Book Reviews

Human Resource Management in international Firms: Change, Globalization, Innovation Paul Evans, Yves Doz And Andre Laurent (Eds.) New Technology: International Perspectives on Human Resources And Industrial Relation Greg J. Bamber And Russell D. Lansbury (Eds.) Changing Patterns of Employee Relations Mick Marchington and Philip Parker, Hemel Hempstead: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1990 Managers as Employees: an International Comparison of The Changing Character of Managerial Employment Myron J. Roomkin (ed.), New York: Oxford University Press The Tom Peters Experience And Crosby on Quality London: Bbc Enterprises Ltd.     

Professionalisierungs- und Entwicklungsstrategien für ein innovatives Personalmanagement

Based on the fact of an increasing dynamic and complexity of environmental changes organizations are confronted with huge challenges not least concerning Human Resource Management (HRM). Therefore the present paper deals with the concrete arrangement of the HRM of organizations in a situation like those described. Starting with the results of an empirical study, different orientations of HRM could be discovered in the organizations reviewed. Three types of organizations were found. Depending on these types HRM instruments are emphasized differently as to competency development inside the organization. The types can be described as follow: 1^st the personal appraisal type, 2^nd the personnel planning type and 3^rd the personnel selection type. Taking this differentiation as a starting point, divergent preferences in the frequencies of usage and the evaluation of HRM instruments can be assessed. Potentials and thresholds of organizational learning in HRM are discussed finally against the background of this knowledge.     

Common Good HRM: A paradigm shift in Sustainable HRM?

As organizations increasingly claim to have become more sustainable and to have contributed to global sustainable development, demands for Human Resource Management (HRM) to become sustainable intensify. In the past decade, the concept of Sustainable HRM received increasing attention in both practice and research. However, academics' views about what Sustainable HRM means are diverse, and the effectiveness of Sustainable HRM practices is uncertain. We reviewed key articles in the literature on Sustainable HRM and as a result highlight how the purpose of HRM has been transformed in the search for sustainability. We present four Sustainable HRM types and describe how HRM can effectively contribute to solving todays “grand” sustainability challenges by applying ideas from a common good economy perspective. We propose that a new type of Sustainable HRM – Common Good HRM – could be essential in driving progress toward addressing sustainable development goals (SDGs) in Sustainable HRM.     

Procedures and Consistency Versus Flexibility and Commitment In Employee Relations: A Comment On Storey

Jon Clark, who is Professor of Industrial Relations at Southampton University, comments on one of the most important issues raised in John Storey's Developments in the Management of Human Resources: the contrast between the ‘procedure and consistency’ of the IR/ personnel tradition and the ‘business need, flexibility and commitment’ of the HRM tradition. In particular, he queries whether HRM can be successful without a firm basis in ‘procedure and consistency’.     

Competition

This article examines the adoption of strategic Human Resource Management (HRM) by for-profit and non-profit knowledge-intensive health services (HS) organizations in the Australian context. Survey data collected from senior executives are used to test the relationships between a strategic HRM model and firm performance. Path analysis found that for HS firms, irrespective of whether for-profit or non-profit, adopting strategic HRM could increase organizational performance. Strategic HRM could be achieved through the cultivation of an external orientation to customers' demands and a commitment to employees. Building an external orientation with internal structural dimensions such as commitment to employees, allows HS organizations to develop a strategic HRM approach with human capital-enhancing HRM practices. Public and non-profit organizations in the HS industry facing or undergoing health sector reform need to be aware of both of these orientations in order to adopt strategic HRM and improve their performance.     

‘Change or hold: reexamining HRM to meet new challenges and demands’: the future of people at work: a reflection on diverging human resource management policies and practices in Dutch organizations

As a consequence of continual change pressures on everyday organizations, a gradual but noticeable shift is taking place in the way managers and employees view the employment relationship. Expectation patterns between both parties are starting to diverge into what seems to be new forms of managing people, based on different assumptions regarding their importance in the (knowledge based) economy. Traditional differences in employment expectations between superiors and their subordinates, between higher and lesser educated and between intrinsically and extrinsically motivated employees, are currently making place for differences between younger and older knowledge workers and for diversity and professionalism. In this article, HRM is contrasted against two emerging approaches towards the management of people, which are currently subsets of HRM, but gaining momentum as potential replacements for HRM. First, we identify ‘Transaction-based Management of People (TM)’ in which the employment relationship mirrors that of a financially driven exchange relationship, similar to transaction economics. We refer to the second approach as ‘Professional-based Management of People (PM)’ in which the nature of the employment relationship reflects the recognition of people in organizations as ‘true’ professionals who know best what constitutes superior business performance. These approaches have been empirically examined by means of a representative survey among Dutch directors and managers.     

