Skills-based volunteering: A systematic literature review of the intersection of skills and employee volunteering

Skills-based volunteering programs sit at the intersection of corporate philanthropy and human resources (HR). These programs enable employees to volunteer their specialized skills to support non-profit organizations, while developing new skills along the way. While these programs are the fastest growing way that firms deliver on their corporate social responsibility strategy, the academic literature has all but ignored them. However, there is ample opportunity to build an understanding of skills-based volunteering from existing research that crosses the realms of employee volunteering and skills. This systematic literature review of 36 peer-reviewed articles forms the basis of this paper, where we provide a definition of skills-based volunteering, and offer a theoretical model to guide future HR research and practice on skills-based volunteering.     

Community advisory panels within the chemical industry: Antecedents and issues

Community Advisory Panels (CAPs) are currently being sponsored by the American chemical industry as a way to repair lost trust. Over 200 CAPs are currently in operation. Their goals, composition and impact vary. Like governmental advisory committees they run the risk of being vehicles of persuasion as opposed to bodies which bring about organisational or health and safety changes. This article reviews the evidence we have to date about CAP operations and sets an agenda for future research.     

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.     

Can a workplace have an attitude problem? Workplace effects on employee attitudes and organizational performance

Using the employee opinion survey responses from several thousand employees working in 193 branches of a major U.S. bank, we consider whether there is a distinctive workplace component to employee attitudes despite the common set of corporate human resource management practices that cover all the branches. Several different empirical tests consistently point to the existence of a systematic branch-specific component to employee attitudes. “Branch effects” can also explain why a significant positive cross-sectional correlation between branch-level employee attitudes and branch sales performance is not observed in longitudinal fixed-effects sales models. The results of our empirical tests concerning the determinants of employee attitudes and the determinants of branch sales are consistent with an interpretation that workplace-specific factors lead to better outcomes for both employees and the bank, and that these factors are more likely to be some aspect of the branches' internal operations rather than some characteristic of the external market of the branch.     

Giving to get loyalty: How organizations signal their loyalty to employees

Organizations are currently struggling to attract and retain human capital. The Pandemic and economy have a fueled reduction in numbers of participants in the workforce. The effect has been many employers struggling with fewer employees then they would like and need to successfully execute their business strategy. Most observers believe that a combination of low pay, a lack of workplace flexibility, poor opportunities, and benefits, have led to this large-scale labor unrest. Understanding how organizations can earn employee loyalty is more critical than ever. This article presents practical ideas for how organizations can earn employee loyalty from reviewing responses from 54 working graduate students and a review of loyalty research to provide actions organizations can take within jobs, co-workers, supervisors, and organizational policy to earn employee loyalty. As well this article provides checklists that organizational leaders can use as starting points for thinking about what they might do to signal their loyalty to employees. These checklists can also be used to engage employees in conversations about what is most important to them and discover what employees expect from their organizations as a fair trade for their loyalty.     

Is there a bigger and better future for employer branding? Facing up to innovation,corporate reputations and wicked problems in SHRM

Employer branding is becoming an increasingly important topic for research and practice in multinational enterprises (MNEs) because it plays directly into their corporate reputation, talent management and employee engagement agendas. In this paper, we argue that the potential effects of employer branding have yet to be fully understood because current theory and practice have failed to connect this internal application of marketing and branding to the key reputational and innovation agendas of MNEs, both of which are at the heart of another strategic agenda – effective corporate governance. However, these agendas are characterised by ‘wicked problems’ in MNEs, which have their origins in competing logics in strategic human resource management (SHRM). These problems need to be articulated and understood before they can be addressed. This paper proceeds by (1) setting out a definition and model of employer branding and how it potentially articulates with corporate governance, innovation and organisational reputations, (2) discussing and analysing the ‘wicked problems’ resulting from the sometimes contradictory logics underpinning innovation and corporate reputations and SHRM in MNEs and (3) evaluating the potential of employer branding as a contribution to the third SHRM approach – HR strategy-in-action – as a way of resolving three particularly wicked problems in MNEs. We conclude with some ideas for research and practice on the future for employer branding.     

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

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

Training in service – importing and imparting customer service culture as an interactive process

Customer service culture initiatives have received renewed academic attention. Recent surveys of employee responses have highlighted the importance of training. However, its precise nature and how messages and various responses are mediated through an interactive and dynamic process have been largely neglected. In addition, employees' experience of customer service as consumers and of its contradictions has yet to be fully explored in accounting for employee responses. In an effort to develop existing knowledge and models of customer service culture, these issues are addressed by drawing on observational research. Four training programmes are examined in varied contexts, including a UK call centre and a Malaysian bank. They reveal a dynamic whereby trainers' anticipation of employee attitudes such as cynicism and the immediate reactions and dialogue of trainees help shape both the service message and subsequent responses.     

