkinson , A. 1999 . ‘Looking out of the black-hole’ – non-union relations in an SME . Employee relations , 21 ( 3 ) : 251 – 266 .
   Google Scholar
• Easterby-Smith , M. , Malina , D. and Lu , Y. 1995 . How culture sensitive is HRM? A comparative analysis of practice in Chinese and UK companies . International journal of human resource management , 6 ( 1 ) : 31 – 59 .
   Google Scholar
• Edwards , P. and Ram , M. 2006 . Surviving on the margins of the economy: working relationships in small, low-wage firms . Journal of management studies , 43 ( 4 ) : 895 – 916 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Gamble , J. 2003 . Transferring human resource practices from the United Kingdom to China: the limits and potential for convergence . International journal of human resource management , 14 ( 3 ) : 369 – 387 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Goodall , K. and Warner , M. 1998 . HRM dilemmas in China: the case of foreign-invested enterprises in Shanghai . Asia Pacific business review , 4 ( 4 ) : 1 – 21 .
   Google Scholar
• Gray , C. and Mabey , C. 2005 . Management development: key differences between small and large businesses in Europe . International small business journal , 23 ( 5 ) : 467 – 485 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Guest , D.E. 1987 . Human resource management and industrial relations . Journal of management studies , 24 ( 5 ) : 503 – 521 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Guest , D.E. 1990 . Human resource management and the American dream . Journal of management studies , 27 ( 4 ) : 378 – 397 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Guest , D.E. 1991 . Personnel management: the end of orthodoxy? . British journal of industrial relations , 29 ( 2 ) : 149 – 176 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Guest , D.E. 1997 . Human resource management and performance: a review and research agenda . International journal of human resource management , 8 ( 3 ) : 263 – 276 .
   Google Scholar
• Guest , D.E. , Neil , C. and Philip , D. 2004 . Using sequential tree analysis to search for ‘bundles’ of HR practices . Human resource management , 14 ( 1 ) : 79 – 96 .
   Google Scholar
• Harney , B. and Dundon , T. 2006 . Capturing complexity: developing an integrated approach to analysing HRM in SMEs . Human resource management , 16 ( 1 ) : 48 – 73 .
   Google Scholar
• Hassard , J. , Morris , J. and Sheehan , J. 2004 . The ‘third way’: the future of work and organization in a ‘corporatized’ Chinese economy . International journal of human resource management , 15 ( 2 ) : 314 – 330 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Heneman , R.L. , Tansky , J.W. and Camp , S.M. 2000 . Human resource management practices in small and medium-sized enterprises: unanswered questions and future research perspectives . Entrepreneurship: theory and practice , Fall : 11 – 26 .
   Google Scholar
• Hill , R. and Stewart , J. 2000 . Human resource development in small organizations . Journal of European industrial , 24 ( 2–4 ) : 105 – 117 .
   Google Scholar
• Hill , S. , McGovern , P. , Mills , C. , Smeaton , D. and White , M. Why study contracts? Employment contracts, psychological contracts and the changing nature of work . Presented to the ESRC Conference: Future of Work III . London School of Economics and Political Science, Policy Studies Institute
   Google Scholar
• Hornsby , J.S. and Kuratko , D.F. 2003 . Human resource management in US small business: a replication and extension . Journal of developmental entrepreneurship , 8 ( 1 ) : 73 – 92 .
   Google Scholar
• Hsiung , J.C. 2003 . The aftermath of China's accession to the World Trade Organization . Independent review summer , 8 ( 1 ) : 1086 – 1107 .
   Google Scholar
• Huselid , M. , Jackson , S. and Schuler , R. 1997 . Technical and strategic human resource management effectiveness as determinants of firm performance . Academy of management journal , 40 ( 1 ) : 171 – 188 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• ILO Report, 2003. Available from: www.ilo.org (http://www.ilo.org) . [Accessed 6 June 2005]
   Google Scholar
• Keenoy , T. 1990 . HRM: rhetoric, reality and contradiction . International journal of human resource management , 3 ( 1 ) : 363 – 384 .
   Google Scholar
• Kinnie , N. , Purcell , J. , Hutchinson , S. , Terry , M. , Collinson , M. and Scarbrough , H. 1999 . Employment relations in SMEs – market-driven or customer-shaped . Employee relations , 21 ( 3 ) : 218 – 235 .
   Google Scholar
• Kochan , T.A. , Katz , H. and McKersie , R. 1986 . The transformation of American industrial relations , New York : Basic Books .
   Google Scholar
• Kok de , J. and Uhlaner , L.M. 2001 . Organization context and human resource management in the small firm . Small business economics , 17 : 273 – 291 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Kotey , B. and Slade , P. 2005 . Formal human resource management practices in small growing firms . Journal of small business management , 43 ( 1 ) : 16 – 40 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Li , Y. , Zhao , Y. and Liu , Y. 2006 . The relationship between HRM, technology innovation and performance in China . International journal of manpower , 27 ( 7 ) : 679 – 697 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• MacMahon , J. 1996 . Employee relations in small firms in Ireland . Employee relations , 18 ( 5 ) : 66 – 80 .
   Google Scholar
• Marlow , S. 2000 . Investigating the use of emergent strategic human resource management activity in the small firm . Journal of small business and enterprise development , 7 ( 2 ) : 135 – 148 .
   Google Scholar
• Marlow , S. 2002 . Regulating labour management in small firms . Human resource management , 12 ( 3 ) : 25 – 43 .
