1 Dynamic strategic human resources in international management: Preliminary results from cases of Spanish firms in China

Abstract: This paper analyses the preliminary results from cases of Spanish firms in China, to further understanding of the dynamic strategic human resources process in international business. Employing data-driven thematic analysis process in a qualitative case study, the preliminary findings from three case sites are presented and a dynamic international strategic human resource model proposed. Three major clusters were identified in our analysis from four sub samples two firms that were successful, one unsuccessful and one moderator organi!ation"# $. %ision, strategy and objectives three codes with three themes each"& '. Strategic human resources four codes with ten themes"& and (. )nternational business practices three codes with nine themes". emerged. )nter-rater reliability was established at *+, and accepted as it was above the standard of -+,. The constructed model using the three clusters that emerged from the analysis illustrates the interaction between strategy and human resources in organi!ation for their international management, especially under the circumstance of turbulent emerging mar.ets such as China. The model, once validated with our remaining samples, will be e/plored in further research on sustainable competitiveness of a firm in Chinese conte/t. $*0 words" Key words: Strategic human resources, learning, international business, Spain, China

2 Dynamic strategic human resources in international management: Preliminary results from cases of Spanish firms in China

.., : ,,,,. Sun Zi The essence of innovation is to recreate the world according to a particular vision or ideal. It is a way of ehaving, indeed a way of eing, in which everyone is a !nowledge wor!er, an entrepreneur. This approach puts !nowledge creation at the very centre of a co"pany#s hu"an resources strategy. $ona!a, I.

Introduction: China1s economic development and global business impact has been recently identified as significant and of interest to practitioners and organi!ational researchers. Some researchers have argued this rapid rate of development has been impeded by the lac. of systematic .nowledge about managing in highly variable dynamic conte/ts. )n China, not only is competition intensifying, but the rules regulating competition are also changing. These conditions raise fundamental economic, sociological, and organi!ational questions about management during periods of transition Tsui, Schoonhoven, 2eyer, 3au 4 2il.ovich, '550# $(0". )n a recent report by Econom6a E/terior '550", China1s mar.et is described as the boom of the 7sian giant. 8owever, only a few managerial perspectives have been highlighted offering little theoretical, empirical and practical insights to allow effective learning for e/ecutives and organi!ations interested in this booming mar.et. This paper focuses on presenting a preliminary empirically derived model through a qualitative methodology that offer practical insights and bridge strategy and human resource management within the Chinese conte/t.

3 9umerous researches testify to this emergent interest in China although mostly employing macro economic models, highlighting political and legal issues, or associating the results with applied economics and managerial strategy. :or e/ample, 7nderson '550" argues China1s economy would maintain its dynamic growth& ;oisot 4 Child $<<=" e/plains China1s economic change in networ. capitalism& >hanna et al. '55+" proposes three strategy choices to fit emerging mar.et by mapping institutional conte/t and composite inde/ where China was one of the .ey regions studied& ?eters '55+" compares and contrasts the economic models and performance of )ndia and China based on endogenous growth and foreign direct investment& ;arciela1s '550" analyses of why Spanish firms were still distant from China& Soler1s '55'" efforts to e/plain Spanish e/perience in investing in 7sia with three cases of Catalan firms in China& and 3iu 4 Shi '55(" suggesting strategy of transnational corporations for Chinese enterprises based on macro, mid and micro environmental analysis. @uring the 'nd :orum SpainChina held in 9ovember '550 in ;arcelona, difficulties in Chinese management at firm level were raised as critical and that there is no obvious solution proposed for managerial practitioners Casa 7sia, '550". Ane of the principal reasons for this fact is the lac. of empirical studies even though some scholars have highlighted this concern in reputable journals such as the globali!ation of China1s brands Beng 4 Cilliamson, '55("& China1s negotiation styles and practices Draham 4 3am, '55("& studying Eapanese firms in China and Taiwan Ta.euchi, Ca.abyashi 4 Chen, '55("& western multinationals in China 3i, '55(& ;raun 4 Carnern, '55'"# and the e/perience of Spanish e/ecutives in China :ernande!, '55(". @espite the burgeoning of research involving China, one of the most important, yet least appreciated developments in the world affairs especially in recent years" has been the dramatic growth in ties between China and Europe Shambaugh, '550". 7s it is indicative that Spain could cataly!e future solid relationships between Europe and China due to its active presence in European Fnion and emerging business partnerships in China, a comparison between successful and unsuccessful Spanish firms in China with the intent to

4 surface individual and organi!ational practices that would offer both practical and theoretical insights to further this stream of research. 7ccording to Econom6a E/terior '550", $<-* mar.ed the milestone for Chinese economy when @eng designed the reform policies and open economy. Since then, it has been in the process of transition from a planned economy to a mar.et economy. Today, China1s economy is more mar.et driven than planned with <+, of industrial prices based on mar.et. 7bout '+ years ago, the production sector was almost $55, state owned. ?resently, this has changed dramatically# a third is state owned, another third through private ownership, and the final third through cooperative ownership or other formulations. 8ence, researchers such as Tsui et al. '550" legitimates Chinese conte/t for management research, providing richness in changing environment for e/ploring potential alternative business models& and :anjul '550" considers that China may be a model of globali!ation that could serve as reference for many developing countries. China1s opening commerce, the attraction of foreign capital and ongoing reformation are the .ey factors of its dynamism G its resulting conte/t positively effecting post-industrial, industrial and emerging countries. Therefore, while globali!ation has been often critici!ed for its threat, it could also provide an opportunity for growth and diversification for both large multinationals enterprises 29Es" and Small and 2edium Enterprises S2Es" i.e. Streeten, '55$& Drosse, '555& ;ambric., '55(& Stonehouse, 8amill, Campbell 4 ?urdie, '555& 9arula, '550& Sani!, '55(". 7s :oreign @irect )nvestment :@)" in China is still increasing although it has been top ran.ed since '55' according to the data from AEC@ and China Commerce 2inistry, in spite of controversial results of investments i.e. Sanmartin, '55+", the particularity of Spanish firms in China and their relatively short history calls more attention of the recent boom of doing business in China and justifies the attraction of the interests and the willingness of such bilateral country collaborations. Therefore, the purpose of this study focuses on this particular interest in the case of Spanish firms1 internationali!ation in China G what is its current state and to e/plore why and

