Unravelling the complexities of high commitment: an employee‐level analysis

Research within HRM has faced criticism for failing to focus adequately on employee experiences of HR practice. In particular, the ‘high‐commitment’ models fail to recognise employee perspectives on HRM, the complexities of the commitment construct and the possibility that organisations configure HR systems in various ways. This paper explores the impact of employee attitudes towards HR practices on affective, continuance and normative commitment, and intention to leave in three organisational contexts. The findings suggest that different HR systems can yield different attitudes towards HR practices, which in turn can impact on different forms of commitment and levels of intention to leave. The findings provide insights into the ways in which organisations manage the commitment process through HR practices and the response by employees to these interventions.     

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.     

Reducing intentions to resist future change: Combined effects of commitment‐based HR practices and ethical leadership

Change management, and particularly the human side of change, is a central tenet of the strategy of contemporary organizations. However, there is little evidence concerning how strategic HR practices influence how individuals anticipate and react to the implementation of a major change and how direct supervisors influence that process. With a sample of 191 employees from multiple organizations, who completed two surveys with a four‐week lag, we examined the role of commitment‐based HR practices on employees’ intentions to resist future change. We found that commitment‐based HR practices contribute to a decrease in intentions to resist future change, measured four weeks later, via increased affective commitment to change. Moreover, we found that this relationship is conditional on ethical leadership, in that it is significant when ethical leadership is high but not when it is low. Building on social exchange and uncertainty reduction theories, our findings contribute to the literature by examining how and under what boundary conditions HR practices are an effective means for organizations to anticipate and manage change.     

Satisfaction with HR practices and commitment to the organisation: why one size does not fit all

This article examines the links between employees' satisfaction with HR practices and their commitment to the organisation. It draws on recently collected data to examine these links for three groups of employees: professionals, line managers and workers. Satisfaction with some HR practices appears to be linked to the commitment of all employees, while the link for others varies befuwn the three employee groups. These findings pose a challenge to the universalistic model of HRM and have implications for those seeking to design practices that will improve organisational commitment.     

Broad‐based incentive plans,HR practices and company performance

The purpose of this paper is to further develop our knowledge of the complementarities between broad‐based incentives and human resource (HR) management practices, and their combined impact on company performance. We focus on three HR practices that are expected, separately and in combination, to enhance the effectiveness of broad‐based plans: information sharing, upward communication, and training in team skills. Using a sample of 305 Canadian firms, we find that companies with broad‐based incentive plans have lower levels of upward communication and higher levels of information sharing compared with companies that do not offer incentives to the majority of their workforce. Further, we find that companies with broad‐based incentive plans are more productive compared with companies with no such plans, and the presence of supporting HR practices increases their productivity advantage even further. In particular, upward communication combined with broad‐based incentives has a strong positive relationship with productivity.     

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.     

Using sequential tree analysis to search for ‘bundles’ of HR practices

This article reviews progress in the search for a ‘bundle’ of HR practices, using the work of MacDuffie as a starting point for the analysis of the concept of a bundle. The different methods by which bundles might be identified are reviewed and sequential tree analysis is presented as a possible alternative approach. It is then tested alongside factor analysis and regression on accounts of HR practices and aspects of performance provided by a sample of 1,308 managers. The results show that sequential tree analysis does identify a relatively parsimonious set of practices; these overlap partly with those identified in factor analysis and more extensively with those occurring in regression analysis but are more interpretable and therefore potentially more useful for policy‐makers.     

Becoming an evidence‐based HR practitioner

Evidence‐based HR (EBHR) is a decision‐making process combining critical thinking with use of the best available scientific evidence and business information. We describe how to get started as an evidence‐based HR practitioner. Actively managing professional decisions is a key aspect of EBHR. Doing so involves making decisions, especially consequential or recurring ones, using practices supported by high‐quality research. We present a step‐by‐step set of approaches to becoming an evidence‐based HR practitioner: from getting started, through everyday practices and continuous learning to integrating EBHR into your organisation. In offering guidance for evidence‐based practice, this article underscores the connection between effective practice and organisational research.     

Having two bosses: considering the relationships between LMX,satisfaction with HR practices,and organizational commitment

This study went beyond previous research on leader–member exchange (LMX) by examining employees who are supervised by more than one boss. Using data from 122 PhDs from a Dutch university, this study had three research objectives. First, to examine the effects of PhDs' LMX with both their promoter and their assistant promoter on affective organizational commitment (AOC). Second, to examine the mediating role of satisfaction with human resource (HR) practices in the two LMX–AOC relationships. Since the promoter as the higher level boss has more influence on different HR practices the third objective was to examine whether the LMX–AOC relationship is stronger for the promoter than for the assistant promoter. The results showed that both promoter LMX and assistant promoter LMX were positively related to PhDs' AOC, and both relationships were fully mediated by PhDs' satisfaction with HR practices. As expected, these effects were significantly stronger for the promoter than for the assistant promoter.     

