Exploring the Complementarities Within High‐Performance Work Systems: A Set‐Theoretic Analysis of UK Firms

High‐performance work systems (HPWS) are important conceptual instruments in the human resource management literature. Yet our current understanding of the complementarities within HPWS remains limited for two reasons: First, the dominant theoretical perspectives on HPWS provide a landscape of theoretical possibilities rather than an understanding of different possibilities through which HPWS generate positive effects on performance; and second, the literature on HPWS merely proposes several seemingly equally important HR practices. This article explores the internal nature of HPWS by integrating a configurational perspective of core, peripheral, and nonessential HR practices with a typology of complementarities. Analyzing 530 UK‐based firms using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), I identify four frequently implemented HPWS consistently associated with high labor productivity. The complementarities within all HPWS combine pairs of core HR practices with sets of peripheral HR practices. Moreover, the complementarities within three of the four HPWS rely on firms’ avoidance of implementing certain HR practices. The results suggest that the synergies of HPWS arise from efficient complementarities and virtuous overlaps, and reveal the significance of achieving high performance by not implementing HR practices. This article thus advances a new perspective on HPWSs, highlighting the challenges involved in successfully designing HPWS. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Finding human nature coherence in theoretical narratives: A heuristics approach and a leadership illustration

Overlooking the explanatory consequences of human nature assumptions (models of people) may compromise the internal coherence of leadership theories that use two or more models of people. However, judging the internal coherence of theories based on their human nature assumptions can be challenging, partly due to the complexity of human nature. I attempt to reduce the complexity by proposing human nature as heuristics that provide explanatory leverage to theoretical narratives. The other part of the challenge lies in the near absence of appropriate conceptual tools for straightforward comparisons of human nature assumptions. To tackle this challenge, I propose a typology of human nature heuristics and illustrate its usefulness in judging the internal coherence of multiple leadership theories. The human nature heuristics typology can also provide a conceptual framework for integrating leadership and human resource management literature.     

Friend or foe? The impact of high‐performance work practices on workplace bullying

The aim of this paper is to examine the relationship between high‐performance work practices (HPWPs) and workplace bullying and identify possible mediators. The study presents hypotheses based on two competing perspectives: a mutual gains perspective, arguing that HPWPs lead to higher perceptions of justice and less role conflict, thereby reducing the risk of bullying; and, a critical perspective, arguing that HPWPs lead to work intensification and competition among colleagues, and thereby to more bullying. A two‐wave survey (n = 209) was conducted among business professionals in Finland. The results show that HPWPs are associated with less bullying, and justice and role conflict mediated the relationship. Thus, the results provide support for the mutual gains perspective on HPWPs, challenging prevailing assumptions in the bullying literature that suggest performance‐enhancing HR practices are a risk factor. Instead, the results point to the significance of HPWPs as an important tool to prevent bullying.     

Researching Corporate Social Responsibility Communication: Themes,Opportunities and Challenges

Growing recognition that communication with stakeholders forms an essential element in the design, implementation and success of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has given rise to a burgeoning CSR communication literature. However this literature is scattered across various sub‐disciplines of management research and exhibits considerable heterogeneity in its core assumptions, approaches and goals. This article provides a thematically‐driven review of the extant literature across five core sub‐disciplines, identifying dominant views upon the audience of CSR communication (internal/external actors) and CSR communication purpose, as well as pervasive theoretical approaches and research paradigms manifested across these areas. The article then sets out a new conceptual framework – the 4Is of CSR communication research – that distinguishes between research on CSR Integration, CSR Interpretation, CSR Identity, and CSR Image. This typology of research streams organizes the central themes, opportunities and challenges for CSR communication theory development, and provides a heuristic against which future research can be located.     

Actors and structure in IS projects: What makes implementation happen?

Several “perspectives” are assumed to be required in order to reach a sufficient understanding of complex (implementation) processes. Three perspectives on implementation processes are derived from the literature: an administrative, a political and a network perspective. These reflect different assumptions about the nature and control of implementation processes. The implementation of a formalized project management system in a large computing centre is analysed from these three perspectives. The analyses yield different explanations of the implementation process, and may be regarded as supplementing each other. However, the rupture of the network perspective with the conception of structure and the structure–actor relation of the two other perspectives contests traditional, normative “project organization thinking”. The multi-perspective analysis indicates the potential of in-depth studies of implementation processes.     

