An empirical study of high performance HRM practices in Chinese SMEs

This paper explores the performance effects of human resource management (HRM) practices in 74 Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Four high performance HRM practices are identified: performance-based pay, participatory decision-making, free market selection, and performance evaluation. Regression analysis results support the conventional idea that the adoption of HRM practices generates better HRM outcomes and, in turn, better HRM outcomes contribute positively to firm performance. However, not all HRM practices, and their effects, led to improved SME performance. Among the Chinese SMEs investigated, a high level of employee commitment was identified as being the key HRM outcome for enhancing performance.     

HRM in the SME sector: valuable employees and coercive networks

Although the productivity and survival of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) may be enhanced if they adopt human resource management (HRM) practices, there is a far greater degree of informality in employment practices in SMEs than in larger workplaces. The aim of this paper is to assess the extent to which a range of factors both internal and external to the workplace predict the extent to which HRM practices have been adopted in SMEs. Using data from the 1998 Workplace Employee Relations Survey, the analysis reveals that differences in workforce skill-mix, unionization and the customer base are important influences, with the first of these influences being particularly strong. As such, we suggest SMEs may lack the capability to develop HRM practices, but they are more likely to adopt such practices if they employ highly skilled employees and are networked to other organizations     

Content vs. Process in the HRM‐Performance Relationship: An Empirical Examination

This study investigates the impact of a human resource management (HRM) system, which integrates both content and process of human resource (HR) practices, on organizational performance, through collective employee reactions. The analysis is based on a sample of 1,250 Greek employees working in 133 public‐ and private‐sector organizations, which operate in the present context of severe financial and economic crises. The findings of the structural equation modeling suggest that content and process are two inseparable faces of an HRM system that help to reveal a comprehensive picture of the HRM–organizational performance relationship. Based on the findings that collective employee reactions mediate the HRM content (i.e., organizational performance relationship) and HRM process moderates the HRM content (i.e., employee reactions relationship), the study has several theoretical and practice implications. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

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.     

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.     

HRM Systems for Knowledge Workers: Differences Among Top Managers,Middle Managers,and Professional Employees

This theoretical study contributes to the debate in the field of strategic HRM on whether HRM systems should differ across employee groups within the firm. It explores differences in the efficacy of two HRM systems—high‐involvement HR and internal labor market systems—across top management teams, middle managers, and professional employees. In addition, it examines factors that may prevent the adoption of effective HRM systems for these groups of knowledge workers. A model is proposed depicting how four job‐level moderators influence the HRM‐performance relationship and how these moderators apply to each of the three employee groups. Short‐term performance pressures and favoritism in staffing are proposed as factors that may hinder the adoption of effective HRM systems. Finally, HRM systems for different employee groups are classified based on their gains potential and barriers to implementation, yielding four categories of strategic HRM activity metaphorically labeled low‐hanging fruits, high‐hanging fruits, peanuts, and barren land. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Options‐based HRM,intellectual capital,and exploratory and exploitative learning in law firms' practice groups

The current study intends to uncover the strategic contribution of human resource management by introducing a unique construct of options‐based (vis‐à‐vis project‐based) HRM and examining its links to intellectual capital and exploratory and exploitative learning in the context of law firms' practice groups. Empirical results show that options‐based HRM is positively related to the practice group's explorative and exploitative learning. The intellectual capital mediates the relationships between options‐based HRM and the practice group's learning for exploration and exploitation. This study makes a valuable contribution to the HRM literature by establishing the mechanisms by which HRM enables organizational learning and extending the scope of HRM research to professional service firms. Our findings also provide valuable implications for the literature of organizational learning. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Human resource management and organizational performance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria

The link between human resource management (HRM) and firm performance of organizations has received significant research attention, generally focused on large firms from developed countries to the omission of studies focused on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and those from developing countries. This study partially addresses this gap in the literature. We investigated the relationship between HRM practices and the financial (FIN) and non-financial performance (NONFIN) of SMEs in Nigeria. A survey design with 236 respondents was used to test the hypotheses. Multiple regression results showed that human capital development and occupational health and safety had a direct relationship with NONFIN, and employee performance management and NONFIN on FIN performance. HRM practices as a group accounted for 16% of the variance in NONFIN and 12% of the variance in FIN. Regression analyses controlled for size and age of the firm. This study partially supports a model of positive relationships between certain HRM practices and firm performance.     

