Title: The difference in strategic fit between Western and Asian countries - evidence from audit firms of Taiwan

Authors: Yi Hua Hsieh; Kai Hsun Lin

Addresses: Department of Accounting, Tamkang University, Taipei, Taiwan ' Taiwan Economic Journal Co., Ltd., 11F, No. 57, Dong Xing Rd., Taipei, 11070, Taiwan

Abstract: It aims to examine the effect of business strategy and HRM strategy on organisational performance of audit firms in Taiwan. It also determines whether the organisational performance of audit firms with best strategic fit is better than those audit firms with non-fit. Questionnaires were sent to the audit firms and completed by the directors. These findings included: different business strategies do not have significant influence on performance; however, different human resources management strategies have significant influence on organisational performance; according to the fit between business and human resource management strategy, defender-accumulation, prospector-accumulation, and prospector-utilisation can result in optimal organisational performance. These empirical findings offer the decision making for field of the strategic management. This paper fills the gap in previous research and offers an important reference for practitioners in the choice and implementation of business and HRM strategies. It has confirmed the applicability of the resource-based theory and the contingency theory.

Keywords: strategic fit; business strategy; HRM strategy; human resource management; performance management; Taiwan; auditing; audit firms; organisational performance; firm performance; strategic management; resource-based view; RBV; contingency theory.

DOI: 10.1504/WREMSD.2017.084981

World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development, 2017 Vol.13 No.4, pp.357 - 372

Received: 12 Feb 2015
Accepted: 12 Feb 2015
Published online: 10 Jul 2017 *

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