Exploring the link between cause‐related marketing and brand building

The use of cause‐related marketing (CRM) is increasing around the world and provides benefits to both firms and causes, by linking the two organisations together. Most of the CRM literature examines this strategy from a for‐profit perspective. This paper examines how this literature could be equally applicable to examining CRM from a not‐for‐profit perspective. That is CRM programmes can positively and negatively impact on a not‐for‐profit's brand, which is frequently its most valuable asset. In this way CRM can be related to a number of not‐forprofit brand and brand equity issues including brand awareness, brand attitude and intention to support the CRM programme. Copyright © 2000 Henry Stewart Publications     

Solving the Entrepreneurial Puzzle: The Role of Entrepreneurial Interpretation in Opportunity Formation and Related Processes

Opportunity formation plays a central role in the entrepreneurship literature. The two dominant perspectives on this topic (discovery view and creation view) tended to consider search and action as the main mechanisms. Drawing on strategic issue interpretation view and managerial cognition perspective, we argue for the inclusion of a third mechanism (entrepreneurial interpretation). Specifically, we develop the boundary assumptions and testable propositions of an entrepreneurial interpretation model. Then, we show how entrepreneurial interpretation informs both discovery and creation processes. Overall, our theory provides an expanded understanding of how individuals form and decide to exploit opportunities.     

A Survey of Transparency: An Intrinsic Aspect of Business Strategy

Well‐managed organizations must handle transparency strategically, but although research about transparency constitutes a great concern in businesses, management, society, and ethics, definitions are very diverse depending on the environment. The concept of transparency is revisited in this contribution, aiming to map the territory of transparency by surveying the terms and definitions in literature. The overview of these terms identifies two approaches of analysis: according to the content and according to the context. According to the context, two perspectives have been found: collective perspective and individual perspective. According to the content of the definition, two perspectives have been found: instrumental perspective and purposeful perspective. This survey helps to determine that transparency is an intrinsic aspect of business strategy since it is interweaved with all organizational components and systems of the strategic management process. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

The Triple Bottom Line: A Critical Review from a Transdisciplinary Perspective

The triple bottom line (TBL) has reformed management discourse by making sustainability part of the business agenda, yet increasingly the TBL has evolved into a proxy for sustainability, often visually depicted as the mutual maximization of economic, social and environmental dimensions. We use a sentiment analysis to show that the extant literature views the TBL favorably and uncritically, with only 8% of academic studies invoking the term negatively. Next, based on extant management literature, we show that two core assumptions underpin the TBL metaphor: win–win and firm‐level sustainability. Then we employ a transdisciplinary comparative analysis to contrast these assumptions with two ecological perspectives: strong sustainability and nested hierarchy. By drawing extensively from the literature of ecologically grounded sciences, our study contributes a critical evaluation of the TBL paradigm of sustainability.     

Moving Forward: Developing Theoretical Contributions in Management Studies

How do we, as management researchers, develop novel theoretical contributions and, thereby, potentially break new ground in management studies? To address this question, we review previous methodological work on theorizing and advance a typology of the reasoning processes that underlie theoretical contributions and significant advances in management studies. This typology consists of various types of analogical and counterfactual reasoning, ranging from focused thought experiments aimed at prodding existing theory in the direction of alternative assumptions, constructs, and hypotheses to more expansive efforts for inducing new theoretical models and alternative explanations. Applying this typology, we detail the mechanisms behind the formation of novel theoretical contributions and illustrate the currency of our typology through a review of 24 major theoretical breakthroughs in management studies. We conclude the paper by discussing the implications of this typology for our collective efforts in building, elaborating, and expanding theory in management studies.     