How and when matter: Exploring the interaction effects of high‐performance work systems,employee participation,and human capital on organizational innovation

Existing research on the relationship between high‐performance work systems (HPWS) and organizational innovation has paid insufficient attention to the boundary effects of employee participation and human capital. Bridging the human resource management (HRM) and employment relations literature, this study contributes to the contingency view of HRM and China‐specific research by investigating how human capital and employee participation, direct voice mechanism, and corporate governance participation jointly moderate the relationship between HPWS and organizational innovation. We test our three‐way interaction model using a sample of 108 firms and 1,250 employees in China. The results suggest that HPWS are positively associated with organizational innovation when employees with relatively less human capital are coupled with more direct voice mechanism or less corporate governance participation. In contrast, HPWS are negatively related to organizational innovation when employees possessing greater human capital are coupled with more direct voice mechanism. The theoretical and managerial implications and future research directions are discussed.     

The complementarity of IT and HRM capabilities for competitive performance: a configurational analysis of manufacturing and industrial service SMEs

ABSTRACT

Building on the resource-based view (RBV) perspective, we analyse the combined effects of two highly-valued organizational resources, namely information technology (IT) capabilities and human resource management (HRM) capabilities, on the competitive performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Three resource configurations are derived from data on 227 SMEs (121 from the manufacturing sector and 106 from the industrial services sector) through a cluster analysis. These resource configurations are labelled IT Capabilities-dominant Configuration (ITC), e-Business Capabilities-dominant Configuration (e-BC), and HRM Capabilities-dominant Configuration (HRC). This last configuration is the best-performing, followed by the e-BC, with the ITC as the worst-performing. The results also show that manufacturing and service firms are very unevenly distributed within HRC and ITC configurations, suggesting notable differences between the two sectors regarding their respective IT and non-IT capability-building. The fact that service SMEs are overwhelmingly represented (93%) in the worst-performing configuration and completely absent (0%) in the most effective configuration while displaying the strongest IT infrastructure capabilities confirms that the IT productivity paradox is aggravated in service SMEs and calls for further research on this issue.     

The influence of strategic HRM and sector on perceived performance in health services organizations

In this study, we examine a variety of management characteristics of for-profit and not-for-profit organizations in the health services (HS) industry. Data collected from Australian senior executives are used to test the relationships between managerial constructs such as employee commitment, customer demandingness, strategic HRM orientation and the adoption of human capital-enhancing human resource (HR) practices and perceived overall performance. Data analysis conducted using the Partial Least Square Modeling show a statistically significant path from commitment to employees, customer demandingness and strategic HRM orientation to the adoption of human capital-enhancing HR practices (such as selective staffing, comprehensive training, and performance appraisal) to perceived organizational performance. The results also show that private sector health service organizations have a higher level of perceived performance.     

A multilevel examination of skills‐oriented human resource management and perceived skill utilization during recession: Implications for the well‐being of all workers

This article examines whether organizations can enhance employee well‐being by adopting human resource management (HRM) practices strategically targeted to improve skill development and deployment in a recessionary context. Employee skill utilization is proposed as the mediating mechanism between HRM practice and well‐being. The role of workplace skill composition is also examined as a boundary condition within which HRM differentially impacts employee outcomes. Using a nationally representative survey of UK workplaces (Workplace Employment Relations Survey 2011) and matched management and employee data, the analysis focused on organizations that had implemented some recessionary action following the 2008–2009 global financial and economic crisis. The findings show that human capital enhancing HRM and enriched job design positively influenced both job satisfaction and work‐related affective well‐being through increased employee skill utilization. Organizations with predominantly high‐skilled workforces were more likely to adopt these skills‐oriented HRM practices. Nevertheless, the effects of HRM on employee outcomes via skill utilization applied across organizations, regardless of workforce skill composition. The findings demonstrate employee skill utilization as a driver of HRM outcomes and the sustainability of “best practice” HRM arguments across all skill levels, even in the face of recession.     

The interactions between person–organization fit and leadership styles in Asian firms,an empirical testing

This paper presents a study that examines the use of human resource management (HRM) practices and factors influencing the adoption of HRM practices in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Using a multiple-case study method, HRM in SMEs was explored by comparing 12 small and medium-sized and 12 large semiconductor design firms. The findings show that there is considerable homogeneity across the firms in relation to their use of human resources (HR) practices providing support for the insights based on the new institutionalism. The factors leading to the homogeneity HRM are discussed. It is argued that theory-based empirical research on HRM in SMEs within the same industry enable us move towards a systematic understanding and explanation of HRM in SMEs.     

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.     

Control and commitment HR practices,job satisfaction and turnover intentions: a comparison between local and multinational firms in China

There is a growing body of literature and debate around control versus commitment human resource management (HRM) systems and their impacts on employees. However, the impacts of these constructs have not been widely examined in more emerging economies. Taking a specific sample of educated professionals working for multinational and local firms in China, this study investigated employee perceptions of control and commitment HR practices, job satisfaction and turnover intentions. A total of 311 respondents completed a structured survey questionnaire. Results revealed that those working for multinational firms reported more positive perceptions of their employers' control and commitment HR practices. In multinational firms, the use of commitment HR practices predicted lower intentions to leave. However, in domestic firms a lack of control HR practices predicted higher turnover intentions. Theoretically, the study adds to discussions about the nature and roles of these constructs, their impacts on HR outcomes and how institutional mechanisms might shape the degree of HRM homogeneity and hybridity across organizations in China. Practically, the study provides guidance to international and local firms on how to improve their HRM effectiveness to achieve a higher retention of their most talented professionals.     