5 how some firms have achieved better performances than others. The paper starts with a brief description of the current state of Spanish firms1 internationali!ation in China as conte/tual information& then the research objective and theoretical perspectives are presented, followed by the research method and preliminary findings& finally the discussion of the preliminary findings are conducted with a conclusion validation and further e/ploration of this research stream as part of the research agenda. Research Conte t: 7s enterprises are the major drivers of economy and economy that for other developments, a glance of Spanish firms in China from these two lenses would situate us better in the current research conte/t. The interests of Spain in China have principally been economic in nature and less developed compared with other aspects e.g., cultural". 7lthough the importance of Spanish presence and its consequences in China during last quarter of century has been well received and ac.nowledged in the Spanish business world, the actual lac. of Spanish presence in this potential mar.et compared to other countries is affecting positive bi-lateral collaboration in terms of practical business development and implementation between these two countries. ;regolat '550" indicates this fact# there are merely some +55 Spaniards e/patriate residents in China, compared with more than +,555 Derman, ;ritish or :rench& some '55 Spanish firms, compared with thousands from other principal countries of Europe. The absence of big Spanish companies in China is another factor that contributes to this unappreciated situation, even though TelefHnica and 7ccciona, two principal Spanish companies bought some share in Chinese enterprises recently. :urthermore, Spanish e/portation to China is only 5.=, of the total e/portation of Spain, and Spanish investment in China is only 5.5+, of the total :@) in China. The landmar. for Spain and China was their diplomatic relations established in $<-(. Since then, the economic and commercial relationship has increased significantly. 7lthough the Tiananmen incident in $<*<

6 provo.ed many countries to impose economic penalty for China, Spain maintained the mi/ed commission of Economic 7ffairs and Credits to China than.s to 2r. :rancisco :ernInde! ArdHJe! the first :oreign 7ffair 2inister in European Economic Community EEC" that visited China after the incident". 2aintaining this relationship caused several Spanish enterprises to start investing in China since $<*5s, among them TKcnicas Leunidas, 73S7 Droup, and EoyCo Droup. )n '555, the ?lan 2arco 7sia ?acific of Spanish government states# The insufficient level of the presence in %sia is unsustaina le nowadays and clearly contrary to the political, econo"ic and social interests of today#s Spain. )n '55+, the governmental Chinese ?lan assigns =<5 million euros to promote Spanish business relationship with China to boost its presence in China. Spain recogni!es China as an important economic region in the world as China has been the principal receptor of 7id :ound for @evelopment :7@" in last years according to ?lan 2arco 7sia ?acific in '55'& China entrance into Corld Trade Argani!ation CTA" in @ecember '55$& and China becoming the biggest 7sian mar.et for Spain, ahead of Eapan. This recent investment boom in China is shown in Table $, which indicates that 0$.'-, of the whole accumulated Spanish investment in China occurred in '55' and '55(. 7s can be seen, Spanish investments in China is still much below the position that Spanish economy holds in the global scale. Table 1: Accumulated data till 2003, in million of USD. *eali+ed In,e+tment -cc!m!lated 11.438,50 8.851,00 6.147,30 5.063,50 2.545,70 445,80 *eali+ed In,e+tment 200202003 1 -cc!m!lated 14,32/ 20,16/ 1.,1./ 25,61/ 1.,38/ 41,27

United Kingdom Germany France Holland Italy Spain

o!rce" #o$com in %conom&a %'terior (2004)

7 Serra '550" e/plains this comparative wea. presence of Spanish firms1 in China due to the following characteristics# $" The actual presence of Spanish firms in China is predominated by S2Es causing them to face the challenges and the difficulties associated with insufficient resources both in term of financial and human resources& '" The principal Spanish firms with high level international presence are in the service sector which China just started opening very recently to foreign investment. 8ence, these big Spanish service companies li.e ;anco ?opular one of the principal Spanish ban.s" settled their representative offices in 8ong >ong and Shanghai only recently& (" compared historically with what other European countries that entered China1s mar.et before $<0<, Spanish presence in most parts of 7sia is still very young opting to invest in other regions in the world, especially in 3atin 7merica, for the geographical and cultural pro/imity. This third characteristic is perhaps the principal e/planation for the lac. of e/perience, communication and networ.ing for Spanish business development in China. Spanish investment in China has gone through a sharp learning curve. :rom a business perspective, the need to integrate Chinese mar.et is viewed as important but difficulties due to distance, lac. of .nowledge of the Chinese mar.et, its operation, its laws, and high cost in the negotiation processes Gall obstacles specially relevant in the case of S2Es generating a crucial gap that should be filled. 7 creative formula would be needed for Spanish firms to adapt to the circumstances, e/plore and facilitate access to business opportunities offered by China. Soler '55(" suggests training of human capital, cultural e/changes and Mcountry image1, financial capital, commercial and investment promotion, e/change of persons in the scientific and tourism fields, diplomats and institutions as possible steps for a future action plan. Employing Serra1s '550" perspective that those who are competing in the real mar.et are firms and not the state, two aspects need to be studied# $" education of e/perts and e/ecutives speciali!ed in Spanish-Chinese business including research, including training, and e/change of personnel, with emphasis on cross-cultural management"& and '" integrated institutional support program :anjul, '55(" G is

8 promotional events, financial assistance and diplomatic supports for commercial and investment opportunities". Research !uestions and propositions: Theories and practice developed by management scholars are primarily derived from observations of formal organi!ations in highly developed western economies, specially in the Fnited States, Canada and Cestern Europe ;oyacigiller 4 7dler, $<<$". Tsui et al. '550# $(0" argue that findings from such a vantage point would not necessarily be transferable to understand management and organi!ations in economies that are less developed or those whose economies are in the process of emerging to global competition or to e/plain and predict firm behavior when the transition from a centrally planned economy to a mar.et economy continuously challenges the political system governing the economy that require frequent policy adjustments to create a changing set of conditions to which firm must adapt. Lesearch on firms in China has been on the upswing in order to develop a better understanding of nationalistic trends outside of the western approaches. The interface and dynamical interactions between firms set in a different nationalistic conte/t e/tends beyond this emergent research trend. This research offers the latter approach in research to loo. at Spanish firms in China. Spanish firms have their own characteristics in the process of internationali!ation, especially in China. :olguera '555" argues that Spanish firms are very different in their internationali!ation process due to its different historical economic development process from other European countries or developed countries. @olan, >noppen, @ie! 4 ;ell '550" in their study of values and culture, also argue that Spanish companies have their particularities in organi!ational culture and management style from other western management. Therefore, Spanish firms need to brea. away from the mimesis of those used by other western countries in a conte/t that has very different economic and managerial characteristics Serra, '550".

. Diven China1s unique social, cultural, historical and political mosaic, Tsui et al. '550" raise the question that one might e/pect different structural or dynamic characteristics of firms when compared to organi!ations in developed western economies rather than applying largely e/isting paradigms to understand firm and individual behavior in the Chinese conte/t. The review of the current state of Spanish firm1s in China, shows evidence that there is high enthusiasm in incorporating China into corporative strategic plan, and many firms are demonstrating their interests in increasing their presence there. 7s Tsui et al. '550" state, China offers a unique conte/t with useful blend of historical, political, cultural, social, and juridical changes which is rare in contemporary societies. )n spite of high mar.et competition in the world, 9ueno '550"

considers that there are still needs of all .ind of products and China continues to increase with demand in all areas with many opportunities. )n competing in China1s mar.et, many times the strength of local competencies haven1t been ta.en into consideration compared with international well .nown firms till now, when emerging Chinese brands li.e 8aier, 3enovo and 8uawei Beng 4 Cilliamson, '55(" appear frequently in international business newspapers. Chile many times articles stress on the low cost of production, some scholars go further to e/cavate more sustainable elements. :or instance, Chen '55'# $$*", after many years of study and following up the case of 3enovo, one of most successful Chinese firms, points out that two main factors for its success in the global mar.et are its strategy and human resources. 7lso, 3evono1s corporate culture and assessment system contribute to its sustainable development. 2eanwhile, Cang 4 >ang '55'" and Tang '550" described the case of 8aier and 8uawei as well based on management of their people. 8aving spent a few years observing some Spanish firms in China, using these two factors as the .ey issues from which we derive our propositions would be a feasible departure point. Therefore, this research e/plores a managerial model focused on strategy and human resources to achieve better firm performance in an emerging economy under this specific Spanish - Chinese conte/t. Two research questions formulate this study# N$" Chy do some China-based Spanish subsidiaries perform better than othersO N'" 8ow do

