A comparative study of employee involvement initiatives in Hong Kong and the USA

Employee involvement (EI) initiatives have become increasingly popular in Anglo‐Saxon corporations over the past decade, but little is known about their appeal in Asia. A study was conducted in Hong Kong to examine the extent to which businesses were using EI practices. The data was compared with that from a similar study in the USA. The findings indicate wide variations in the operation of EI schemes and their impact on performance. Compared to the USA, the rate of adoption of EI initiatives in Hong Kong is slow and most organizations used EI programs only as morale‐boosters and motivational tools. Although EI was reported to have yielded some positive results in some companies, major obstacles to adoption include short‐term performance pressure, resistant culture and indifferent middle management. On the whole, US corporations are at an advanced stage of realizing the potential of EI programs compared to their Hong Kong counterparts.