Human resource management systems,employee well-being,and firm performance from the mutual gains and critical perspectives: The well-being paradox

In this study, we explored the additive, interactive, and nonlinear relationships among human resource management (HRM) systems, employee well-being, and firm performance. Based on a sample of 14,384 employees nested within 1,347 firms, we obtained three main findings. First, HRM systems yield a performance effect that exceeds the effect of single practice, suggesting positive synergies among HRM practices. Second, the opportunity bundle has a positive impact on firm performance, but when integrating it with skills and motivation bundles, the result becomes negative, indicating dis-synergy of interactions among HRM bundles. Third, at moderate levels of adoption, HRM practices are positively correlated with employee well-being and higher levels of commitment, job satisfaction, and management relations, as well as lower levels of anxiety. However, at high levels, the relationship is less positive and even turns negative with lower levels of job satisfaction and management relations. To close, we present research implications and future directions after discussing our results.     

Trust as moderator in the relationship between HRM practices and employee attitudes

The study contributes to the debate in the HRM literature by examining the role of trust in management in moderating the effect of HRM practices on employee attitudes. The novelty of the study lies in our interest in assessing this relationship not only on a system of HR practices, but also considering whether the influence varies according to specific ‘bundles’ of practices. Adopting a Structural Equation Modelling approach, we first test the moderation using an HRM index of seven practices on a sample of 9,000 employees from 46 Italian organisations. Then, following the AMO approach, we assess the relationship on three ‘bundles’ of practices, one oriented to increasing ability, another motivation and the third opportunity to participate. Results confirm the moderation with the overall HRM index. Interestingly, the effect varies depending on the HR bundles, being significant only with the motivation practices and not relevant in the other two bundles.     

Configurations of human resource management practices: a model and test of internal fit

This study examined human resource management (HRM) configurations. A typology consisting of four bundles of aligned HRM practices (labelled the bureaucratic, market, professional and flexibility bundle) linked to organizational structures was developed. Support for the proposed ideal-typical bundles was found in an assessment by a panel of experts. Next, the distance between the ideal types and actual bundles of HR practices was assessed for 175 organizations. For each, senior HR managers' ratings of HRM practices and CEO ratings of outcomes were obtained. Support was found for two of the four proposed types and about one-third of the firms showed some fit with one of these two types. The ‘fit in general hypothesis’ (i.e. the closer an observed HR bundle resembles any of the ideal types, the higher organizational performance) did not receive support. However, fit with a specific type of bundle (the professional bundle) did relate positively to outcomes. Organizations with observed HRM practices fitting the professional bundle score significantly higher on measures of firm performance, employees' going beyond contract, and firm innovativeness.     

Strategic HRM in building micro-foundations of organizational knowledge-based performance

Strategic HRM research has a strong potential to further our understanding of how organizational knowledge processes influence performance at various analytical levels. Drawing on ability–motivation–opportunity research and linking it to knowledge sharing behaviors, we discuss the micro-foundations in the link between strategic HRM practices and knowledge-based organizational performance. We thus describe a research agenda for future micro-foundational research that links strategic HRM and knowledge-based performance.     

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.     

A meta‐analytic investigation of the relationship between HRM bundles and firm performance

Human resource management bundles consisting of multiple complementary practices are typically considered superior to individual best practices in influencing firm performance. This study investigates the relationship between three such bundles (empowerment, motivation, and skill‐enhancing) and business outcomes (retention, operating performance, financial performance, and overall performance ratings). A meta‐analysis of 239 effect sizes derived from 65 studies reveals that HRM bundles have significantly larger magnitudes of effects than their constituent individual practices, are positively related to business outcomes, and display effect sizes that are comparable to or larger than those of high‐performance work systems. These findings reaffirm the case for firm‐level investments in synergistic HRM combinations and highlight the importance of investing in complementary practices. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

An Integrative HRM Process Theorization: Beyond Signalling Effects and Mutual Gains

How and for whom HRM creates value are key questions in management research. The present study develops and tests an integrative HRM process theorization positing the existence of mutually reinforcing ability–motivation–opportunity, signalling, and identity‐based control mechanisms of the influence of HRM on both employee performance and work intensification. In addition to providing empirical support for the ‘how’ of value creation through HRM, the study contributes to the growing critique of the dominant mutual‐gains perspective, the notion that HRM outcomes are straightforwardly positive for both employers and employees. The integrative theorization also opens up interesting avenues for future research on the individual and organizational performance effects of HRM.     

