The Impact of Globalisation on Sm

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BUSINESS STUDIES VOL 18, NO 1, JUNE 2010: pages 101 to 124

101

THE IMPACT OF GLOBALISATION ON STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT: THE MEDIATING

ROLE OF CEO IN HR Soo Siew Choo*, Hendrik Halim** and Irene Chew Keng-Howe***

Globalisation and Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) are worldwide phenomena that have shaped the faces of the corporate world predominantly. Yet, the links between the two processes have not been researched extensively. This exploratory study seeks to investigate the relationship between the degree of globalisation and the degree of SHRM in a firm. It also examines to what extent the chief executive officers (CEOs) can make HRM practices more strategic. The results of this study show that the degree of globalisation is significantly and positively related to the degree of SHRM in a firm. In addition, CEOs role in HR is found to be a partial mediator. These results suggest that a firms degree of globalisation should correspond to the degree of SHRM practiced in the firm, and the CEO plays a vital role in influencing the practice of SHRM.

Keywords: globalisation, Strategic Human Resource Management, chief executive officer, strategic

I. INTRODUCTION

The world is your oyster. Do you have the right fork?

Thomas A Stewart Fortune, 15 March 1999

Today in a knowledge-based economy, the importance of human resource management is on the rise as the role of human capital plays a more significant contribution to the organisations bottom-line. The belief that an organisations human capital represents a key strategic resource is becoming widely accepted (Boudreau and Ramstad, 1998). The escalating amount of scientific evidence, which seems to suggest that certain high performance human resource (HR) practices (e.g. performance-based compensation and benefit, training and development, selective recruitment and hiring, etc) are associated with higher organisational financial performance (Arthur, 1992; Welbourne and Andrews, 1996; Becker and Huselid, 1998; Boudreau and Ramstad, 1998), provides another rising trend that must be addressed.

The recognition that globalisation was going to change their business outlook requires CEOs around the globe realise the need to integrate their HR strategy into the business

* Senior Lecturer, School of Business, Monash University Sunway Campus, Malaysia ** Director, International Relations, Murdoch University, Australia *** Visiting Professor, Chinese University of Hong Kong, China

The Impact of Globalisation on Strategic Human Resources Management: The Mediating Role of CEO in HR

102

strategy to bring about the best deployment and management of their human capital to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. As such, human resource management (HRM) has become an important focus of top managements attention, especially in multinational enterprises. Trans-national organisations require trans-national HRM systems for the development of trans-nationally competent managers to run their global business. In turn, the development of capable managers are dependent upon the organisations ability to design and run trans-national human resource systems that recruit, develop, retain, and utilise such trans-national managers and executives (Adler and Bartholomew, 1992).

Very little research has been done on the inter-discipline between globalisation and SHRM. Hence, the objectives of our study is to examine the relationships between the independent variable, degree of globalisation in the company, and the dependent variable, degree of SHRM practiced in the company, and the mediator, the CEOs role in HR.

For our first objective, we would like to examine if the degree of globalisation is significantly related to the degree of SHRM in the company. Secondly, we would like to explore if the degree of globalisation in the company is significantly related to the CEOs role in HR. Furthermore, we would like to examine if the CEOs role in HR is significantly related to the degree of SHRM practiced in the company. Lastly, we would like to investigate if the CEOs role in HR plays a mediating effect in the relationship between the degree of globalisation and the degree of SHRM in the company.

II. LITERATURE REVIEW

Degree of Globalisation in the Company

The twin forces that contributed to the current wave of globalisation are ideological change and technological revolution which have accelerated this worldwide phenomenon (Govindarajan and Gupta, 2001). The world is changing gradually, if not in an accelerated manner, for instance, world trade grew by 9% in real terms in 2004, and by 6% in 2005, or twice as much as global output growth. The value of world trade in 2005 exceeded 10 trillion. Outward stock of foreign direct investment in 2005 went beyond 10 trillion as well. China and India have become the headline grabbers of globalisation a clear majority of the 1,000 respondents in a global CEO survey intends to invest more time and money in emerging markets over the next three years than in developed markets (India, China: stars of globalisation, 2007). Singapore, Asias most competitive economy as stated in the World Economic Forum 2006-07, and also one of the worlds most open country, now has a foreigner-local ratio of 1:4, signifying its willing acceptance of globalisation and resulting foreign, economic and cultural infusion as a nation.

Despite the extensive amount of research on globalisation, there is no one widely recognised definition for this phenomenon. It has come to mean different things to different people, depending on their school of thought (Barnum and Wolniansky, 1989). However, researchers agree that globalisation has caused a growing economic interdependence among countries as reflected in the cross-border economic, technological, cultural and social flows. In addition, there is also a common

International Journal of Business Studies

103

conclusion that globalisation affects several levels of aggregation: individual, business, industry and country (Thoumrungroje and Tansuhaj, 2004; Govindarajan and Gupta, 2001; Garrett, 2000).

The environment surrounding business today is characterised as a hypercompetitive market a faster and more aggressive competitive environment (DAveni, 1994). Global competition and global opportunity to businesses are more pervasive today than ever before in history (Govindarajan and Gupta, 2001) local companies and multi-national corporations (MNCs) alike cannot afford to or avoid the cross-border flow of products, technology, capital and talent. Companies are responding and reacting to the changes that have taken their business environment by storm. Clearly, globalisation has played a vital role in changing the corporate strategies for all but the smallest corporations.

However, the fact that the worldwide economy is indeed becoming more global does not mean that companies all over the world are also being globally integrated at the same rate (Govindarajan and Gupta, 2001). Additionally, the degree of globalisation in a company must be viewed as a continuous variable along a spectrum from low to high rather than a categorical binary variable with only two extreme values (global versus non-global) (Govindarajan and Gupta, 2001). Hence, to measure a companys degree of globalisation (which will vary when compared to other companies), the concept can be viewed as multi-dimensional in nature and be assessed along these three major characteristics: globalisation of market presence, globalisation of supply chain, and globalisation of corporate mindset.

CEOs Role in HR

Besides addressing the annual reports for their company at the end of each financial year, the CEO has a large and influential part to play in the firm. Like a rudder that is capable of changing the course of a boat, this sole position possesses a huge amount of any of the five bases of organisational power as developed by French and Raven (1959) coercive, reward, legitimate, expert and referent, enabling it to steer the success of that company. The CEO who draws from any of these bases operates from a greater power platform than the rest of the executives by virtue of their position and is deeply involved and responsible for the wellbeing of the enterprise. The appointment causes the performance of the person to be synonymous with the performance of the company. Moreover, according to role theory, human beings behave in ways that are different and predictable depending on the situation and their respective social identities (Biddle, 1979). The CEOs self-evaluation of their roles allows them to act in the capacity of the uncontested official leader in the company.

