Organizational Commitment-Rewards Relationship and its Change in Japanese Companies in China

Keisuke Kokubun

doi:10.5539/ibr.v10n7p155

Abstract

This study investigates a transition of the relationship between rewards and the organizational commitment of total 1,005 university graduates who work for 4 Japanese companies in China. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that supervisor support had stronger influence on organizational commitment in 2013 than it did in 2007, showing that the employees became to require more support from supervisors than before due to a growing anxiety under economic slowdown since the global financial crises of 2008. This result indicates that employees may become more collectivistic during a period of economic growth stagnation. Discussions and implications concerning human resource management of Japanese companies in China are offered.

Highlights

China is the largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) and has the largest number of employees who work for foreign companies (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 2010)
The number of Japanese companies located in China in the end of 2012 was 23,094, which accounted for the highest share 7.9% of total foreign companies in China (The Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry in China, 2 016)
The number of employees who work for Japanese companies in China in 2015 was 1.62 million, which accounted for 40.5 percent of total employees of Japanese companies in Asia (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, 2016)

Summary

Introduction

China is the largest recipient of foreign direct investment (FDI) and has the largest number of employees who work for foreign companies (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 2010). Approximately 24 million employees (3% of China’s total employment) were employed by foreign companies in China (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 2004). Japanese companies continue to benefit from China’s growth and remain one of the leading investors in China, which accounted for 6.0% of the total effective FDI in 2013 and became China’s third largest source of foreign capital, following Hong Kong and Singapore (Japan External Trade Organization, 2016). The number of employees who work for Japanese companies in China in 2015 was 1.62 million, which accounted for 40.5 percent of total employees of Japanese companies in Asia (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan, 2016). The unemployment rate of graduates was higher than 30 percent in 2008 and still around 30 percent in 2014 (Sharma, 2014; Zhou & Lin, 2009)

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