THE POLITICS OF URBAN ECOLOGY: Paul Duvigneaud and the Rise of Ecological Urbanism in Brussels during the 1970s

Today, design disciplines such as ecological urbanism aim at fusing natural and social sciences to restore the equilibrium between social and natural systems, and in extenso the urban and natural environment. But recent literature in urban political ecology and urban history has shown how this socioecological approach is generally stripped down to a merely ecological perspective, ignoring the sociopolitical side of the urban ecological project. I therefore argue that there is a need for a research programme that interrogates the history of the interaction between ecology, planning and politics. In this article I respond by developing a historical perspective on the rise of the ecosystemic approach towards the city, delving into the agency and political nature of ecological science itself. Through an in-depth historical analysis of the Brussels school of urban ecology and urban ecologist Paul Duvigneaud, I highlight how urban ecology influenced politics through its association with the regional government and vice versa to argue that ecological knowledge was used to overcome political opposition, incorporate a specific regionalist agenda and build an ecological zoning practice in urban planning policies.     

Who promotes a value‐in‐diversity perspective? A fuzzy set analysis of executives’ individual and organizational characteristics

Diversity perspectives are philosophies of or approaches to diversity held by organizations, groups, or executives. They are important for organizations because they can determine the success or failure of diversity in the workforce. However, little is known about the predictors of diversity perspectives among executives. Using fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis, we analyzed 50 interviews with top executives in Germany to identify individual and organizational characteristics that predict executives' adoption of a diversity perspective, in particular of a value‐in‐diversity perspective. Specifically, we analyzed gender, age, education level, vocational background, and tenure (individual characteristics), as well as size, sector of organization, and competitive environment (organizational characteristics), as potential predictors. We found single characteristics did not predict adoption, but configurations of characteristics did. Drawing on the person‐situation‐interactionist perspective, we developed specific profiles of executives likely to foster a value‐in‐diversity perspective and identified characteristics of their work environments that support such an approach. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Development and Validation of an Employee Voice Strategy Scale through Four Studies in Japan

Employee voice is an important organizational behavior that affects work group performance, and many studies have explored its mechanism; nonetheless, the existing literature narrowly defines the construct and overlooks a variety of strategic approaches employees take as they engage in voice. Based on this problematization, the current research has developed and validated a scale of employee voice strategy through four studies in Japan (total N = 1,156). Employee voice strategy is defined as a set of direct and indirect communicative approaches that organizational members utilize to share ideas with intentions to exert constructive influence to their work group. Studies 1 and 2 analyzed interview narratives to develop an initial typology, which was refined in Study 3 into a six‐factor scale. Study 4 replicated it through confirmatory factor analyses. Construct validity of the scale was also examined by testing the strategy factors’ nomological network—as expected, proactive personality was positively associated with assertive strategies, while relationship maintenance goal orientation was linked to conciliatory, nonconfrontational strategies; negative emotion display showed negative associations with voice strategy use in general. These findings were discussed vis‐à‐vis culturally inclusive human resource management practices, as well as theoretical exploration of the employee voice phenomena from process‐centered perspectives. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Employee performance,well‐being,and differential effects of human resource management subdimensions: Mutual gains or conflicting outcomes?

The human resource management (HRM) literature supports the idea that coherent systems of HRM practices can induce attitudinal effects when perceived subjectively by employees. Recently, scholars have proposed that subdimensions of HRM systems exist and account for variance in outcomes. This study explores differential effects of three subdimensions of HRM systems (skill‐, motivation‐, and opportunity‐enhancing HRM practices) on employee innovative behaviours and well‐being. Our predictions are based on the mutual gains perspective, which specifies positive relationships between HRM practices and employee performance, and the conflicting outcomes perspective that links HRM practices to higher job demands and stress. Using data from the Finnish 2012 Practices of Working Life Survey, we find support for both the mutual gains and conflicting outcomes perspectives; however, we also show that the effects of the subsets of HRM practices are heterogeneous.     

