Culture and Efficacy of Performance Management:
A Qualitative Study in Thailand
A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
Thomas Mounir Doumani
BCom (Mktg), MEdu (Workplace Edu)
School of Management
College of Business
RMIT University
February 2016
ii
Declaration
I certify that except where due acknowledgement has been made, the work is that
of the author alone; the work has not been submitted previously, in whole or in part,
to qualify for any other academic award; the content of the thesis/project is the result
of work which has been carried out since the official commencement date of the
approved research program; any editorial work, paid or unpaid, carried out by a third
party is acknowledged; and, ethics procedures and guidelines have been followed.
Thomas Mounir Doumani
February 2016
iii
Acknowledgements
My appreciation goes to RMIT University for affording me the opportunity to undertake
this venture. The personable and professional support provided by the information
technology and library staff is second to none in my experience.
Sincerest thanks to Professor Dr Martin Wood, for the uncompromising intellectual
challenge and rigor he brought through his supervision. My deep appreciation is held for Dr
Ling Deng, for her enthusiastic encouragement and tenacious support throughout, from my
very first enquiry into undertaking this project. Her personal achievements and
encouragement have always been inspiring to me. In particular, my admiration for both Ling
and Martin for their recognition and principled support, of the value of long career
practitioners to contribute to the body of knowledge, by bringing their rich experience into the
world of academia and empirical research.
My appreciation also goes to my many candidate colleagues along the way. Their face-
to-face back-to-back friendship and moral support have been invaluable.
By providing access to their members through various business forums and introductions,
the Australian-Thai Chamber of Commerce (AustCham) and members of SKAL International
Bangkok, were instrumental in kick-starting the fieldwork for this project. My special thanks
goes to Leigh Scott-Kemmis (the then President of AustCham), for his support of the project
in this regard. Also, my sincerest appreciation goes to all interviewees, whose willing support
for this research made it such a rich and fruitful experience. My deepest respect and thanks
especially go to my four case subjects, whose commitment and generosity of their time and
experiences, proved invaluable to the research.
Finally and importantly, my appreciation goes to my family for their never waning
support. Both my daughter Narissa and son Adrian, have always been in supportive morally
and spiritually. Most importantly of all, to my wife Piak is held my deepest most heartfelt
appreciation for her unconditional support and encouragement, which have been vital in
completing this project. Without her unwavering support, tolerance and patience, it would not
have been possible to complete this project and maintain a balance between competing
priorities of work, study and home life.
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Table of Contents
LIST%OF%TABLES%....................................................................................................................%IX!
LIST%OF%FIGURES%.....................................................................................................................%X!
GLOSSARY%OF%THAI%TERMS%...............................................................................................%XI!
ABSTRACT% %........................................................................................................................%XV!
PART%ONE:%INTRODUCTION,%LITERATURE%REVIEW,%RESEARCH%
METHODOLOGY%...........................................................................................%1!
CHAPTER%%1%-!INTRODUCTION%...........................................................................................%2!
1.1!INTRODUCTION!.....................................................................................................................................!2!
1.2!BACKGROUND!.......................................................................................................................................!2!
1.3!RESEARCH!SETTING!THAI!CONTEXT!................................................................................................!4!
1.4!RESEARCH!QUESTIONS.!......................................................................................................................!5!
1.5!PHILOSOPHICAL!GROUNDING!............................................................................................................!6!
1.6!RESEARCH!METHODS!..........................................................................................................................!6!
Data!collection!.................................................................................................................................................................!6!
Data!Analysis!....................................................................................................................................................................!7!
1.7!SUMMARY!OF!FINDINGS!......................................................................................................................!7!
1.8!STRUCTURE!OF!THIS!THESIS!..............................................................................................................!9!
CHAPTER%%2%-!LITERATURE%REVIEW:%HUMAN%RESOURCES%PERFORMANCE%
MANAGEMENT%(PM)%AND%CULTURE%...................................................%12!
2.1!PM!IS!A!WESTERN!PRACTICE!..........................................................................................................!12!
