How resource-based state-owned enterprises manage collective labor relations: a comparative case study in China
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-11-2020-0510 |
| Published date | 17 October 2022 |
| Date | 17 October 2022 |
| Pages | 209-242 |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
| Author | Jingfu Lu,Chuhong Wang,Luan Jiang |
How resource-based state-owned
enterprises manage collective
labor relations: a comparative case
study in China
Jingfu Lu
School of Journalism and Communication, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
Chuhong Wang
Digital Economy Academy, Yango University, Fuzhou, China, and
Luan Jiang
School of Economics and Management, South China Normal University,
Guangzhou, China
Abstract
Purpose –This study explores labor relations management behaviors of administrators and Party
organizations in resource-based state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in China based on social exchange theory and
embeddedness theory. It builds up a process model for managing collective labor conflicts in resource-based
SOEs in the Chinese context.
Design/methodology/approach –A comparative case study is conducted using two resource-based SOEs
withsimilar backgrounds but differingin effectiveness of themanagement of collectivelabor conflicts. Dataare
collected from interviews, archival sources and a one-month participatory investigation.
Findings –Theadministratorsand Partyorganizationsof resource-basedSOEs managecollectivelabor conflicts
by means ofhuman resource practices(HRPs) and Party organizations’boundary-spanning behaviors (PBSBs),
respectively; foremen and unions perform a mediation role, especially under circumstances where administra tors
employhigh-performanceHRPs andPBSBs are closelyintegrated withthe productionprocess. The marketization
of the“new danwei system”exertsa “provocationeffect”but does not necessarily lead to collective la bor conflicts.
The root causeof conflicts lies inthe inherent defects ofspecific HRPs and PBSBs,as well as the absence of the
Simmeliantie in the social exchangeinteraction of actors.
Originality/value –First, this study develops a new construct of PBSBs for enterprises’Party organizations and
explores its underlying mechanisms, which enriches the range of actors studied in the context of Chinese labor
relations; Second, the authors develop a new dimension called “exemplification”building on the existing three-
dimensional structure of boundary-spanning behaviors, which expands boundary-spanning theory. Third, the
findings that Simmeliantie structure could better maintain the stability of labor relationship in the mediation process
of labor-capital conflict managementenrich the social exchange theory from the perspective of structure. Finally,this
study deepens the existing research on HRPs by proposing a new explanation for disputes.
Keywords Resource-based SOEs, Collective labor conflicts, Human resource practices,
Chinese communist party, Social exchange theory
Paper type Research paper
Research on
digital
publishing
209
The work was supported by the Fund of Social Science Planning Project of Guangdong Province of 2022
“Research on the evaluation and promotion mechanism of Mainland media’s‘Four Forces’in
Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao under the context of ‘one country two systems’” (GD22CXW05), the
Guangdong Province Education Science Project (Higher Education Special Fund) of 2022 “Research on
the communicating capability, influencing capability, guiding capability and credibility of Guangdong
media in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area under ‘One country, Two Systems’”
(2022GXJK092), the Fund of Science and Technology Planning Project of Fujian Province “The
constructing mechanism of harmonious labor relations in cross-border enterprises between Fujian and
Taiwan under the context of institutional duality”(2020R0091) and Fujian Social Science Planning youth
project “Research on the development mechanism of agricultural e-commerce industry in Fujian
Province from the perspective of big data (FJ2020C062)”.
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/0142-5455.htm
Received 22 November 2020
Revised 25 March 2021
15 May 2021
Accepted 24 May 2021
Employee Relations: The
International Journal
Vol. 45 No. 1, 2023
pp. 209-242
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-11-2020-0510
Introduction
Resource-based state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have experienced challenges when their
reforms coincide with the collective transformation of labor relations, leading to a surge of
collective labor conflicts. The No. 10 Document of the Central Government in 2015 stated that
“the power of the Party and [...] enterprises [...] should be unified”to jointly manage labor
conflicts. The implemention of this idea at an enterprise level exists some challenges: On one
hand, the administration of SOEs is usually the sources of labor conflicts. On the other hand,
there is a lack of specific guidance for Chinese Communist Party organizations in the
participation of corporate management (Ma et al., 2012), let alone the joint management of
labor conflicts by two sides. Therefore, we want to investigate how Chinese Communist Party
organizations can be incorporated into the research framework to co-manage labor conflicts
with administrators at the enterprise level.
Is the above practical issue important from an academic perspective? In the middle of last
century, research from both the UK and the US –the most-studied contexts –is deeply
influenced by the structural functionalism, which emphasizes macro-institutional structures
but overlooks micro-subject actions. In the 1980s, however, labor relations research shifted
focus towards subjects’interactions and comparative research across contexts and countries.
For example, the Marxist theory explores subjects’interactions through the lens of class
conflict, while Kochan’s strategic choice theory stresses the strategic interaction of micro
actors. It was against this landscape that research into labor relations emerged in China in the
1990s. It differed from Western studies by placing great emphasis on the interaction between
“three parties and four actors”instead of the struggle between labor and capital (Brown and
Chang, 2017). It is therefore consistent with the trends in theory to explore how Party
organizations with distinct Chinese characteristics interact with administrators to manage
labor relations in resource-based SOEs with the same distinct Chinese characteristics.
To sum up, this study addresses the following three research questions (see Figure 1).
RQ1. What are the specific behaviors of administrators and Party organizations in labor
relations management in China’s resource-based SOEs?
RQ2. What are the particular ways to achieve the goals of labor conflict management?
RQ3. What are the key external contexts that affect the effectiveness of the management
and how do they exert their influences?
Based on social exchange theory and embeddedness theory, a comparative case study is
conducted using two resource-based SOEs with similar backgrounds but differing in
effectiveness of the management of collective labor conflicts. Finally, we put forward four
propositions and build up a process model for answering research questions above.
The remainder of this paper is structured as follows. Section 2 discusses previous
literature and Section 3 outlines the research approach. The description of actors’behaviors
and direct effects are provided in Section 4 and 5.Section 6 presents the mediation effects of
relevant actors and Section 7 discusses the effects of the “new danwei system”(a working and
social management unit in China). Section 8 makes a comprehensive analysis of all effects.
Section 9 concludes.
Literature review
Based on the research framework shown in Figure 1, this section starts with a brief review of
the literature regarding the behaviors of actors (related to RQ1), followed by the introduction
to social exchange theory that serves as the theoretical lens to study the interactions between
actors and even the internal management mechanism (related to RQ2); the final part of this
section reviews the literature regarding the “new danwei system”and the embeddedness
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theory which is used as the theoretical lens to explore the external influences of “new danwei
system”on the management mechanism (related to RQ3).
Behaviors of actors (related to RQ1)
(1) Human resource practices of administrators
The human resource practices (HRPs) are found to have a significant effect on attitudes,
behaviors (Aisbett and Hoye, 2015), and labor conflict management (Elgoibar et al., 2019). In
the West, high-performance, high-commitment, supportive and developmental HRPs are
widespread, whereas Chinese studies characterize common practices as paternalistic,
seniority-oriented, benevolence-oriented, relational, collaborative, and collectivistic. Among
these, paternalistic and high-performance HRPs are established as the most important types
of practices in China and the West, respectively.
High-performance HRPs are aimed at improving organizational performance, and are
characterized as systematic, performance-orientated, and employee-orientated (Sun et al.,
2007). The literature in this field shows that the most commonly-used components are salary
and performance evaluation, employee development, participation mechanisms, and work
arrangements. Paternalistic HRPs, which are reciprocal and cooperative in nature (Lee, 2001),
intend to create a family atmosphere that reflects authority, kindness, and virtue (Zhu
et al., 2012).
Previous studies find that most HRPs exert beneficial influences on labor relations. For
example, Podsakoff et al. (2000) show that seniority-oriented HRPs are conducive to curbing
labor conflicts. Riordan et al. (2005) find that high-performance HRPs help to harmonize labor
atmosphere. A number of studies demonstrate that high-performance HRPs positively
impact employees’organizational behaviors (Huselid, 1995;Guthrie et al., 2009;Gould-
Williams and Mohamed, 2010;Alfes et al., 2012;Saridakis et al., 2013;Kim, 2014;Boxall and
Macky, 2014). However, other studies show that HRPs can lead to adverse organizational
behaviors (White et al., 2003;Godard, 2004;Kroon et al., 2009;Batt and Colvin, 2011;Jensen
et al., 2013;Voorde and Beijer, 2015;Kilroy et al., 2016;Topcic et al., 2016;Page et al., 2018).
Administrators
Party organizations
RQ1: Wh at are the specific behaviors of
administrators and party organizations
in labor relations management in
China’s resource-based SOEs?
RQ2: What are the particular ways to
achieve the goal s of labor conflict
manage ment?
Collective
labor
conflicts
RQ3 : What are the ke y external contexts that a ffect the effectiveness
of the management and how do they exert their influences?
Figure 1.
Research framework
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