Managed in Hong Kong: Adaptive Systems, Entrepreneurship and Human Resources STUDIES IN ASIA PACIFIC BUSINESS 1369-7153 Editors: Robert Fitzgerald, Chris Rowley and Paul Stewart Greater China: Political Economy, Inward Investment and Business Culture Edited by Chris Rowley and Mark Lewis Beyond Japanese Management: The End of Modern Times? Edited by Paul Stewart Management in China: The Experience of Foreign Businesses Edited by Roger Strange Human Resource Management in the Asia Pacific Region: Convergence Questioned Edited by Chris Rowley Korean Businesses: Internal and External Industrialization Edited by Chris Rowley and Johngseok Bae China's Managerial Revolution Edited by Malcolm Warner East Asian Direct Investment in Britain Edited by Philip Garrahan and John Ritchie Managed in Hong Kong: Adaptive Systems, Entrepreneurship and Human Resources Edited by Chris Rowley and Robert Fitzgerald MANAGED IN HONG KONG Adaptive Systems, Entrepreneurship and Human Resources Editors Chris Rowley City University Business School, London Robert Fitzgerald Royal Holloway, University of London I~ ~~o~;!;n~~:up LONDON AND NEW YORK First published in 2000 by FRANK CASS PUBLISHERS Published 2013 by Routledge Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY, 10017, USA Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business Copyright © 2000 Frank Cass & Co Ltd British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Managed in Hong Kong: adaptive systems, entepreneurship and human resources - (Studies in Asia Pacific business; no 8) Business - China - Hong Kong Personnel management China - Hong Kong China - Economic conditions - 1976I Rowley, Chris, 1959- II Fitzgerald, Robert, 1959III Asia Pacific Business Review 658'.00951 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Managed in Hong Kong: adaptive systems, entrepreneurship, and human resources / editors: Chris Rowley, Robert Fitzgerald p cm - (Studies in Asia Pacific business) Includes bibliographical references and index Industrial management-China-Hong Kong I Rowley, Chris, 1959- II Fitzgerald, Robert, 1959Ill Series HD70.C52 H855 2000 658' 0095125-dc21 99-057241 ISBN 13: 978-0-714-65026-5 (hbk) ISBN 13: 978-0-714-68082-8 (pbk) This group of studies first appeared in a special issue of Asia Pacific Business Review [ISSN 1360-2381] Vol 6, No.1 (Autumn 1999) published by Frank Casso All rights reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher Contents Managed in Hong Kong: Economic Development, Competitiveness and Deindustrialization From Entrepot to Entrepot via Merchant Manufacturing: Adaptive Mechanisms, Organizational Capabilities and the Structure of the Hong Kong Economy CHRIS ROWLEY and ROBERT FITZGERALD MICK CARNEY and HOWARD DAVIES 13 PAUL ELLIS 33 S.K VICTOR LEE 56 AIMEE WHEATON 73 Hong Kong as a Complex Adaptive System The Demand for Business and Management Education in Hong Kong beyond 1997 The Generation of Organizational Commitment in a Cross-Cultural Contex Comparing International Human Resource Management Practices between MAY Yaohan and Jusco in Hong Kong Hong Kong's Development: Prospects and Possibilities M.L WONG and CHRIS HENDRY 104 CHRIS ROWLEY and ROBERT FITZGERALD 123 Abstracts 132 Notes on Contributors 134 Index 135 This page intentionally left blank Dedication To the memory of Celia Kenworthy: teacher, mentor, friend This page intentionally left blank Managed in Hong Kong: Economic Development, Competitiveness and Deindustrialization CHRIS ROWLEY and ROBERT FITZGERALD Hong Kong's successes are evident Hong Kong has achieved remarkable rates of gross domestic product (GDP) growth and improvements in living standards The World Bank (1994) reported that Hong Kong's GDP per capita grew in real terms at an annual rate of nearly 6.5 per cent between 1965 and 1989 The trend is noteworthy because of its relative scale and duration - though it was not unprecedented - and because Hong Kong was an important part of an economically dynamic region The same report noted that life expectancy, 64 years in 1960, had grown to 78 by 1990, and ranked Hong Kong amongst the wealthiest economies Like its parallel city-state Singapore, Hong Kong enjoyed a high GDP per capita, its US$ 22,900 in 1995 being higher than the OECD average (Thompson, 1998).1 In 1997, its 5.5 million people living in an area of just 1,096 square kilometres produced a total GDP of US$ 171.9 billion, with a real GDP growth (annual percentage change) of 5.2 per cent, and unemployment of just 2.4 per cent of the workforce (Financial Times, 1998) Nevertheless, for all of Hong Kong's vaunted performance, vulnerabilities remained Furthermore, fresh ones have recently emerged - property prices and the stock market have witnessed sharp fluctuations, unemployment has risen, and GDp, consumption, government spending and exports have all been affected As ever, the interpretation of this phenomenon