Exploring the strategies underpinning Marriott’s Rewards practices in the emerging Chinese hotel industry

The shift away from the traditional HRM view of remuneration (i.e., one focused on the motivational aspects of ‘total compensation and benefits’ packages) towards that of the strategic HRM view (i.e., focused on ‘Total Rewards Management’ (TRM) and its link to mutual employee/organizational satisfaction) has been increasingly evident in the academic and practitioner literature over the past decade (see CIPD Website 2017; Kang and Shen 2015; Marx et al. 2016; Sayim 2010; World at Work Website 2017). Driving this shift has been recognition that, unlike the ‘traditional’ approach, the TRM view provides a more holistic alignment of ‘business with people strategy’ and seeks to encompass all of the workplace elements that are simultaneously valued by both employees and the organization (e.g., compensation and benefits, career development, the work environment, organizational culture, etc.) ( Jiang et al. 2009; Kaplan 2007; Kastrati 2014; Manas and Graham 2002). Recently, and coinciding with increasing competition for skilled labour and viable market positions in emerging Asian markets (Cavusgil and Cavusgil 2012; London and Hart 2004; Johnson and Tellis 2008; Wei and Rowley 2009; Yaprak 2011), academics and practitioners alike have taken an interest in determining the extent to which extant Western-based TRM practices provide an effective basis for competition in that context (Bonache and Za ´rraga-Oberty 2017; Fenton-O’Creevy and Gooderham 2003).