Managing human resources in Vietnam : an empirical study of an economy in transition | |
| Author | Le Chien Thang |
| Call Number | AIT Diss. no.SM-04-07 |
| Subject(s) | Personnel management--Vietnam Personnel management--Vietnam |
| Note | A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. School of Management |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | A growing interest in, coupled with a greater understanding of, the management of human resources in some other pa11s of the Asia Pacific makes it appealing to shift the focus to Vietnam, a less charted countiy with an economy in dynamic ti·ansition in the region. To this end, this study seeks to provide an additional insight into the on-going but little-known evolution in the managing of human resources in the making of Vietnam. By making crossownership-fo1m comparison, the study investigates the impact of the company's ownership form and the management's perception of human resource values on the adoption of operational human resource management (HRM) practices to explore the impetus for initiating change in this aspect. Further, the study subscribes to the systemic view of HRM practices to go into identifying the dimensions of effective HRM practices in use in Vietnam and subsequently to contemplate the relationship between these dimensions and fom performance, as well as the interactive influence of the two contingent factors - business sti·ategies and equitization/privatization. To address these issues, prima1y data were gathered from a survey of companies with at least 100 employees in Ho Chi Minh City in 2003. This geographical choice represents the best to look for the most advanced level of HRM development in the countiy for the time being, as the city is the locus of the most dynamic and competitive business activities in the countiy. Out of 1,486 companies receiving questionnaires, a sample of 169 companies replied, making a yield rate of 11.4 per cent. The sample is composed of around 38 per cent state-owned enterprises, 25 per cent foreign-invested companies, 20 per cent equitized companies, and 17 per cent LPCs. Various multivariate data analysis procedures were applied including logistical regression, factor analysis, cluster analysis, and hierarchical regression to validate the survey sample and address the study's objectives. The survey findings reveal that the adoption of HRM activities reflects the company's ownership ti·aits. HRM practices are not convergent at the same level of adoption across the four types of surveyed companies. Overall, foreign-invested companies are rather more developed in operational HRM practices than state-owned enterprises. Conversely, LPCs, albeit more enti·epreneurial, are often less receptive in adopting the HRM practices than stateowned enterprises. It also disclosed that ti·ansforming state-owned enterprises into equitized companies has brought no significant changes in this regard. Further, consistent with previous studies, a reasonable association is established between the management's perceived values of human resources and the company's utilization of operational HRM practices. Regarding the effective HRM practices, the study de1ived five dimensions of HRM practices in Vietnam. They encompass information exchange, performance management, ti·aining and development, group orientation, and retention management. Although these dimensions retain a ce11ain degree of similarity with others found in previous studies elsewhere, this collection of dimensions offers typical features of a Vietnamese version of HRM practices. Subsequent statistical analyses show that some of these five dimensions are significantly associated with organizational effectiveness. In addition, it is revealed that business strategy plays a ce11ain moderating role on the relationship of training/development and performance management with productivity while this does not hold for equitization. Finally, implications of the findings are provided in the hope that they may contribute meaningfully to the capacity building effot1 in Vietnam through the effective management of human capital to help the country in its drive to accelerate the on-going development process. |
| Year | 2004 |
| Type | Dissertation |
| School | School of Management |
| Department | Other Field of Studies (No Department) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Master of Business Administration (MBA) (Publication code=SM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Truong, Quang |
| Examination Committee(s) | Sununta Siengthai;Ogunlana, Stephen O. ; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Asian Institute of Technology Fellowship; |
| Degree | Thesis (Ph.D.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2004 |