at the level of politics, culture, human capital and business organization is less obvious Asian economic dynamism has attracted the attention of numerous researchers, business people and policy-makers, often in search of a 'magic elixir' to be injected into other economies Recent unification with the People's Republic of Chinaz has also Chris Rowley, City University Business School, London; Robert Fitzgerald, Royal Holloway, University of London 122 MANAGED IN HONG KONG Hutton, ] (1988) The World of the International Management New York: Philip Allan Kidahashi, M (1987) 'Dual Organization: A Study of a Japanese-owned Firm in the United States' Ph.D thesis, Graduate School of Arts and Science, Columbia University Mendenhall, M and Oddou, G (1985) 'The Dimensions of Expatriate Acculturation: A Review', Academy of Management Review, Vol 10, pp 39 47 Mendenhall, M and Oddou, G (1986) 'Acculturation Profiles of Expatriate Managers: Implications for Cross-cultural Training Programmes', Columbia Journal of World Business, Vol 21, No.4, pp 73-9 Nicholson, N (1984) 'A Theory of Work Role Transitions', Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol 29, pp 172-91 Nikkei Ryutsu News (1989) 'The Chain Stores Operation in a Global Scale', 30 May Nikkei Ryutsu News (1998) 'The Ranking of Japanese Retailers', 21 May Porter, M (1990) The Competitive Advantage of Nations New York: Free Press Retail Association (1995) Newsletter Hong Kong: Retail Association Scullion, H (1995) 'International Human Resource Management', in J Storey (ed.), Human Resource Management: A Critical Text London: Routledge Sethi, S.P., Namiki, N and Swanson, c.L (1984) The False Promise of the Japanese Miracle Boston: Pitman South China Morning Post (1996) 'Yaohan Loses $91 million in First Half', 31 Dec Sparrow, P.R (1988a) 'Training Practice and Skill Supply Strategy in a Retail Firm: A Human Resource Management Perspective' Paper presented at the British Psychological Society Occupational Psychology Conference, Jan Sparrow, P.R (1988b) 'Strategic Human Resource Management Issues in Retailing' Paper presented at the 18th Cooperative Personnel Services Association Conference, Windermere, UK, May Sparrow, P.R (1988c) 'How Halfords Puts its HRM in Top Gear', Personnel Management, Vol 20, No.6, pp 30 Sparrow, P.R and Pettigrew, A (1988) 'Britain's Training Problems: The Search for a Strategic Human Resource Management Approach', Human Resource Management, Vol 26, No.1, pp 109-27 Trevor, M and White, M.R (1983) Under Japanese Management: The Experience of British Workers, London: Heinemann Press Wada, K (1989) The Ways of Operation of Yaohan Department Stores Taipei: Taiwan Magazine Publisher Wong, M.M.L (1996) 'Organizational Learning through Graduate Training Programme: A Comparison between Japan and Hong Kong', The Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol 20, No.5, pp 13-19 Yuen, E.C and Kee, H.K (1993/94) 'Headquarters, Host-culture and Organizational Influence on HRM Policies and Practices', Management International Review, Vol 33, pp 361-83 Zeira, Y (1976) 'Overlooked Personnel Problems of Multinational Corporations', Columbia Journal of World Business, Summer, pp 96-103 Hong Kong's Development: Prospects and Possibilities CHRIS ROWLEY and ROBERT FITZGERALD Hong Kong's economic emergence, development and current situation have been examined and analysed from a variety of perspectives Its adaptative systems, entrepreneurship and human resources have been outlined in detail A number of points and themes have emerged First, Hong Kong's internationally impressive economic record is under threat Second, some of the factors and structures seen as growth inducing in the past are now viewed as inhibiting Third, there is a need to develop alternative means of competing, which include production and human resource upgrading in Hong Kong The need to upgrade production and people is being addressed throughout much of Asia, and is not unique to Hong Kong (Rowley and Lewis, 1996; Deyo, 1996; Amadeo and Horton, 1997; Bae et at., 1997; Ng and Poon, 1998) It is argued that Hong Kong needs to excel in production and especially service quality terms In an era of advanced telecommunications and easier transport links it can no longer compete simply through its geographical proximity to China Arguably, its future lies with human infrastructural support and continuous upgrading, and even the development of a flexible specialization type economy (Piore and Sabel, 1984; Rowley, 1994, 1996) PRODUCTION AND HUMAN RESOURCE UPGRADING A dearth of resources and a highly competitive labour market hinder strategies of upgrading and high value-added, higher wage output (Graham, 1998) Weaknesses in research and development and in product design help to explain Hong Kong manufacturing's Chris Rowley, City University Business School, London; Robert Fitzgerald, Royal Holloway, University