Has brought the fast growth of knowledge intensive

has brought the fast growth of knowledge-intensive industries in China. Also, increased
competition under globalisation led to greater challenges in attracting and retaining good
performers through competitive employee rewards, which has become critical in high-
value-added and knowledge-intensive industries.
The existing literature on rewards in China is heavily focused on the evolution of the
traditional pay system, with little attention paid to PFP. Therefore, the aim of this thesis
was to explore PFP design and implementation in the context of China, principally in non-
public sector knowledge-intensive companies. In order to do so a review of the literature
was carried out, on the basis of which were developed research objectives and four key
areas identified, namely: the importance of PFP, PFP plans and design, PFP
implementation, and line managers’ involvement in PFP.
This research primarily used data obtained from case studies of 12 knowledge-intensive
firms of investment/marketing research, IT and pharmaceutical industries in Shanghai. In-
depth interviews were conducted with 52 top management, HR and line managers as well
as 10 specialists in local and leading international HR consultancy firms. The empirical
findings were analysed in chapter 6 – 9.

Chapter 10 Discussion and conclusion
210
The aim of this chapter is to outline the main conclusions of the research. For this purpose,
this chapter is structured as follows: Section 10.2 discusses the key findings and arguments
in relation to the research questions. Section 10.3 involves a demonstration of empirical,
theoretical contributions and managerial implications of the thesis. Section 10.4 and 10.5
summarise some limitations of the study and provide possible suggestions for further
research in the future.
10.2 Discussion of empirical findings
This section gives an overview of the empirical findings in the study. It draws only the core
findings, remarks that are more detailed are in the data display and analysis of Chapter 6-9.
Table 10.1 presents a brief summary of empirical findings in relation to research questions
of the thesis as below.

Chapter 10 Discussion and conclusion
211
Table 10.1: Summary of findings in empirical analysis
Research question How and where addressed Findings
Research question 1: How important is PFP in the current pay system?
RQ1a: To what extent is PFP
adopted?
The proportion of PFP in pay mix and the
extent to which pay depends on performance
in pay structures were examined (see relevant
literature in Section 4.3).
Chapter 6 PFP was an important component in pay mix
and performance was one of the key factors in
determining pay range and progression.
RQ1b: Why do firms use
PFP?
The reasons for using PFP were examined by
theoretical explanations (Agency theory,
Expectancy and Equity theory, and legitimacy
and institutional factors. See relevant
literature in Section 4.3).