An employee-focused human resource management perspective for the management of global virtual teams

Abstract

The number of global virtual teams (GVTs) has increased in recent years due to globalization of business, improved information and communication technology, and higher innovation needs. Practitioners expect GVTs to be creative, innovative, and high-performing. However, GVT members suffer from interpersonal problems, stress, and misunderstandings based on cultural differences. It is therefore important that the HRM function intervenes in the functioning of GVTs. HRM and GVT research has mostly focused on instrumental practices to improve performance, but globalization and the dynamic business environment require international organizations to adopt new HRM perspectives. To advance research on GVTs and HRM, we draw on the job demands-resources model and research on quality of work life to introduce an employee-focused HRM perspective for the management of GVTs. This new perspective focuses explicitly on improving employee wellbeing in GVTs. We develop a novel theoretical framework that provides HR practitioners and leaders with several employee-focused management tools such as flexible work practices, international training and development opportunities, and fair pay and procedures. These tools are likely to help GVT members to cope with job demands and to improve their wellbeing, and are particularly useful for GVTs due to their interpersonal problems, stressful environment, and cultural differences.     

Evolving research on expatriates: what is ‘known’ after four decades (1970–2012)

The purpose of this paper was to provide a comprehensive review of the evolving research on a still key challenge for human resource management (HRM) in the globalized business of today: the expatriates and their impact on business performance. Research of four decades was reviewed to show what was known and what was not yet known. A bibliometric analysis was conducted to build a conceptual map of the evolving research. Up to 438 papers published in 104 different journals by 233 authors were analyzed. Most of the literature studies and research does not show a systematic approach, so this review may be useful for scholars and practitioners in the field of HRM and International Business Management in order to advance into the next stage of development on how to deal with and take advantage of hiring expatriates. Even after more than four decades of intensive research, the literature on expatriation is still nascent and requires higher order content. New contexts and organizations should be included in the research agenda, while an effort must be made in systematic approaches and in building higher order content in the international HRM field.     

Mapping Human Resource Management: Reviewing the field and charting future directions

Using recent advances in science mapping, this article systematically reviews the Human Resource Management (HRM) field. We analyze 12,157 HRM research articles published over 23 years to reveal the topic content and intellectual structure of HRM scholarship. A downloadable, searchable HRM topic map is provided (https://bit.ly/HR_Map) that reveals: a) 1702 HRM article topics, b) the number of articles on each topic, c) topic relations, trends, and impact, and d) five major HRM topic clusters. We discuss the overall intellectual structure of HRM scholarship and review the five topic clusters. Next, the topic content of HRM scholarship is compared to that of 6114 articles from the practitioner-oriented outlet HR Magazine. We identify 100 topics emphasized to a much greater degree in the practitioner-oriented literature. Seven key themes for future research that could help align HRM scholarship with the interests of HR practitioners are identified and discussed.     

International comparisons of human resource management

C. Brewster and S. Tyson (eds) (1991) International Comparisons in Human Resource Management. London: Pitman.

P. J. Dowling and R. S. Schuler (1990) International Dimensions of Human Resource Management. Boston, MA: PWS-Kent.

R Pieper (ed.) (1990) Human Resource Management: An International Comparison. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.

This review article assesses three major recent works in international human resource management. The author argues that the international character of human resource management can be said to rest on three things: (1) the increasing internationalization of business, which brings organizations into contact with different national cultures and promotes the spread of management practices across national boundaries, (2) underlying economic and technological trends, arising in part from the activity of multinational firms but mediated also by international institutions, which may produce similar patterns of adjustment in the organization and management of employment at the national, sectoral and firm level, and (3) the processes whereby businesses become progressively international. After critically reviewing the books listed above the author argues that the validation of an international model(s) would benefit from cross-national comparisons of a number of features identified in the internationalization process.     