CEOs possess the power to make or break a company. Carlos Ghosn, the CEO of Nissan Motors, who was dispatched by Renault to save the ailing Nissan in Japan, fought negative perceptions of not being able to survive the insular Japanese business culture and the companys high costs and transformed a $5.6 billion loss in 2000 to a $2.5 billion profit in 2001. On the other side, Enrons CEO Jeffrey Skilling, left a bad legacy in the business world and a declaration of bankruptcy in 2001 when he was found to be guilty of committing fraud and conspiracy, along with several of his executives.


104

Sutcliffe and Weber (2003) study show that the way senior executives interpret their business environment is more important than how accurately they know of their environment. What CEOs perceive about their businesses has a greater impact on their actions than how much they know, and hence, CEOs will correspondingly show their support in the areas which they perceive to be instrumental in their companies performance. Gerstner Jr. (2002) asserted that the CEOs role requires real involvement and not exhortation. The fundamental role of a CEO is to lay down actionable and specific strategies based on a deep understanding of its customers and employees needs, competitive environment and economic realities that sustain their companies. The CEOs must be motivated by their perceptions about their business situations. CEOs, being the most powerful decision-maker in the company, have the allowance to translate their perceptions about their business environment into actionable strategies that benefit the companies (Gerstner Jr., 2002).

In particular, through the HR function, CEO is able to align the employees to the desired strategic outcomes for the organisation. With labour costs making up 50-60% of an organisations total operating cost, it represents the single largest expenditure item on most organisations balance sheets. Investments in HR activities when substantiated by their corresponding returns enable the CEO to view HR function as an investment centre. Gradually, when the CEO perceives a greater importance of HR to the company, they would be more willing to support the investment in human capital to gain sustainable competitive advantage, which ultimately affects the organisation bottom-line. Thus, the CEO is more likely to play a role in HR.

Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM)

Through the last few decades, the responsibility of HR has evolved from being the organisations disciplinarian to the friendly picnic organiser. Recently, more and more top management have accepted the ascent of HRs role to that of a strategic business partner. SHRM involves designing and implementing a set of proactive HR policies/practices that ensures that an organisations human capital contributes to the achievement of its corporate objectives, (Wan, Kok and Ong, 2002). Delaney and Huselid (1996) observed that in a survey conducted on 590 for-profit and non-profit firms from the National Organisations Survey, researchers found positive associations between traditional HR management practices, such as training and staffing selectivity, and perceptual firm performance measures. Furthermore, Huselid (1995) evaluated comprehensively the links between systems of High Performance Work Practices and firm performance on a sample size of 1,000 firms. His result indicates that the High Performance practices have an economically and statistically significant impact on both intermediate employee outcomes (turnover and productivity) and short- and long-term measures of corporate financial performance. The results provided strong evidence of the potential of HR to be a strategic business partner on influencing financial performance and ultimately, the organisations bottom-line.

Lepak, Bartol and Erhardt (2005) mentioned that in viewing HR, a practitioner should adopt a system-approach instead of focusing on the specific practices. Typically, most HR practices are used in tandem with each other; therefore, looking at HR practices as a whole bundle present a more logical and holistic view (Delery and Doty, 1996; Huselid, 1995; Lepak and Snell, 1999; Youndt et al., 1996; Lepak, Bartol and Erhardt,


105

2005). Hence, a wide array of HR practices to broader categories are postulated by researchers. As shown in Figure 1, a charted representation of the spectrum of HR practices that an organisation might undertake (Carrig, 1997; Lepak, Bartol and Erhardt, 2005). In the pursuit for human capital excellence, transactional HR practices are considered outdated, as they contribute very little to the organisations value creation. Thus the HR department is tasked to replace traditional HR practices for transformational HR practices which are the differentiating factors for achieving sustainable competitive advantages (Lepak and Snell, 1998; Lepak, Bartol and Erhardt, 2005).

FIGURE 1:SPECTRUM OF HR PRACTICES

(Carrig, 1997; Lepak, Bartol and Erhardt, 2005)

III. HYPOTHESES

The invisible but sweeping force of globalisation has changed the face of human resource management in Singapore. For some, globalisation creates pressures for a common, often taken as best, transferable set of HRM practices that can spread around the world (Bae and Rowley, 2001). More often than not, these best practices originate from the West, as they dominate the global environment, accounting for 57% of the worlds GDP and resulting in a highly competitive global work environment (Thurow, 2003). The previously neglected human capital theory of old that states that individuals possess skills, experience and knowledge that have economic value to the firm (Becker, 1964) is seriously regarded now.

Additionally, the increasing emphasis on knowledge-based competitiveness in the current turbulent environment also accelerated the importance of human capital (Wan, Kok and Ong, 2002). In Singapore, this effect is more pronounced after the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, which saw the domino effects in the region after the Thai currency crashed in July. Without natural resources or a big exporting market to sustain the country, the government could only enhance its only valuable resource human capital. The crisis provided an excellent opportunity for Singapore to reinforce and sharpen its competitive edge, leading to the birth of a knowledge-based workforce and economy, which is increasingly strategic in focus in this highly competitively world.

Thus far, prior discussions from researchers (Kim and Briscoe, 1997) have attempted to establish that globalisation plays a part in influencing the SHRM practices in an organisation. However, little attention has been paid to the level of globalisation in a

Transactional Traditional Transformational

Employee relations &

labour

Communication Business partner

Performance management

Recruiting Record keeping

Management development

Organisational development

Employee services

Training Benefits administration

Compensation Strategic planning

Knowledge management


106

company as mentioned in Govindarajan and Gupta (2001). Nonetheless, increasing amount of organisations are realising the impact of globalisation on their HR practices, which includes workforce/cultural diversity, the supply/talent pool of employees, expatriate compensation, business continuity planning due to the effect of global threats like terrorism and avian flu etc. Hence, we hypothesise that:

Hypothesis 1: There is a positive relationship between the degree of globalisation and the degree of SHRM in the company.

The shift from a local to a global marketplace is irreversible and gaining momentum, resulting in a highly competitive global work environment (Green et al., 2003). As a company becomes more exposed to global competition, it responds with strategies to be and to remain successful. In doing so, some of these strategies may affect the degree of globalisation in the company. Companies realised that they are not only competing with their products, prices and markets anymore, but their sustainable competitive advantages that are ingrained in their entire value-chains. CEOs find themselves intensely focusing on execution in the face of constant change. There is a need to continuously monitor and quickly adapt to opportunities and threats because the consequences of not doing so would cost greatly and come swiftly (Shill, 2006). Intensification of globalisation has caused heightened risks in businesses, and CEOs have placed risk management on their priority list, searching out more ways to compete effectively in the marketplace.