10 strategy and human resource management intervene in some China-based Spanish subsidiaries to perform betterO Some of the propositions for this research are# ?$" ;etter firm performance is based on better strategic human resource management the interaction of human resources and strategic management". ?'" The relationship between strategic management and human resource management is interactive and bi-directional. ?(" Strategic human resource management needs to be viewed holistically including different sta.eholders :reeman, $<*0& :reeman 4 2c%ea, '55$" instead of narrow angles of view, especially in an emerging international mar.et li.e China. "heoretical Perspecti#es: 7ccording to 7rias '550", the practices of an entry strategy in China requires two basic elements# resources both financial and human resources" and an ample .nowledge with detailed objectives in this mar.et. )n other words, firms have to dedicate sufficient resources, be well informed about the mar.et and tendency, and overcome the myth of China, which is the superficial reality that prevents firms ta.ing adequately advantages of abundant commercial opportunities in China. Suggested by many e/perts, it is necessary to study the determinants of demand, the cost structure, the distribution channel, the competitors1 activities and the legal situation independent of which .ind of product. 8owever, the perple/ing China1s mar.et is far more comple/ than applying traditional internationali!ation models or basic design for mar.et entry model. 7ll the above analysis is necessary but not sufficient for obtaining sustainable competitiveness in such a dynamic and changeable mar.et li.e China. Some professionals and e/ecutives are preoccupied that there seems to be no sustainable Mstrategy1 for this mar.et, what was designed three years ago may be completely obsolete today CA?C7, '550". Scholars li.e Eohanson 4 %ahlne '55(", already state that some case studies of international ventures show that the traditional internationali!ation models and others pertaining to the internationali!ation process of the firm do

11 not capture some important phenomena in the modern international business world. 2eanwhile, other scholars have been studying the new internationali!ation phenomena from different angles such as timing, stages, strategic, learning and networ. approaches. :or e/ample, 2alhotra, Flgado and 7garwal '55(" studied the different entry modes& Chang $<<+" the international e/pansion strategy of Eapanese firms& 3uo and ?eng $<<<" learning in international economy& 3i $<<+" strategic choices in international mar.et& ;ar.ema, ;ell 4 ?ennings $<<=" in foreign entry, cultural barriers and learning& and 3uo1s $<<<" study on time based international e/pansion. 7s this research proposal is about studying time specific for current contemporary issues, stage specific for 29Es with physical installation subsidiary in another country - and mar.et specific for Spanish firms in China, the internationali!ation theory for the study needs to imply many aspects such as strategy, culture, learning and others which may emerge during the data collection process. )n order to depart from some reference point, some additional basic reviewed literature is presented in this part. )n strategic management field, ;arney $<<$" provo.es further debate of Mwhat is strategy1 ?orter, $<<=" in last decade, and Lesources ;ased %iew of the firm L;%" becomes a legitimate research field since then ;arney, '55$". 8owever, although L;% has been agreed as the most essential issue for sustainable competitive advantage for firm, which resources and how resources contribute to firm performance and hereby sustain competitive advantage remains in blac. bo/ for e/ploration. ;ased on Drant1s '55+" classification of the firm1s resources, human resources reveals to be important among other firm1s resources to create organi!ational capability and hereby to contribute to Sustainable Competitive 7dvantages. 9evertheless, despite of all agreement on this importance, the correlation between human resources and firm performance is not certain. Cright, @unford 4 Snell '55$" provide a preliminary framewor., by suggesting core competence, dynamic capabilities and .nowledge as a bridge between the emphasis in the strategy literature on who provides sources of competitive advantage and the focus in the 8L2 literature on the process of

12 attraction, development, motivation and retention of people. )t is true that the strategic importance to a firm1s success with the emphasis on people has contributed to the interaction and convergence of strategy and 8L2 issues, and 8L2 systems have been developed over time to be unique to contribute to the creation of specific human capital s.ills, but most of arguments stay vague due to the lac. of empirical finding& or the emphasis on .nowledge wea.ens the attention on their embedded object# P.nowledge wor.erQ 9ona.a, $<<0". >hanna '550" also argues that multinationals may worry that their intangible assets, the source of their competitive advantage, will wal. out the door with the employees. :rom the above approaches, it has been observed that the Ppeople factorQ albeit its importance throughout the internationali!ation process is missing or poorly treated in the latter. Chile the human factor is recogni!ed by business as an important asset in contributing to firms1 effectiveness, it still remains as the Ppoor .id on the bloc.Q in its parallel theoretical developments applied to the issues of international strategic human resource perspective. ;y and large, numerous scholars conclude that matters of human resources management in its strategic level need to be addressed. Fnder the domain of Strategic human resource management S8L2", theories emerged in $<*5s in responding to the uncertainty in human resource management 8L2". The term of S8L2 intends to bridge 8L2 and strategic management, to justify the contribution of 8L2 to firm performance. )t has amply tested the correlation between human resource management and firm performance, even though the recent articles in the field still show the need of advanced theoretical framewor. Cright, '55(". The main argument is that there is no clear definition generally accepted for S8L2 yet and the definition of S8L2 has varied according to different schools of thoughts @olan, %alle, Eac.son 4 Schuler, '55(". Some have concerned that as an e/tension of 8uman Lesource ?lanning& and others have seen that as the way for companies to have competitive

13 advantages in front of the human resource problems that are not well-defined and have a difficult solution 2irvis, $<*+& Flrich, $<*-& Lothwell, ?rescott 4 Taylor $<<*". :urther more, although it has been widely accepted that there are three perspectives in Strategic 8L research field# universal, contingency and configurational, recogni!ed or not by the author i.e. @elery 4 @oty, $<<=& ;ec.er 4 Derhart, $<<=", the recent review of the S8L2 literature e/hibits a lac. of appreciation of the core underlying issues, especially on the e/ploration of strategic aspects for lin.ing 8L to firm performance. ;ased on the increasing concern for interaction effects and system-level characteristics, Colbert '550" inputs the comple/ity perspective into the previous perspectives as a sequential stage in Strategic 8L2 theori!ation, and suggests e/ploring propositions by selecting comparative companies and collect qualitative data on their respective 8L architectural schemes, along with supporting documentation. )t has also been widely argued that theoretical framewor. differ substantially from FS7 and European perspectives i.e. ;o/all 4 ?urcell, '55(" and whether these theories could be applicable in Chinese conte/t is very questionable Tsui et al, '550". 2ost researchers in the Fnited States adopt an implicitly managerialist approach, focusing on how 8L can benefit shareholders, while researchers in Europe emphasi!e the importance of balancing the interests of multiple sta.eholders such as employees, unions, governments and society. The European view tends to emphasi!e the importance of conte/t& and the FS view, Pbest practiceQ. 9o agreed theoretical framewor. in the research of the domain, very different perspectives in different conte/ts, and the lac. of previous qualitative studies, call for in-depth view of the firm for the conte/t of Spanish firms in China. Three models respectively from FS7, Europe and 7sian conte/t have been identified as reference points for an open ended qualitative research design. The identified model from FS is of ;riscoe 4 Schuler '550# (*" G Strategic )8L2# matching 8L2 to ); strategy, which places S8L2 into the international conte/t and intents to integrate various approaches for the development of international firms. The model displays that around three

