Cultural Comparisons of India and China
NATIONAL CULTURE OF CHINA AND INDIA IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Introduction
1. Increased business globalization, emergence of new economic hubs like BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) as well as more intense competition among organizations at the domestic and international level alike over the past two decades, have necessitated the need for studies in the comparative Human Resource Management (HRM) (Budhwar & Sparrow, 2002a). As a result, a growing number of conceptual (Aycan, 2005; Edwards & Kuruvilla, 2005) and empirical studies (Bae, Chen, & Lawler, 1998; Budhwar & Sparrow, 2002b; Easterby-Smith, Malina, & Yuan, 1995) have addressed the configuration of HRM in different national contexts.
2. The literature has developed different frameworks to analyze and explain how historical evolution, social institutions and different national cultures can influence firm behaviour in general and HRM in particular. One of the research based on path dependency arguments claims that the administrative heritage leads an organization to adopt specific structures and behaviours (Bartlett & Ghoshal, 1998). Another view point focuses on an institutional perspective and investigates the social and institutional determinants that underlie the logic of organizing business enterprises and their competitive behavior in different national contexts (Lane, 1994) and (Whitley, 1991, 1992).
3. On the contrary, the cultural perspective has focused its attention on the cultural distinctiveness of practices, beliefs and values shared by a community. Culture and values are associated with the national culture of a country as boundaries that allow interaction and socialization within them. Scholars have analyzed the influence of these national cultural values, attitudes and behaviours on business and management styles (Hofstede, 1980; Laurent, 1986; Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner, 1997). At the same time, the movement of
Introduction
1. Increased business globalization, emergence of new economic hubs like BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) as well as more intense competition among organizations at the domestic and international level alike over the past two decades, have necessitated the need for studies in the comparative Human Resource Management (HRM) (Budhwar & Sparrow, 2002a). As a result, a growing number of conceptual (Aycan, 2005; Edwards & Kuruvilla, 2005) and empirical studies (Bae, Chen, & Lawler, 1998; Budhwar & Sparrow, 2002b; Easterby-Smith, Malina, & Yuan, 1995) have addressed the configuration of HRM in different national contexts.
2. The literature has developed different frameworks to analyze and explain how historical evolution, social institutions and different national cultures can influence firm behaviour in general and HRM in particular. One of the research based on path dependency arguments claims that the administrative heritage leads an organization to adopt specific structures and behaviours (Bartlett & Ghoshal, 1998). Another view point focuses on an institutional perspective and investigates the social and institutional determinants that underlie the logic of organizing business enterprises and their competitive behavior in different national contexts (Lane, 1994) and (Whitley, 1991, 1992).
3. On the contrary, the cultural perspective has focused its attention on the cultural distinctiveness of practices, beliefs and values shared by a community. Culture and values are associated with the national culture of a country as boundaries that allow interaction and socialization within them. Scholars have analyzed the influence of these national cultural values, attitudes and behaviours on business and management styles (Hofstede, 1980; Laurent, 1986; Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner, 1997). At the same time, the movement of
References: 1. Aycan, Z. (2005). The interplay between cultural and institutional/structural contingencies in human resource management practices. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16(7), 1083-1119. 2. Aycan, Z., Al-Hamadi, A. B., Davis, A., & Budhwar, P. (2007). Cultural orientations and preferences for HRM policies and practices: the case of Oman. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18(1), 11-32. 3. Aycan, Z., Kanungo, R. N., Mendonca, M., Yu, K., Deller, J., Stahl, G., et al. (2000). Impact of culture on human resource management practices: A 10-country comparison. Applied Psychology, 49(1), 192-221. 4. Bae, J., Chen, S.-j., & Lawler, J. J. (1998). Variations in human resource management in Asian countries: MNC home-country and host-country effects. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 9(4), 653-670. 5. Bartlett, C. A., & Ghoshal, S. (1998). Managing across borders: The transnational solution (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press. 5. Björkman, I., & Lu, Y. (1999). The management of human resources in Chinese-Western joint ventures. Journal of World Business, 34(3), 306-325. 6. Budhwar, P. S., & Khatri, N. (2001). A comparative study of HR practices in Britain and India. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 12(5), 800-826. 7. Budhwar, P.S., & Sparrow, P. R. (2002a). An integrative framework for understanding cross-national human resource management practices. Human Resource Management Review, 12(3), 377-403. 8. Budhwar, P. S., & Sparrow, P. R. (2002b). Strategic HRM through the cultural looking glass: Mapping the cognition of British and Indian managers. Organization Studies, 23(4), 599-638. 