of London 124 MANAGED IN HONG KONG low levels of value-added compared to gross output It is useful to outline the key dimensions of Hong Kong's more traditional system and the possible alternatives, such as a more value-added route These can be seen in the summary in Table TABLE ELEMENTS IN TRADITIONAL AND VALUE-ADDED ROUTES Element Traditional Value-added Capitalization Operations Labour Work tasks Competition Product design Market knowledge Suppliers and customers low shallow, single-phase unskilled, cheap, 'cost' single, programmed cost leadership, competitive limited, customer given restricted, price based short term, changeable high deep, multi-phase skilled, costly, 'investment' multi-skilled, empowered quality, design, cooperative innovative, changing high, quality based long term, trust Earlier calls from government, academics, businesses and the press to upgrade have been ignored or, as we can now see, have been difficult to implement in the dominant competitive milieu In order to maintain competitiveness and to break through a perceived economic impasse, the Hong Kong government has sought since the 1980s to move its manufacturing base into less price-sensitive products Despite this, in this volume Carney and Davis l argue that there is little evidence that this transformation is likely to succeed Hong Kong's local firms have a specific set of capabilities that are not well attuned to 'technological upgrading', and Carney and Davis express doubts about the possibility of organizational enhancement The 'special' link to mainland China2 has actually undermined the need to upgrade skills and systems: Hong Kong firms were presented with, and preferred, access to a large supply of cheap, malleable labour across the border, and invested most notably in adjacent Guangdong Hong Kong's historical reliance on flexible market systems has encouraged a low level of skills, capital and technology, and this factor may counter the needs of economic restructuring (Deyo, 1996; Amadeo and Horton, 1997) Hong Kong's family businesses and their international networks found other forms of adjustment easier to achieve than high value-added output For Hong Kong, the search for adaptation, greater flexibility and upgrading will not be an easy or simple pursuit in current circumstances It is often noted that the famed responsiveness of Hong Kong's small firms is PROSPECTS AND POSSIBILITIES 125 partly based on flexible, labour intensive production underpinned by the fortuitous ability to expand the labour force horizontally as and when needed (Chan et al., 1995) This expansion was often obtained via marginalized women workers and child labour, a situation which has encouraged the continuation of relatively unskilled production rather than the search for vertical upgrading and skill enhancement of existing firms and human resources Past experience (see, inter alia, Chan et al., 1995) does not provide encouragement It is argued by some that Hong Kong rapidly developed in the 1970s-80s without significant technological upgrading because of inadequate support from the government and banking sector, continued horizontal expansion of the labour force, and the 'China factor' (ibid.) However, while some of this is debatable (see evidence from World Bank, 1994; Thompson, 1998), access to cheap labour and land occurred just at the moment they were becoming unavailable in Hong Kong itself The 'China factor' produced a barrier to transformation: while Hong Kong needed to upgrade and replace the loss of low-tech manufacturing, its chances of achieving this goal were also weakened by China being a haven for such production Therefore, there was a transfer of labour intensive activities, and as firms were (fortunately or unfortunately) able to continue with cost leadership, there was no pressure to develop new organizational capabilities (Carney and Davis) This is what Carney and Davis call the 'dominant logic' of competition in Hong Kong It is conducted via speed of response, high intensity, vertically shallow, single phase assembly operations by small numbers of relatively unskilled staff using very general purpose equipment; it emphasizes 'quick money' and a short payback period, with capabilities being commercial rather than technological The term they use - 'merchant manufacturers' - aptly describes such firms As Carney and Davis remind us, organizational capabilities cannot be rapidly changed or reproduced, as they are the result of cumulative development processes They create a 'trajectory' along which organizations develop incrementally until faced by some external developments, and a system exhibits a degree of 'path dependence' which supports but constrains its future evolution Hong Kong's employment patterns are also influential Research shows that there have been changes in the labour process, control and employment patterns This has produced