In practicing transformational HR practices, HR as a function can provide a source of sustainable competitive advantage for the firm (Lepak and Snell, 1998; Lepak, Bartol and Erhardt, 2005). In addition, increasingly, researchers have found that using HR as the source of unique competitive advantage is hard for other firms to replicate. Using the resource-based theory of the firm, HR can be a source of sustained competitive advantage when: (1) it adds value to the firm; (2) the skills of its employees are rare; (3) combined human investments represented by the employees are not easily imitated and (4) such investments are also not easily substituted (Barney, 1991; Wright and McMahan, 1992; Huselid, 1995). Wright and McMahans work also pointed out the importance of HR in the creation of firm-specific competitive advantage that will result in HR being a source of profitability for the firm. This complements with the CEOs search for an imperative for high performance.

Therefore, when CEOs perceive HR to be of important value to the firm in achieving supernormal firm performance, they are more willing to render their support to the department. The perception and support given by the CEOs reflects the role that they play in the HR function. Thus, we postulate:

Hypothesis 2: There is a positive relationship between the degree of globalisation in the company and the CEOs role in HR.

According to resource dependence theory (Pfeffer and Salancik, 1978; Li, 2006), resources are important to the development of an organisation. Internally, the development of a firms HR functions would therefore, depends on the resources available to the HR department (Tsui, 1990). Thus, the amount of budget devoted to the companys HR functions would represent the resources available for the HR department to design and implement high quality HR practices.


107

However, not many companies are willing to invest heavily in HR functions if they see no returns in their investment. Many HR management teams may have a well-developed vision of their departments strategic value in terms of HR perspective, yet their CEO is sceptical of HRs role in the firm success (Becker, Huselid and Ulrich, 2001). As a result, the HR department faces difficulty in the implementation of high quality HR practices.

To have the HR viewed as a strategic function, it is crucial that CEOs express their support to the HR department (Li, 2006). CEOs perception and support of the HR function is a result of their innate perceptions that HR will benefit the company. With these perceptions that HR functions are crucial to influencing the firms competitiveness, CEO would acquire and devote resources, time and support to transform mere transactional HR functions to SHRM.

As pointed out by CEO of General Electric, an undisputed global company, Jeffrey Immelt, HR at GE is not an agenda item, it is the agenda (Green et al., 2003). With CEOs buy-in, request for funds and implementation of strategic HR practices would be looked upon more favourably (Fit-enz and Davison, 2002). In light of the importance of SHRM and the capacity of a companys CEO in influencing the degree to which the companys strategy reflect SHRM practices, the following relationship is proposed.

Hypothesis 3: There is a positive relationship between CEOs role in HR and the degree of SHRM practiced in the company.

It is observed that in firms with high degree of globalisation, there appears to be a high degree of SHRM practiced. This could be because as the degree of globalisation in the company increases, it encourages CEOs to play a bigger role in HR to bring about sustainable competitive advantage, resulting in a higher degree of SHRM practiced in the company. CEOs role in HR seems to explain the relationship between the degree of globalisation and the degree of SHRM in the company. Therefore, we propose:

Hypothesis 4: The CEOs role in HR mediates the positive relationship between globalisation and SHRM in the company.

A graphical representation of the aforementioned concepts can be summarised in Figure 2.

FIGURE 2:THEORETICAL MODEL OF HYPOTHESISED RELATIONSHIP

Degree of globalisation in a company

Degree of SHRM practiced in a company

H1

CEOs role in HR H3H2

H4


108

IV. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The Survey Instrument

The survey instrument, designed specifically for this research question, consisted of an eight-page questionnaire designed to assess organisations degree of globalisation, degree of SHRM, CEOs role in HR, along with their demographic profiles. The items in the questionnaires were tested with a sample of five HR managers and HR executives across the various industries. The purpose of the pilot test is to check for face validity, biases in the choice of words related to the tested topics, problems with item interpretation, questionnaire layout and length. The participants reported that they did not encounter problems with item interpretation and there were no leading questions. Improvements were made to the questionnaires based on the respondents comments on questionnaire layout and length. Based on the pilot test, the questionnaire took approximately 20 minutes to complete, which was important due to the audience we were targeting.

Sample

The data presented in this study was collected by means of email and mail survey approach. The analysis in this study deals with globalisation and HR practices at the organisation level, thus, the targeted organisations are companies with HR department. The sample was drawn from organisation listings on the Singapore Exchange website (SGX), Singapore National Employers Federation website (SNEF), Singapore Manufacturing Association websites (SMA) and Singapore Hotel Association websites (SHA).

The sample frame contains non-government business establishments from various industries (e.g. Retail, Manufacturing, Financial Services and others) found in Singapore. Such organisations include local set-ups and multi-national companies (MNCs). Our questionnaires were sent to the organisations corporate office in Singapore. A random selection of 963 companies was taken from the SGX, SNEF and SMA Websites. Among these, 847 companies have a HR department. Thus, 847 questionnaires were sent out to the CEOs/Managing Directors of these organisations. For those organisations, which we were unable to obtain the CEO mailing address, questionnaires were sent to the HR, Marketing Communication, Sales or general enquiries addresses of the organisations to be directed to their respective CEOs.

Data Collection

To facilitate our data collection, we included a return mailing address for companies who wish to conceal their identity. The questionnaires were sent to the organisations via email during the period from 12 to 22 December 2006. All the questionnaires were returned to us via email and post by 14 January 2007. Out of 170 questionnaires that were sent out, 14 addresses were invalid. Eventually, 6 respondents completed the questionnaires, for an overall response rate of 3.85%.

The initial response rate of 3.85% is considered low in comparison with reports of similar studies done in America. According to Couper (2000) and Skitka and Sargis (2005), estimate of response rates of email solicitation is about 10%. The survey


109

responses could have been limited by our target audience, the CEOs, and there was also the problem with the difficulty of reach. In addition, the period in which the requests were sent out was during the year-end, which is traditionally the busiest period of the companies. We therefore decided to get more responses by sending reminder mails to the 150 companies and from 14 to 19 January 2007 we expanded our database by sending out an addition of 677 emails in this second wave.

By the end of the second wave, all the questionnaires were returned to us via email and post by 23 February 2007. The final breakdown of the data collection method, alongside the number of requests made and number of responses from both waves are shown in the table as follows:

TABLE 1: NUMBER OF RESPONSES FROM WAVES 1 AND 2

No. of requests

No. of deliverables

Data collectionmethod

No. of responses

Percentage of total responses against

number of deliverables

First wave 170 156 Email 6 3.85

Second wave 677 623 Email and snail mail 50 8.03

Total 847 779 Email and snail mail 56 7.19

After the second round of data collection, we managed to increase our overall response rate from 3.85% to 7.19%.