Exploring the interaction of firm-level change and national institutional environments in shaping employment and union relations: a comparative case study of four European airlines

Drawing on the example of the airline industry, this paper explores in a longitudinal comparative case study the question of how firm-level changes and national institutional environments interact in shaping employee and union relations. Adding to previous research in comparative institutional analysis and comparative employment relations, we illustrate that the way in which industry pressures and national-level effects play out to influence employee and union relations depends on firm-level changes, mainly in the form of firm growth, acquisitions and the foundation of new subsidiaries. We show in particular that depending on firm-level changes, the very same firm might engage differently with a given institutional context at different points in time. Hence, our work illustrates the importance of firm growth, acquisitions and the foundation of new subsidiaries in explaining the shifting interaction between the firm and its institutional environment, and its implications for changing employee and union relations within firms.     

Managing the locals: employee relations in South Asian restaurants

This paper examines the management of employee relations in South Asian firms in the UK independent restaurant sector. Key working practices pertaining to the employment relationship are examined in a particular socio-economic and spatial context. Acknowledging such contexts facilitates an appreciation of how ethnicity and employment relations interact, rather than abstracting culture from the material context in which it operates. Consistent with this analytic focus, a mixed embeddedness perspective (Kloosterman et al. 1999) is adopted which recognizes the importance of both economic and social aspects of ethnic minority entrepreneurship. A qualitative methodology, drawing upon 23 case histories (involving both employer and employee perspectives) is deployed. The indications from this research suggest that the employment relationship is an outcome of the fluid interaction of social, economic and geographical contexts. This renders problematic both culturalist and purely economic approaches to ethnic minority entrepreneurship. Future research should carefully consider how the employment relationship is influenced by its embeddedness within specific communities.     

Similarities and differences in employee motivation viewed by Korean and Japanese executives: empirical study on employee motivation management of Japanese-affiliated companies in Korea

This study examines similarities and differences in employee motivation management between Korean and Japanese executives of Japanese-affiliated companies in Korea, based on questionnaire surveys. The respondents' views of employee motivation factors were analysed, by contrast with motivational factors and hygiene factors (maintenance factors) developed by Herzberg. The survey results reveal that both Korean and Japanese executives realize the importance of employee motivation management, and that Japanese executives have a stronger awareness of it than Korean executives. Both recognize it for the sake of high corporate performance, employee job satisfaction and customer satisfaction. Seeing motivation factors: the majority of Korean and Japanese executives regard ‘wage and bonus increases’ as a strong motivational factor; ‘employment stability’ is recognized as a motivational factor by Korean executives; and ‘clarifying company policy and job objectives’ is the most important motivational factor to Japanese executives. Their views of these three factors are not consistent with Herzberg's theory. We also found a recognition gap between Korean and Japanese executives: ‘esteem and praise for job performance’ is a hygiene factor to Korean executives but a motivational factor to Japanese executives.     

Information but not consultation: exploring employee involvement in SMEs

Most research on employee involvement (EI) has focused on large or ‘mainstream’ organizations. By adopting those schemes which ‘appear’ to work well in larger organizations, smaller firms assume there will be enhanced employee commitment beyond formal contractual requirements. The main question in this paper is whether EI schemes designed by management will suffice under the 2004 Information and Consultation of Employees (ICE) Regulations. The paper focuses on SMEs which tend to favour informal and direct EI, and it remains unclear how these methods will be played out under the new regulatory environment. Evidence from four case studies is presented here and it suggests that the ICE Regulations impose new challenges for smaller firms given their tendency to provide information rather than consult with employees. It also appears organizational factors, workplace relations history and the way processes are implemented at enterprise level may be far more important than size itself.     

Subcultures and sustainability practices: the impact on understanding corporate sustainability

In this paper we present findings of how employees from a single organization understand corporate sustainability. Responses from 255 survey participants indicate (1) that differences exist in how employees understand corporate sustainability and (2) that these differences can be partially explained by the presence of organizational subcultures and by differences in employee awareness of the organization's sustainability practices. In particular, findings reveal that employees from a subculture with a stronger emphasis on hierarchical and bureaucratic values emphasize an economic understanding of corporate sustainability. Implications for research and practice are discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

企业社会责任特征对员工绿色行为的影响:基于道德决策的机制模型

员工绿色行为作为提升组织环保绩效、促进企业可持续发展的关键因素,越来越多的学者对其进行了深入探讨。然而,现有研究大多从态度、动机和领导者行为等方面考察员工绿色行为的形成过程,忽视了组织特征因素,以及员工内在的道德认知和道德情绪因素的共同作用。本文基于道德决策理论,从理性道德认知和非理性道德情绪出发,建构企业社会责任特征与员工绿色行为的关系模型,并分析员工的道德认知与道德情绪交互作用对员工绿色行为的即时影响。研究结果将从道德决策视角拓展员工绿色行为的理论版图;实践上为培育员工的生态素养、激发员工绿色行为寻求道德动力,为组织环保实践和绿色可持续发展提供管理依据和策略。     

