The relationship between principals’ configuration of a bundle of HR practices for new teachers and teachers’ person–organisation fit

Abstract

Based on studies in the private sector showing the positive effects of strategic human resources management (SHRM) on performance, many stress the value of adopting SHRM in the public sector. However, until now, the argument for applying SHRM in the public sector remains largely theoretical. Especially in educational contexts, it is unclear through which mechanisms SHRM affects performance. Therefore, this paper zooms in on the relationship between the configuration of a bundle of human resources (HR) practices and person–organisation (P–O) fit. A mixed methods design was used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data from principals and teachers in 56 Flemish primary schools. The qualitative data, which provides insight into principals’ configuration of HR practices, were converted into numerical scores and analysed, together with the quantitative teacher data, using multilevel analysis. The results show that both principals’ strategic and HR orientation are associated with teachers’ P–O fit. This study contributes to the research field of SHRM in education by studying a bundle of HR practices and how this relates to the fit of teachers’ own values with the school culture. The practical implications for schools are discussed.     

Perceptions of High‐Involvement Work Practices,Person‐Organization Fit,and Burnout: A Time‐Lagged Study of Health Care Employees

Previous research demonstrates that high‐involvement work practices (HIWPs) may be associated with burnout (emotional exhaustion and depersonalization); however, to date, the process through which HIWPs influence burnout is not clear. This article examined the impact of HIWPs on long‐term burnout (emotional exhaustion and depersonalization) by considering the mediating role of person‐organization fit (P‐O fit) in this relationship. The study used a time‐lagged design and was conducted in a Canadian general hospital among health care personnel. Findings from structural equation modeling (N = 185) revealed that perceived HIWPs were positively associated with P‐O fit. There was no direct effect of HIWPs on burnout; rather, P‐O fit fully mediated the relationship between employee perceptions of HIWPs and burnout. This study fills a void in the HR and burnout literature by demonstrating the role that P‐O fit has in explaining how HIWPs alleviate emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Mutual Gains? Health‐Related HRM,Collective Well‐Being and Organizational Performance

Research on the effects of HR management on employees’ psychological well‐being has yielded inconclusive results. Moreover, prior works remain unclear on whether human resource practices specifically aimed at enhancing employee well‐being also benefit organizational performance. Building on signaling theory and conservation of resources theory, our study investigates the relationship between health‐related human resource management (HHRM), employees’ collective well‐being (in terms of collective emotional exhaustion and collective engagement) and organizational performance. Results from a multi‐source field study of top management team members, HR representatives, and 15,952 employees in 88 organizations reveal a positive indirect relationship between HHRM and employees’ collective well‐being, which is mediated by employees’ positive stress mindset. In addition, we find this positive indirect association to depend on the level of transformational leadership climate in organizations. Finally, our findings also show a positive indirect relationship between HHRM and company performance, mediated by employees’ positive stress mindset and collective engagement.     

Analysing mediating effects underlying the relationships between P–O fit,P–J fit,and organisational commitment

Abstract

Person–Organisation fit (P–O fit) and Person–Job fit (P–J fit) are important predictors of employees’ commitment to their organisations. Yet little is known about the underlying mediating variables that account for these relationships. Based on assumptions derived from Social Exchange Theory (SET) and Social Identity Theory (SIT), the present study predicts that the effects of P–J fit and P–O fit on employee commitment are mediated by job satisfaction and organisational identification, respectively. An online survey (N = 432 employees) was used to test the proposed relationships using a series of path models in AMOS. As expected, P–O fit and P–J fit are positively related to affective, normative, and continuance commitment, with P–O fit showing stronger effects than P–J fit. Organisational identification and job satisfaction completely mediate the effects of fit on the commitment facets. Evidence of differential effects for P–O fit and P–J fit suggest that different forms of fit operate in different ways to influence facets of organisational commitment. This knowledge can be helpful for advancing the integration of SIT and SET in the context of the employee–organisation relationship and for designing interventions to foster organisational commitment.     