Profile of Respondents

The 56 companies that responded were randomly picked from the business directories. They come from a diverse range of industry sectors, including manufacturing sector (29%), retail sector (21%), financial service sector (16%) and others (IT services, medical & pharmaceutical, hospitality) (34%).

FIGURE 3:DISTRIBUTION BY INDUSTRIES

16

912

19

0

5

10

15

20

Manufacturing Financial Services Retail Others

Industry

No. of Respondents


110

Measurements

The prime objective of this study is to ascertain the relationship between the degree of globalisation and SHRM. In addition, we wish to determine whether the CEOs role in HR would mediate the relationship between the degree of globalisation and the degree SHRM practiced in the company. The questionnaire is divided into five sections. A copy of our questionnaire could be found at Appendix A. The various variables used to measure these three constructs are described as follows:

Degree of Globalisation

To assess a companys degree of globalisation, we have taken on the perspective as used by Govindarajan and Gupta (2001) to fit the multi-dimensional nature of globalisation. The concept of corporate globality can be viewed as a three-dimensional construct based on the premise that an enterprise can be more or less global along each of the three major characteristics as follows: globalisation of market presence, globalisation of supply chain, globalisation of corporate mindset.

Globalisation of market presence refers to the extent to which the organisation is targeting customers in all major markets within its industry throughout the world. To assess the organisations globalisation of market presence, two items (Section B Survey item 25 and Section D Survey item 3), alpha = 0.733, adapted from Govindarajan and Gupta (2001), were used. A sample item is, the ratio of revenue generated in the Asia, in America and in Europe.

Globalisation of supply chain refers to the extent to which the organisation is accessing the most optimal locations for the performance of various activities in its supply chain. To assess the organisations globalisation of supply chain, two items (Section B Survey item 26 and 27), alpha = 0.796, adapted from Govindarajan and Gupta (2001), were used. A sample item is the ratio of inbound logistics and the ratio of capital funding obtained from Asia, America and Europe.

Lastly, globalisation of corporate mindset refers to the extent to which the organisation as a collectivity reflects an understanding of diversity across cultures and markets coupled with an ability to integrate across this diversity. Adapted from Govindarajan and Gupta (2001), globalisation of corporate mindset is assessed using six 7-point Likert-type scaled items (Section B Survey items 19-24), alpha = 0.899. A sample item is, Your organisation is a leader in your industry in discovering and pursuing emerging market opportunities in all corners of the world.

Finally, we averaged these items by aggregating their scores to construct scales representing the index globalisation.

CEOs Role in HR

Being the key decision-makers of the company, what CEOs perceive about their businesses has a great impact on their actions. Increasingly, CEOs have perceived HR as a source of competitive advantage that allows firms to achieve supernormal firm performance. Such a perception increases CEOs willingness to render their support to the department. The perception and support given by the CEOs reflect the role that they play in the HR function.


111

Section C of our questionnaires consists of nine items adopted from Li (2006), with six items (Survey items 28 to 33) testing on CEOs perception of the importance of HR, and three items (Survey items 34 to 36) testing on CEOs support towards HR. CEOs perception of the importance of HR is measured using six 7-point Likert-type scale items, alpha = 0.806. A sample item is, To what extent do you consider review of HR policies to be important? CEOs support towards HR is measured with three items, alpha = 0.714. A sample item is, How supportive are you of HR? Correspondingly, the CEOs role in HR was aggregated using items from CEOs perception and CEOs support and formed the index, CEOs role in HR.

Strategic Human Resource Management

According to Lepak, Bartol, and Erhardt (2005), HR functions should be viewed as a system-approach, where HR interacts with all the components and the company as a whole. Thus, HR practices should be viewed as a whole bundle instead of looking at them as individual practices (Delery and Doty, 1996; Huselid, 1995; Lepak and Snell, 1999; Youndt et al., 1996; Lepak, Bartol, and Erhardt, 2005).

In the second section of the questionnaire, measures were structured to include questions on the core HR functions with respect to SHRM and their fit. The five most common HR practices identified in the literature were adopted to measure the progressive HRM practices (Delaney and Huselid, 1996).

HR planning Selection and recruitment Performance appraisal Compensation and benefits Training and development

In Section A, survey items 1 and 2 are developed to measure HR planning (alpha = 0.873, sample item: In your organisation, the HR functions are used as means to achieve organisations strategic plans through planning). Survey items 3 to 5 are used to assess selection and recruitment (alpha = 0.839, sample item: HR managers and line managers consult each other in the selection of talents with new competencies that can fit into the organisations future growth). Survey items 6 to 8 are used to measure performance appraisal (alpha = 0.842, sample item: In your organisation, performance appraisal is a documentation process done periodically). Survey items 9 to 11 are used to assess compensation and benefits (alpha = 0.751, sample item: In your organisation, the compensation and benefits system rewards star performers for their performance and to retain them). Survey items 12 to 14 are used to measure training and development (alpha = 0.859, sample item: In your organisation, the compensation and benefits system rewards star performers for their performance and to retain them). These items are adopted from earlier works by Chew and Chong (1999) and Snell and Jean (1992). Through the 14 questions, we could identify organisations that understand and practice SHRM.

To further ensure the validity of the questionnaire, items 15 and 16 are formulated to determine how the HR function is viewed in the organisations, while items 17 and 18 serve as acid tests. We have used the four items to enhance the validity and to minimise error in our questionnaire. Items 1 to 16 were measured using 7-point Likert-type scale, while items 17 and 18 were measured on a dichotomous scale with


112

two possible answers of Yes and No. As noted above, HRM system, rather than individual practices, is a more appropriate level of analysis. Hence, the bundle, the degree of SHRM practiced in a company, is obtained by aggregating the factor scores of the various HR variables.

Control Variables

Two variables that could affect the accuracy of our study include government intervention, and the degree of globalisation at the country level.

Singapore government has been an indispensable driving-force for the development of SHRM in the country (Wan, 1996; Yuen, 1997; Wan, 2003). The combination of a committed government and tripartitism has push forth SHRM practices at national level. With the same party in government for over 30 years, Singapore has been able to continuously, develop its human resource strategy in conjunction with other national strategic economic policies (Osman-Gani, 2004). Hence, by limiting the survey targets to Singapore companies, we could thereby control the effect of government intervention towards the use of SHRM. As mentioned in our literature review, globalisation can be measured by country level, by industry level and by company level. As such, the degree of globalisation of a company may be affected by the degree of globalisation of the country. By performing the study only in Singapore, we can ensure that the impact of the degree of globalisation of the country has on each company is kept constant. This could then provide us with a consistent basis of comparison.