14 issues# )nternational strategy, international employee type, and human resource policies and practices. The essential distinction of international business strategy is based on three factors# the degree of internationali!ation and geographic scope& the basic choices by a firm for entry into international business, and the e/tent of global mind-set or global orientation of the firm and its e/ecutives. 7ll these three issues create important perspectives for viewing the development of )8L2, itself, and its strategic ties to the 29Es. 7ccording to the defined structure of the research proposal, it concerns issues in the most advanced stage of international strategy# foreign subsidiary and joint ventures with principal control from Spanish firms more than +$, of shares", which could contain mayor comple/ity to allow a potential insight of the managerial view of firm. The model of ;rewster 4 8egewish $<<0" G 8uman resources management in global business environment, represents more European viewpoint, demonstrating a holistic interest of organi!ation. This model gives a hori!ontal 8L structure for the unit of interviews G different sta.eholders of organi!ation. This two-dimension structure also inserts firms inside of the conte/tual environment such as the sector and global business. :inally, >hatri 4 ;udhwar '55$", based on the review of S8L2 literature, identify five 8L issues through an 7sian conte/t to answer the question of how to manage 8L strategically# organi!ational structure, organi!ational culture, 8L competencies, 8L strategy, and 8L outsourcing. :or them, these five elements are the .ey for S8L2 in 7sian conte/t. 9evertheless, these three models .eep the S8L2 inside of blac. bo/ and maintain the insight dynamics invisible. :or instance, ;riscoe 4 Schuler '550" distinguish the different roles of 8L in different categories and specially the role of the 8L department shifts at the level of the global firm. 8ence, the complicity of 8L2 in the global business is stated but how to correlate with strategy and firm performance is unclear. Therefore, although these three approaches are the underlying theoretical framewor. for the research proposal, they will serve as guidance through the study rather than rigid frame, with an open-ended research design to testify them.

15 The definition of firm performance as dependent variable is ;ased on what is used by ;ird 4 ;eechler $<<+" in assessing F.S.-based Eapanese subsidiaries. Since the angle of analysis is from strategy and human resources, both 8L performance and firm performance are needed to be indicated for the assessment of China-based Spanish subsidiary1s performance. These 8L2-related outcome measures are# $" levels of employee morale, '" level of average employee tenure, (" rates of employee promotion, and 0" rates of employee turnover& These firm performance measures are# +" profits, =" sales growth, -" level of performance on parentprescribed objectives, *" overall performance, and <" relative performance to their competitors. 8enderson in Stern 4 Stal., $<<*# $-<" was convinced that the measurements lin.ed only to the short-term profitability of a business would damage its long-term performance. Therefore, the performance measurement employed must be aligned with the strategy# first, information costs, revenue, cash flow, mar.et share, etc." is collected in a way that allows progress toward strategic goals to be evaluated objectively& second, the timing of performance evaluation must match the time hori!on of the strategy& finally, performance measures need to be evaluated regularly to ensure that are still creating incentives that buttress the strategy. ;ased on that suggestion and in accordance with >aplan 4 9orton1s $<<=" view of strategic financial planning, one more measure is added to measure firm performance# the level of achievement of the target established in the initial strategy planning, which could be in financial term, or commercial term, or others, depending on the original strategic definition of the firm. Research $ethod: The over-comple/ity and rhetoric-based theory of strategic 8L demands a simple empirical-study-based framewor. to catch the actual international phenomenon as suggested by Eohanson 4 %ahlne '55(". This thought drives to the attempt to approach a theoretical framewor. based on qualitative empirical study, intending to define S8L simply for the field research, according to the suggestion of 2ar.us '550" that most principal theories are simple. Cith the establishment of the framewor., the further research can

16 continue to e/plore the Pblac. bo/Q inside of firm and to identify how strategy and human resource interact to sustain competitive advantages and therefore to achieve better firm performance. 7ccording to >hatri 4 ;udhwar '55$", ;o/all $<<=" and ;ec.er 4 Derhart $<<=", using quantitative methods, most of current field studies provide varied results in diverse papers# some confirm the positive correlation between S8L2 and firm performance, while others merely discover any& Lesearchers report a number of limitations with the e/isting S8L2 research, among others, it especially lac.s in-depth qualitative studies. Concluded from previous statements and corresponding the research objective, which pretends to understand and approach insights of S8L issues, and e/plore why and how some China-based Spanish subsidiaries perform better than others, qualitative case study is considered as the most advantageous research strategy compared with others such as e/periments, survey, history and archival analysis Rin, '55(". This is due to that qualitative method is able to provide deeper understanding and full conte/tual information of the phenomena studied, in addition to enabling the foundation for more complete theory development ?urcell, $<<<& 8unt 4 ;o/all, $<<*". Cith regards to what Rin '55(" argues as criteria for improving quality for case research# construct validity, internal validity, e/ternal validity and reliability, a research procedure :igure $" is set up to have rigorous design and analysis. The selection of sample cases are based on their performance with division into sub-samples ;oyat!is, $<<*" to be comparable. ;esides the research design follows three rationales# a study of similar conte/t comprising the comparability in between& multiple sources of evidence& deep semistructured interviews and observations are employed, ;o/all $<<=" noted that most of the studies of S8L have collected data from 8L managers, which limits the information source and ignores other organi!ation members, especially the strategic decision ma.ers. Therefore, the principal interviewees are strategic decision ma.ers, with the sequential one suggested by the principal interviewee. 7t least one of the interviews is with the responsible for ;erg, $<<*& Eisenhardt, $<*<&

17

!i"u#e 1: $e%ea#c& p#o'ect p#ocedu#e:

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Inter,ie8+ (m316)

7iterat!re *e,ie8 election o$ +am2le+ (n312) (8, 4) *e+earc6 2ro2o+al *e+earc6 de+ign Inter,ie8+ (m328) 9ata collection :ilot +t!dy 9ata analy+i+ F!rt6er com2lete +t!dy

!cce++$!l !45+am2le+ (n38)(4,4)

Un+!cce++$!l !45+am2le+ (n34) (2,2)