The Lure of Work‐Life Benefits: Perceived Person‐Organization Fit As A Mechanism Explaining Job Seeker Attraction To Organizations

Drawing from person‐organization (P‐O) fit theory, we explain how the provision of work‐life benefits (WLBs) increases job seeker attraction to organizations during the early recruitment stage because of a perceived value fit between job seekers and the organization. Our results from an experimental study using a sample of 189 MBA students who belonged to two generational groups (Millennials and Gen Xers) and were seeking employment during a period of economic recession support our expectations. We found that job seekers develop higher P‐O fit perceptions for organizations that supplement standard pay with WLBs in their recruitment materials compared with organizations that supplement standard pay with health care benefits or offer only standard pay. In turn, such organizations are assessed as more attractive prospective employers. We also found that generational group moderated the path between P‐O fit and job seeker attraction such that Millennial job seekers were more likely to be attracted toward organizations with which they had strong fit perceptions than their Gen X counterparts. Theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Psychological contract breach,high-performance work system and engagement: the mediated effect of person-organization fit

Based on social exchange theory, we developed and tested a mediated moderation model to investigate the effects of psychological contract breach (PCB), person–organization fit (P–O fit) and high-performance work system (HPWS) on employee engagement. Using a sample of 255 employees in China, our results revealed that PCB has significant negative effect on employee engagement, and P–O fit partially mediates this relationship. We further found that high levels of perceived HPWS aggravate not buffer the negative effect of PCB on employee engagement and P–O fit. In addition, the interaction of HPWS and PCB on employee engagement is mediated by P–O fit. Implications for the research and practices, limitations and directions for future research are discussed.     

Fostering mutual gains: Explaining the influence of high‐performance work systems and leadership on psychological health and service performance

Despite the growing importance of sustainable management of human resources, human resource management and leadership research on mutuality in the employment relationship has proceeded in a parallel fashion. Drawing on self‐determination theory, this study proposes an integrative model of human growth by addressing two interrelated questions: (a) how and why experienced service‐oriented high‐performance work systems (HPWS) and unit service leadership relate to psychological health and service performance and (b) whether thriving at work and psychological health serially mediate the relationships between the two contextual antecedents and service performance. Our findings revealed that experienced service‐oriented HPWS and unit service leadership related to service performance but indirectly through thriving at work. However, experienced service‐oriented HPWS but not unit service leadership related to psychological health through thriving at work. Furthermore, thriving at work and psychological health serially mediated the relationship between experienced service‐oriented HPWS (but not unit service leadership) and service performance.     

Perceptions of HR practices,person–organisation fit,and affective commitment: The moderating role of career stage

In a three‐wave survey study among 487 Dutch university employees, we examined how and when employees' perceptions of high‐performance work practices (HPWP) affect employee affective commitment. We proposed that perceived person–organisation (PO) fit mediates this relationship and that the relationships among perceptions of HPWP, perceived PO fit, and affective commitment differ across career stages. Our results confirm that perceptions of HPWP enhance PO fit perceptions and, in turn, strengthen affective commitment. Moreover, the relationship between perceptions of HPWP and perceived PO fit is only significant among employees in the advancement stage of their careers; however, direct comparison across different career stages reveals no significant differences in the HPWP–PO fit relationship. Furthermore, career stage partly moderates the relationship between PO fit and affective commitment, which is only significant among employees in the maintenance career stage. These findings have important implications for the literature on strategic Human Resource Management and PO fit.     

The relationship between perceptions of HR practices and employee outcomes: examining the role of person–organisation and person–job fit

Human resource management (HRM) practices can play an important role in matching people with the organisations and the jobs they work in. However, little is known about how employees perceive and interpret HR practices and whether or how these perceptions relate to perceptions of person–organisation (P–O) and person–job (P–J) fit. This study aims to bridge strategic HRM and person–environment fit literature by examining possible mediating and moderating roles of P–O and P–J fit in the relationship between employee perceptions of a broad set of HR practices and employee attitudes and behaviours. Results from a sample of 412 employees support direct relationships as well as a mediating and moderating role of P–O and P–J fit in the relationship between perceived HR practices and employee outcomes.     

Expanding the concept of fit in strategic human resource management: An examination of the relationship between human resource practices and charismatic leadership on organizational outcomes

We investigate the relationship between high‐commitment human resources (HCHR) practices and chief executive officer (CEO) charismatic leadership on voluntary employee turnover and relative performance to peers in a sample of 281 small firms. In this study, we expand upon prior conceptualizations of fit within the literature on strategic human resources (HR) to include the fit of HCHR with other aspects of the people management system. Specifically, we hypothesize a variety of relationships that may occur (e.g., positive synergistic, deadly combination, or substitution) and find that when a firm uses a system of HCHR practices and has a charismatic leader, performance is highest and turnover lowest. Conversely, when a firm does not invest in either, performance is lowest and turnover highest. We also found some support for a substitution effect as our data showed that when there is a mismatch between a firm's HR system and the leadership characteristics of the CEO, turnover is higher and performance lower than the high‐investment people management system (high HCHR and high‐charismatic leadership), but turnover is lower and performance higher than the low‐investment (low HCHR and low‐charismatic leadership) people management system.     

