Impact of Human Resource Management Practices on Operational Performance in Chinese Manufacturing Companies

Fiercer global competition and shorter product life cycles have contributed to the complexity faced by companies. Newer sources of competitive advantage are constantly searched for to take the place of less effective traditional competitive mechanisms, one of the most important being human resources. Therefore, it´s important for companies to adopt proper human resource management (HRM) practices that make best use of their employees´ potentials. This trend has led to increased interest in researching the impact of HRM practices on companies´ performance. Literature review shows there has been a serious lack of such researches in China. In this paper, we will examine the relationships of six HRM practices and five key dimensions of operational performance, flexibility, cost, new product, quality and delivery, in Chinese manufacturing companies. The empirical analysis is based on the data from the 2005 International Manufacturing Strategy Survey (IMSS).