The impact of rules and regulations on workforce flexibility in Hong Kong

This exploratory study examines the relationships between rules (governing employee and management behaviour) and first, human resources practices relating to flexibility/rigidity of the organization (e.g. on hiring, HR policies, subcontracting); and, second, outcome variables (e.g. performance, competitiveness, innovation) in Hong Kong organizations. Using data collected from twenty-seven organizations in Hong Kong, the results show that while size had a positive impact on rules, the latter did not have any significant relationships with other variables. The implications of Chinese culture for formalization and for understanding the balance between rules and flexibility in Hong Kong organizations were explored.