ABSTRACT
The previous two chapters have illustrated a number of the changes that have taken place in HRM and ER in Chinese enterprises since the decision to adopt market principles was implemented in the late 1970s. In addition, other research has been undertaken on various aspects of this reform (see for example Benson and Zhu 1999; Child 1994; Ralston et al. 2006; Tan and Tan 2005; Warner 1987; Warner et al. 2005; Zhang 2000; Zhu and Warner 2000b). Over much the same period, there has emerged within the management literature a broad understanding of the role of business management and employee satisfaction in underpinning the success of Western corporations (see Pfeffer (1998) for a summary of much of this literature). However, little attempt has been made to understand collectively how the various changes to management have affected the performance of Chinese enterprises (for one exception see Deng et al. 2003). Importantly, in a transitional economy like China little is known about the nature of the relationship between management and enterprise performance and the factors that might affect this relationship. In particular, how have changes, to what may be termed the intangible aspects of management – such as organizational culture, management structures and management systems – affected enterprise output and productivity? Such a relationship is complex as changes to the various elements making up intangible management may have a direct effect on enterprise performance, or may work more indirectly through effects on other critical factors such as employee satisfaction.