Exploring necessary conditions in HRM research: Fundamental issues and methodological implications

Although the notion that HRM activities are necessary conditions for achieving certain outcomes is widespread in HRM research, most empirical studies follow an additive sufficiency logic. That is, they analyse whether HRM activities increase an outcome, assuming that they can compensate for one another. However, this does not correspond to the idea of necessity where single HRM activities are required for an outcome to occur and cannot be compensated when absent. We discuss the differences between sufficiency and necessity logics in terms of theory, methodology, and practical relevance. Also, we suggest using a new approach and analysis technique in HRM research: necessary condition analysis. We illustrate the application of the method by analysing data on the relationship between ability‐, motivation‐, and opportunity‐enhancing HRM practices (i.e., high‐performance work practices) and employee performance. This illustrative example highlights that necessary conditions require particular theoretical attention and suitable empirical methods. The paper concludes by showing the value of studying necessary conditions, because such analyses allow straightforward recommendations to be given of high relevance for HRM practice, which differ from and add to recommendations based on additive sufficiency logic and analyses.     

Managing knowledge through human resource practices: empirical examination on the Spanish automotive industry

This paper considers the relationship between human resource management (HRM) and knowledge management (KM). Specifically, it examines how the human resource (HR) practices that are expected to impact on employees’ abilities, motivation, and opportunity to engage in KM, do so by enabling knowledge sharing, knowledge maintaining, and knowledge creation within organizations. HRM expected to impact employees’ abilities include training and development practices. HRM expected to impact on employees’ motivation include rewards and appraisal practices. HRM expected to impact on employees’ opportunities including providing the support of trusting collaborative relationships. Therefore, HR practices impacting employees’ abilities, motivation, and opportunities are expected to be positively related to knowledge sharing and maintaining within organizations. HR practices impacting employees’ abilities, motivation, and opportunity are expected to be positively related to knowledge creation through their effect on knowledge sharing within organizations. Our research methodology uses a questionnaire survey approach to collect data from firms belonging to the Spanish automotive industry. Results from a final sample of 64 Spanish automotive firms show that HR practices aimed at motivating and giving employees the opportunity to behave as expected significantly affect knowledge sharing and maintaining. Further, knowledge sharing and maintaining is shown to mediate the relationship between HR practices and knowledge creation. The paper ends with a conclusion, limitations and implications for future research.     

Global post-merger agility,transactive memory systems and human resource management practices

In this article, a conceptual model is developed in the context of global mergers and acquisitions (M&As). The model integrates ability, motivation and opportunity (AMO)-enhancing human resource management (HRM) practices framework and transactive memory system (TMS). To date, AMO-enhancing HRM practices and TMS have not been brought together in a global context; in particular, their influence on post-merger agility (PMA) is neither well-known nor theorized in the extant literature on M&As. In this article, we theorize TMS as key mediator between AMO-enhancing HRM practices and PMA in the context of global M&As. In doing so, we bring AMO-enhancing HRM practices and TMS together and explicate their impact on PMA in the global M&As context.     

