Impact of the 2007-09 global economic crisis on human resource management among Chinese export-oriented enterprises

This research study examines the impact of the 2007–09 global economic crisis on human resource management (HRM) practices among export-oriented enterprises in China's coastal regions. Data were obtained from 184 firms in the first phase of the study, using a structured questionnaire. In the se...

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Main Authors: Shen, Jie, D'Netto, B.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Routledge 2012
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/8693
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author Shen, Jie
D'Netto, B.
author_facet Shen, Jie
D'Netto, B.
author_sort Shen, Jie
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This research study examines the impact of the 2007–09 global economic crisis on human resource management (HRM) practices among export-oriented enterprises in China's coastal regions. Data were obtained from 184 firms in the first phase of the study, using a structured questionnaire. In the second phase, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 firms. The findings of our study indicate that ‘retrenchment’ was the most common HRM strategy adopted. The global economic crisis affected all major HRM functions, but had the weakest impact on performance management. While retrenchment played an important role in cost reduction, organizational downsizing and workforce casualization are likely to have had a negative impact on long-term competitiveness and sustainability. We discuss here some effective HR strategies, such as talent acquisition, employee involvement and maintenance of employee compensation, which organizations can adopt to tide over an economic recession.
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publishDate 2012
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-86932017-09-13T14:49:27Z Impact of the 2007-09 global economic crisis on human resource management among Chinese export-oriented enterprises Shen, Jie D'Netto, B. This research study examines the impact of the 2007–09 global economic crisis on human resource management (HRM) practices among export-oriented enterprises in China's coastal regions. Data were obtained from 184 firms in the first phase of the study, using a structured questionnaire. In the second phase, in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 firms. The findings of our study indicate that ‘retrenchment’ was the most common HRM strategy adopted. The global economic crisis affected all major HRM functions, but had the weakest impact on performance management. While retrenchment played an important role in cost reduction, organizational downsizing and workforce casualization are likely to have had a negative impact on long-term competitiveness and sustainability. We discuss here some effective HR strategies, such as talent acquisition, employee involvement and maintenance of employee compensation, which organizations can adopt to tide over an economic recession. 2012 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/8693 10.1080/13602381.2011.601163 Routledge restricted
spellingShingle Shen, Jie
D'Netto, B.
Impact of the 2007-09 global economic crisis on human resource management among Chinese export-oriented enterprises
title Impact of the 2007-09 global economic crisis on human resource management among Chinese export-oriented enterprises
title_full Impact of the 2007-09 global economic crisis on human resource management among Chinese export-oriented enterprises
title_fullStr Impact of the 2007-09 global economic crisis on human resource management among Chinese export-oriented enterprises
title_full_unstemmed Impact of the 2007-09 global economic crisis on human resource management among Chinese export-oriented enterprises
title_short Impact of the 2007-09 global economic crisis on human resource management among Chinese export-oriented enterprises
title_sort impact of the 2007-09 global economic crisis on human resource management among chinese export-oriented enterprises
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/8693