twin, and self- 126 MANAGED IN HONG KONG reinforcing, results: on the one side, increased degrees of casualization, especially in services; on the other, ever greater intensification of work (CAW, 1995) Small firms with their high utilization of low-skilled and highly controlled workers in unskilled and predetermined tasks (Carney and Davis) are also common This environment limits innovatory inputs from workers and would seem to be another restraint on upgrading efforts There is a considerable and steep 'downside' to Hong Kong's structure and system of small family businesses (Carney and Davis) This includes the fact that such organizations have: • Restricted trade and market knowledge - information is largely price based • Ability to shift between suppliers and customers - preventing development of 'intense' relationships needed for innovation • Limited worker-led innovations - knowledge is restricted by vertical shallowness of operations, work intensity and unskilled, predetermined tasks As Carney and Davis pessimistically conclude, it is those organizational routines which embody the firms' capabilities that are in Hong Kong inconsistent with innovation, learning and upgrading Lee's projected shortfalls of business and management professionals also makes grim reading, given the contribution of business entrepreneurs and management professionals to economic development Wong and Hendry note the different training and development practices used in retailing By 1995, some 43 per cent of department store employees in Hong Kong worked for Japanese companies; two of these companies form their case studies One company provided limited training and development At another company the introduction of retail technology led to the acquisition of new skills for Hong Kong staff, but the supply of professional staff with such qualifications was insufficient (partly due to the earlier so-called 'brain drain' outlined by Lee) Wong and Hendry note that one retailer was reluctant to train Hong Kong workers in new technology in case any advantages were lost to competitors Another company used Hong Kong workers to perform tasks offering little decision-making power or control, limited organizational recognition for career planning, PROSPECTS AND POSSIBILITIES 127 training and development, and poorer remuneration It is difficult to view their operations as 'cooperative competition' and as the type of flexible specialization founded on trust-based relationships PROSPECTS FOR PROSPERITY: TOWARDS FLEXIBLE SPECIALIZATION? Nonetheless, one 'branch' of flexible specialization may offer opportunities for upgrading in Hong Kong Product quality and value-added manufacture may be enhanced via particular structures and systems related to the spatial concentration of organizations, infrastructures and particular forms of employee relations (see, inter alia, Piore and Sabel, 1984; Rowley, 1994, 1996) At first sight, this provides a glimmer of hope for Hong Kong as it seems to possess several of the key supportive elements to be found in these organizational forms First, Hong Kong is well developed in terms of agglomerated organizations, which are supported by a comprehensive infrastructure and a rich operating environment Second, aspects of Hong Kong's local human resources are worthy of note As Wheaton and many others note, the cultural stress on collectivism, harmony, and mutual obligations leads Hong Kong workers to emphasize the development and maintenance of personal relationships 'Personalism' and close-knit clans are underpinned by family or regional identities These are seemingly all good basic ingredients for the recipe seen as producing flexible specialization, with its notions of high trust employee relations and cooperative competition Third, the move towards flexible specialization relies upon state and government direction, intervention and support: it provides training and organizations which foster inter-firm links in innovation and marketing The role of the state, and especially its local operation, is important As is now well recognized, the picture of Hong Kong as a bastion of laissez faire has frequently been exaggerated and presented overly boldly on too broad a canvas (see Ellis) The government has previously subsidized social wages through its large public housing programme and through 'administered' prices for basic foodstuffs from China (which in turn allowed 'survival' on low wages) (Chan et at., 1995) Its approach 128 MANAGED IN HONG KONG to currency speculators and its shadowing of the US dollar are other examples of economic management Nevertheless, there are some international examples of agglomeration in more constrained systems (see Rowley, 1994, 1996) These systems, despite seemingly favourable elements and structures reminiscent of flexible specialization, not always produce the predicted, high quality, innovative products