Purpose – This paper aims to separately consider studies from the three major economies, the USA, Europe and China, to illustrate differences and similarities. A comparison of these three clusters allows the author to conclude that the US human resource management (HRM) model was adopted by European and, subsequently, Chinese organizations through the mechanism of mimetic isomorphism. In addition, the majority of studies have confirmed that certain HR procedures have a positive impact on organizational performance. Design/methodology/approach – The essay reviews and reappraises existing empirical studies in the field of HRM and organizational performance. Findings – As European organizations adopted HRM configurations and the notion that HR should play a more strategic role from US organizations, the review suggests that Chinese organizations are now imitating US and European HRM. In all summarized studies, there is robust empirical evidence that the HR function is able to directly add value and improve organizational performance. Originality/value – The study compares Chinese to Western HR functions and examines the effectiveness of strategic HRM by evaluating the existing research. At a minimum, in response to the title of the manuscript and the question, “do Chinese organizations adopt appropriate HRM policies?”, the general answer is yes. Given the mechanism of mimetic isomorphism, it can be assumed that Chinese organizations adopt the most efficient HR configurations from Western organizations. The summarized studies also support the prediction that subsidiaries of Western multinational organizations accelerate the development of the Chinese HR functions.

Introduction

In an era when organizations must confront globalization and an increasingly cost-competitive environment, human resource management (HRM) is in a position to contribute to organizational performance (Guest, 2011; Lawler, 2005; Ulrich et al., 2008; Wright et al., 2001). There is growing empirical evidence in the USA and Europe that HRM can deliver a positive impact on organizational performance (Buller and McEvoy, 2012; Combs et al., 2006; Gooderham et al., 2008; Lengnick-Hall et al., 2009; Paauwe, 2009). The most recognized aspect of this trend is improved strategic integration of the HR function into an organization’s business and the resulting effects (Lawler and Boudreau, 2009; Lawler and Mohrman, 2003; Lengnick-Hall et al., 2009). Since the mid-1990s, there has been growing demand for a more strategic role for the HR function in the USA (Lawler, 2005; Ulrich, 1997; Ulrich et al., 2008). The spread of the HR business partner model (Ulrich et al., 2008) and the outsourcing of non-core HR tasks across the USA are representative of this development (Belcourt, 2006; Shen, 2005). A few years after these events in the USA, management practices that focus on a more strategic role for the HR function were largely adapted by European organizations (Brewster, 2007). A remarkable finding from comparing the results in the HR literature is the different outcome observed in European organizations when adopting HR management practices from the USA compared to their US counterparts (Björkman et al., 2007; Björkman and Gooderham, 2006; Peretz, 2012). As a potential explanation, some researchers have considered and investigated the institutional environment as mediator of different performance outcomes resulting from the use of comparable HR management practices (Brewster et al., 2008, 2013; Vaiman and Brewster, 2014). There are widespread institutional differences between the USA and Europe that might influence performance outcomes. While the USA is traditionally described as a shareholder economy that pursues short-term interests to maximize profitability, the majority of European countries are characterized as examples of a more coordinated economy (Gooderham and Nordhaug, 2011; Hall and Soskice, 2001).