V. RESULTS

Table 2 presents the descriptive statistics and zero-order correlations for all of the variables included in this study. All the variables of interest are significant and positively correlated.

There is a strong correlation between all the HR variables, namely HR planning, recruitment and selection, performance appraisal, compensation and benefits, and training and development, and SHRM. This justifies our adoption of a system-approach when viewing the five HR variables as an index (SHRM), confirming prior works by researchers (Delery and Doty, 1996; Huselid, 1995; Lepak and Snell, 1999; Youndt et al., 1996; Lepak, Bartol and Erhardt, 2005). The high magnitudes between CEOs perception, CEOs support, and CEOs role in HR, also show strong associations in the relationship. Similarly, a strong correlation is apparent between global mindset, global presence, global supply chain, and the degree of globalisation in a company, providing a basis to categorise them as an index. Therefore, all three indexes are adopted in the hierarchical regression analyses in the preceding steps.

Inte

rnat

iona

l Jou

rnal

of B

usin

ess S

tudi

es

113

TABL

E 2:

V

AR

IABL

ES A

ND

SU

MM

AR

Y D

ESC

RIP

TIV

E ST

ATI

STIC

S A

ND

CO

RR

ELA

TIO

NS

Var

iabl

esM

ean

S.D

. 1

23

45

67

89

10

11

12

1 H

R p

lann

ing

4.64

29

1.25

305

2 R

ecru

itmen

t and

sele

ctio

n 5.

1429

1.

0896

3 0.

682*

*

3 Pe

rfor

man

ce a

ppra

isal

5.

4881

1.

0009

4 0.

419*

* 0.

450*

*

4 C

ompe

nsat

ion

and

bene

fits

5.5

0.72

195

0.25

1 0.

226

0.47

5**

5 Tr

aini

ng a

nd d

evel

opm

ent

5.22

62

1.08

638

0.50

6**

0.47

2**

0.47

6**

0.13

1

6 D

egre

e of

SH

RM

pra

ctic

ed in

co

mpa

ny

5.2

0.76

391

0.82

4**

0.80

4**

0.75

3**

0.49

8**

0.73

5**

7 G

loba

l min

dset

4.

7321

1.

0813

8 0.

687*

* 0.

543*

* 0.

546*

* 0.

224

0.45

3**

0.69

5**

8 G

loba

l pre

senc

e 3.

8661

1.

8052

7 0.

288*

0.

267*

0.

362*

* 0.

317*

0.

181

0.37

7**

0.56

9**

9 G

loba

l sup

ply

chai

n 3.

7143

1.

5749

7 0.

120

0.16

7 0.

309*

0.

139

0.03

5 0.

204

0.32

4*

0.47

2**

10

Deg

ree

of g

loba

lisat

ion

in

com

pany

4.

1042

1.

1981

6 0.

413*

* 0.

359*

* 0.

439*

* 0.

321*

0.

265*

0.

489*

* 0.

726*

* 0.

979*

* 0.

476*

*

11

CEO

s p

erce

ptio

n 4.

9613

0.

8819

1 0.

636*

* 0.

576*

* 0.

418*

* 0.

121

0.48

7**

0.64

4**

0.62

5**

0.43

6**

0.20

4 0.

521*

*

12

CEO

s su

ppor

t 5

0.89

443

0.59

2**

0.47

3**

0.37

5**

0.15

3 0.

403*

* 0.

571*

* 0.

547*

* 0.

280*

0.

103

0.37

1**

0.77

5**

13

CEO

s ro

le in

HR

4.

9807

0.

8366

6 0.

652*

* 0.

556*

* 0.

420*

* 0.

146

0.47

2**

0.64

4**

0.62

2**

0.37

9**

0.16

2 0.

473*

* 0.

941*

* 0.

943*

*

*

Cor

rela

tion

sign

ifica

nt a

t 0.0

5 le

vel (

2-ta

iled)

.**

C

orre

latio

n si

gnifi

cant

at 0

.01

leve

l (2-

taile

d).


114

To test for mediation, we have adopted a four-step procedure outlined by Baron and Kenny (1986); Zhu, Chew and Sprangler (2005): (1) whether there is a significant relationship between independent variable and dependent variable; (2) whether there is a significant relationship between independent variable and mediator, (3) whether there is a significant relationship between mediator and the dependent variable, and (4) controlling for the influence of mediator, whether the original relationships between independent variable and dependent variable are reduced to non-significance or becomes smaller, which provides evidence for full or partial mediation. Tests on hypotheses are shown in Table 3.

TABLE 3: RESULTS OF TWO-TAILED HIERARCHICAL REGRESSION ANALYSES

Variable

Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4 Degree of SHRM practiced in the

company

CEOs role in HR

Degree of SHRM practiced in the company

Degree of SHRM practiced in the company

Degree of globalisation in the company 0.488* 0.473* 0.249*

CEOs role in HR 0.644* 0.533* R2 0.238* 0.224* 0.415* 0.465* Adjusted R2 0.224* 0.209* 0.404* 0.444* Change in R2 0.238* 0.224* 0.415* 0.227* df (regression, residual) 1, 54 1, 54 1, 54 2, 53 * p


115

TABLE 4: RESULTS OF MEDIATION TEST ON CEOS ROLE IN HR BETWEEN

GLOBALISATION AND SHRM

Variable

Model 1 Model 2 Degree of SHRM practiced in the

company

Degree of SHRM practiced in the

company Degree of globalisation in the company 0.488* 0.249*

CEOs role in HR 0.533* * p


116

of which job category it is. We are looking for attitudes that are positive and for people who can lend themselves to causes. We want folks who have a good sense of humour and people who are interested in performing as a team and take joy in team results instead of individual accomplishments. This impressive culture is hardly able to be replicated by their competitors and has helped Southwest Airlines to be a market leader in American regional airline industry and the only one, which has been profitable for many years.

H4 suggests a partial mediation of the CEOs role in HR and this is because there are other factors, which could affect the relationship between the degree of globalisation and SHRM. We recognise that culture, corporate philosophy, employees receptiveness to SHRM and capabilities of change agents (e.g. HR personnel) are possible mediators as well.

VII. SUBSTANTIATED IN-DEPTH CASE INTERVIEW

Results from our hypotheses aside, in order to increase the practical value of our research, our group decided to embark on a more in-depth information collection process. We sent out requests for conducting interviews with companies whom we found unexpected results from their returned surveys. Unfortunately, from ten enquiries made, only one company has acceded to our request. The HR manager of Park Royal on Beach Road, Mr Petrus Leong, has provided us with valuable insights that we could apply to our research. This section would highlight some of the relevant points that were brought up.

