Institutionalism and its effect on HRM in the ASEAN context: Challenges and opportunities for future research

• Published in: Human resource management review 2020-12, Vol.30 (4), p.100729, Article 100729
• Main Authors: Do, Hoa, Patel, Charmi, Budhwar, Pawan, Katou, Anastasia A., Arora, Bimal, Dao, Manh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: ASEAN; Corporate management; HRM; Human resource management; Institutional constraints; Institutional contexts; Institutionalism; Management development; Systematic review
• ISSN: 1053-4822; 1873-7889
• DOI: 10.1016/j.hrmr.2019.100729

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has emerged as a dynamically developing market with remarkable economic achievements. However, HRM research in this bloc seems to lag behind Western countries. We conduct a systematic literature review to examine the development of HRM in ASEAN in accordance with its historical and institutional attributes and conditions. To do so, our analysis is mainly rooted in the relevant literatures on the core themes that are searched from a variety of databases such as ProQuest, ESBCO, books and webpages of relevant journals. This analysis helps to identify institutional constraints that may influence HRM practices in ASEAN, and thus develop an ASEAN-based HRM framework, and accordingly propose important directions for future research in this promising and under-researched context. This integrative framework would lay the useful foundation for researchers to theorize and examine the determinants of HRM and their effects on organizational performance. •This paper provides an overview of institutional context of the ASEAN countries.•This paper systematically reviews and evaluates the constraints of HRM practices in ASEAN.•This paper devises an ASEAN-based HRM framework via the theoretical insights of institutional theory.•This paper highlights the challenges and gaps in the study of HRM in ASEAN, and thus proposes future research directions.