HRM professionals and their perceptions of HRM and firm performance in the Philippines

This paper reports the findings of a study conducted in the Philippines that examines the extent of adoption of human capital-enhancing human resource (HR) and industrial relations (IR) practices. Differences between locally owned and other organizations in these practices and their relationship to firm performance were also investigated. Questionnaire responses were obtained from managers and union representatives from 128 organizations located in the Philippines. The results indicated that there was, on average, a fairly high level of adoption of practices consistent with a strategic approach to human resource management (HRM), with foreign-owned firms tending to show a slightly higher level of adoption of such practices. A scale representing the adoption of a more conciliatory and union-friendly IR approach was found to be a significant predictor of perceived firm performance. Surprisingly, the level of strategic integration between HRM and business planning and most human capital-enhancing HR practices were not significant predictors of perceived firm performance. Research and practical implications in relation to the role of HRM in enhancing firm performance are discussed.     

How Japanese manufacturing firms align their human resource policies with business strategies: testing a contingency performance prediction in a Japanese context

This study examines the interaction effects of business-level strategy and HRM policies upon performance among Japanese manufacturers, in response to the current debate around the contingency fit proposition in the field of strategic human resource management (SHRM). Specifically, it was hypothesized that the three generic strategic types (cost reduction, differentiation (innovation), and quality enhancement) would moderate the relationship between particular HRM policies and the performance of Japanese manufacturing firms. The results, based on a sample of 312 Japanese manufacturers operating in the domestic environment, reveal the existence of links between appropriate strategy and HRM policies in predicting performance, providing strong support for the proposition of contingency fit from SHRM theory. The findings are used to discuss how Japanese manufacturers can align their HRM policies with business strategies to increase manufacturing performance. Limitations of the study and directions for future research are also considered.     

Job demands–resources: a gender perspective on employee well-being and resilience in retail stores in China

Abstract

Organisational resilience can be promoted through human resource management (HRM) practices that enhance individual employees’ well-being and ability to cope with adversity. However, the extant literature tends to neglect the influence of gender on employee well-being and resilience. Shop floor employees in retail stores often undertake demanding roles, characterised by considerable pressure and low pay, and attendant high levels of employee turnover. Drawing on the job demands–resources model, by analysing data collected from 697 employees at foreign-invested retail stores in China, this paper found that workload and employee participation in decision-making had a similar impact on the well-being of both male and female employees. However, the impact of job security and emotional demands on employees differed by gender. This paper extends the job demands–resources model by articulating the influence of gender on employee well-being. Additionally, its empirical insights, drawn from an emerging economy context, enable a contribution to the literature on employee well-being and resilience. Relevant implications for HRM and resilience are discussed.     

An employee-centred analysis: professionals' experiences and reactions to HRM

A key premise underlying research efforts about human resource management (HRM) is that it leads to improved performance through bolstering employee attitudes. The value of assessing employee reactions to HRM practices is now widely recognised. Using process models of strategic HRM, we adopt an employee-centred focus to explore the perceptions of a sample of New Zealand professionals with regard to HRM practice, attitudes, reactions and performance. Our findings provide support for some elements in this model, but not all. Although the relationship between practices and attitudes is strong, the relationship between reactions and performance is not. We conclude that the employee experience of practice is still a murky concept and suggest greater clarity about what this means, and how this could, and indeed should, be assessed is urgently required.     

Strategic HR system differentiation between jobs: The effects on firm performance and employee outcomes

The purpose of this research was to understand whether firms apply different human resource management systems to different occupations within the same organization (HR differentiation) and how the extent to which they do so may influence firm and employee outcomes. We conducted two studies pertaining to these questions. The first study was based on data collected from managers, and the results suggest that firms differentiate their HR investments based on the strategic value of occupations to the firm, which was further associated with the human capital of those occupations. Differentiation in human capital was also associated with firm performance. The second study was based on data obtained from nonmanagement employees. The findings indicated that employees who were recipients of less HR system investment had lower fairness perceptions, which were further associated with higher turnover intentions and lower organizational citizenship behavior. Although the evidence from these studies suggests that firms may realize benefits from strategic HR system differentiation, managers should carefully consider how to balance the effects of differentiation on firm performance and employee well‐being before implementing such systems.