and techniques based on high trust systems of human resources and organizational interlinkages Without some form of 'guidance', flexible specialization is unlikely to develop in ways that encourage upgrading In such circumstances, organizations are more focused on short term issues, and this remains a particular characteristic of many Hong Kong firms BACK TO HUMAN RESOURCES The role of human resources in Hong Kong's past and future economic development is clearly critical Ideas concerning postindustrialization and service-dominated economies, the upgrading of production and human resources, and the enhancement of product quality, technology, and individual discretion are all underpinned by labour and its operating regime A key theme in their attainment is so-called 'flexibility', a hotly debated concept There are crucial distinctions within the flexibility debate (see Pollert, 1991, for a useful, if somewhat dated, overview) which need to be remembered A crude dichotomy can be found between types of flexibility On the one hand, there can be functional flexibility, the ability to have employees perform several different jobs On the other hand, there is also numerical flexibility, when firms create 'shock absorbers' from 'layers' of the workforce, with employment matching demand and changing markets Too often these forms are not adequately distinguished in the clarion call for further 'flexibility', now very much a 'value laden' term The internal contradictions and incompatibilities are frequently not recognized For instance, one route to upgrading could be the development and spread of greater skills to allow enhanced functional flexibility This could be achieved through training, as Lee implies in his analysis of education, skills and knowledge services In systems where it is easier to 'hire and fire' employees, PROSPECTS AND POSSIBILITIES 129 the need and desire to invest in upgrading via trammg is diminished Similarly, other so-called 'rigidities' (such as institutionally-based ones) can favour flexibility (see Dore, 1986) Yet this format runs counter to Hong Kong's drive to enhance numerical flexibility (and also its search for this form of flexibility elsewhere) As stated by many (for example, Amadeo and Horton, 1997), deregulation of the labour market does not necessarily improve flexibility and productivity, even if it reduces wages and conditions It can lead to a downward spiral of competitive reductions in employment costs and discourage investments in human resources The organization of labour markets and employment along these lines cuts against upgrading Enhanced numerical flexibility can result in reduced functional flexibility and hinders upgrading Hong Kong's impasse is illustrated by recent pay reductions in companies ranging from law firms and investment banks through to mass market fashion retail chains and underwear machinists Although some attempts were blocked, most famously by protests at Hong Kong Telecom (Lucas, 1998), the overall trend can be seen The traditional reliance on cheap, exploited labour remains deeply ingrained in broad swathes of Hong Kong's businesses and management Government policies will consequently affect the ability of Hong Kong to adapt in a particular fashion and to return to prosperity Yet the recent reversion of Hong Kong's sovereignty to China does not greatly change the prospects of enhanced human resource upgrading issues There seem to be increasingly poor labour relations in many enterprises in China Works such as O'Leary's (1998) reveal difficulties and paint a bleak picture in this respect There has been a corrosion of the so-called 'iron rice bowl' (lifetime employment), 'one big pot' (egalitarian) wages have been eroded, and there has been increasing exploitation not just in foreign-invested enterprises, but also in the transforming stateowned enterprises and non-traditional sectors of work (see also Warner, 1998a, 1998b) These developments are all exacerbated by the weak position of the All China Federation of Trade Unions and its inability to ameliorate the situation (see Ng and Warner, 1998) 130 MANAGED IN HONG KONG CONCLUSION Hong Kong's adaptive system, entrepreneurship and human resources have been detailed and examined in some breadth and depth by the various contributors to this volume Hong Kong's businesses were forged by the heat of the specific context of the post-war period More currently, Hong Kong's businesses must still operate within this historically-formed context, but must now adjust to new factors such as the Asia contagion and possibly high real interest rates, the contraction of credit from overseas investors, rising unemployment (Arogyaswamy, 1998), and the 'China factor', all of them influencing deindustrialization and general confidence in Hong Kong as a special region Reunification has also brought the employment of Chinese officials and the