Human resource strategy for the new ICT-driven business context

The influence of technology developments on the content and arrangement of work is a recurring theme in many publications. Advances in information and communication technology (ICT) are reshaping internal organizational design and necessitate new types of employee capabilities and behaviour. As will be illustrated, ICT developments create a heightened level of business and market dynamics. Arguably, these dynamics affect the required capabilities and behaviour of employees even more strongly. Similarly, the way businesses are operating, and customer, supplier and business partner relationships are formed, is also affected by the rapid ICT progress. Key drivers shaping the new business context will be addressed. This paper argues that the trends and developments illustrated necessitate revision of traditionally held beliefs and paradigms. Said revision has important implications for the strategy and management of human resources, whereby the focus on employee behaviour is crucial. Two key aspects of a human resource strategy will be discussed, identified as HR alignment and HR enablement. With the focus on employee behaviour, attention should be given to the organizational context, since this context determines employee behaviour. Said context is defined by organizational culture, management practices and various organizational structures and systems. In view of the necessary organizational change associated with the developments illustrated, the importance of consistency and coherence between the elements of the organizational context is stressed. Establishing change under conditions of consistency and coherence is therefore identified as a crucial organizational competence.     

Employees are paying for poor health habits

Realizing that corporate America may have limited control over how and when medical services are delivered, employers are beginning to attack the demand side of the health-care equation. That is, improving employee health status should result in a lower demand for medical services. However, to realize significant medical-claims savings, employers must encourage the least healthy employees both to enroll in work-site health-promotion programs and to permanently change their health-risk behaviors. One way to accomplish these objectives is to shift more financial risk onto employees by redesigning the company's medical benefit plan. As the 1990s progress and as medical costs continue to spiral upward, we are bound to observe greater employer involvement in employees' life-styles, both at work and at home. The bounds of discrimination and privacy laws will be tested as companies employ more restrictive policies and benefit plan designs to encourage employees to modify current poor-risk behaviors.     

Understanding employee preferences for investing in employer stock: evidence from France

In this article, we broaden the focus of existing research on employee stock purchase plans by analysing employee preferences for investing in employer stock as a construct distinct from actual investment behaviour. In our analysis of original survey data in a sample of 900 employees in four French companies, we find that employee preferences are influenced by two common cognitive heuristics (representativeness and familiarity), organisational commitment, the perceived quality of corporate communications about these plans and perceived managerial commitment to employee ownership. We did not find, however, that risk aversion, turnover intentions or perceived employee involvement in decision making influenced preferences for investing in employer stock. Our findings have both theoretical and practical implications for understanding and operating these types of employee benefit plans, which are becoming more common across the globe.     

'Fun and surveillance': the paradox of high commitment management in call centres

Much of the research into telephone call centres has focused on the coercive employment systems which are adopted in these organizations. This appears to contrast with the high levels of customer service and satisfaction which are often required for them to be successful. Our research, which is based on two case studies of call centres studied in depth, challenges this 'satanic mills' image. We explore the ways in which both companies sought to balance the pressures in the product and labour markets and employee needs to develop strategies which combined elements of commitment and control. They developed sophisticated human resource practices, which resembled the high commitment management approach, while, at the same time, maintaining a highly controlled and measured work environment. Consequently, there was a greater alignment between their HR practices and control systems, the needs of employees and the high quality of interactions with customers expected. This suggests that high commitment practices are not automatically associated with extensive employee discretion, as has been argued in the manufacturing sector. HR practices of this kind can be used to offset some of the worst features of call centre working. These findings illustrate the variety of HR practices in call centres and suggest some possible reasons for this diversity.     

When Employees Walk The Company Talk: The Importance Of Employee Involvement In Corporate Philanthropy

Although corporate philanthropy is often viewed as a vehicle for fostering employee commitment, research suggests that it does not always accomplish this goal. Drawing on theories on prosocial sensemaking and on social identity theory, I propose that involving employees in corporate philanthropy encourages more benevolent attributions for philanthropy, thereby promoting higher attitudinal and behavioral commitment. In Study 1, a field study with employees and supervisors in a chemical‐pharmaceutical firm, employee involvement in corporate philanthropy predicted higher attitudinal and behavioral commitment to the firm. In Study 2, a laboratory experiment, participants reported higher attitudinal and behavioral commitment to a company when it was described as involving employees in philanthropy. In both studies, benevolent attributions mediated the associations of employee involvement in philanthropy with both attitudinal and behavioral commitment. My research provides new insights for understanding the impact of corporate philanthropy on a particularly important group of stakeholders—employees—and shows how employee involvement may encourage insiders to act to improve the organization's external image. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The use of biodata for employee selection: Past research and future directions

Although biodata has been shown to be one of the best predictors of employee performance and turnover, a number of important issues remain unresolved (e.g., how broadly or narrowly should biodata be defined?). This paper has three main objectives. The first objective is to provide a selective but representative review of the research that has been conducted on the use of biodata for employee selection. The second objective is to constructively critique this research. This critique is intended to highlight deficiencies of this research that may limit the conclusions that should be drawn. The paper's third objective is to stimulate important future research on biodata that avoids the limitations of past research.