ABSTRACT
Scholars in the field of SHRM have been calling for more research into examining the mediators and moderators that might be hidden in the ‘black-box’ of HRM-performance link (e.g. Purcell et al., 2003; Boxall et al., 2011; Jiang et al., 2013; Chowhan, 2016; Jiang and Messersmith, 2018). One such important mediators that might be able to assist in effectively addressing the increased tension of labor relations and human rights abuse widespread in China as discussed in the previous chapter is corporate culture of shared values. Edgar and Geare (2009) argue that organizational culture is reflected in strong values shared collectively by the corporates’ sectional groups. If every employee shares the same perceptions of the firm’s goals and the appropriateness of its HRM policies, practices and processes to achieve them, ‘feelings of inequity and dysfunctional behaviour associated with them’ would be less likely to arise, thus a positive employee relation climate can be reinforced to achieve organizational effectiveness (Edgar and Geare, 2009, p. 223). Furthermore, based on the normative isomorphism within the institutional perspective (DiMaggio and Powell, 1983), a corporate culture with ethical and spiritual values enables organizations to connect to a larger community and achieve not only a higher purpose (Driscoll and McKee, 2007), but also the legitimacy of business operation and subsequent competitive advantage in the marketplace (Paauwe and Boselie, 2003).