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Inter,ie8+ (m34) Finding+

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18

1. Chinese management, which could be strategic planner, Deneral 2anager in China, or other correspondent positions. 7s well, at least one more sequential interview per each case site will be followed to e/plore different viewpoints. Ather sources of evidence such as published articles and videotapes as well as secondary documents are used as complementary information, to control bias as managers in position tend to tell half truth in their favor. &ase selection: Sta.e $<<0" argued that we receive our cases rather than we choose them. The cases are prominent interest before formal study begins. 7t the beginning, the phenomena are given& then the cases are opportunities to study the phenomena. Twelve Spanish firms in China are selected for this qualitative case research and four e/perts from public institutions and professional consultancy are invited to provide objective professional data as moderator samples. 7mong these twelve cases, eight are successful subsamples and four unsuccessful sub-samples, with equal division into consumer goods industry and non- consumer goods industry to control industrial bias. The selection of cases for the e/ploration is based on the discussion with four e/perts in the field using the criteria of availability, accessibility Sta.e, $<<+" and comple/ity. )n order to have sufficient comple/ity in site for data analysis and theory e/ploration, criteria of si!e number of employees", stage internationali!ation phase" and antiquity years of installation" are set as filters. These criteria of filtering sample cases allow selecting sub-samples with major comple/ity for e/ploring their e/periential history. The criterion of firm si!e from a previous study done by Ta.euchi, Ca.abyashi 4 Chen '55(" on Eapanese firms in China and Taiwan is adopted for this study# more than (5 employees. The criterion of stage is considered in accordance with the a/ial of international strategy of ;riscoe 4 Schuler s '550#+=" model# foreign subsidiary and joint venture with control by Spanish firm s side more than +$, of shares".7n antiquity of more than five years of installation in China is set considering the balance between the short history of Spanish firms in

20 China and the need of enough historical data to e/plore. 7s a consequence, the selected cases will representing (=, of the eligible population, considering merely one si/th of Spanish firms in China is qualified for the selection. 'ata collection and %nalysis procedure: 3in.ing data with propositions and the criteria for interpreting collected data is especially problematic among five principal components for case research proposed by Rin '55(". The data are collected based on what Sta.es $<<0#'0'" view of spending substantial time, on site, personally in contact with activities and operations of the case, reflecting, revising meanings of what is going on. Semi-structured questions are used during data collection process combining qualitative techniques such as :ontana 4 :rey $<<0" with interviewing, 7lder 4 7lder $<<0" with observational techniques, 8odder $<<0" with the interpretation of documents and material culture, 8arper $<<0" with visual methods, and Clandinin 4 Connelly $<<0" with personal e/perience methods. The pilot study is performed first with a group of sub-samples, which contain two successful sub-samples, one unsuccessful sub-sample and one moderator sample. To set criteria for interpreting the finding, the @ata-driven code development of Thematic 7nalysis ;oyat!is, $<<*" for its advantageous analysis in bridging qualitative data and systematic analysis procedure, is introduced to provide a solid foundation for this analysis. Consequently, this advantage of Thematic 7nalysis to translate between the worlds of qualitative and quantitative research helps to overcome the difficulty in setting criteria for interpreting the findings in case study. The transcribed qualitative data in different sub-samples go through themes and code development process which is described by ;oyat!is $<<*"# reducing the raw information& identifying themes within sub-samples& comparing themes across sub-samples& creating a code& determining the reliability of the code. The relevant raw information is selected and mar.ed firstly with unit of coding of sentence, which reduces the raw information a

21 shortened outline form and easier for comparison across units of analysis. To sense and articulate potential themes present in a subset of Spanish firms in China, different themes are identified in accordance with collected qualitative data in sub-samples, with concern for recording any glimmer of themes or patterns among the subset. 7t the point the researcher feels e/hausted the potential themes within each subset of Spanish firms in China, they e/amines the lists of themes and loo.s for relationships between themes, then writes and rewrites these potential differentiating themes. )n this step, reading and rereading the original qualitative data is critical to accuracy and honesty in the process of developing an inductive code. The created code identifies themes in the same concept and labels that group to differentiate a code from another. The conceptuali!ation of the code label" is not generated until all themes in group are gathered clustering themes". To test the reliability of the code, qualitative data are distributed to forty 2aster students in )nternational 2anagement who received thematic analysis training previously. The code development process is repeated among them in eight teams. Preliminary findings: 7s a result from the first subset two successful sub-samples, one unsuccessful sub-sample and one moderator sample" a total (0 themes emerges based on manifest and latent level coding, which are categori!ed $' codes and three clusters. The themes and codes proposed are discussed and challenged by eight groups of )nternational 2anagement 2aster Students who have received training on thematic analysis method. Cith an interrater reliability of *+, the agreement on the themes or codes", the result is considered reliable as it is more than -+, ;oyat!is, $<<*". 7s a result of this challenging, three themes are added and one definition of theme is modified. The preliminary findings based on thematic analysis on the collected qualitative data from Spanish firms in China, highlight the confirmation of the three propositions. :irst, it is confirmed that current Spanish firms in China are principally small and medium si!e enterprises, therefore, to achieve better firm

22 performance need optimi!ation of internal resources, to ta.e advantage of e/ternal opportunities. 7nd in this sense, the internal resources, especially the human resources contribute dynamically to the design and implement of firm s strategy. Those who have been .eeping this dynamism between strategy and human resources and S or their .nowledge, achieve better firm performance. ;ased on the confirmation of the first proposition, it can be observed that the second proposition is confirmed as well, since the dynamism between strategy and human resources must be interactive and bi-directional to .eep this reciprocal relationship. 7s it is showed in the Table (, one of the principal visions or philosophies for better performance in China for Spanish firms is possessing holistic vision for strategic human resources, with consideration and concern on different sta.eholders as an integrative part of management, such as public administration, suppliers, clients and of course, managers and employees. The Table ' and ( e/hibit the summary of discovered themes, codes and clusters, and their respective e/amples.

Table 2: (lu%te#% and (ode% Summa#) ;7U <%* >i+ion, +trategy ? o4@ecti,e ;=9% >i+ion1:6ilo+o26y trategy de+ign =4@ecti,e ? Im2lementation tr!ct!re 7eader+6i2 H!man re+o!rce+ 2olicie+ Kno8ledge ? 7earning #arAet im2lication ;ro++ c!lt!ral management H!man re+o!rce+ 2ractice+

trategic 6!man re+o!rce+

International 4!+ine++ 2ractice+

"able %: Clusters, Codes and "hemes & amples

'ision, Strategy ( )b*ecti#e: The ability to formulate and implement strategy for sustainable competitive advantages. 'ision + Philosophy: E/amples#