In January 2007, for the first time in the hotels history, Mr Leong had successfully launched The Park Royal Promises, which represents the organisations new mission, vision and core values that were aimed to be inculcated in their staff and to strive towards organisational excellence. This was a milestone as it signified their first step towards a strategic alignment of the human capital with the business objectives. Mr Leong prided in initiating this strategic movement of the hotel towards their engagement in HR planning. To this effect, a major overhaul of job structure was carried out as the hotel redefined the job descriptions of all the job positions, following what he termed a renewed direction for the firm. We have found this aspect of HR planning to be of strategic value in our research as well. This documenting of job scopes and job requirements was essential to the support of the new HR strategy and in his words, to keep the organisational structure lean and mean and competitive.

Besides the importance of HR planning, Mr Leong also uses other HR practices like selection and recruitment, and performance appraisal to align the employees to business outcomes. However, he registered difficulties in the usage of compensation and benefits to achieve this alignment. In a bid to enforce a competitive compensation and benefits system, Mr Leong found resistance to the deployment of a performance-based pay. Concerns were raised about the morale of senior employees, who could potentially suffer, if the organisation were to convert to a system of performance-based pay. Due to this sizable group of employees who would stand to lose, Mr Leong has been hesitant to carry out the necessary step to turn the compensation and benefits function to a strategic one, which, in our research, is shown to be one of the tools which can be used to support the alignment of HR to the business strategy.


117

When asked about the importance of globalisation in the hotel and its relationship with the implementation of SHRM as headed by him, Mr Leong admitted that although Park Royal is not a highly globalised hotel as it is only operating in Asia, he still sees the positive relationship that the two phenomena share. This is especially so with the upcoming threat posed by the opening of the Integrated Resorts (IR), as this forces Park Royal to take on a more globalised mindset. Mr Leong acknowledged that this is a common threat faced by the hotel industry, as competition will intensify with the surge in demand for skilled employees and an increased need to attract customers. In anticipation of the shortage of talents and pending expansion plans, Park Royal has been actively recruiting talents worldwide. Currently, in Park Royal, the percentages of foreign talent in the following positions are as follows:

Executive management: 0.31% Top management: 0.63% Middle management: 0.63% Junior management: 7.19%

These figures will continue to escalate and yet, competition will not cease. Hence, Mr Leong has reflected that there is an urgent need for the hotel to increase its practice of SHRM in order to attract, recruit and retain its employees and to stay unabated in future times.

When asked about the importance of his CEOs role in HR, Mr Leong agreed that having a CEO who perceives HR to be of value to a firm and supports the causes of SHRM has indeed made much of his work smoother. Mr Leong meets up with the CEO regularly to discuss about the hotels business strategy. With a clear direction, Mr Leong is then able to launch many of his new initiatives to fit the needs of the companys business strategies. Overall, Mr Leongs opinions further confirmed our research in many aspects and have provided us with many insights from an industry-specific perspective.

On a different note, we proceeded to take our analysis a step further. In our study, all HR practices adopted in the survey were assumed strategic in nature. The only difference in SHRM within the firms lies in their degree of application. To validate this point, we have decided to run additional tests on survey items C34 and C35. Items C34 (How would you rate your employees skills and abilities to changes in business/organisational strategy?) and C35 (What is the extent of change in HR strategy to augment any corresponding changes to business/organisational strategy?) were grouped into an index, HR Alignment to Business Strategy. A linear regression on HR Alignment to Business Strategy and SHRM was significant support our initial assumption that HR practices adopted in the survey are indeed strategic and suitable for the measurement of SHRM. Additionally, and interestingly, we observed from the data in Table 2 that HR planning has the highest correlation in magnitude with HR Alignment to Business Strategy. From this, we may conclude that the CEOs in the sample size are likelier to use HR planning, over the other HR variables, in the alignment of HR to their business strategy.

On the other hand, as shown in Table 2, the insignificant relationship suggests that compensation and benefits does not have an effect on the alignment of HR to the business strategy. In an attempt to account for this relationship, we look to the interview conducted with the HR manager of Park Royal Hotel. It was suggested that


118

compensation and benefits could lose its strategic means for business alignment when a considerable number of employees are compensated by seniority-based pay instead of performance-based pay. In Park Royal, there is a sizable group of employees, who have been with their respective organisation for a considerable number of years. Thus, these employees could be highly compensated by virtue of their long tenure of service rather than their performance. In using seniority-based pay, compensation and benefits will not have an effect on alignment of HR to business strategy. This situation could be prevalent in other companies of our sample as well, which could explain why the relationship is insignificant.

FIGURE 5: GLOBALISATION/SHRM MATRIX

From the above matrix, majority of the 56 firms surveyed showed moderate to high degree of SHRM practiced. Most of these firms are those who are moderate or highly globalised. Some of these firms in our sample are multi-national corporations (MNCs). Generally, MNCs tend to adopt SHRM practices as they have a greater need to remain competitive and to keep up with rivals. Another reason why highly globalised MNCs practice SHRM is that their CEOs also act as HR Directors. This can be seen in powerful MNCs like Deutsche Bank Asia Pacific, whose CEO, Christian Machate, is also the Regional HR Director. Similarly, by marrying the responsibilities of both the HR Director and the CEO, such a firm sees that its HR function will act as an internal consultant in its business and ensures its HR practices to be aligned and fitting with its business strategy.

Nonetheless, from our sample, we also observed that the practice of moderate to high degree of SHRM even applies to firms with low to moderate degree of globalisation. This is especially so for 14 firms which had a moderate degree of globalisation and yet, practice a high degree of SHRM. These low to moderately globalised firms are likely to consist of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which play an important role in Singapores economy. We have about 110,000 SMEs and they make up 90% of local establishments, employ more than half of the total workforce and contribute about one-third of total value-added (Lim, 2005). Although these firms may not have a high degree of globalisation as compared to MNCs, they are still able to practice

Degree of globalisation in

company

Degree of SHRM practiced

H

HL


119

moderate and high degree of SHRM due to a similar organisational structure found in some MNCs as mentioned above. The CEO of a SME also acts in the capacity of a HR Director due to its relatively small size and limited management positions. This allows such SMEs to be able to better practice SHRM as the CEO is able to communicate his or her vision for the company and transmit the business needs more effectively through the use of HR (Wu, Chew, Sprangler, 2005). HR, hence, becomes a strategic partner in the business.

VIII. LIMITATIONS

One major limitation in our study is the relatively small sample size. This is because of the exclusivity of our target group at CEOs of the companies. Hence, the results from this exploratory research cannot be used to generalise across all firms in Singapore and the true value of SHRM practices in the face of globalisation may not have been accurately assessed.

