Human resources and industrial relations: Commonalities and differences

A diversity of opinion exists about the definition, intellectual boundaries, and major premises of the fields of human resources management (HRM) and industrial relations (IR). To help provide a common frame of reference for discussion and debate on the symposium topic, I endeavor in this paper to flesh out a consensus position on these matters. The method used is largely historical. Based on a review of the origins and evolution of the two fields from the early 20th century to the present day, I show that human resources (HR) up to the early 1960s was typically considered to be a subfield of IR. In more recent years, however, HR has largely severed its links with IR and now is widely regarded as a separate, sometimes competing and sometimes complementary field of study. In the last part of the paper I use this historical analysis, together with a review of the literatures in the two fields and the findings and conclusions of the other papers in this symposium, to identity both the commonalities and differences that distinguish the two fields in terms of their approach to science building (research) and problem solving (policy/practice).     

IR journal and conference literature from the 1960s to the 1990s: What can HR learn from it? Where is it headed?

The industrial relations (IR) literature has changed notably from the early 1960s until the late 1990s. Yet it has retained an externalist flavor — a sense that the key variables determining outcomes are often outside the control of firm-level actors. However, the kind of externalism found in the modern IR literature differs notably from that of the past. Externalism today is seen as labor market and personal variables — often in an econometric formulation — rather than grand social forces. Generally, the IR literature has moved toward sophisticated empiricism and toward a labor economics paradigm. To the extent that the older grand themes remain, they are more likely to be found in IR books rather than in academic journals. Human resource (HR) academics and practitioners can nonetheless benefit from the IR approach, even though the tyranny of tenure review has made journal articles in IR less readable. The IR literature emphasizes that labor–market forces, sometimes stemming from product and financial markets, matter to HR outcomes. And it regards conflict more as a source of information rather than just a cause of lost productivity.     

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.     

Strategic HRM: Too Important for an Insular Approach

Strategic human resource management (SHRM) is the choice, alignment, and integration of an organization's HRM system so its human capital resources most effectively contribute to strategic business objectives. Kaufman's review (this issue) of four books in the field revealed key differences in two areas: the intended audience (academics and general managers versus researchers only) and orientation (the use of field observer and participant observation methods versus ivory tower scientism). Overemphasis on the latter produces research that is relevant only to academics and that is not used in organizations. I argue, as have others, that in addition to rigor, a successful scientific discipline must prove itself relevant to the society in which it is embedded. Hence, the objectives of SHRM should be twofold: to influence academic thinking and conceptualizing, but also to alter the way managers set priorities and make decisions. To do that, researchers have to work directly with managers. The challenge is to create models that reflect a broader view of performance as well as more complete taxonomies of internal and external factors that help shape business and HR strategies. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Employee perceptions of HR practices: A critical review and future directions

Abstract

Scholars are directing more attention to employee perceptions of human resources (HR) practices and have explored issues such as whether and how employees’ idiosyncratic or collective perceptions of HR practices shape employee outcomes. To further this area of research, we seek to determine what authors mean when they refer to “employee perceptions of HR practices”. We review 105 articles from leading human resource management journals and find that employee perceptions of HR practices is not a monolithic concept. Rather, following previous scholars, we identify three distinct components of employee perceptions of HR practices: the ‘what’, ‘how’, and ‘why’. We critically summarize extant literature on these three components of employee HR perception and propose future research directions, including enriching the theoretical foundations of HR communication, embracing cross-national contexts, and enhancing practical relevance.     

HR and IT capabilities and complementarities in knowledge-intensive services

The main premise of this article is that human resources (HR) and information technologies (IT) are central rather than support functions in knowledge-intensive services. By building management capabilities in both HR and IT, knowledge-intensive services can transform their business processes that, in turn, enable them to provide exemplary services to the customers. Our arguments are grounded in the three related theoretical frameworks of the resource-based view, organizational capabilities, and the theory of complementarities. We suggest that the research and practice in HR and IT fields may have to focus on HR and IT capabilities rather than HR practices or IT investments as the sources of sustainable competitive advantage since capabilities better fit the definition of a ‘resource’ than HR practices or IT investments. Further, organizational capabilities in both HR and IT may enable knowledge-intensive services to transcend the inherent tradeoff between cost and responsiveness. We also discuss the role of HR and IT in knowledge management.     

企业战略人力资源管理开发研究

战略人力资源管理与开发已成为近年来理论界与实践界研究和关注的焦点。本文在对国外战略人力资源管理(SHRM)理论进行回顾的基础上,提出了我国企业进行战略HRM开发的途径和方法。     

Managing electronic communications: a new challenge for human resource managers

Advances in information and communication technology are not only changing the way work is conducted but also influencing the development of human resource management (HRM) as a field of practice. In order to understand how HR managers are grappling with this issue we review the misuse of electronic communication in the workplace through the international literature and also recent court and tribunal cases in Australia. In particular, we consider the impact of new communication technologies in blurring of the boundaries between home and work and the way in which this is being dealt with by HR managers. In this paper we draw out the challenge of balancing the interests of employees and organisations, and outline the tension between HR as a strategic partner and employee champion. While not advancing a dystopian view, we argue that in many workplaces new surveillance technologies are being routinely utilised to increase employer control and that such low-trust practices are likely to be counterproductive and may undermine the profession of human resources management.     

