Chinese Multinational Firms in Asia and Africa: Relationships With Institutional Actors and Patterns of HRM Practices

Abstract

Interest in the internationalization of Chinese firms has soared in recent years. However, studies that compare Chinese multinational corporations (MNCs) in different industries and their human resource management (HRM) remain limited. This study fills this research gap by examining the HRM practices of Chinese MNCs and the extent to which these are shaped by the institutional factors that are specific to industries. It focuses on the Chinese operations in the South/Southeast Asian and African regions because Chinese firms tend to have various competitive advantages in these regions. The article draws on a number of theoretical perspectives, particularly the political economy and institutional perspectives, to make sense of the different contexts under which Chinese MNCs invest and operate. It argues that in examining Chinese MNCs, it is important to contemplate the role of the government and a wider range of institutional actors in order to understand how the dynamic interactions of these actors may shape the HRM of these firms with broader economic and social impacts. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.