Human factors in the transfer of the ‘Japanese best practice’ manufacturing system to Singapore

A detailed examination of the practices reported by managers in thirty-one affiliates of Japanese companies engaged in manufacturing in Singapore revealed a high degree of conformity with the Japanese best practice (also known as ‘lean production’) model in the way work is organized and in the shop-floor level manufacturing practices, but greater conformity to host country norms in the HRM practices applied to the local work-force. This is consistent with the patterns reported in the existing literature regarding Japanese transplants in other countries, including the US and the UK. Strong statistical relationships were found in the Singapore study among the work organization cluster, the manufacturing practices cluster, and the performance outcomes. No significant relationships were found between the HRM cluster and any of the ‘downstream’ variables (work organization, manufacturing practices or performance outcomes), but relatively heavy reliance on expatriates was found to be highly related to work organization, manufacturing practices and performance outcomes. These findings suggest that heavy reliance on expatriates may function as an alternative to Japanese-style HRM practices in situations where it would be unduly difficult or costly to extend the whole package of Japanese-style HRM practices to the local work-force.     

A literature review on HRM and innovation – taking stock and future directions

This article reviews the growing body of empirical evidence (N = 35) on the impact of HRM on innovation that has been published during the past 25 years (1990–2015). Our most definitive finding concerns the impact of bundled HRM practices, which can be firmly linked to innovation. The role of high-commitment practice bundles appears particularly important. Studies on the various individual practices indicate that practices that foster employee commitment, loyalty, learning and intrinsic motivation are conducive to innovation. Some evidence points to the role of macro- and micro-level moderators setting boundary conditions (e.g. industry and strategy) for the HRM–innovation relationship and to mediators, such as creativity and knowledge management, as explanatory mechanisms as to why HRM impacts innovation. We noted a number of insufficiently covered areas that call for further research. We present four specific recommendations: (1) different phases of the innovation process deserve greater attention; (2) the invention of radical innovation warrants further investigation; (3) measurement of innovation and HRM should be more consistent; and (4) the theoretical underpinnings of the relationship between HRM and innovation should be strengthened. We conclude by reflecting the ‘black box’ stage between HRM and innovation through the AMO framework.     

Strategic human resource management,human capital and competitive advantage: is the field going in circles?

The resource‐based view (RBV) of the firm has been consistently used as a backdrop in strategic human resource management (SHRM) research and has the potential to bridge the ‘micro–macro’ divide. The tension between the SHRM and the strategic human capital literature, however, signifies that RBV has not reached its potential. In this paper, we begin with a brief review of the conceptual logic linking human resource management (HRM) practices and firm outcomes that aim at highlighting the different treatment of RBV in the SHRM and strategic human capital literatures. We then propose a conceptual model that suggests that HRM practices are not simple levers that enable firms to create sustainable competitive advantage, as most of the strategic human capital research postulates. On the contrary, we argue that HRM practices can contribute to a firm's sustainable competitive advantage not only by enhancing employees' ability, and offering motivation and opportunities, but also by shaping supply‐side and demand‐side mobility constraints.     

The effects of high-involvement work systems and shared leadership on team creativity: A multilevel investigation

Understanding how to effectively stimulate creative potential in the workplace through strategic human resource management (HRM) practices is critical to enhancing organizational competitiveness. This study investigates the effects of high-involvement work systems (HIWS) on team creativity in terms of ability–motivation–opportunity theory and a team input–process–output model. It draws on a data set consisting of 668 employees from 112 teams in 41 organizations in China. The results reveal that HIWS are positively related to team creativity, not only directly, but also indirectly through a sequential mediating mechanism of involvement climate and shared leadership. We argue that when employees are placed in an autonomous work environment underpinned by HIWS, they will be more likely to be involved in creative activities and engage in mutual influence behaviors in their work teams, and lead each other to achieve a higher level of creativity. Our study extends the knowledge on strategic HRM/HIWS, shared leadership, and creativity.     

HRM implementation by multiple HRM actors: a social exchange perspective

Abstract

In this study, we understand HRM implementation as a social process that depends on the social exchange relationships between line managers and both HRM professionals and employees. As such, we offer a fresh approach to understanding HRM implementation by concentrating on the social exchange among HRM actors. We do so by investigating to what extent these exchange relationships influence HRM implementation, as reflected in employees’ perceptions of the presence of HRM practices and their affective commitment. We collected multilevel data from two sources (line managers and employees) and in two phases in a Dutch engineering firm, and obtained fully matched manager – employee information from 75 employees and 20 line managers. Our results show that employees perceive a larger number of HRM practices when they have a good relationship with their line managers and when their line managers are motivated to implement HRM practices. Line managers, in turn, reciprocate perceived support from the HRM department with greater motivation to implement these practices. We conclude that because HRM actors engage in social interactions, HRM practices will be implemented at the organizational level because employees perceive the presence of HRM practices and then reciprocate this with affective commitment.     

