Managing human resources across cultures: a comparative analysis of practices in industrial enterprises in China and The Netherlands

Abstract

Abstract Although researchers and practitioners have come up with many good ideas for improving the employment relationship, there is no evidence for universally applicable practices. Prior theoretical work and research in the area of (international) human resource management indicate that cultural and contextual constraints are responsible for the problematic nature of transference of practices. This study illustrates and explains the contextual as well as cultural boundaries through a direct comparison of practices as used in a matched sample of industrial companies in China (n=97) and The Netherlands (n=47). It is argued that differences in organizational structure, cultural values and labour regulations account for the variation between countries. The results show considerable differences between China and The Netherlands in the HRM practices of industrial enterprises. Also, the organizational culture of the companies studied varies between the two countries and the differences found are clearly in line with differences on the national cultural level.