The German author set out to review existing studies of human resource management (HRM) in the USA, Europe, and China. His goal was to assess whether Chinese organizations had successfully imitated the HR strategies of organizations in Europe.
The author first reviewed studies of organizations in the US, where HRM strategies originated. He then turned to studies of European organizations. Only then did he turn to China and assess the many studies of HRM's effect on organizations there.
A clear process of copying western HR approaches was evident in China. The research confirmed that HRM could have a similarly positive effect in China as in the USA and Europe. But the results should be treated with caution, partly because the studies didn’t take into consideration environmental factors, such as industrial relations, unions, market conditions, and national culture.
The value was in demonstrating the enormous Chinese capacity to learn from Western HR strategies and benefit from them. It was also apparent that the differences in approaches were becoming narrower and narrower.