search for joint alliances with Chinese firms as a means of extending political influence (Vines, 1998) In such an environment, a strategy of upgrading through long term investments, enhanced functional flexibility and skills will be difficult Instead, there may be continuing pressure for greater deregulation, numerical flexibility, hire and fire, and the retrenchment of investment Hong Kong stands at a threshold, and which way it is steered will be crucial to future development paths, and to its current mixture of entrepreneurship, human resources and adaptive systems This volume ends with a clarion call for much needed further research at the micro level, particularly at the workplace, in the hope of gaining a firmer grasp on Hong Kong's prospects and possibilities NOTE From now on, the works of authors not fully referenced relate to their contributions to this volume China is used as shorthand for the People's Republic of China REFERENCES Amadeo, E.] and Horton, S (eds) (1997) Labour Productivity and Flexibility London: Macmillan Arogyaswamy, B (1998) The Asian Miracle, Myth and Mirage: The Economic Slowdown Is Here to Stay Westport, CT: Quorum Bae, J., Rowley, c., Kim, D.K and Lawler, J (1997) 'Korean Industrial Relations at the Crossroads: The Recent Troubles', Asia Pacific Business Review, Vol 3, No.3, pp 148-60 Berger, S and Lester, R.K (eds) (1997) Made by Hong Kong Hong Kong: Oxford University PROSPECTS AND POSSIBILITIES 131 Press CAW (Committee for Asian Workers) (1995) Silk and Steel: Asian Women Workers Confront Challenges of Industrial Restructuring Hong Kong: CAW, Chan, Kit Wa, Fang, Yuek Hong, Fung, Kwok Kim, Hung, Sent Lin, Ng, Chun Hung, Pun, Ngai and Wong, Man Wan (1995) 'The Impact of Industrial Restructuring on Women Workers in Hong Kong', in Committee for Asian Workers, Silk and Steel: Asian Women Workers Confront Challenges ofIndustrial Restructuring Hong Kong: CAW, pp 34-105 Deyo, F.e (ed.) (1996) Social Reconstructions of the World Automobile Industry: Competition, Power and Industrial Flexibility London: Macmillan Dore, R (1986) Flexible Rigidities: Industrial Policy and Structural Adjustment in the Japanese Economy, 1970-80 London: Athlone Press Graham, M (1998) 'Jobs Swept Away as Recession Rips into Hong Kong Economy', Sunday Times, 23 August, p 3: Lucas, L (1998) 'Hong Kong Workers Start to Feel the Strain', Financial Times, Oct., p Ng, S.K, and Poon, e (1998) 'Economic Restructuring and HRM in Hong Kong', in e Rowley (ed.), HRM in the Asia Pacific Region: Convergence Questioned London: Cass, pp 34-61 Ng, S.K and Warner, M (1998) China's Trade Unions and Management London: Macmillan O'Leary, G (1998) Adjusting to Capitalism: Chinese Workers and the State New York: M.E Sharpe Piore, M and Sabel, e (1984) The Second Industrial Divide: Prospects for Prosperity New York: Basic Books Pollert, A (1991) Farewell to Flexibility Oxford: Blackwell Rowley, e (1994) 'The Illusion of Flexible Specialization: The Case of the Domesticware Sector of the British Ceramics Industry', New Technology, Work and Employment, Vol 4, No.2, pp 126-39 Rowley, e (1996) 'Flexible Specialization: Some Comparative Dimensions and Evidence from the Ceramic Tile Industry', New Technology, Work and Employment, Vol 6, No 2, pp 125-36 Rowley, e and Lewis, M (1996) 'Greater China at the Crossroads? Convergence, Culture and Competitiveness, Asia Pacific Business Review, Vol 2, No.3, pp 1-22 Thompson, G (ed.) (1998) Economic Dynamism in the Asia Pacific London: Oxford University Press Vines, S (1998) Hong Kong: China's New Colony Aurum Press Warner, M (1998a) 'China's HRM in Transition: Towards Relative Convergence?', in e Rowley (ed.), HRM in the Asia Pacific Region: Convergence Questioned London: Cass, pp 19-33 Warner, M (1998b) 'Culture, Human Resources and Organizations in Asia: Seeking a Model with Chinese Characteristics', International Journal of Employment Studies, Vol 6, No 2, pp 1-17 World Bank (1994) The East Asian Miracle: Economic Growth and Public Policy Oxford: Oxford University Press Abstracts Managed in Hong Kong: Economic Development, Competitiveness and Deindustrialization, by Chris Rowley and Robert Fitzgerald Hong Kong's economic successes are evident As ever, the interpretation of this phenomenon at the level of politics, culture, human capital and business organization is less obvious, though a familiar list of the 'usual suspects' of 'explanations' has emerged Hong Kong now faces new and renewed challenges which are linked to shifts in the industrial structure, emerging market demands and the interconnected upgrading of both production and human resources, in addition to the implications of reunification Key themes of national competitiveness, deindustrialization and the upgrading of production facilities and human resources are all shown to be important, but also multi-layered and hazy concepts From Entrepot to