High-Performance HR Practices,Work Stress and Quit Intentions in the Public Health Sector: Does person–organization fit matter?

Drawing on the attraction–selection–attrition (ASA) framework, this paper examines a mechanism, namely person–organization (P–O) fit, through which high-performance HR practices (HPHRPs) affect two negative employee outcomes: work-related stress and quit intentions. Using a sample of Egyptian public health sector workers, a mediation model is tested empirically using structural equation modelling. The study results show that HPHRPs positively affected P–O fit, which in turn had significant negative associations with work stress and quit intentions. P–O fit also explained a high proportion of mediation in the relationship between HPHRP and both outcomes.     

Who is fit to serve? Person–job/organization fit,emotional labor,and customer service performance

This study investigates person–job (P–J) fit and person–organization (P–O) fit perceptions and relates these perceptions to employees' emotional labor and customer service performance. Data from a two‐point, time‐lagged study of 263 employees and 690 customers reveal that both P–J and P–O fit relate positively to deep acting and negatively to surface acting, in accordance with an emotional labor perspective. In addition, P–J and P–O fit are jointly associated with emotional labor, such that the positive link between P–J fit and deep acting is stronger, and the negative link between P–J fit and surface acting is weaker when P–O fit is high. Emotional labor partially mediates the interactive effects of P–J and P–O fit on service interaction quality and customer satisfaction; service interaction quality relates positively to customer satisfaction. These findings have multiple theoretical and practical implications.     

Person–Organization Fit and Public Service Motivation in the Context of Change

This study examines public sector change, motivation and person–organization (P–O) fit in a stress context. The results provide empirical evidence that change initiatives produce change-induced stressors. However, change processes, including participation in change decision-making and the provision of change information, increase public service motivation, reduce change-induced stressors and ultimately improve P–O fit and job satisfaction. The results also depict that, in the context of change, public service motivation positively influences job satisfaction, with this relationship partially mediated by P–O fit. Implications for New Public Management and the importance of change processes for reducing workplace stress are discussed.     

How High‐Commitment HRM Relates to Engagement and Commitment: The Moderating Role of Task Proficiency

In a multisource field study, we examine the relationship between employee perceptions of high‐commitment human resource management (HRM), task proficiency, work engagement, and organizational commitment. Based on conservation of resources (COR) theory, we first propose that work engagement mediates the relationship between high‐commitment HRM and organizational commitment. Second, we propose a mediated moderation model in which employees’ task proficiency moderates the relationship between high‐commitment HRM and work engagement, which in turn affects organizational commitment. Results indicate that the relationship between high‐commitment HRM and organizational commitment was fully mediated by work engagement. Results also supported the mediated moderation model. A significant indirect effect was found from high‐commitment HRM to commitment via engagement for low task proficiency, but not for high task proficiency. Implications and directions for future research are discussed. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

What a Diverse Top Management Team Means: Testing an Integrated Model

Prior research has produced inconsistent results on the relationship between top management team (TMT) diversity and firm performance. Drawing on the information–social categorization framework, this study is designed to investigate both the mechanism and the contextual factors underlying the relationship between TMT cognitive diversity and firm performance by examining them in a unified model so as to better understand how a diverse TMT works. Based on a multi‐sourced survey of top managers from 118 Chinese firms, this study finds that team interdependence and team cohesion moderate in the linkage between TMT cognitive diversity and elaboration of task‐related information. In addition, TMT's elaboration of task‐related information mediates the interactive effects of TMT cognitive diversity and team interdependence on firm performance as well as the interactive effects of TMT cognitive diversity and team cohesion on firm performance.     