2.2!PM!AND!CULTURAL!EFFECTS!..........................................................................................................!13!
2.2.1!PM&Systems&Design&and&Cultural&Effects&.......................................................................&15!
2.2.2!How&Culture&Affects&the&Practical&Application&of&PM&..............................................&16!
Cultural!Effects!on!Goal!Setting!and!Feedback!...............................................................................................!17!
Cultural!Effects!and!Performance!Assessment!(PA)!....................................................................................!19!
Cultural!Effects!and!Rewards!.................................................................................................................................!20!
2.2.3!Conclusion&...................................................................................................................................&21!
2.3!THE!CONSTRUCTS!OF!CULTURE!AND!EFFICACY!...........................................................................!22!
2.3.1!Cross-cultural&Management&Studies&and&the&Concept&of&Culture&.......................&24!
Culture!and!National!Comparisons!Frameworks!..........................................................................................!25!
The!Intercultural!Interaction!Stream!.................................................................................................................!28!
Multiple!Cultures!Stream!.........................................................................................................................................!33!
2.3.2!A&Continued&Need&for&a&Contextual&Understanding&..................................................&34!
Cultural!Distance,!Cultural!Friction,!or!Expectations?!................................................................................!34!
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2.4!EFFICACY!OF!PERFORMANCE!AND!DIFFERING!CULTURAL!VALUES!PERSPECTIVES!..............!37!
2.5!CONCLUSION!.......................................................................................................................................!44!
Conceptual!Framework!............................................................................................................................................!44!
CHAPTER%%3%-!OVERVIEW%OF%CULTURAL%CONTEXT:%THAILAND%..........................%47!
3.1!THAI!CULTURE!–!A!BRIEF!PERSPECTIVE!......................................................................................!47!
3.2!PM!IN!THAILAND!...............................................................................................................................!54!
CHAPTER%%4%-!METHODOLOGY%.........................................................................................%58!
4.1!INTRODUCTION!...................................................................................................................................!58!
Background!of!the!Researcher!..............................................................................................................................!59!
4.2!PHILOSOPHICAL!POSITIONING!OF!THIS!RESEARCH!.....................................................................!59!
Positivism!.......................................................................................................................................................................!60!
Realism!............................................................................................................................................................................!60!
Interpretative!School!–!Interpretivism,!Social!Constructionism,!and!Phenomenology!...............!61!
Conclusion!......................................................................................................................................................................!62!
4.3!QUALITATIVE!RESEARCH!.................................................................................................................!63!
Inductive!Reasoning!...................................................................................................................................................!63!
4.4!DATA!COLLECTION!METHODS!.........................................................................................................!65!
4.4.1!Data&Collection&.........................................................................................................................&65!
4.4.2!Pilot&Stage&...................................................................................................................................&66!
Participant!Selection!..................................................................................................................................................!66!
4.4.3!Fieldwork&Stage&........................................................................................................................&67!
Primary!Data!-!Sampling!Strategy!........................................................................................................................!67!
General!Participants!...................................................................................................................................................!68!
Case!Subject!Participants!.........................................................................................................................................!69!
4.4.4!Contextual&Information&of&Participant&Sample&..........................................................&70!
4.4.5!Theoretical&Saturation&..........................................................................................................&72!
4.4.6!Secondary&Data&........................................................................................................................&73!
4.4.7!Semi&Structured&and&In-depth&Interviews&.....................................................................&74!
Semi-structured!Interviews!....................................................................................................................................!74!
In-depth!Interviews!....................................................................................................................................................!76!
4.4.8!Data&Management&...................................................................................................................&77!
Transcription!................................................................................................................................................................!77!
Categorising!the!Data!................................................................................................................................................!77!
Data!Interpretation!.....................................................................................................................................................!78!
QSR!Nvivo!10.!................................................................................................................................................................!78!
4.4.9!Ethical&Considerations.&..........................................................................................................&79!
4.4.10!Reliability&and&Validity.&...................................................................................................&80!
Reliability!........................................................................................................................................................................!80!
Validity!.............................................................................................................................................................................!81!