23

$. 8olistic vision G consideration of different sta.eholders

'. 3eadership vision (. Levolutionary vision

P)f we want to triumph, we need to dedicate time and wor. with patience and professionalismTwe visit clients, receive delegations to .now our production plants, to .now our country, and to .now also projects that we have participated& Twe compare with our competitors& Tour professionals are proud of contributing and participating in big industrial projects& T more than one hundred of Spanish suppliers have entered Chinese mar.et through our hands, while collaborating in our office with the engineers of our clients continuous to be very importantTQ PThe restriction of the foreign investment in the sector has made that Tfew foreign companies have been in charge of leading the change in the sector.Q PT)t is a revolution in the sectorT.there was no concept of service, less the security, and this situation was repeating in all countryT.9ow there are well-established" reds for sales, good connectionsTeven more, some clients ma.e reservation on )nternetTthe quality of service, the attention to clients, the management of traffic, the security and many other aspects have appeared and evolved till situating at levels quite appro/imate to these of developed countries.Q E/amples# P)n the first place, it must be noted that in China it is indispensable to wor. with a mentality of medium and long term T The time of maturation, negotiation and project development is longTQ PT it is indispensable T to demonstrate commitment with this mar.etT.7t present, China demands more implication in the mar.et.Q PTwe are small and have to prioriti!e our resources in our decision ma.ingTQ E/amples# PThe objective was and continues to establish a networ. and communicate between principal cities with a high level of service similar with what we offer in European countries where we operate...under the initial circumstance, we limited ourselves in TQ P)n the past, with our same competency T:7@ allowed us obtain valuable references y now we could develop project with more than '55 millions Euros with commercial or own financing.Q P)n first day we arrived in China, we noticed that what we planned was totally out of Chinese reality and we have been fle/ible to adapt that and resigned our plan.Q

Strategy design: $. 3ong term orientation

'. 2ar.et commitment (. Aptimi!ation of resources

)b*ecti#e and implementation: $. @efining clear objectives in short, medium and long term

'. Dood entry reference

(. :le/ibility an 7daptability

Strategic human resources: The ability to contribute human resources to sustain firm1s strategic competitive advantages. Structure: E/amples#

24
$. )nfrastructure to facilitate wor.ing process hard G structure" '. Dood management controlling system soft G structure" PTAn the other hand, the construction of infrastructure Thas helped our activities, improving the service quality and the productivity of our company.Q PThese companies, together with new privati!ed ones in the sector, saw themselves forced to improve their controlling system, to reduce their obsolete structures and to change their ways of management and service to clients in order to loo. for results which allow them to survive in the new competitive environment.Q E/amples# PThe most important of all, we thin. that we have .nown to accept these new challenges and adapt ourselves with success to these changes.Q PThe huge changes that China is living obligate us to double our efforts and to be more imaginative, fle/ible and creative at the moment of wor.ing with such competitive mar.et.Q PTo understand this changes is necessary to note that, at least the general starting situation. 7t their starting point, without much technical instruments, young Chinese technological companies were few and of low level& )n term of foreign companies, few were situated and, in general, their products was not adapted to the reality of the country.Q P7t the beginning of our activity in China, we had to establish ourselves in another category of business due to the legal obstacles, since at that moment the foreign investment was not allowed in that sector.Q PAn the other hand, we must be conscious with that it is very competitive and demanding mar.et...and we prepare with our best.Q PTThat success" doesn1t mean there haven1t been problems, but we have resolved them with positive spirit from both partsTQ PCe didn1t establish our first companies in the business till $<<5, when ta.ing advantage of the change of the legislation of foreign investment in the sector.Q P)n term of myth of distance or cultural barriers, we consider that are more psychological than real. China is closer to Spain than some 3atin 7merican countries in term of flying hours. 3astly, the language and cultural difficulties are not more than what could be found in other companies in 7rabic world or even in some European countriesTQ PTAur e/perience is that the things are not so simples G easy business doesn1t e/ist G neither the difficulties are so big or insuperable...Q P7lways it needs to have at present that all in China is difficult, meanwhile, remember that all is possible in China.Q PThe development of projects in various areas of Chinese geography, from the northeast frontier to the

,eadership: $. ?ersonality# $.$. 7daptive $.'. )nnovative

$.(. Comprehensive

$.0. ?ragmatic

$.+. Self-awareness $.=. ?ositive '. 7bility# '.$. 7bility of identifying opportunities

'.'. 7bility of brea.ing away barriers

'.(. 7bility of embracing good judgment (. 7vailability S ?rofessionalism (.$. 7vailability in mentality (.'. 7vailability in mobility

25
costal of TanninTQ PCe had to put more efforts than our competitors G principally Eapanese or European companies TQ E/amples# P2oreover, the clients1 .nowledge of international mar.et and of our competency, together with the increasing productivity, demand Spanish companies to face Chinese mar.et with the best possible preparation, in terms of technique and commercial, and to designate their best human resources to this mar.et.Q PThe presence of the international competency G whichever Spanish businessman travels first time to China will find there with their principal international competitors Twe should be very competitive and face the mar.etTQ PCe have been wor.ing hard in developing a local e/ecutive team to guarantee the stability of the business in long term# our principal managers are ChineseTQ E/amples# P7t the beginning, after some trips, short after arriving, we thought that we .new much and then we had learned all or almost all about the country, but there always has been some that turns us bac. to the realityTThe process of .nowing mutually is much longer than we e/pected and wanted.Q PTThe low level of .nowledge of the most employees and e/ecutives of the companies has provo.ed that, in many occasion, the application of new technology would bring more damage rather than benefits...Q P2ar.et changes too quic. in China as well the product life circle is shorterQ

(.(. 7vailability in efforts-8ard wor.ing

-uman Resources Policies: $. E/cellence in human resources

'. )nternational competitiveness of employees

(. 3ocali!ation of managers and employees

Knowledge ( ,earning: $. Continuous learning

'. Continuous .nowledge updating in multilevel

International .usiness Practices: The practices in dealing international business implying strategic human resources process. $ar/et implication: )mage building in new mar.et E/amples# PTdifferent from them Eapanese or European companies", we could not count with a fully developed country image, and technologically or industrially advanced in China...hence, we need to build up by our own.Q E/amples# PEach time we started to visit China and to receive delegations in Spain with more frequency. )t is not only for them to get to .now our company, but also to show them our country, our factories of equipments and the industrial installationTQ PT in spite of differences, we have many things in common and even more important, we could do things togetherTThis country has been facing problems and situations that, in many aspects, were

Cross Cultural $anagement: $. 2utual understandings

'. 3oo.ing for similarity common objectives and elements" to wor. in team

26
similar with what we lived in Spain in =5s1and in -5s1.Q (. 2utual recognition and respect PCe learn that negotiating in China is a hard tas.. 8owever, once we sha.e hands and reach an agreement, we encounter with honest clients and partnersTthan.s to that, all and each project that we carry out in China has culminated with success, and recogni!ed by our clients, and they conceded the most important award to usTQ 0. Time dedication to build up trust PThere is a Chinese saying# :irst friends, then business. Ce apply that and have dedicated lots of time and efforts to improve the relationship with Chinese partners and the administration, to achieve an atmosphere of trustTto generate a fundamental base for a better business development. This atmosphere needs to be maintained with serious, honorable and continuous wor. during the long business cooperation.Q +. ;eing positive, patient and perseverant P@ue to the different conception of time, it is necessary to have doses of patience and perseverance to navigate in the comple/ Chinese bureaucracy, Teven if it is getting better, there is still a long way to go through for the situation to be optimistic.Q -uman resources practices: $. Continuous training of personnel '. 2otivation E/amples# PThe development of technology, the evolution of mentality and the training of local personnel, have been determinant factors for the change.Q P9ot always the economic condition is the nest motivator, we listen Chinese managers1 opinion and let them e/press their ideasTthey feel the company as their own.Q PThe rotation of e/ecutives is very high in China in general. To have long term commitment, we developed series of human resources practices to retain them, such as company mortgage for housing, and other family benefitsTQ

