ABSTRACT

The diversity in the institutional histories and political trajectories of Asian states make it a daunting exercise to theorize the relationship between the state and HRM in Asia. Our objective in this chapter is to review the existing models of the state in Asia critically, to elaborate the existing typologies based on an appreciation for exposure to global forces, and to apply the resulting understanding of state influence to societal outcomes of HRM. Extant classifications of the state have theorized the state with respect to interest organization in society and have neglected the state’s embeddedness in a global environment. Our review embraces recent calls for theorizing the state and the employment relationship in the midst of global financial, organizational, and economic pressures (Crouch, 2011; Lakhani, Kuruvilla, & Avgar, 2013). This chapter is organized in two sections. In the first section, a theoretical framework is developed in which models of the state in Asia are reviewed in conjunction with pressures on the nation state from an increasingly integrated world economy. We conceptualize the latter in terms of influences from supranational institutions, as well as pressures from global value chains and global financial interests acting as constrains on state autonomy. State influence on HRM is then theorized as resulting from an interaction between models of the nation state and global pressures. With respect to outcomes of state influence, our framework examines societal outcomes such as inequality and voice in addition to the extent to which HRM styles provide flexibility in the employment relationship. The theoretical framework thus advanced is summarized in Figure 2.1. In the second section of the chapter, the theoretical framework developed in the first section is applied to Asian countries through a review of empirical works and relevant indexes for selected countries.