Entrepot via Merchant Manufacturing: Adaptive Mechanisms, Organizational Capabilities and the Structure of the Hong Kong Economy, by Mick Carney and Howard Davies The economy of Hong Kong has developed a mix of adaptation mechanisms which has yielded spectacular performance In one part of the mix, small Chinese family businesses provide an 'entrepreneurial' adaptation mechanism which reacts quickly to price signals Elsewhere 'peak organizations' with deep hierarchies have coordinated activities which involve scale and scope This has led to the development of a particular and restricted set of organizational capabilities which are ill suited to the 'technological upgrading' strategies that are frequently recommended for Hong Kong manufacturing It is unlikely that such upgrading will take place, or that Hong Kong will become a technological development centre for manufacturing industry in the People's Republic of China Hong Kong as a Complex Adaptive System, by Paul Ellis In this contribution, the post-war economic development of Hong Kong is considered from a complexity theory perspective It is argued that over the last 50 years Hong Kong has displayed many of the signature qualities of a complex adaptive system in its transformation from dusty entrepot port to the secondwealthiest Asian economy Insights from theories of complexity are used to shed light on a range of empirical phenomena In contrast with the orthodox laissez faire account of Hong Kong's ascendancy, a complexity based explanation can be used to account for the presence of endogenously induced systemic disruptions and does not discount the role of external intervention in those areas of the economy prone to escalating feedback The Demand for Business and Management Education in Hong Kong beyond 1997, by S K Victor Lee In this contribution, the future market of business and management education in Hong Kong is investigated, bearing in mind that Hong Kong reverted to Chinese sovereignty Hong Kong is expected to continue its prosperity, but the emigration of large numbers of Hong Kong professionals wanting to secure a safety net by ABSTRACTS 133 acqumng a foreign passport has further created demands for better and more business and management education in an attempt to develop more professional managers The study starts by discussing the current state of the Hong Kong economy and the phenomenon of the 'brain drain' In addition, it analyses a survey of the current state of business and management education in Hong Kong so that a market need can be identified to match economic growth Finally, the study suggests a future research direction for Hong Kong's business and management education The Generation of Organizational Commitment in a Cross-Cultural Context, by Aimee J Wheaton This contribution explores the cross-cultural variations in the generation of organizational commitment Participants were Chinese and Western employees of organizations operating in Hong Kong Both groups believed that effort should be rewarded However, Chinese and Western participants were committed to different constituencies within the organization Westerners viewed interpersonal relationships as a means to the end, with the organization being the object of commitment Chinese committed to interpersonal networks and saw these relationships as the primary organization-member engagement Chinese and Westerners defined the organization differently and this influenced the way they generated their attachment to the firm Comparing International Human Resource Management Practices between Yaohan and Jusco in Hong Kong, by May M.L Wong and C Hendry The performance of Jusco and Yaohan in Hong Kong was examined and compared by exploring their international human resource management (IHRM) practices in terms of recruitment and selection, compensation, and training and development Yaohan and Jusco employed different IHRM systems as a response to their contextual factors - history and background of the company, and competitive environment and business strategy, especially the use of retail technology The results show that the IHRM systems employed by Yaohan and Jusco affect the performance of the company, and explain the factors contributing to Yaohan's bankruptcy and Jusco's increasing profitability Hong Kong's Development: Prospects and Possibilities, by Chris Rowley and Robert Fitzgerald Hong Kong's economic emergence, development and current situation have been examined and analysed from a variety of perspectives, and its adaptative systems, entrepreneurship and human resources have been outlined in detail A number of points and themes have emerged and these have implications for Hong Kong's prospects and possibilities First, Hong Kong's internationally impressive economic record is under threat Second, some of the factors and structures seen as growth inducing in the past are now viewed as inhibiting Third, there is a need to develop alternative means of competing, which include production and human resource upgrading Notes on Contributors Chris Rowley was employed in a variety of jobs in both public and private sectors before attending the University of Warwick and Nuffield College, Oxford University, and subsequently teaching at Oxford, Cardiff Business School and the University of London He is an editor of Asia Pacific Business Review, and an editorial board member of Personnel Review He researches and publishes in the areas of employee relations, human resource management, technical change, flexibility and Asia Pacific business Robert Fitzgerald is a Senior Lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London, and the author of numerous books and articles on British, Japanese and comparative business history, covering the topics of labour management, consumption, management structures, and economic development He is an editor of Asia Pacific Business Review Mick Carney is an Associate Professor in the Department of Management at Concordia University in Montreal His research interests focus on the organization and management of East Asian and South East Asian firms Howard Davies is a Professor in the Department of Business Studies at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University His research interests centre on enterprise reform in China and the activities of Hong Kong firms Paul Ellis is an assistant professor at the Department of Business Studies, Hong Kong Polytechnic University He completed his doctorate at the University of Western Australia and he has published papers in journals such as the Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of MarketingResearch, and International Marketing Review Chris Hendry is a Centenary Professor in Organisational Behaviour and Head of the HRM Department, City Business School, London S.K Victor Lee is Director of the School of Continuing Studies of The Chinese University of Hong Kong He was formerly an Associate Professor in Management at The Open University of Hong Kong Aimee Wheaton is an Assistant Professor University in Denver, Colorado III the Division of Business at Regis May M.L Wong is an Associate Professor in the Department of Management, Lingnan University, Hong Kong Her industrial experience was gained in the service sectors in Japanese, British and American multinational companies III Hong Kong She has lectured in tertiary institutions in Hong Kong Index Adaptive systems/mechanisms 5, 11, 13-8, 23-4,27-9,33,37-9,42,46,50,123, 127-9 Butterfield 19 Capahilities 3-4,11, 13-4, 123-7, 130 Capital 2-5,9, 18,24,35,43,45,51, 124 China, P.R 1,2,4, 7, 9, 11, 18-20,27, 30,40,42,46,48-9,53,57-9,109, 124-5, 127, 129-30 Commitment (organizational) 2, 10, 73-103 Competitiveness 33,37,41,52-3, 114-6, 130 Culture 2-5, 9-11,13,17,22,24,35, 73-103, 127-8 Daiei 113 Deindustrialization 1,2,6,8,9,25,27, 130 Economic Development 1,58, 62, 69, 123-6, 130 Education 9, 10,56-8, 60, 61, 63, 66, 68-71, 126, 128-9 Entrepreneurship 3, 4, 15-6, 18, 23, 27, 35-6, 123, 130 Family Business 2, 4-11, 14,22,24, 28-29,36,56-65,67,68-72,127-8, 130 Guanxi 2, 41, 43, 127-8 Hong Kong Electric Company 19 Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank 19, 42 Hong Kong Telecom 129 Human Resource Management 2, 71-127 Human Resources 2,9-10, 123, 127-30 Hutchinson Whampoa 42 Jardine 19,42 Jusco 104-7 Kader Industrial Company 36-7 Lahour 4-7,9, 15,18,21,23,26-7,57, 64, 123-7, 129 Large-scale Business 14-16, 19,21,36-9, 41-2,44-5,48,73-22 Li Ka-shing 41-2 Management 4,9,17,21,24,30, 56-103, 108-22, 124-30 Manufacturing 4-9, 11, 13, 18-31,48-9, 57-8, 123-31 Marketing 21, 23, 2.5, 28,48, 109 Mitsukoshi 104 Networks 3, 10,16,124-7,130 Pao YK 42 Production 2, 9-10, 21, 28, 48,123-7, 129-30 Recruitment 81,110-11,130 Retailing 9, 108-22, 126-7, 129 Services 3-4, 6-10, 24, 46, 48-9, 57-8, 63, 10S-22, 126-7, 129 Seiyu 113 Skills 3, 9-10, IS, 66-7, 70,116,123-8, 130 Star Ferry Company 19,44-.5 Strategy 116 Swire 19 Technology 3, 10, 116-7, 123-7 Training 2,15, 5S, 62, SO-SI, 111-12, 124,126 Tung Chee-hwa 41 Upgrading 2, 9, 28-30, 66, 70, 123-30 Innovation 28-9, 56, 123-31 Isetan 104 Whampoa and Wheelcock 19 Japanese investment 104-22, 126 Yaohan 104-7 11111111111111111111111111 780714 680828 ... Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Managed in Hong Kong: adaptive systems, entepreneurship and human resources - (Studies in Asia Pacific business; no 8) Business - China - Hong Kong Personnel... Kong: Adaptive Systems, Entrepreneurship and Human Resources Edited by Chris Rowley and Robert Fitzgerald MANAGED IN HONG KONG Adaptive Systems, Entrepreneurship and Human Resources Editors Chris.. .Managed in Hong Kong: Adaptive Systems, Entrepreneurship and Human Resources STUDIES IN ASIA PACIFIC BUSINESS 1369-7153 Editors: Robert Fitzgerald, Chris Rowley and Paul Stewart Greater China: