International performance appraisals : Policies, practices and determinants in the case of Chinese multinational companies

Since most literature on international performance appraisal is derived from Western MNCs, it is questionable whether the Western theories are equally powerful when applied to other national contexts. This study develops the Chinese international performance appraisal model by exploring performance appraisal policies and practices and the associated factors in Chinese MNCs. It reveals that Chinese MNCs adopt different approaches towards different groups, particularly different nationalities and managerial status. The Chinese international performance appraisals are a mix of home and local appraisal systems, and a mix of traditional Chinese personnel management and modern Western HRM concepts. Moreover, Chinese international performance appraisal policies and practices are affected by various host‐contextual and firm‐specific factors, and there is also an interplay between international performance and other international human resource management activities.