9. Crozier, M. (1963). The bureaucratic phenomenon. Chicago: University of Chicago. 10. d’Iribarne, P. (1991). The usefulness of an ethnographic approach to international comparisons of the functioning of organizations. Paper presented to the EGOS Colloquium, Vienna, July 15-17. 11. Easterby-Smith, M., Malina, D., & Yuan, L. (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. 12. Edwards, T., & Kuruvilla, S. (2005). International HRM: National business systems, organizational politics and the international division of labour in MNCs. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16(1), 1-21. 13. Evans, P., & Lorange, P. (1990). Two logics behind human resource management. In J. Evans, Y. Doz & A. Laurent (Eds.), Human Resource Management in International Firms (pp. 144-161). New York: St. Martins Press. 14. Galang, M. C. (2004). The transferability question: comparing HRM practices in the Philippines with the US and Canada. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 15(7), 1207-1233. 15. Hall, E. T. (1976). Beyond culture. New York: Anchor Press/Doubleday. 16. Harvey, M 17. Hofstede, G. (1980). Culture’s consequences: International differences in work-related values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. 18. Hofstede, G. (1983). The cultural relativity of organizational practices and theories. Journal of International Business Studies, 14(2), 75-89. 19. Hofstede, G. (1991). Cultures and organizations: software of the mind. McGraw Hills, England. 20. Hofstede, G. (1993). Intercultural conflict and synergy in Europe: Management in Western Europe. In D. J. Hickson (Ed.), Society, culture and organization in twelve nations (pp. 1-8). New York: de Gruyter. 21. Hofstede, G. (1998). Think locally, act globally: Cultural constraints in personnel management. Management International Review, 38(Special Issue 2), 7-26. 22. Hofstede, G. (2001). Cultures consequences: comparing values, behaviors, institutions and organizations across nations (2nd ed.).Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage 23. House, R 24. Huo, Y. P., & Von Glinow, M. A. (1995). On transplanting human resource practices to China: A culture-driven approach. International Journal of Manpower, 16(9), 3-11. 25. Klein, K. J., Dansereau, F., & Hall, R. J. (1994). Levels issues in theory development, data collection, and analysis. Academy of Management Review, 19(2), 195-229. 26. Kluckhohn, F., & Strodtbeck, F. (1961). Variations in value orientations. Evanston: Row-Peterson. 27. Lane, C. (1994). Industrial order and the transformation of industrial relations: Britain, Germany and France compared. In R. Hyman & A. Ferner (Eds.), New frontiers in European industrial relations (pp. 167-196). Oxford: Blackwell. 28. Laurent, A. (1986). The cross-cultural puzzle of international human resource management. Human Resource Management, 25(1), 91-102. 29. Lawler, E. E. (1994). From job-based to competency-based organizations. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 15(1), 3-15. 30. McSweeney, B. (2002). Hofstede’s model of national cultural differences and their consequences: A triumph of faith - a failure of analysis. Human Relations, 55(1), 89-118. 31. Miller, J. S., Hom, P. W., & Gomez-Mejia, L. R. (2001). The high cost of low wages: Does Maquiladora compensation reduce turnover? Journal of International Business Studies, 32(3), 585-595. 34. Reiche, B. S. (2008). The configuration of employee retention practices in multinational corporations’ foreign subsidiaries. International Business Review, 17(6), 676-687. 35. Ryan, A. M., McFarland, L., Baron, H., & Page, R. (1999). An international look at selection practices: Nation and culture as explanations for variability in practice. Personnel Psychology, 52(2), 351-391. 36. Schuler, R. S., & Rogovsky, N. (1998). Understanding compensation practice variations across firms: The impact of national culture. Journal of International Business Studies, 29(1), 159-177. 38. Snape, E., Thompson, D., Yan, F. K.-c., & Redman, T. (1998). Performance appraisal and culture: Practice and attitudes in Hong Kong and Great Britain. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 9(5), 841-861. 39. Sparrow, P., & Wu, P.-C. (1998). Does national culture really matter? Predicting HRM preferences of Taiwanese employees. Employee Relations, 20(1), 26-56. 40. Stone, D. L., Stone-Romero, E. F., & Lukaszewski, K. M. (2007). The impact of cultural values on the acceptance and effectiveness of human resource management policies and practices. Human Resource Management Review, 17(2), 152-165. 41. Teagarden, M. B., & Von Glinow, M. A. (1997). Human resource management in cross-cultural contexts: Emic practices versus etic philosophies. Management International Review, 37(Special Issue 1), 7-20. 42. Trompenaars, F., & Hampden-Turner, C. (1997). Riding the waves of culture: Understanding cultural diversity in business (2nd ed.). London: McGraw-Hill. 42. Tsui, A. S., Nifadkar, S. S., & Ou, A. Y. (2007). Cross-national, cross-cultural organizational behavior research: Advances, gaps, and recommendations. Journal of Management, 33(3), 426-478. 45. Whitley, R. (1991). The societal construction of business systems in East Asia. Organization Studies, 12(1), 1-28. 46. Whitley, R. (1992). Societies, firms and markets: The social structuring of business systems. In R. Whitley (Ed.), European business systems: Firms and markets in their national contexts (pp. 5-45). London: Sage. 47. Wright, P., Szeto, W. F., & Cheng, L. T. W. (2002). Guanxi and professional conduct in China: A management development perspective. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 13(1), 156-182.