IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i12p9188-d1165302.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainable Strategic People Management: A Confucian Perspective on Chinese Management

Author

Listed:
  • Yingying Zhang-Zhang

    (Graduate School of International Management, International University of Japan, Niigata 949-7277, Japan)

Abstract

This paper examines the strategic management of people within enterprises as a driver of sustainable growth. As strategic people management (SPM) is founded on the Eastern knowledge workers’ perspective, we integrate SPM with the Confucian perspective to analyze the factors underlying the sustainable success of Chinese management. In so doing, we review the literature on sustainability, SPM, Chinese management, and the integration of Confucian cultural values. We utilize the qualitative case research method to examine 20 successful Chinese enterprises across five sectors. The results of the case analysis reveal three types of sustainable SPM associated with Confucian values: responsible people management, paradoxical people management, and humanistic people management. We propose a conception of sustainable SPM combined with Confucianism to be relevant in the Chinese business context, where a high degree of dynamism can be seen. The findings of this study could be extended through analyses conducted in other contexts with a high level of complexity, such as emerging markets, disruptive technology, unexpected crises, or any aggregated interactions of such contexts.

Suggested Citation

  • Yingying Zhang-Zhang, 2023. "Sustainable Strategic People Management: A Confucian Perspective on Chinese Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-20, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:12:p:9188-:d:1165302
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/12/9188/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/12/9188/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yingying Zhang & Simon Dolan & Tony Lingham & Yochanan Altman, 2009. "International Strategic Human Resource Management: A Comparative Case Analysis of Spanish Firms in China," Management and Organization Review, The International Association for Chinese Management Research, vol. 5(2), pages 195-222, July.
    2. Zhixing Xiao & Ingmar Björkman, 2006. "High Commitment Work Systems in Chinese Organizations: A Preliminary Measure," Management and Organization Review, The International Association for Chinese Management Research, vol. 2(3), pages 403-422, November.
    3. Isaac Akomea-Frimpong & Xiaohua Jin & Robert Osei-Kyei, 2022. "Mapping Studies on Sustainability in the Performance Measurement of Public-Private Partnership Projects: A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-20, June.
    4. Van de Ven, Andrew H. & Meyer, Alan D. & Jing, Runtian, 2018. "Opportunities and Challenges of Engaged Indigenous Scholarship," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(3), pages 449-462, September.
    5. Van de Ven, Andrew H. & Meyer, Alan D. & Jing, Runtian, 2018. "Opportunities and Challenges of Engaged Indigenous Scholarship—ADDENDUM," Management and Organization Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(3), pages 647-647, September.
    6. Samuele Marinello & Maria Angela Butturi & Rita Gamberini & Umberto Martini, 2023. "Indicators for sustainable touristic destinations: a critical review," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 66(1), pages 1-30, January.
    7. Warat Winit & Erboon Ekasingh & Jomjai Sampet, 2023. "How Disclosure Types of Sustainability Performance Impact Consumers’ Relationship Quality and Firm Reputation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-18, January.
    8. Kolk, Ans, 2016. "The social responsibility of international business: From ethics and the environment to CSR and sustainable development," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 51(1), pages 23-34.
    9. Jan Anton van Zanten & Rob van Tulder, 2018. "Multinational enterprises and the Sustainable Development Goals: An institutional approach to corporate engagement," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 1(3), pages 208-233, December.
    10. Zhang-Zhang, YingYing & Rohlfer, Sylvia & Varma, Arup, 2022. "Strategic people management in contemporary highly dynamic VUCA contexts: A knowledge worker perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 587-598.
    11. Elena Giovannoni & Giacomo Fabietti, 2013. "What Is Sustainability? A Review of the Concept and Its Applications," Springer Books, in: Cristiano Busco & Mark L. Frigo & Angelo Riccaboni & Paolo Quattrone (ed.), Integrated Reporting, edition 127, chapter 2, pages 21-40, Springer.
    12. Li, Shenxue & Easterby-Smith, Mark & Hong, Jacky F.L., 2019. "Towards an understanding of the nature of dynamic capabilities in high-velocity markets of China," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 212-226.
    13. Allan Blrd & Schon Beechler, 1995. "Links Between Business Strategy and Human Resource Management Strategy in U.S.-Based Japanese Subsidiaries: An Empirical Investigation," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 26(1), pages 23-46, March.
    14. Anne S. Tsui & Claudia Bird Schoonhoven & Marshall W. Meyer & Chung-Ming Lau & George T. Milkovich, 2004. "Organization and Management in the Midst of Societal Transformation: The People's Republic of China," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 15(2), pages 133-144, April.