(. :idelity and retention

Conclusion and Discussion: :igure ' presents the theoretical model for a dynamic strategic human resources management in international business. This framewor. is developed from the preliminary findings of Spanish firms in China using thematic analysis procedure. )t is divided into three main bloc.s for a firm to manage their business in international mar.et, especially applicable in

Fig!re 2" trategic 6!man re+o!rce+ a+ a dynamic 2roce++ in,ol,ing in International C!+ine++

*i%ion, %t#ate") + ob'ecti,e -&ilo%op&): Holi+tic ,i+ion 7eader+6i2 ,i+ion *e,ol!tionary ,i+ion De%i"n: 7ong term orientation #arAet commitment =2timiBation o$ re+o!rce+ .mplementation: ;lear de$inition o$ o4@ecti,e+ Good entry re$erence Fle'i4ility and ada2ta4ility

7eader+6i2

.nte#national /u%ine%% -#actice% 0a#1et implication: Image 4!ilding in ne8 marAet (#o%% (ultu#al 0ana"ement: #!t!al !nder+tanding imilarity to 8orA in team #!t!al recognition and re+2ect <ime dedication $or tr!+t 4!ilding Ceing 2atient, and 2er+e,erant 2$ p#actice%: ;ontin!o!+ training #oti,ation Fidelity and retention

H* :olicie+

tr!ct!re

trategic H*

7earning

Structure: Work facilitating infrastructure Good management controlling system Human Resources Policies: &'cellence in human resources (nternational competitiveness of employees )ocali*ation of managers and employees

Leadership: Personality: adaptive, innovative, comprehensive, pragmatic, selfa areness, positive !"ility: to identify opportunity, to "reak a ay "arriers, to em"race good #udgment !vaila"ility$professionalism: %entality, mo"ility, hard- orking Learning: +ontinuous learning continuous kno ledge updating

2. emerging economy# %ision, strategy and objective& Strategic human resources including elements of structure, leadership, 8L policies and learning& and )nternational business practices. This division of bloc.s builds up )S8L architect into three abstract levels# firm level general architecture, factors pertaining to S8L, and factors pertaining to international management. )n a sum, this model e/presses that the definition of vision, strategy and objective of a firm influences the strategic human resources in a dynamic process to be applied in international business practices. )n terms of the vision, strategy and objective, %ision or ?hilosophyD of a firm determines the strategy design formulation" and hence the objectives and implementation. )n this conte/t of Spanish firms in China, a holistic vision, a leadership vision and a revolutionary vision are underlined, confirming that Chinese mar.et is in transition therefore it is necessary to visuali!e the business from different perspectives and deal with different sta.eholders instead of solely concern on mar.et and internal labor factors. 2any business opportunities emerge in a transitional mar.et, therefore, even for a small and medium si!e enterprise, it could aspire for being leader in a mar.et niche, which is especially critical as local competitors tend to have advantages in cost and quic. imitation with follow-up strategy while an out- comer needs a differentiation strategy and aspires to be leader in the mar.et. @ue to the fact of the constant changing environment in this emerging mar.et such as China, sectors and industries are undergoing structuring or restructuring, there are many revolutionary challenges that western firms including Spanish ones will have to cope with highlighting the need to e/press their vision to include the ability to detect these opportunities. Consequently, the strategy formulation in this .ind of changing mar.et needs to have long-term orientation and commit to the mar.et for future profits. 7s most Spanish firms as well as other entrepreneurs in a foreign conte/t often have scarce resources, an optimi!ation of the usage of resources could ma/imi!e output and sustain long-term strategy. @eriving from long-term strategy, the correspondent

30 objectives need to be clear in different time phases# short term objectives, medium term objectives and long-term objectives. Especially for short-term objectives, the strategy implementation sought after for adequate entry reference would be a great start point. 8owever, since the China mar.et is in transition and therefore fluid, the initial strategy formulation and implementation needs to be fle/ible and adaptable to the local mar.et s constant changes. The four elements of strategic human resources structure, leadership, 8L policies and learning" interact and influence each other mutually. Structure refers to both hard infrastructure and soft management controlling systems as platforms to provide adequate wor.ing environment and facilitate wor. in progress. Aften the first transplanted firm would follow the organi!ational structure of parent company in Spain. This structure determines the selection of the required leader, whose personality, ability and availability influence the sub process of 8L policies that creates or designs the learning environment in its subsidiary, which in turn provo.es changes in the structure of the subsidiary , the cycle continuing until an interruption occurs. )n the selection of leader for Chinese subsidiary, Spanish successful firms have place emphasis on their personality to be adaptive, innovative, comprehensive, pragmatic, self-awareness and positive. )n term of their ability to operate in such a unstable mar.et condition, their special capacities in identifying business opportunities, to brea. away barriers and to embrace good judgment are highlighted. 7 leaders mental construct influences the decision on human resources policies, combining with parent company s policies depending on the level of independence of the subsidiary from the mother company s decision", pointing out three .ey factors for China-based Spanish subsidiaries# e/cellence in human resources, international competitive employees and locali!ing e/ecutives and employees. These three factors correspond to some misconceptions of Spanish firms of China, and their traditional international models, as well as the difficulty and high cost in e/patriating and repatriating Spaniards. @ue to the long tradition in doing business in 3atin 7merican countries, most Spanish firms have not been well prepared for a so distant

31 especially in psychological aspects", so competitive, so large scale, and a difficult-to-understand mar.et li.e China. 7s a consequence, the e/cellence and competitiveness for international e/ecutives need to be redefined for Spanish enterprises. 7 good wor. team well formed in facilitated wor.ing condition, learning environment is positive to update continuously the .nowledge of employees, e/ecutives and hereby of organi!ation. 7s the e/ternal environment is changing constantly, the learning process needs to be continuous as well to sustain firms competitiveness. Ce also highlight some special features for international business practices. @epending on the competency and ability of the firm as a whole, different levels of mar.et implications, cross cultural management and 8L practices are required. )n the case of Spanish firms in China, how to build a consistent image in this new mar.et is a critical area that they need to learn as the Dermans and :rench companies have. The aspect of cross-cultural management holds special weight in internationali!ation, since the psychological barriers are still impeding many Spanish firms operations. )n the analysis, successful Spanish sub-samples emphasi!e on mutual understanding, loo.ing for similarity to wor. together as a team, mutual recognition and respect, time dedication to build trust, and being patient and perseverant as the perception of time are very different as in the case of other cultural variables as well. )n terms of human resources practices in this international management arena, three factors have been considered critical in the case of China-based Spanish subsidiaries# continuous personnel training, motivation and retention. 8igh rate of rotation in Chinese e/ecutives and employees have constantly interrupted some unsuccessful China-based Spanish subsidiary ma.ing it impossible to implement strategy with consistency with a positive strategic human resource cycling method to formulate better firm strategy. 2otivation is one of the .eys to retain e/ecutives besides the economic condition. Some successful Spanish firms points out that it is important for Chinese e/ecutives to participate in the decision ma.ing process, therefore they require respect in their roles and

