Human resource management and employment practices in the Hong Kong power supply industry: the challenge of industrial de-regulation and business re-structuring

Power supply has been one of the key public utility industries in Hong Kong, as protected by official franchise granted by the government for regulating and controlling entry. It is the purpose of this paper to explore and investigate how the impending advents of 'market de-regulation' have affected people management and employee perception within two monopolistic power plants in Hong Kong. The authors have postulated and illustrated empirically the strategic role played by enhanced activities of human resource management and employment practices in the process of corporate renewal in face of the challenge of escalated business competition in the power supply market.