Like all surveys, non-response error has also occurred in our research. Although 879 questionnaires were sent out, the low response rate indicated that a significant proportion of the target group was not captured. These non-respondents, forming a larger sample size, may have provided us with a more in-depth, sound and meaningful analysis. Thus, future studies should aim to obtain a more representative sample and form confirmatory results by follow-up on non-respondents.

The significance of our results may also be affected by a response bias. As Figure 5 shows, the firms are saturated at a high spectrum of the matrix. The skewness could be because the CEOs were the ones who filled up the questionnaire. The knowledge that their company and their role in HR would be assessed would cause them to respond positively and mitigate the results of the research.

IX. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

From our results, we can conclude that globalisation has a significant implication on the practice of SHRM in the company. When changes taking place in the global business environment are not complemented by changes in SHRM practices, it could lead to a situation whereby the firms are unable to sustain their competitive advantage. Thus, failure of firms to perform could be a direct consequence of the CEOs mismanagement of the firms human capital. Since our propositions outlined above are supported, then the challenge for organisations experiencing a higher level of globalisation is to pay particular emphasis to strengthening their SHRM practices by upgrading the relevant competencies.

More importantly, our findings in this paper are value-added in that it provides a direction to where firms should be heading from here. In our discussion, we observed that not many firms have been adopting a system approach towards SHRM. From our sample, compensation and benefits was not used strategically, unlike the case of HR planning, to align with business strategy. We recommend that firms should place emphasis on all aspect of HR practices in order to achieve full strategic alignment.


120

In addition, in the face of intense globalisation, firms have a need to carve out sustainable competitive advantage for themselves, and we propose that SHRM is one of the ways. The locus of fit between HR architecture and value-creation of business processes is important, but as pointed out in Becker and Huselid (2006), it leaves options wide open between the adoptions of best practices versus configurations or contingencies. Is there a one-size-fits-all solution, which creates value for all firms, are there a few suitable configurations, or is it a matter of numerous customisations of a generic strategy? Even the sharpest mind struggles to answer. However, we hold the view that there is no one absolute way that firms should undertake. Depending on the degree of globalisation apparent in the firm, so should the CEO adopt the approach which best reconciles its HR and business strategy. We go one step further to suggest that even within a firm, the different functions might also adopt different HR architectures to reflect the strategic value of each individual departments business process.

Future studies may wish to touch on other considerations, which were not addressed in this paper. Firstly, government interventions could make certain HR practices regulatory in nature, thereby inevitably raising the degree of SHRM practiced in the company. The tripartite system as part of the Human-Capital Development (HCD) in Singapore, the Manpower 21 policies, and our meritocratic education system are examples of a well-established national infrastructure that the government has in place to encourage the practice of SHRM (Osman-Gani, 2004). The effects of these interventions can be tested to determine the relationship with the other variables present in the model. This is especially so for Singapore, who has a strong and stable government and whose influence over businesses is undeniable.

Lastly, abilities of HR managers could affect the effectiveness of the design and implementation of a HRM system. There is a greater likelihood that a capable manager will be better equipped to identify any misalignment of the HR system with the value-chain, and thus, be able to initiate rectifications to the system. As such, it follows that, besides the primary focus on CEOs in our research, investigations should be carried out to determine the role of HR directors in affecting the degree of SHRM practiced in the company.

Our paper has concluded that the global environment is indeed changing at an unprecedented pace and companies, headed by competent CEOs, must embark and embrace relevant strategies to achieve stalwart success. Truly, as M.E. Tracy puts it, the solidest kind of enterprise is one that can look the whole world in the face.

REFERENCES

(2001). Time/CNN presents global influentials. Retrieved March 1, 2007, from Carlos Ghosn - Nissan CEO Website: http://www.time.com/time/2001/influentials/ybghosn.html

Abdelal, Rawi and Segal, Adam (2007). Has globalization passed its peak? Council of Foreign Relations, 86, Retrieved February 28, 2007, from http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20070101faessay86108-p0/rawi-abdelal-adam-segal/has-globalization-passed-its-peak.html


121

Adler, N.J., and Bartholomew, S. Managing globally competent people. Academy of Management Executive, (1992), 6(3), pp. 52-65.

Arthur, J.B. Effects of human resource systems on manufacturing performance and turnover. Academy of Management Journal, (1992), 37, pp. 670-68.

Bae, J., and Rowley, C. The Impact of Globalization on HRM: The Case of South Korea. Journal of World Business, (2001), 36(4), pp. 402-28.

Baron, R.M., and Kenny, D.A. The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journalof Personality and Social Psychology, (1996), 51, pp. 1173-1182.

Barney, J. Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, (1991), 17, pp. 99-120.

Barnum, C., and Wolniansky, N. Globalization: Moving a step beyond the international firm. Management Review, (1989), 78, pp. 30-34.

Becker, G.S. Human Capital. (1964). New York: National Bureau for Economic Research.

Becker, B.E., and Huselid, M.A. High Performance Work Systems and Firm Performance: A Synthesis of Research and Managerial Implications. Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, (1998). 15.

Becker, B.E., and Huselid, M.A. Strategic Human Resources Management: Where Do We Go From Here? Journal of Management, (2006, Dec), 32(6), pp. 898-925.

Biddle, B. Role theory: Expectations, Identities and Behaviors. (1979). New York: Academic Press.

Boudreau, J.W., and Ramstad, P.M. Human Resource Metrics: Can Measures Be Strategic? CAHRS/Cornell University, (1998), Working Paper, p. 98-10.

Carrig, K. Reshaping human resources for the next century Lessons from a high flying airline. Human Resource Management. (1997), 36(2), pp. 277-289.

Chew, I.K.H., and Chong, P.F. Effects of strategic human resource management on strategic vision. International Journal of Human Resource Management. (1999), 10(6), pp. 1031-1045.

China. Retrieved February 28, 2007, from CIA - The World Factbook Website: https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ch.html

Couper, M.P. Web surveys: a review of issues and approaches. Public Opinion Quarterly. (2000), 64, pp. 464-494.

DAveni, R.A. Hypercompetition. (1994). New York: Harper Business.

De La Dehesa, G. Winners and losers in globalization. Blackwell Publishing. (2005)


122

Delaney, J.T., and Huselid, M.A. The impact of human resource management practices on perceptions of organizational performance. Academy of Management Journal, (1996), 39(4), pp. 949-969.

Delery, J.E., and Doty, D.H. Modes of theorizing in strategic human resource management: Tests of universalistic, contingency, and configurational performance predictions. Academy of Management Journal. (1996), 39, pp. 802-835.

Economic Development Board. Retrieved February 27, 2007, from Why Singapore Website: http://www.edb.gov.sg/edb/sg/en_uk/index/why_singapore.html

Engammare, V., and Lehmann, J-P. Can Asia avert a globalization crisis. FarEastern Economic Review. (2007), 170(2), pp. 7-10.