Human resourec management and a culture of Respect: Effects on employees' organizational commitment

The literature is reviwed to produce a set of 37 Human Resource Management (HRM) activities related to showing respect for the individual. Eighty-eight full-time employees from different organizations and enrolled in a part-time MBA program report HRM department motivation for such activities and the degree to which they are committed to their organizations. Respectful treatmentis indeed perceived to be one of the HRM departments' reasons for performing these 37 activities, although it was not usually the most common reason. After controlling for job satisfaction, subjects' organizational commitment is positively related to the perception that HRM activities are motivated by (a) management's desire to show respect for the individual and (b) management's desire to attact/retain employees. When the company's HRM activities are perceived to be motivated by the firm's desire to improve performance or to comply with the law, there is no significant relationship with organizational commitment.     

A conceptual model of public sector corporate entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship has been conceptualized as a process that can occur in organizations of all sizes and types (Burgelman, Academy of Management Review, 8, 32–47, 1983; Miller, Management Science, 29, 770–791, 1983; Gartner, Academy of Management Review, 10, 696–706, 1985; Kao, Entrepreneurship, creativity and organization, 1989). This paper develops a conceptual model of public sector corporate entrepreneurship. The proposed model is intended to depict the main antecedents that relate to corporate entrepreneurship within the public sector and the impact of corporate entrepreneurship on public sector organizational performance (growth, development and productivity), as well as factors influencing its continuous performance. Following discussion of the model’s contents, the potential value for researchers and those engaging in public sector corporate entrepreneurship are described.     

HRMism and the Languages of Re-presentation

Storey, John (Ed.). Human Resource Management – A Critical Text . London and New York: Routledge, 1995, pp. 399, $17.99. (pbk).
Legge, Karen. Human Resource Management – Rhetorics and Realities . Basingstoke: Macmillan Press, 1995, pp. 385, £14.99. (pbk).     

Unlocking the value of artificial intelligence in human resource management through AI capability framework

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly adopted within Human Resource management (HRM) due to its potential to create value for consumers, employees, and organisations. However, recent studies have found that organisations are yet to experience the anticipated benefits from AI adoption, despite investing time, effort, and resources. The existing studies in HRM have examined the applications of AI, anticipated benefits, and its impact on human workforce and organisations. The aim of this paper is to systematically review the multi-disciplinary literature stemming from International Business, Information Management, Operations Management, General Management and HRM to provide a comprehensive and objective understanding of the organisational resources required to develop AI capability in HRM. Our findings show that organisations need to look beyond technical resources, and put their emphasis on developing non-technical ones such as human skills and competencies, leadership, team co-ordination, organisational culture and innovation mindset, governance strategy, and AI-employee integration strategies, to benefit from AI adoption. Based on these findings, we contribute five research propositions to advance AI scholarship in HRM. Theoretically, we identify the organisational resources necessary to achieve business benefits by proposing the AI capability framework, integrating resource-based view and knowledge-based view theories. From a practitioner’s standpoint, our framework offers a systematic way for the managers to objectively self-assess organisational readiness and develop strategies to adopt and implement AI-enabled practices and processes in HRM.     

Integrating strategic human capital and strategic human resource management

Abstract

Human capital is an important construct in a variety of fields spanning from micro scholarship in psychology to macro scholarship in economics. Within the various disciplinary perspectives, research focuses on slightly different aspects and levels of human capital within organizations, which may give opportunities for integration. The current paper aims to increase knowledge about human capital within organizations by integrating two streams of research which focus directly on human capital, but have approached human capital in different ways: strategic human capital (SHC), and strategic HRM. We describe both SHC and strategic HRM research streams and propose areas of integration, and directions for future research on human capital in organizations.     

Don't know,don't care: An exploration of evidence based knowledge and practice in human resource management

Over the past two decades the integrity (alignment of words and deeds) of the Human Resource Management (HRM) profession has been questioned by scholars who have identified a gap between the rhetoric of ‘people are our most important asset’ and the reality of ‘impersonal economic rationalism’. In a more recent, and as yet unconnected, stream of research there has been concern about a research-practice gap in HRM. This article draws on both streams of research to explain why HRM Does not implement evidence based practice. It focuses on research indicating that HRM practitioners are not incentivized to learn about evidence based practice and develops theory proposing that their satisfaction with the status quo reflects a value proposition based on utilitarian instrumentalism. Further to this, it is proposed that management's focus on the short-term drives and obfuscates current approaches. It concludes that neither academia nor HRM practitioners are incentivized to change current practice with negative consequences for employees, organizations, and HRM practitioners. Arguments are supported and illustrated with High Performance Work Practices and solutions are proposed to implement evidence based practice.     

Human resource management and industrial relations in multinational corporations in and from China: Challenges and new insights

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview on the state of research in the field in human resource management (HRM) issues in multinational corporations (MNCs) in and from China. We integrate previous studies from multiple disciplines to articulate the contextual importance of research on this topic, and suggest overarching themes to expand the field of research. HRM research in the intercultural, interinstitutional context of MNCs in and from China has the potential to provide contextualized insights for longstanding debates in the field such as HRM standardization versus localization and convergence versus divergence and contextual factors behind these patterns. To this end, we call for future research to center on the changing cultural, institutional, technological, and globalization context in understanding HRM and industrial relations issues in these MNCs. Practically, knowledge in this area can help global managers and top management teams in multinational organizations navigate various context complexity, foster more productive coordination and cooperation across borders, and gain legitimacy and MNCs in and from China additional competitive edge in the global marketplace.     

Are generational differences in work values fact or fiction? Multi-country evidence and implications

Few would disagree that human resource initiatives aimed at enhancing employees' quality of life have universal appeal, but the definition of ‘quality of life’ varies by generation. Workplaces are becoming increasingly age diverse and the likelihood that an older employee will report to a younger manager is increasing. Burke's study for the Society for Human Resource Management found that in organizations with 500 or more employees, 58% of human resource management (HRM) professionals reported conflict between younger and older workers, largely due to their different perceptions of work ethics and work–life balance requirements. While cultural and gender diversity have received significant attention in the literature, little attention has been paid to the impact of age diversity on HRM practices. This study attempts to bridge this gap by examining the work values of four generational cohorts – Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y – across five countries. Generational differences were found when the effects of culture and life stage were controlled for. Significant differences were observed with Generation Y in particular, presenting creative challenges in accommodating the needs of this cohort while still watching the bottom line. This study establishes the legitimacy of intergenerational differences as an important social categorization variable.     

Human resource function strategic role and trade unions: exploring their impact on human resource management practices in Uruguayan firms

Organizations worldwide are confronted with different contextual constraints. Jackson and Schuler [1995, ‘Understanding Human Resource Management in the Context of Organizations and their Environments,' Annual Review of Psychology, 46, 237–264], in their classical review, highlight the importance of the impact of the internal and external organizational context on human resource management (HRM) practices. This paper uses data collected through a survey of firms located in Uruguay, in a context where HR function and trade unions have gone through significant changes, to determine their impact on the adoption of different HRM practices. The authors find that organizations with an HR function strategically involved and with higher degree of union presence have more person-centred HRM practices, while performance-centred HRM practices were positively influenced by HR function strategic role. However, the findings do not support the moderating role of trade union presence on the relationship between the HR function strategic role and HRM practices.     

HRM institutional entrepreneurship for sustainable business organizations

As businesses experience greater pressures from a variety of stakeholders concerned with promoting a balanced approach to managing the competing demands for increased profitability, improved social conditions, and restoring the health of planet earth, new opportunities arise for HRM scholars and professionals to contribute to the pursuit of sustainability. However, the foundational logic of sustainability diverges significantly from the dominant perspective in today's business environment. Building upon the institutional theory literature, we introduce the concept of HRM institutional entrepreneurship to examine the paradoxes and emerging opportunities associated with the urgent need for more sustainable approaches for managing business organizations. As a guide to future work, we describe how the actions of HRM scholars and professionals can stimulate evolution from an HRM philosophy that relies on financial indicators to assess effectiveness towards an HRM philosophy that promotes a tripartite approach to sustainability, showing equal concern for economic, environmental and social performance. Focusing on organizational changes that improve environmental performance, we apply the concept of HRM institutional entrepreneurship to consider ways for HRM professionals to engage internal and external stakeholders in order to create value in organizations pursuing sustainability. Ultimately, activities that constitute HRM institutional entrepreneurship for sustainable business drive the development of capabilities that characterize ambidextrous organizations.