   Google Scholar
• Michie , J. and Sheehan , M. 2005 . Business strategy, human resources, labour market flexibility and competitive advantage . International journal of human resource management , 16 ( 3 ) : 445 – 464 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Mok , K. , Wong , L. and Lee , G. 2002 . The challenge of global capitalism: unemployment and state workers' reactions and responses in post-reform China . International journal of human resource management , 13 ( 3 ) : 399 – 415 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ng , Y.C. and Siu , N.Y.M. 2004 . Training and enterprise performance in transition: evidence from China . International journal of human resource management , 15 ( 4 ) : 878 – 894 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ram , M. 2000 . Investors in People in small firms – case study evidence from the business services sector . Personnel review , 29 ( 1 ) : 69 – 91 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Ram , M. , Edwards , P. , Gilman , M. and Arrowsmith , J. 2001 . The dynamics of informality: employment relations in small firms and the effects of regulatory change . Work, employment and society , 15 ( 4 ) : 845 – 861 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Redding , S.G. and Ng , M. 1983 . The role of ‘face’ in the organisational perceptions of Chinese managers . International studies of management and organisation , 13 ( 3 ) : 92 – 123 .
   Google Scholar
• Robson , C. 1993 . Real world research , Oxford : Blackwell Publisher Inc .
   Google Scholar
• Rowley , C. , Benson , J. and Warner , M. 2004 . Towards an Asian model of human resource management? A comparative analysis of China, Japan and South Korea . International journal of human resource management , 15 ( 4 ) : 917 – 933 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Schlevogt , K. 2001 . The distinctive structure of Chinese private enterprises: state versus private sector . Asia Pacific business review , 7 ( 3 ) : 1 – 33 .
   Google Scholar
• Sels , L. , De Winne , S. , Maes , J. , Delmotte , J. , Faems , D. and Forrier , A. 2006 . Unravelling the HRM-performance link: value-creating and cost-increasing effects of small business HRM . Journal of management studies , 43 ( 2 ) : 319 – 342 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Siu , W. 2000 . Marketing philosophies and company performance of Chinese small firms in Hong Kong . Journal of marketing theory and practice , Winter : 25 – 37 .
   Google Scholar
• Siu , N. and Glover , L. 2001 . Barriers to effective managerial practices in China . Asia Pacific business review , 7 ( 3 ) : 57 – 74 .
   Google Scholar
• Stanworth , J. and Curran , J. 1981 . The social dynamics of the small manufacturing enterprise . Journal of management studies , 18 ( 2 ) : 141 – 158 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Storey , D.J. 2004 . Exploring the link, among small firms, between management training and firm performance: a comparison between the UK and other OECD countries . International journal of human resource management , 15 ( 1 ) : 112 – 130 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Torres , O. and Julies , P. 2005 . Specificity and denaturing of small business . International small business journal , 23 ( 4 ) : 355 – 375 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Verburg , R.M. , Drenth , P.J.D. , Koopman , P.L. , Muijen , J.J. and Wang , Z.M. 1999 . Managing human resources across cultures: a comparative analysis of practices in industrial enterprises in China and the Netherlands . International journal of human resource management , 10 ( 3 ) : 391 – 410 .
   Google Scholar
• Wang, X. and Qiao, K., 2007. The human resource management practices in small private firms in China. Academy of management proceeding, 1–6
   Google Scholar
• Warner , M. 1999 . Human resources and management in China's ‘hi-tech’ revolution: a study of selected computer hardware, software and related firms in the PRC . International journal of human resource management , 10 ( 1 ) : 1 – 20 .
   Google Scholar
• Wei , L. and Lau , C. 2005 . Market orientation, HRM importance and competency: determinants of strategic HRM in Chinese firms . International journal of human resource management , 16 ( 10 ) : 1901 – 1918 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Whitley , R. 1992 . Business systems in east asia: firms, markets and societies , London : Sage .
   Google Scholar
• Wong , C. , Marshall , J.N. , Alderman , N. and Thwaites , A. 1997 . Management training in small and medium-sized enterprises: methodological and conceptual issues . International journal of human resource management , 8 ( 1 ) : 44 – 65 .
   Google Scholar
• Wright , P. , Szeto , W.F. and Cheng , L.T.W. 2002 . Guanxi and professional conduct in China: a management development perspective . International journal of human resource management , 13 ( 1 ) : 15 – 1-82 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Wright , P.C. and Hoa , T.T.V. 2001 . The role of personal relationships in the lending decisions of Vietnamese bankers . International journal of management , 18 ( 1 ) : 41 – 49 .
   Google Scholar
• Yin , R.K. 1993 . Applications of case study research , London : Sage .
   Google Scholar
• Yu , J.G. , Wang , Y.P. and Song , L. 2001 . Zhongguo Xiaoqiye Fazhan Zhanlue Yanjiu (A strategic study on the development of small enterprises in China (In Chinese) . Management world , : 157 – 166 .
   Google Scholar
• Zhang, W., 2005. Zhongguo Zhongxiao Qiye Fazhan Xianzhuang (In Chinese). Available from: www.ccw.com.cn (http://www.ccw.com.cn) . [Accessed 17 March 2006]
   Google Scholar
• Zheng , C. 1999 . The relationship between HRM and Chinese SME performance . International journal of organizational behaviour , 4 ( 4 ) : 125 – 137 .
   Google Scholar
• Zheng , C. , Morrison , M. and O'Neill , G. 2006 . An empirical study of high performance HRM practices in Chinese SMEs . International journal of human resource management , 17 ( 10 ) : 1772 – 1803 .
   Web of Science ®Google Scholar
• Zhou , S.D. and Cheng , D.M. 2003 . A study on competitive capability of small and medium-sized chinese enterprises , Nanjing, China : Nanjing University Press . (In Chinese)
   Google Scholar