Erez, M., and Gati, E. A dynamic, multi-level model of culture: From the micro level of the individual to the macro level of a global culture. Applied psychology: an international review. (2004). 53(4), pp. 583-598.

Fitz-enz, J., and Davison, B. How to measure human resources management (3rd Ed). (2002). New York: McGraw-Hill.

French, J.R.P., and Raven, B.H. The bases of social power. In D. Cartwright (Ed.), Studies in social power, (1959), pp. 150-16. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan.

Garrett, G. The causes of globalization. Comparative Political Studies. (2000), 33, pp. 941-991.

Golden, K.A., and Ramanujan, V. Between a dream and a nightmare: On the integration of the human resource management and strategic business planning process. Human Resource Management. (1985). 24, pp. 429-452.

Green, S., Hassan, F., Immelt, J., Marks, M., and Meiland, D. In Search of Global Leaders. Harvard Business Review. (2003), 81(8), pp. 38-44.

Govindarajan, V., and Gupta, A.K. The Quest for Global Dominance. (2001), San Francisco, CA, USA: Jossey-Bass.

Gerstner Jr., L.V. Who says elephants cant dance: Inside IBMs historic turnaround. (2002), New York: HarperCollins.

Huselid, M.A. The impact of human resource management practices on turnover, productivity, and corporate financial performance. Academy of Management Journal,(1995), 38(3), pp. 635-672.

India, China: stars of globalization. (2007, January 19). Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, Wirefeed.

Kim, Pan Suk. Globalization of Human Resource Management: A Cross-Cultural Perspective for the Public Sector. Public Personnel Management. (1999), 28(2), pp. 227-243.


123

Kim, S., and Briscoe, D.R. Globalization and a new human resource policy in Korea: Transformation to a performance-based HRM. Employee Relations. (1997), 19(4), pp. 298-308.

Lee, S-H., Phan, P.H., and Tan, G.Y.W. Impact of the Asian economic crisis on training intentions and outcomes. Human Resource Management Review, (2003), 13, pp. 467-486.

Lepak, D.P., and Snell, S.A. Virtual HR: Strategic human resource management in the 21st Century. Human Resource Management Review, (1998), 8(3), pp. 215-234.

Lepak, D.P., and Snell, S.A. The human resource architecture: Toward a theory of human capital allocation and development. Academy of Management Review, (1999), 24(1), pp. 31-49.

Lepak, D.P., Bartol, K.M., and Erhardt, N.L. A contingency framework for the delivery of HR practices. Human Resource Management Review, (2005), 15, pp. 139-159.

Li, Q.W. Strategic Human Resource Management: Determinants of Fit. Researchand Practice in Human Resource Management, (2006), 14(2), pp. 49-60.

Lim, H.K. (2005, Mar 28). Opening of the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC) @ the Association of Small and Medium Enterprise (ASME). Retrieved March 17, 2007, from Spring Singapore news archives Website: http://www.spring.gov.sg/newsarchive/news/speeches/05_03_28a.html

Michel, C. IMF. From the Asian crisis toward a new global architecture. (1998, June 23). Website: http://www.imf.org//np/speeches/1998/062398.HTM

Osman-Gani, A.M. Human Capital Development in Singapore: An analysis of national policy perspectives. Advances in Developing Human Resources. (2004), 6(3), pp. 276-287.

Pfeffer, J., and Salancik, G. The external control of organizations: A resource dependence perspective. (1978). New York: Harper & Row.

Schrage, M. A Japanese Giant Rethinks Globalization: An Interview with Yoshihisa Tabuchi. Harvard Business Review, (1989), 67(4), pp. 70-77.

Shill, W. (2006, Dec). Running the rapids. Chief Executive, 222, 20-22.

Singstat. Retrieved February 27, 2007, from External trade Website: http://www.singstat.gov.sg/keystats/mqstats/ess/aesa61.pdf

Snell, S.A., and Jean, Jr. J.W. Integrated manufacturing and human resource management: A Human capital perspective. Academy of Management Journal,(1992), 35(3), pp. 467-504.

Skitka, L.J., and Sargis, E.G. Social psychological research and the internet: The promise and the perils of a new methodological frontier. In Y. Amichai-Hamburger


124

(Ed.), The social net: The social psychology of the Internet. (2005), New York: Oxford University Press.

Sutcliffe, K.M., and Weber, K. The high cost of accurate knowledge. HarvardBusiness Review. (2003), 81, pp. 74-82.

Thoumrungroje, P., and Tansuhaj, P. Globalization effects, co-marketing alliances and performance. Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge. (2004), 5, pp. 495-502.

Thurow, L.C. Fortune favours the bold. (2003), New York: HarperCollins.

Tsui, A.S. A multiple-constituency model of effectiveness: An empirical examination at the human resource subunit level. Administrative Science Quarterly. (1990), 35(3), pp. 458-484.

Ulrich, D. Human resource champions: The next agenda for adding value and delivering results. (1997), Boston, M.A.: Harvard Business School.

Ulrich, D. Are you living your leadership brand. HRM Singapore, (2004, December 11), 6(7), pp. 42-44.

Wan, D. Developing Human Resources and labour flexibility in Singapore. International Employment Relations Review, (1996), 2(1), pp. 77-90.

Wan, D. HRM in Singapore: Change and Continuity. Asia Pacific Business Review,(2003), 9(4), pp. 129-146(18).

Wan, D., Kok, V., and Ong, C.H. Strategic Human Resource Management and Organizational Performance in Singapore. Sage Publication, (2002), 34, pp. 33-42.

Welbourne, T.W., and Andrews, A.O. Predicting performance of initial public offering firms: Should human resource management be in the equation? Academy of Management Journal, (1996), 39(4), pp. 891-919.

Wright, P.M., and McMahan, G.C. Theoretical perspectives for Strategic Human Resource Management. Journal of Management, (1991), 18(2), pp. 295-320.

Youndt, M.A., Snell, S.A., Dean Jr., J.W., and Lepak, D.P. Human resource management, manufacturing strategy, and firm performance. Academy of Management Journal, (1996), 39, pp. 836-866.

Yuen, C.C. HRM under guided economic development: The Singapore Experience. Asia Pacific Business Review, (1997), 3(4), pp. 133-151.

Zhu, W., Chew, I.K.H., and Sprangler, W.D. CEO transformational leadership and organizational outcomes: The mediating role of human-capital-enhancing human resource management. The Leadership Quarterly, (2005), 16, pp. 39-52.

Copyright of International Journal of Business Studies is the property of International Journal of Business

Studies and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the

copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for

individual use.

Documents

The Impact of Globalisation on Sm