Able,willing, and knowing: the effects of HR practices on commitment and effort in 26 European countries

This study extends previous studies of human resource (HR) practices by examining how organizational commitment and work effort are related to the use of HR practices enhancing discretion and skills based on international comparative survey data from 26 European countries. By analyzing individual level data instead of the organizational level data that are examined in prior studies, this article allows investigating whether and how employee perceptions of HR practices are related to their attitudes and behavior. The multilevel analyses largely support the hypotheses that both the intensity and the consistency of these HR practices contribute to organizational commitment and work effort since they enhance the ability of employees and their willingness to cooperate and inform them about the expectations of the organization.     

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.     

HRM and front line managers: the influence of role stress

With front line managers (FLMs) being critical in the delivery of human resource management (HRM) we would benefit from a better understanding of how and why these managers execute their human resources (HR) responsibilities in the way that they do. Without such knowledge we cannot fully identify the factors that contribute to the known gap between intended and implemented HRM and mediate the relationship between HRM and organizational performance. Yet FLMs have been largely overlooked in many studies of line management-HRM with very few employing a role-theoretic framework. To address this, interviews were conducted with FLMs in the retail industry to examine the relationship between their work role stressors and their implementation of HRM. FLMs were found to experience role overload, role conflict and role ambiguity, and in accordance with process role theory, engaged in role-making as a response. This resulted in FLMs deviating from intended HRM whereby role overload and conflict often brought about a renegotiation of the more intangible or costly HR policies, whereas role ambiguity undermined their ability to consistently and confidently implement HRM. The paper concludes by arguing that FLMs and their experiences of role stress are critical to our understanding of the gap between intended and implemented HRM.     

浅析中国现代酒店人力资源管理的4P模式

深化改革现代酒店人力资源管理制度,提升酒店人力资源管理水平是中国现代酒店行业一直关注的热点。而现代企业人力资源管理的4P模式,抓住HR管理的核心问题,为企业人力资源管理开辟了新的道路。将4P模式运用到现代酒店人力资源管理中,可以帮助酒店建立起一个以素质管理为中心、以职位管理为前提、以绩效管理为核心、以薪酬管理为关键的健全管理体制,使中国现代酒店实现行之有效的人力资源管理。     

The consensus between Italian HR and sustainability managers on HR management for sustainability-driven change – towards a ‘strong' HR management system

By sustainability-driven change, we mean the transformation of a company into an active agent of broad sustainable development. This paper focuses on two key features of this transformation: (i) the key role played by the company's human resource (HR) management system within that process; and (ii) the fact that the transformation involves a variety of agents and that, among others, HR and sustainability managers are pivotal to the success of the process. Gaining consensus between them on those aspects of the HR system that support sustainability-driven change is a key success factor, as it results in a ‘strong' HR management system that sends coherent messages to the organization. In addition, consensus between the two managers can be critical in preparing a compelling business case for sustainability for the senior management of the organization. This paper explores the level of consensus between the HR and sustainability managers using a survey of 89 managers in Italian companies committed to sustainability. The results of our research indicate which elements of an HR management system are seen as important for sustainability-driven change by both the HR and the sustainability managers and what differences in perception exist between them. Based upon our findings, implications for HR practice and research are then advanced and discussed.     

High-commitment HRM system,HR capability,and ambidextrous technological innovation

Technological innovation is becoming an increasingly significant driving force of firm competitiveness; however, only a few scholars have attempted to investigate the specific relationship between technological innovation and human resource (HR). In this study, we test the relationships among high-commitment human resource management (HCHRM) system, HR capability and ambidextrous technological innovation, as well as the mediating role of HR capability in the relationship between the other two. For this purpose, we derive HR capability based on two dimensions: (a) factors (skills vs. behaviors) and (b) nature (component vs. combinative capability). Juxtaposing these dimensions enables us to generate the following four elements of HR capability for ambidextrous technological innovation: (a) T-shaped skills (component skills), (b) technology brokering (combinative skills), (c) personal initiative (component behaviors), and (d) cooperation (combinative behaviors). Empirical results based on data collected from the HR and technology planning managers of 105 corporate research and development centers indicate that HCHRM positively affects HR capability and ambidextrous technological innovation. In addition, we find that HR capability fully mediates the relationship between the HCHRM system and ambidextrous technological innovation. We discuss theoretical contributions and practical implications of these findings.     