Local Government Modernization: UK and Comparative Analysis from an Organizational Perspective

This article analyses three strands of local government modernization. The first takes an overview of the development of 'modernization' and 'improvement' of local government in the UK under the Labour government since 1997 and the overall programme of reform. We discuss both the shifts and the continuities with the previous decade and a half of the 'new public management' of Conservative administrations. We examine the implicit assumptions about how to achieve organizational and cultural change, arguing that much modernization is premised on a mechanistic metaphor of organizational change. The second section of the article examines other metaphors and theories of organizational change, arguing for the need to consider institutional and organizational perspectives in analysing local government modernization. The third section of the article then applies some organizational concepts to the comparative analysis of local government modernization.     

Linking Theory and Context: ‘Strategy Research in Emerging Economies’ after Wright et al. (2005)

Emerging economies provide a laboratory for investigating the interaction between firm strategies and local contexts. Mike Wright and colleagues have shaped this research agenda by creating legitimacy for this line of research, and by outlining how research in four types of strategy contexts can advance theories. We assess how this agenda has progressed in eight leading journals in the past decade, particularly during the five years following their review, with the aims to identify broad trends of theorizing, and to outline future research challenges. Emerging economy contexts challenge some of the assumptions of theories originally developed for markets that are relatively stable and efficient. Researchers have advanced several theoretical perspectives by addressing these challenges. Wright and colleagues focused on institutional theory as a major foundation for such work, and we find it continuing to be the most popular theoretical perspective. In addition, new perspectives have emerged, focusing on learning, relationships, real options, and spillovers as focal concepts for theorizing.     

The Influence of Decision,Environmental and Firm Characteristics on the Rationality of Strategic Decision‐Making*

abstract This paper develops an integrated model of strategic decision‐making rationality. The model is informed by three perspectives that respectively identify decision, environmental and firm characteristics as influences on the rationality of decision processes. The results of a study in Egypt indicate that the rationality of strategic decision‐making processes is shaped by variables identified by all three perspectives, and that such decision processes cannot adequately be modelled in terms of a single perspective only. However, the study also suggests that the three perspectives do not contribute in equal measure to explaining strategic decision making, and that the national setting is relevant for the extent to which strategic decision‐makers take account of environmental characteristics. The location of the investigation in Egypt highlights some deviations from previous research that could be attributed to nation‐specific factors, both cultural and institutional.     

Business Groups: An Integrated Model to Focus Future Research

abstract    Business groups are the primary form of managing large business organizations outside North America. This paper provides a systematic and integrative framework for understanding business groups. We argue that existing theoretical perspectives of business groups pay attention to four critical external contexts, each of which draws from a specific theoretical perspective: market conditions (transaction cost theory), social relationships (relational perspective), political factors (political economy perspective), and external monitoring mechanisms (agency theory). Business groups adapt to these external forces by deploying various internal mechanisms along two key dimensions: one focuses on the distinctive roles of the group affiliates (horizontal connectedness) and the other focuses on coupling and order between the parent firm and its affiliates (vertical linkages). Based on these two dimensions, a typology of business group forms is developed: network (N-form), club (C-form), holding (H-form), and multidivisional (M-form). Utilizing this model we provide research questions which facilitate an improved future research agenda.     

Stewardship vs. Stagnation: An Empirical Comparison of Small Family and Non‐Family Businesses*

abstract Two major perspectives can be construed in the literature concerning the nature of family owned businesses (FOBs). The first implies that these enterprises have unique characteristics of stewardship. FOB owners are said to care deeply about the long‐term prospects of the business, in large part because their family's fortune, reputation and future are at stake. Their stewardship is said to be manifested by unusual devotion to the continuity of the company, by more assiduous nurturing of a community of employees, and by seeking out closer connections with customers to sustain the business. The second perspective is less flattering. It proposes that FOBs are unusually subject to stagnation: they are said to face unique resource restrictions, embrace conservative strategies, eschew growth, and be doomed to short lives. This paper develops and examines the merits of the two perspectives, neither of which has been systematically articulated or researched. It does so in an empirical study of only small firms that are owned and managed by their founder. Within this sample, it compares firms that are FOBs, that is, family owned and managed, with non‐FOBs, that is, owned and managed by a founder with no other relative involved in the business. The findings show significant support for all three aspects of the stewardship perspective of FOBs, and no support for any elements of the stagnation perspective.