32 capabilities of the company despite the origin of the parent company. Continuous training as well has been an effective methodology to promote better understanding and foster better ties in interpersonal relationships. )nteraction within and among these three bloc.s is dynamic as many underlying elements are common and many themes interacting cause and effect" upon each other. The inherent dynamic property of strategic human resource model in international management highlights the interactive and bidirectional relational nature of a firm s strategy formulation and implementation" with their human resources. The cause-effect relations among these elements are ambiguous and bi-directional. The model constructed from the preliminary findings of the qualitative data from Spanish firms in China, the theoretical model needs to be further developed through replication studies of other Spanish firms in China and perhaps even other companies situated in other chaotic and changing conte/ts as part of this research agenda. ;ased on the two-fold objective of this paper, we conclude that understanding how some China-based Spanish subsidiaries achieve better firm performance through strategy and human resources interaction and e/ploring theoretical models that demonstrate the principal elements of S8L in international management in a turbulent emerging mar.et are critical aspects that impact the dynamic strategic human resource management model in international management.

33 .I.I)0RAP-1

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35
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?feffer, E. $<<-". ?itfalls on the road to measurement# The dangerous liaison of human resources with the ideas of accounting and finance. (u"an 0esource -anage"ent, (= ("# pp. (+-. ?orter, 2. E. $<<=". Chat is StrategyO (arvard /usiness 0eview. -0 ="# =$--*. ?urcell, E. $<<<". ;est practice and best fit# chimera or cul-de-sacO (u"an 0esource -anage"ent +ournal, < ("# '=-0$. Lothwell, C. E., L. >. ?rescott, and 2. C. Taylor, $<<*". The strategic hu"an resource leader: (ow to prepare your organi<ation for the si> !ey trends shaping the future, ?alo 7lto, C7# @avies-;lac. ?ublications. Sanmartin, 9. '55+". )nvertir en China con los pies en la tierra. &inco 'ias# 5=$<'55++(-<+=. 2adrid. Sani!, E. ?. '55(" Dlobali!ation, upgrading, and small enterprises# a view from Central 7merica. &o"petition * &hange, - 0"# pp. '5+-'''. Serra, E. '550". ?resencia econHmica y comercial de EspaJa en China. )n Econom6a E/terior Eds". &hina: pp. +'-=5. 2adrid# Estudios de ?ol6ticas E/teriores, S.7. Shambaugh, @. '550". China and Europe# the emerging a/is. &urrent (istory: $5( ==<-=--"# pp. '0('0<. Soler, 2. E. '55'". 2>periencias de inversi8n espa@ola en %sia. ;arcelona# EdiciHn :undaciHn C)@A;. Soler, 2. E. '55(". 2l despertar de la nueva &hina: I"plicaciones del ingreso de &hina en la ;rgani<aci8n -undial del &o"ercio. ;arcelona# 3os 3ibros de la Catarata. Sta.e, L. E. $<<0". Case studies. )n 9. @en!in 4 R. 3incoln Eds.". (and oo! of )ualitative research: pp. '(=-'0-. Thousand Aa.s C7"# S7DE ?ublications )nc. Sta.e, L. E. $<<+". The %rt of &ase Study 0esearch. Thousand Aa.s, C7& 3ondon & 9ew @elhi# Sage ?ublications. Stern, C. C., and D. Stal. Er., Eds.". $<<*". ,erspectives on strategy: fro" The /oston &onsulting Aroup. 9ew Ror.# Eohn Ciley 4 Sons, )nc. Stonehouse, D., E. 8amill, @. Campbell, and ?urdie. '555". Alo al and transactional Strategy and "anage"ent. 9ew Ror.# Eohn Ciley 4 Sons. Streeten, ?. ?. '55$". Alo alisation: Threat or ;pportunity? Copenhagen# Copenhagen ;usiness School ?ress. Sun, C. $ <<0". Sun Zi /ing 4a. Ed". Cu8an# Cu8an ?ublisher. Tang, S. '550". 3al!ing out of (ua3ei. ;eijing# China Social Science ?ublisher. ?feffer, E. $<<-". ?itfalls on the road to measurement# The dangerous liaison of human resources with the ideas of accounting and finance. (u"an 0esource -anage"ent, (= ("# pp. (+-. usiness:

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?orter, 2. E. $<<=". Chat is StrategyO (arvard /usiness 0eview. -0 ="# =$--*. ?urcell, E. $<<<". ;est practice and best fit# chimera or cul-de-sacO (u"an 0esource -anage"ent +ournal, < ("# '=-0$. Lothwell, C. E., L. >. ?rescott, and 2. C. Taylor, $<<*". The strategic hu"an resource leader: (ow to prepare your organi<ation for the si> !ey trends shaping the future, ?alo 7lto, C7# @avies-;lac. ?ublications. Sanmartin, 9. '55+". )nvertir en China con los pies en la tierra. &inco 'ias# 5=$<'55++(-<+=. 2adrid. Sani!, E. ?. '55(" Dlobali!ation, upgrading, and small enterprises# a view from Central 7merica. &o"petition * &hange, - 0"# pp. '5+-'''. Serra, E. '550". ?resencia econHmica y comercial de EspaJa en China. )n Econom6a E/terior Eds". &hina: pp. +'-=5. 2adrid# Estudios de ?ol6ticas E/teriores, S.7. Shambaugh, @. '550". China and Europe# the emerging a/is. &urrent (istory: $5( ==<-=--"# pp. '0('0<. Soler, 2. E. '55'". 2>periencias de inversi8n espa@ola en %sia. ;arcelona# EdiciHn :undaciHn C)@A;. Soler, 2. E. '55(". 2l despertar de la nueva &hina: I"plicaciones del ingreso de &hina en la ;rgani<aci8n -undial del &o"ercio. ;arcelona# 3os 3ibros de la Catarata. Sta.e, L. E. $<<0". Case studies. )n 9. @en!in 4 R. 3incoln Eds.". (and oo! of )ualitative research: pp. '(=-'0-. Thousand Aa.s C7"# S7DE ?ublications )nc. Sta.e, L. E. $<<+". The %rt of &ase Study 0esearch. Thousand Aa.s, C7& 3ondon & 9ew @elhi# Sage ?ublications. Stern, C. C., and D. Stal. Er., Eds.". $<<*". ,erspectives on strategy: fro" The /oston &onsulting Aroup. 9ew Ror.# Eohn Ciley 4 Sons, )nc. Stonehouse, D., E. 8amill, @. Campbell, and ?urdie. '555". Alo al and transactional Strategy and "anage"ent. 9ew Ror.# Eohn Ciley 4 Sons. Streeten, ?. ?. '55$". Alo alisation: Threat or ;pportunity? Copenhagen# Copenhagen ;usiness School ?ress. usiness: