The impact of human resource management practices and corporate entrepreneurship on firm performance: evidence from Turkish firms

This paper outlines the important role of human resource management practices with a link between corporate entrepreneurship and firm performance. Data were collected from a survey of 124 firms operating in different industries in Turkey. The findings of this study indicated that human resource management (HRM) practices partially mediated the relationship between corporate entrepreneurship and firm performance. In other words, corporate entrepreneurship affects firm performance, both directly and through its effects on HRM practices. In addition to corporate entrepreneurship, it is found that HRM practices explain a significant level of additional variance (9 per cent) in firm performance. The theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.     

The relationship between human resource management practices,business strategy and firm performance: evidence from steel industry in Taiwan

The primary objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices, business strategy and firm performance. We examined the following HRM practices: training and development; teamwork; compensation/incentives; HR planning; performance appraisal; and employment security. We surveyed 236 managers working at steel firms in Taiwan to explore their perceptions on the impact of HRM practices and business strategy on firm performance. The results of this study are summarized as follows: (1) HRM practices will be positively related to firm performance; (2) there is a close linkage between HRM practices and business strategy; (3) business strategies will be positively related to firm performance; (4) integrating HRM practices with business strategies will be positively related to firm performance.     

CEO succession with gender change in troubled companies: The effect of a new woman CEO on firm risk and firm risk perceived

The replacement of the CEO is one of the first actions a troubled company may take to recover from a critical situation. In this paper, we analyze the change in firm risk and firm risk perception when women are replacing men as CEOs of troubled companies. The analyses are based on a comprehensive dataset covering all registered companies in Norway from 2005 to 2014. We argue that a new woman CEOs increase the chances of improving the risk situation of troubled companies. Building on CEO succession and social identity theories, we study the firm risk situation under the lenses of risk perception and firm risk, and we find that a newly appointed woman CEO, following a man, tend to decrease the level of risk of the company. Furthermore, we find counterbalancing effects on these changes given the moderation effect of women on the board.     

Leveraging green HRM for firm performance: The joint effects of CEO environmental belief and external pollution severity and the mediating role of employee environmental commitment

The topic of green human resource management (HRM) has drawn increasing attention of HRM scholars in the past decade. Recent research has called for more studies to identify the antecedents of green HRM used in organizations and explore the mediating mechanisms through which green HRM is related to performance outcomes. This study represents an effort to address these research needs by examining the joint effects of chief executive officer (CEO) environmental belief and external pollution severity on the use of green HRM and testing the mediating role of employee environmental commitment in the relationship between green HRM and firm performance. Drawing upon data collected from multiple sources (i.e., survey data from chief executive officer (CEOs), chief financial officers (CFOs), HR managers and employees, and archival data from government statistics), we found that CEO's environmental belief is significantly related to the use of green HRM, especially for companies operating in locations with severer pollution. Green HRM in turn has a positive relationship with the firm's environmental and financial performances via employee commitment to the environment. The findings highlight the often-overlooked role of in the strategic HRM literature pertinent to environmental management and clarify the antecedents and influential mechanisms of green HRM at the firm level of analysis. We also discuss theoretical and practical implications in this study.     

Assessing the impact of green supply chain practices on firm performance in the Korean manufacturing industry

As a growing number of customers tend to view corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a key purchase decision criterion, demands for CSR including environmental sustainability have accelerated in today's business world. To meet such demands, many firms consider embracing environment-friendly business practices. However, many firms are still hesitant to implement those practices due to sceptical views about their real managerial benefits. Although the previous literature confirms the positive link between a firm's commitment to environmental sustainability and its performance, the varying degree of impact of different kinds of environment-friendly supply chain practices on the firm's operational performance is still unknown. To fill the void left by prior research, this paper aims to classify various types of green supply chain management (GSCM) practices and then assess the impact of each of these distinct types on the firm's operational performances (especially manufacturing and marketing performance). Also, this paper examines how the firm's organisational profiles such as firm size affect the particular firm's choice of GSCM practices. Our experimental results reveal that the chosen type of GSCM practices influences the firm's performance differently.     

High‐commitment HR practices,employee effort,and firm performance: Investigating the effects of HR practices across employee groups within professional services firms

In this study, the authors examine the relationship between high‐commitment HR practices and firm performance in professional services firms through the mediator of employee effort. In addition, they contribute to the debate in the field of strategic HRM on whether high‐commitment HR practices should be used across all employee groups within a firm. Their study's results show that high‐commitment HR practices positively relate to firm performance through employee effort for two employee groups within professional services firms. Further, they found that the relationship between effort and performance is contingent on the value of the employee group to firm competitive advantage, suggesting that companies may only want to expend the effort and resources on building a high‐commitment HR system for employee groups that are clearly tied to creating firm competitive advantage. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

HRM retrenchment practices and firm performance in times of economic downturn: exploring the moderating effects of family involvement in management

A substantial number of studies have indicated a significant negative relationship between human resource management (HRM) retrenchment practices such as downsizing, and firm performance. However, a consideration of the potential effects of business family involvement in management is largely absent from the general employment restructuring literature. Using a sample of 218 Taiwanese publicly listed firms, this study seeks to further our understanding in this area by examining the moderating effects of family involvement in management on the relationship between the adoption of HRM retrenchment practices and firm performance during the period of global economic downturn that erupted in the middle of 2008. Data analysis reveals that HRM retrenchment practices had a negative influence on firm performance, and that the relationship between HRM retrenchment practices and firm performance was negatively and significantly moderated by family involvement in management.     

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.     

The impact of diversity and equality management on firm performance: Beyond high performance work systems

This article demonstrates that a diversity and equality management system (DEMS) contributes to firm performance beyond the effects of a traditional high‐performance work system (HPWS), which consists of bundles of work practices and policies used extensively in high‐performing firms. A DEMS typically includes diversity training and monitoring recruitment, pay, and promotion across minority or other disadvantaged groups. Our analysis of quantitative data from service and manufacturing organizations in Ireland confirms that HPWS practices are associated with positive business performance and finds specifically that DEMS practices are positively associated with higher labor productivity and workforce innovation and lower voluntary employee turnover. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Shaping the organisational context for corporate entrepreneurship and performance in Iran: the interplay between social context and performance management

Abstract

Prior research highlighted the importance of an organisational context stimulating autonomous behaviour when trying to increase levels of corporate entrepreneurship. From a social exchange perspective, we argue that firms in developing countries need to complement such supportive practices with performance-oriented practices. Our findings indicate that Iranian firms with an organisational context characterised by an interaction of social context and performance management have more engagement in corporate entrepreneurship, and that corporate entrepreneurship mediated the relationship between the organisational context and firm performance. This provides a better understanding of the way firms in developing economies can shape their organisational context to promote corporate entrepreneurship in order to achieve better firm performance.     

Token entrepreneurs: a review of gender,capital, and context in technology entrepreneurship

ABSTRACT

This article reviews the literature on gender and entrepreneurship in technology to explore individual and contextual factors maintaining the token status of women in this field. It examines how the intersection of gender and context influences participation rates in entrepreneurship, and suggests that the deeply embedded cultural and cognitive associations that frame both technology and entrepreneurship as masculine concepts create barriers for women when these contexts overlap. It offers a framework for research and practice that aids in the analysis of complex multi-level barriers that control access to the forms of capital necessary for initial and continued participation in technology entrepreneurship. Given calls for women to participate more fully in high-growth technology ventures, it highlights the need for research to incorporate broader analytical perspectives that simultaneously examine both the barriers faced by women in these contexts and the factors that systemically sustain them.     

HRM and performance—The role of talent management as a transmission mechanism in an emerging market context

This paper investigates the link between HRM practices, talent management (TM), and firm performance and examines the role of HRM/business strategy alignment in an emerging market context. Through survey evidence gathered from 198 respondent firms, this study shows that TM, when focused on a series of practices aimed at developing workforce networks and social capital, is a key transmission mechanism mediating the relationship between HRM and firm performance. HRM strategy and business strategy alignment increases these performance impacts but is not an essential component in the HRM‐TM‐performance link.     

The development and application of a process model for R&D project management in a high tech firm: A field study

In R&;D organizations of high tech firms, multiple R&;D projects are executed concurrently and timeliness of project completion - i.e., developing the right products at the right times - is a matter of serious concern. Given that the priority of R&;D projects and the interdependencies between the projects in a high tech firm change dynamically, high tech R&;D project management is a complex and challenging endeavor. To improve the understanding and management of high tech R&;D projects, this paper reports the findings of a field study where we, first, develop and empirically estimate a model that relates project priority over time with the generative mechanisms of market pull and technical challenge associated with R&;D projects. Next, we develop and demonstrate the application of a process model within which the time-varying project priority model is embedded. The process model makes it possible to allocate fixed resources among competing projects with time-varying interdependencies, thereby improving the timeliness of project completion. This research was conducted in collaboration with a major U.S. high tech firm. The corporate R&;D center of the firm served as the research setting for the field study. We present an application of the process model to delineate the evolution of the R&;D organization with the merger of its (technology driven) parent firm with another (market driven) high tech manufacturing firm. The application of the process model generates theoretical insights that are used to develop testable propositions. Implications of the study findings and directions for future research are discussed.     

The tortoise and the hare: the impact of employment instability on firm performance

The main objective of this study is to assess the influence of employment instability on firm performance in a sample of publicly traded firms. Competing theoretical arguments are considered with regard to likely outcomes associated with employment instability. A large sample of cross‐sectional time‐series data is then analysed using generalised estimating equations (GEE) regression techniques. Results indicate that employment instability is negatively associated with firm performance, although the relationship is also demonstrated to be quadratic (an inverse U‐shaped relationship). This suggests that the main relationship varies depending upon the level of employment instability. Industry characteristics are also examined as moderators of this main effect. The results suggest a disordinal interaction effect for industry differentiation, where employment instability is negatively associated with firm performance for firms in highly differentiated industries and positively associated in less differentiated industries.     

The impact of racial and gender diversity in management on financial performance: how participative strategy making features can unleash a diversity advantage

How does racial and gender diversity in the management ranks affect the bottom line? Our findings indicate that participative strategy making (PSM) positively moderates the relationship between both racial and gender diversity in management and firm performance measured as return on assets. Specifically, PSM strengthens the positive relationship that exists between racial diversity in management and firm performance. Although no main effect is observed for gender diversity in management, our results reveal that gender diversity in management is positively related to performance when PSM is high. However, we find that gender diversity in management is negatively related to performance when PSM is low, while gender homogeneous management experience superior performance. We offer implications for diversity research to embrace and consider the role of PSM and ‘inclusiveness’.     

Critical human and behavioral factors on the adoption of sustainable supply chain management practices in the context of automobile industry

Built upon the resource-based view, the study examines the critical human and behavioral factors (HBFs) on adopting sustainable supply chain practices in the automobile sector (AS). The Interpretive Structural Modeling (ISM) and Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method is applied to understand the causeeffect relationships between (HBFs), evidenced by a case study in the automobile industry of India. The causeeffect relationships are informed by an expert team consisting of 18 members working in academia, the automobile industry, and professional consulting companies. The experts provided their inputs based on their direct experience and expertise in this subject matter. The research findings highlight that sustainable supply chain cost (end to end) is a critical success factor. Mangers in the AS should prioritize and focus on sustainable supply chain costs (end to end) to pursue sustainable practices because such critical success factors can foster information sharing behavior. The firms could develop both hard and soft critical HBFs such as Information technology (IT) infrastructure and employee training to build up HBFs to integrate a supply chain. The study provides insight to academicians, policymakers, and practitioners about critical HBFs and develops sustainability goals and policies accordingly.     

The influence of cultural context on the relationship between gender diversity and team performance: a meta-analysis

The impact of gender diversity on team performance has become a central topic in the field of human resource management for researchers and practitioners alike. Extant research provides conflicting evidence on the relationship between gender diversity and team performance. To resolve these contradictory findings, we meta-analyze the relationship between gender diversity and two performance outcomes, namely task performance and contextual performance. Grounded in categorization-elaboration model, we simultaneously consider the positive and negative aspects of gender diversity. We further examine the effect of cultural context as a moderator on the relationship between gender diversity and team performance. Based on 71 independent samples from 68 studies published between 1996 and 2013, we find a significant negative relationship ( ? 0.10) between gender diversity and contextual performance. Additionally, we find that the cultural dimensions gender egalitarianism and collectivism have significant moderating influences on the relationship between gender diversity and task performance.     

Strategic supply management: The relationship between supply management practices, strategic orientation and their impact on organisational performance

A theoretical model is presented for conceptualising the relationship between the management of supply, strategic orientation at the business-unit level and their proposed link with firm performance. The shortcomings of existing approaches in accounting for the wide variety of purchasing practices in a comprehensive supply management framework are discussed as well their alignment with strategic orientation. The paper concludes by presenting a model and propositions concerning firm-level supply management, strategic orientation and firm performance.     

The role of human capital philosophy in promoting firm innovativeness and performance: test of a causal model

In the present study, we developed and tested a causal model of the relationships between firm strategy, industry environment, human capital philosophy, innovativeness, and firm performance. Our results indicate that a differentiation-oriented strategy influences the relative use of an empowerment-oriented human capital philosophy of the firm, moderated by a firm's industry environment. Moreover, firms' human capital philosophies moderated the relationship between strategy and firm innovativeness. We also found support for the proposition that innovativeness mediated the relationship between human capital philosophy and firm performance. In addition, results also indicate that industry dynamism influences new product sales directly and industry survival difficulty moderates the relationship between firm strategy and new product sales. Survival difficulty also had a negative effect on firm profit. Overall, we found support for the mediating roles of human capital philosophy and innovativeness in the relationships between firm strategy, industry environment and firm performance. Implications are discussed.     

An examination of anti-violence human resource management practices in the context of health care and aged care

Although accumulated research has demonstrated the negative impacts of workplace violence and called for effective solutions from a human resource management (HRM) perspective, a valid measure of anti-violence HRM practices is missing. In this paper, we develop a scale of anti-violence HRM practices that is critical for both theoretical advancement and managerial practices in health care and aged care contexts. Through an inductive approach in Study 1, we generated items for the scale to be used in health care and aged care contexts, which we then subjected to a content validity test in Study 2. Using the newly developed scale, we further demonstrated in Study 3 that anti-violence HRM practices that are implemented in aged care facilities reduce workers' experienced violence, improve workers' emotional wellbeing, and enhance workers' organisational and career commitment.