Learning to manage: development experiences of hospital frontline managers

In high performing human resource management (HRM) systems, much responsibility for managing employees and associated processes is typically devolved to frontline managers (FLMs). Research indicates that undeveloped FLM HRM ability can impact performance, particularly in health‐care organisations. We present the incidence and characteristics of HRM‐oriented learning and development programs for FLMs in hospitals with high performing systems of HRM, and experiences of FLMs directly participating in them. We combine data from 50 Australian hospital accreditation reports with interviews from eight ‘high performance HRM’ cases. We find: almost all high performers develop FLM HRM ability; development programs are extremely diverse between hospitals and succession planning is deficient. While primarily focused on understanding ability, the study contributes to the ability, motivation, opportunity framework, proposing a model and new interrelationships between these variables in the FLM context.     

High reliability Human Resource Management (HRM): A system for high risk workplaces

High Performance Work Systems (HPWS) research is based on the search for the most suitable bundle of complementary practices appropriate for the organisation and its operating environment. We examine the contents of a HPWS in organisations seeking impeccable safety and reliability as their foremost ‘performance’ outcome. We propose a ‘High Reliability HRM’ framework, and examine the degree of implementation in a three case study of Australian state emergency services organisations. The findings highlight HRM practices inconsistent with the framework, and illustrated by rich interview accounts, we detail associated negative implications for employee behaviour and attitudes. We contribute to HPWS research by empirically examining how reliability-seeking organisations conceptualise and implement HRM systems. This study emphasises how inconsistency in HRM practice bundles can pose a threat to reliable service provision, a critical finding for emergency services and reliability-seeking organisations more broadly.     

Human resource management systems and organizational performance: a test of a mediating model in the Greek manufacturing context

This paper investigates the relationship between systems of HRM policies and organizational performance. The research is based on a sample of 178 organizations operating in the Greek manufacturing sector. A mediation model is tested to examine the link between HRM and organizational performance. The results of this study support the hypothesis that the relationship between the HRM systems of resourcing–development and reward–relations, and organizational performance, is mediated through the HRM outcomes of skills and attitudes. The paper not only supports the theory that HRM systems have a positive impact on organizational performance but also explains the mechanisms through which HRM systems improve organizational performance.     

Managing customers as human resources in service organizations

On-site service encounters blur the organizational boundary between employees and customers. The strategic trade-offs involved in having customers on-site, and the HRM practices that can influence the satisfaction and performance of customers within the organization, are described. Central points include the HRM practices that foster a climate for service and that provide customers the role clarity, ability, and motivation they require to contribute to service production and delivery.     

A bridge over troubled water: Replication,integration and extension of the relationship between HRM practices and organizational performance using moderating meta-analysis

Meta-analyses on the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices, as an aggregate and individually, and organizational performance has yielded mixed results, further fueling the theoretical debate among HRM scholars. To resolve this tension, we conduct a moderating meta-analysis of 89 primary studies to replicate, integrate and extend prior work. Comparing the variance explained by differences in HRM practices versus those explained by contextual and empirical factors indicates that context and research design have a strong influence on the relationship between HRM practices and performance. Despite the voluminous research on this issue, the differences in the relationships of various HRM practices explains only 4% of the variance in performance, whereas, societal context, industry sector and firm size explain 33%, 12% and 8%, respectively. Empirical contingencies including four categories of performance outcomes and four types of participants explain 13% and 9% of the variance in the results, respectively. Thus, our findings provide strong support for the contingency theory. The theoretical and empirical implications for future research in the area are discussed.