    15. Nee, Victor & Opper, Sonja, 2012. "Capitalism from Below: Markets and Institutional Change in China," Economics Books, Harvard University Press, number 9780674050204, Spring.
    16. Karl E. Weick & Kathleen M. Sutcliffe & David Obstfeld, 2005. "Organizing and the Process of Sensemaking," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 16(4), pages 409-421, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Zhang-Zhang, YingYing & Rohlfer, Sylvia & Varma, Arup, 2022. "Strategic people management in contemporary highly dynamic VUCA contexts: A knowledge worker perspective," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 587-598.
    2. Bu, Maoliang & Xu, Liang & Tang, Ryan W., 2023. "MNEs’ transfer of socially irresponsible practices: A replication with new extensions," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(2).
    3. Pei Sun & Jonathan P. Doh & Tazeeb Rajwani & Donald Siegel, 2021. "Navigating cross-border institutional complexity: A review and assessment of multinational nonmarket strategy research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(9), pages 1818-1853, December.
    4. Soliman, Salma & Papanastassiou, Marina & Saka-Helmhout, Ayse, 2023. "The role of subsidiaries in Global Value Chains (GVCs): An institutional voids perspective on LVC upgrading and integration," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 29(2).
    5. Kyoko Sasaki & Wendy Stubbs & Megan Farrelly, 2023. "The relationship between corporate purpose and the sustainable development goals in large Japanese companies," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2475-2489, September.
    6. Sjoerd Beugelsdijk, 2022. "Capitalizing on the uniqueness of international business: Towards a theory of place, space, and organization," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 53(9), pages 2050-2067, December.
    7. Helena Barnard, 2019. "From the editor: The social side of international business policy – mapping social entrepreneurship in South Africa," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 2(1), pages 1-8, March.
    8. Bruton, Garry & Sutter, Christopher & Lenz, Anna-Katharina, 2021. "Economic inequality – Is entrepreneurship the cause or the solution? A review and research agenda for emerging economies," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 36(3).
    9. Kiefner, Valentin & Mohr, Alexander & Schumacher, Christian, 2022. "Female executives and multinationals’ support of the UN's sustainable development goals," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 57(3).
    10. Ferran Curtó-Pagès & Enrique Ortega-Rivera & Marc Castellón-Durán & Eva Jané-Llopis, 2021. "Coming in from the Cold: A Longitudinal Analysis of SDG Reporting Practices by Spanish Listed Companies Since the Approval of the 2030 Agenda," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-27, January.
    11. Lartey, Theophilus A. & Amankwah-Amoah, Joseph & Danso, Albert & Adomako, Samuel & Khan, Zaheer & Tarba, Shlomo Y., 2021. "Environmental sustainability practices and offshoring activities of multinational corporations across emerging and developed markets," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(5).
    12. Galina Shirokova & Tatiana Beliaeva & Tatiana S. Manolova, 2023. "The Role of Context for Theory Development: Evidence From Entrepreneurship Research on Russia," Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, , vol. 47(6), pages 2384-2418, November.
    13. Obara, Louise J. & Peattie, Ken, 2018. "Bridging the great divide? Making sense of the human rights-CSR relationship in UK multinational companies," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 53(6), pages 781-793.
    14. Rob Van Tulder & Suzana B. Rodrigues & Hafiz Mirza & Kathleen Sexsmith, 2021. "The UN’s Sustainable Development Goals: Can multinational enterprises lead the Decade of Action?," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 1-21, March.
    15. Ivan Montiel & Alvaro Cuervo-Cazurra & Junghoon Park & Raquel Antolín-López & Bryan W. Husted, 2021. "Implementing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals in international business," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 52(5), pages 999-1030, July.
    16. Stefan Zagelmeyer & Rudolf R. Sinkovics, . "MNEs, human rights and the SDGs – the moderating role of business and human rights governance," UNCTAD Transnational Corporations Journal, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    17. Sarianna Lundan & John Cantwell, 2020. "The local co-evolution of firms and governments in the Information Age," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(9), pages 1516-1528, December.
    18. Igor Filatotchev & R. Duane Ireland & Günter K. Stahl, 2022. "Contextualizing Management Research: An Open Systems Perspective," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(4), pages 1036-1056, June.
    19. Lorraine Eden & M. Fernanda Wagstaff, 0. "Evidence-based policymaking and the wicked problem of SDG 5 Gender Equality," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 0, pages 1-30.
    20. Ru-Shiun Liou & Rekha Rao-Nicholson, 2021. "Multinational enterprises and Sustainable Development Goals: A foreign subsidiary perspective on tackling wicked problems," Journal of International Business Policy, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 4(1), pages 136-151, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:12:p:9188-:d:1165302. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.