ABSTRACT
This study develops and tests an institutional explanation of how chief executive officer (CEO) characteristics affect the adoption of Western-style human resource (HR) practices in China's transitional economy. It was predicted that: (1) CEO exposure to HR ideology would positively relate to firm adoption of Western-style HR practices, and (2) CEO embeddedness in the Chinese institutional environment would negatively relate to Western-style HR adoption. Data from 309 foreign-invested enterprises in China supported these predictions. Further analysis also revealed that the pattern of relationships between CEO characteristics and Western-style HR adoption differed with respect to the various functional areas within HR.
