Author's profile

Chris Rowley
Professor of HRM, Cass Business School, City University, London, UK and Director of Centre for Research in Asian Management and Research and Publications, HEAD Foundation, Singapore

Background

Professor of Human Resource Management; Subject Leader HRM and OB Group; Director of Centre for Research in Asian Management, Faculty of Management.

Dr Rowley is a well known figure in the Human Resource Management area. He is the Editor of the journal 'Asia Pacific Business Review' and is an Editorial Board member for leading internatrional journals. He holds several Visiting Professorships and Distinguished Scholar positions at leading Asian universities. He has also acted as technical advisor (research and publications) to the HEAD Foundation, Singapore. He acts as an evaluator for several funding bodies. He is a respected author and has published over 370 articles, books, book chapters and other contributions and knowledge transfer outputs.

Author articles

  • Reverse Knowledge Transfer from Subsidiaries to Multinational Companies: Examples From South Korea
    Human Resource Management
    Any Industry

    The debate around primary determinants influencing Reverse Knowledge Transfer has yet to attain academic consensus. This paper draws an overall picture of Reverse Knowledge Transfer from subsidiaries to parent firms, particularly in the context of an energetic emerging market, by incorporating all the different facets of the phenomenon. The research is based on a sample of subsidiary companies located in South Korea.

    13/03/2013 | 1,520
  • Corporate Social Responsibility and New Job Seekers in the Greater China Region: Factors in...
    Human Resource Management
    Any Industry

    Despite the post-2008 financial crisis economic fallout, demand for skilled employees outstrips supply in various locations. What might assist organisations in tight labour markets better understand how prospective employees choose the jobs they apply for? Signaling theory explains how job seekers are attracted based on the information and signals they receive (directly and indirectly) about organisations. There is evidence that Corporate Social Responsibility is one of the signals that can motivate and retain workforces. Our study examines the extent to which job choices are influenced by CSR issues (a company's legal, ethical, philanthropic responsibilities) as compared to traditional job characteristics (salary, prospects, location, company type). Our focus is on the Greater China Region.

    22/02/2013 | 1,631
  • Factors that influence the success of women in careers.
    Human Resource Management
    Any Industry

    We investigate the careers of women, in terms of the influence from individual and organisational factors on objective (management level, salary) and subjective (satisfaction) success. Using a survey and interviews of executives in South Korea, we find influences from both sets of factors, but in particular from male-dominated organisational cultures.

    21/01/2013 | 850
  • To what extent is the varieties of capitalism framework transferable? The example of the political...
    Human Resource Management
    Any Industry

    There are common calls for economies to 'upgrade' and 'upskill' and move up the value chain. On this basis, the research here highlights the importance of integration and the inter-locking nature of business systems. It then examines the 'varieties of capitalism' (VOC) in respect of its wider applicability, particularly to Asia, using Thailand as an example. Finally, the influence of national cultural values is highlighted, as they prove a crucial element in any VOC analysis.

    17/12/2012 | 2,244
  • Line management and Rewards in China’s knowledge intensive industries
    Human Resource Management
    Any Industry

    Managers play a significant role in the adoption, modification, and even discontinuation of pay for performance. However, there has been no existing literature on the contributions of line managers to pay for performance practices in the Chinese context. This paper explores line managers' perception of pay for performance and the key supports and barriers to their involvement in pay for performance design and implementation. A multi-case study approach was conducted in 12 non-public sector knowledge intensive firms, aligned with semi-structured interviews with HR and line managers. The findings show that project intensification could be an important factor that impacted on line managers' understanding and responsibility in pay for performance.

    17/12/2012 | 2,438 | 3
  • Early Warning Systems – Building Human Capital Risk Assessment Capabilities in Financial Regulators
    Human Resource Management
    Any Industry

    Following the devastating Boxing Day Tsunami of 2004, steps were taken to coordinate an Indian Ocean tsunami early warning system. These early warning systems have been triggered several times since their implementation, and consequently damage has been minimised and averted. This paper identifies the need for equally robust early warning systems for financial markets.

    06/12/2012 | 921
  • Causes and Consequence of Types of Anti-Trade Unionism: The Example of South Korea
    Human Resource Management
    Any Industry

    This article details the history of trade unions in Korea from their incipient appearances in the 19th century, their underground development in opposition to Japanese colonisation in the early part of the 20th century, their activities post-Korean war, their current status and the development of anti-unionism over time.

    This research follows on from our earlier preliminary piece ('Waxing and waning of waves of anti-unionism in South Korea') on Cass Knowledge

    21/11/2012 | 1,297
  • How can Public Services be improved from a HR perspective? When Meaning matters most.
    Human Resource Management
    Any Industry


    Every organisation succeeds by delivering value to its key stakeholders. For public agencies, value occurs when citizens receive meaningful services, when policy makers wisely allocate scarce resources to societal demands, when communities have sustainability, and when society norms help individuals prosper. For any organisation to deliver value to stakeholders, it must align internal practices to external demands. We know, for example, that employee attitude inside a company is strongly correlated with customer, investor and community attitudes outside a company.

    Human Resources (HR) can help public agencies deliver this value by creating meaning. When we find meaning in the organisations where we work, that personal meaning transfers to value to those we serve. In the public sector, meaning comes when public servants use their strengths to strengthen those they serve.

    16/11/2012 | 2,422
  • Do Corporate Cultures Change over Time? Evidence from South Korea.
    Human Resource Management
    Any Industry

    An investigation into corporate culture change at the South Korean multinational conglomerates, or 'chaebols' as they are often referred to. Our findings are based on a two-point survey in 1995 and then in 2006. There arose a lot of changes in values and attitudes of employees over these years. Traditional collectivism and the positive attitude which characterised the dynamism of the businesses had declined. Despite these changes however, individual companies maintained their identities according to their chaebol group. Also, cultural differences have not been converging but rather diverging. Based on these findings we can hypothesise that business society has become more diverse. While maintaining core elements of traditional collectivism, society has to cope with widening diversity at individual and organisational levels. In this diversifying society the management of organisational culture is going to play a more important role to attract the right people and maintain organisational identity. From this we can posit that a 'diversity paradigm' could be emerging in business.

    06/11/2012 | 2,581
  • Can Leadership be sustainable?
    Human Resource Management
    Any Industry

    One of the most commonly discussed management and business topics today is that of 'leadership'. Unfortunately, many of those who receive training to better understand the concept will never implement what they have learnt. This research identifies the reasons for this failing, and offers guidance to help business leaders provide more effective and sustainable leadership.

    15/10/2012 | 1,466