THE EVOLUTION OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN CHINA: EMANCIPATION AND INNOVATION

Abstract

The last five years have been marked by profound
changes in Human Resource Management (HRM) in
China. This article describes its evolution, illustrating
its specific nature and its emancipation from traditional HRM models. The observation of HR practices,
based on a series of 246 interviews with Human
Resource directors (HRD) throughout 135 organisations, in China, from 2005 to 2015, undeniably
reveals a renewal and a potential for innovation.
The literature on the Chinese HRM system refers to
neo-institutional sociology and the Regulation school
of thought. This allows us to identify the levels of
constraints – internal and external, local and international – that have led to these changes in HRM
practices. The methodology is based on a multidimensional, diachronic approach which includes visits to
companies and the observation of practices. HRM in
China has been modelled by periods of divergence
and convergence and also by foreign influence, whilst
remaining true to national traditions, thus developing
its own highly specific characteristics.