The diffusion of HR practices in unions

Unions, like other service industry and/or nonprofit employers, are uniquely dependent upon the performance of their human resources to ensure organizational success. Consequently, unions have much to gain from adopting a more strategic focus in the management of their vital human talent. While some unions are moving toward greater sophistication in their internal HR practices (Clark and Gray, 2005), as a whole unions have been slow to embrace a strategic outlook on human resources and adopt HR practices that could improve union effectiveness and rejuvenate the union movement. In this paper, I identify and discuss internal organizational characteristics and external environmental factors that may influence the adoption of more sophisticated HR practices by labor unions. It is hoped that the framework that is suggested here can be used to launch research directed at understanding and improving the diffusion of good HR practices among unions that could subsequently improve both the efficiency and effectiveness of unions as institutions.     

The virtuous circle of human resource investments: A precrisis and postcrisis analysis

We propose a dynamic model of positive feedback between human resource (HR) investments and companies' economic performance. The model assumes that HR investment increases profitability through labor productivity and, in turn, profitability improves HR investment through organizational slack. Based on data from a sample of 2,497 industrial companies over a 7‐year period (2005–2011), longitudinal analysis corroborates the existence of a two‐way relationship between HR investment and profitability over time. However, the emergence of an economic crisis weakens this feedback, identifying the effect of organizational slack on HR investment as the weakest causal chain link. In a postcrisis period, HR investment is not such a high priority for managers.     

Human resource management and innovation in the Canary Islands: an ultra-peripheral region of the European Union

This study attempts to answer the question about how firms in an ultra-peripheral region innovate to compete in a global market when they often seem not to have the basic conditions to innovate identified in the literature. On that line, and based on the notion that firms in ultra-peripheral regions must recognise the value of their human capital in order to overcome the limitations typical of their social and geographical context, this research aimed to analyse the relationship between the human resource (HR) policy and innovation in an ultra-peripheral region of the European Union, namely the Canary Islands. The objective of this study is to identify the HR-related internal factors that can affect the innovation capability of firms. In particular, this paper considers the HR management policy, the formalisation of that policy in an HR plan, and job stability. To achieve this goal, an empirical study of 157 Canarian firms was carried out and arrived at the conclusion that high commitment human resource management (HRM) has a positive influence on organisational innovation in processes. The results also show that the formalisation of the HR policy in a plan, and job stability also increases innovation in processes.     

Theorizing the links between e-HR and strategic HRM: a model,case illustration and reflections

In this paper we develop a model of e-human resources (e-HR) focusing on the relationship between HR strategy, e-HR goals and architectures, and positive and negative e-HR outcomes. This relationship is moderated by a number of key factors, including the organization and resources of the HR function, the absorptive capacity of HR, the skills and preferred styles of HR professionals, the levels of technology acceptance among employees and line managers and the models of change used in implementing e-HR programs. We illustrate certain features of this model using data from a case study of a leading international oilfield services provider. These data provide a partial confirmation of the model's validity but show the need for a more dynamic understanding of the links between e-HR variables and the importance of context in explaining differences between line managers' acceptance of e-HR.     

Managing diversity through human resource management: an international perspective and conceptual framework

This paper critically reviews the literature on managing diversity through human resource management (HRM). We discuss the major issues and objectives of managing diversity and examine the state of human resource diversity management practices in organizations. Our review shows that inequality and discrimination still widely exist and HRM has focused mainly on compliance with equal employment opportunity (EEO) and affirmative action (AA) legislation. Less attention has been paid to valuing, developing and making use of diversity. Our review reveals limited literature examining how diversity is managed in organizations through effective human resource management. We develop a framework that presents strategies for HR diversity management at the strategic, tactical and operational levels. Our review also discusses the implications for practice and further research.     

Quality and cost? The evolution of Walmart's business strategy and human resource policies and practices in China and their impact (1996–2017)

This study responds to calls for more in‐depth and qualitative studies, the return to a focus on external factors, and the inclusion of business strategy and industrial relations in human resource management (HRM) research, as well as more research in the retail sector in the Chinese context. We examine the coevolution of the business strategy and HR strategy of Walmart (China) in the last two decades and identify tensions in the context of intensifying competition in the Chinese retail market. We highlight the interactive effect of business and HR strategies through a historical lens. Our study reveals a shift from the original employee‐oriented win–win strategy through rent sharing between the firm and the employees to a win–lose strategy through the introduction of more cost conscious HR policies and practices. Findings of our study challenge the conventional wisdom that firms adopt either the cost or quality strategy and, along with it, the suggestion of matching the quality strategy with employee‐oriented HR policies and practices, and cost leadership with a transactional approach to HRM. We argue a cost and quality business strategy may be adopted, which requires the support of employee‐oriented, rather than cost‐oriented, HR policies and practices.