A social cognitive interpretation of person‐organization fitting: The maintenance and development of professional technical competency

Information technology professionals must continually align their competencies with new technological innovation and changing organizational technological climates. Existing theory and practice is deficient with respect to dynamic models of person‐organization (P‐O) fit. Social cognitive theory proposes a rich and well‐defined theoretical framework for understanding dynamic, interactive behavioral processes, and so is adopted as a basis for developing a model of P‐O fitting focused on the development of professional technical competencies. P‐O fitting is so named because it refers to organizational fit as an ongoing process of adaptation. The article begins by reviewing existing literature on P‐O fit and social cognitive theory to produce a set of propositions and a theoretical model of P‐O fitting as an adaptive, dynamic phenomenon. Applications of the model for both future research and practice are suggested. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Well‐being‐oriented human resource management practices and employee performance in the Chinese banking sector: The role of social climate and resilience

Drawing upon positive psychology and a social relational perspective, this article examines the relationship between well‐being‐oriented human resource management (HRM) practices and employee performance. Our multilevel model examines relationships among collectively experienced well‐being‐oriented HRM practices, social climate (characterized by trust, cooperation, and shared codes and language that exist among individuals within the organization), employee resilience, and employee (in‐role) performance. Based on the two‐wave data obtained from 561 employees and their managers within 62 bank branches in 16 Chinese banks, our multilevel analyses provide support for our four hypotheses. First, we found a positive relationship between well‐being‐oriented HRM practices and social climate. Second, social climate mediated the relationship between well‐being‐oriented HRM practices and employee resilience. Third, we found a positive relationship between resilience and employee performance. Finally, employee resilience mediated the relationship between social climate and employee performance. This study is one of the first to unpack the social mechanisms through which well‐being‐oriented HRM practices increase development of resilience and subsequent employee performance at the workplace, namely through influencing group feelings of social climate.     

Stimulating teachers’ team performance through team-oriented HR practices: the roles of affective team commitment and information processing

Abstract

Teams of teachers are increasingly held accountable for the quality of education and educational reforms in vocational education and training institutions. However, historically teachers have not been required to engage in deep-level collaboration, thus team-oriented HR practices are being used to promote teamworking in the sector. This paper examines the relationship between team-oriented HR practices and team performance in terms of innovation and efficiency via teachers’ affective team commitment and engagement in information processing. To examine these associations, a team-oriented HRM research instrument was developed and validated based on the ability-motivation-opportunity model (N = 970, 130 teams) and hypothesised associations were examined using multilevel structural equation modelling (N = 704, 70 teams). The results show positive relationships between the team-oriented HR practices of recruitment, team development, team evaluation and teamwork facilitation, and team innovation. Additionally, all practices except team development were positively related to team efficiency. The relationships between team-oriented HR practices and these team performance indicators were often partially or fully mediated by affective team commitment and information processing. Because affective team commitment and information processing sometimes only partially mediated the links between team-oriented HR practices and team performance, other underlying mechanisms await identification.     

Team autonomy,organizational commitment and company performance – a study in the retail trade

The study focuses on the relationship between perceived team autonomy and company performance through highlighting organizational commitment as a mediating factor in this relationship. Data collected in 2007 came from 25 small-sized companies in the retail trade, covering both the employer and employee levels (n = 369). This study aims to shed light on the following questions: first, is team autonomy associated with organizational commitment and company performance? Second, does commitment mediate the relationship between team autonomy and company performance? Results indicated that team autonomy was both directly and indirectly positively associated with company performance. Furthermore, organizational commitment partially mediated the relationship between team autonomy and company performance. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Human resource differentiation: A theoretical paper integrating co‐workers' perspective and context

This paper conceptualises “human resource (HR) differentiation” as a set of deliberate and differentiating HR practices across individuals within the organisation to address employees' unique work needs and preferences as well as reward them for their input. Despite the importance of HR differentiation, research has mainly focused on the recipients of such practices, overlooking the consequences of HR differentiation from co‐workers' perspective. This is a significant omission because a growing concern suggests that HR differentiation might be a double‐edged sword, as the presumed positive effects might only be confined to employees benefiting from it. Taking a first step, this paper offers a conceptual model that explains how co‐workers of a focal employee, who is entitled to an advantageous outcome through HR differentiation, are likely to react, either positively by showing contentment or negatively by showing anger, with behavioural consequences towards the focal employee and organisation. In so doing, we rely on deontic justice theory and explore contextual conditions at the individual and team level under which co‐workers react. As a result, our model can inspire future research by adopting a broader and more inclusive approach to HR differentiation, underlining the need for caution when implementing HR differentiation in a team setting.