Innovative human resource practices and organizational commitment: an empirical investigation

In the contemporary business environment, human resource (HR) is an indispensable input for organizational effectiveness. Hence, an effective management of human resources has an important role to play in the performance and success of organizations. Competitive pressures have encouraged organizations to be proactive in diagnosing HR problems and to adopt more innovative HR practices since these were no longer a matter of trend, but rather of survival. The present study attempted to explore the relationship of three dimensions of innovative human resource practices (IHRPs): that is, the extent of introduction of IHRPs, their importance for organizational goal achievement and satisfaction with implementation of IHRPs, with organizational commitment (OC). Regression analyses showed that the perceived extent of introduction of innovative human resource practices by the organizations was the most significant predictor of organizational commitment.     

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.     

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.     

The HR department's contribution to line managers' effective implementation of HR practices

The implementation of human resource (HR) practices (HRPs) is increasingly regarded as a cornerstone in the achievement of overall HRM effectiveness. This article addresses the role of the HR department in contributing to line managers' (LMs) effective implementation of HRPs. It does so by comparing the actions of HR departments in both effective and ineffective implementation processes in different firms. Its findings reveal that HR departments can make a difference by taking initiatives that foster LMs' implementation abilities, motivation and opportunities, such as deploying in‐the‐field HR specialists, framing practices in appealing ways, involving LMs in the development of HRPs and seeking CEO support, among others. By fleshing out these HR initiatives and linking them to the AMO framework, we build an inductive model that offers a more nuanced view of what HR departments can do to have their proposals effectively implemented by LMs.     

Sense‐giving in health care: the relationship between the HR roles of line managers and employee commitment

In this article, we examine line manager prioritisation of HR roles and the consequences for employee commitment in a health‐care setting. Our analysis is based on a quantitative, multi‐actor study (509 employees and 67 line managers) in four Dutch hospitals. Using sense‐giving as a theoretical lens, we demonstrate that, in addition to the effects of high commitment HRM, prioritising the Employee Champion role alone and the Employee Champion and Strategic Partner roles in combination is associated with higher employee commitment. We argue that through performing roles that are evocative of deep‐seated values, such as excellent patient care and concern for others, line managers can have a positive effect on staff attitudes. In a sector often beleaguered by staff turnover, exhaustion and burnout, we offer an important, empirically based framework that has the potential to improve employee commitment and, from there, enhance performance.     

A cross‐cultural examination of the relationships among human resource management practices and organisational commitment: an institutional collectivism perspective

Previous research has shown that human resource management (HRM) practices vary across cultures. However, little research has empirically compared the effects of various HRM practices on firm‐level or individual‐level outcome variables across cultures. Drawing upon psychological contract theory and the literature on cultural values, the present study examined the effects of three organisational‐level HRM practices on individual organisational commitment in a survey of 2424 individuals in 120 organisations located in four countries and three industries. Based upon the GLOBE study, we classified the four countries into two groups – high versus low institutional collectivism. The results of our hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) analyses found significant differences in the effects of organisational‐level HRM on individual organisational commitment across cultures for two of the three HRM practices included in our model: training and teamwork. We also found partial support for differences across cultures for the effects of the third HRM practice: employee involvement in decision making. Overall, our results support the utility of theoretical and empirical models that address multiple levels of analyses to better understand the mechanisms through which the HRM‐performance link takes place across national cultures.     

Control and commitment HR practices,job satisfaction and turnover intentions: a comparison between local and multinational firms in China

There is a growing body of literature and debate around control versus commitment human resource management (HRM) systems and their impacts on employees. However, the impacts of these constructs have not been widely examined in more emerging economies. Taking a specific sample of educated professionals working for multinational and local firms in China, this study investigated employee perceptions of control and commitment HR practices, job satisfaction and turnover intentions. A total of 311 respondents completed a structured survey questionnaire. Results revealed that those working for multinational firms reported more positive perceptions of their employers' control and commitment HR practices. In multinational firms, the use of commitment HR practices predicted lower intentions to leave. However, in domestic firms a lack of control HR practices predicted higher turnover intentions. Theoretically, the study adds to discussions about the nature and roles of these constructs, their impacts on HR outcomes and how institutional mechanisms might shape the degree of HRM homogeneity and hybridity across organizations in China. Practically, the study provides guidance to international and local firms on how to improve their HRM effectiveness to achieve a higher retention of their most talented professionals.     

High‐commitment human resource practices and employee outcomes: The contingent role of organisational identification

In this paper, we examine whether the relationship between high‐commitment human resource (HR) practices and two employee outcomes, quit intentions and organisational citizenship behaviours (OCBs), is contingent on organisational identification. Incorporating insights from both social exchange and social identity theories, we propose that the relationship between high‐commitment HR systems, intention to quit, and OCBs is attenuated when employees strongly identify with their organisation. This proposition was tested and supported with employees of a Swedish relocation company and a Greek shipping organisation. For high identifiers, as perceptions of HR practices deteriorated from high to low, they were associated with smaller increases in quit intentions and smaller decreases in citizenship behaviours. But overall, high identifiers always had lower quit intentions and higher citizenship behaviours than low identifiers, which is managerially reassuring.     

HR practices and turnover intention: the mediating roles of organizational commitment and organizational engagement in a selected region in Malaysia

This study examined the mediating effects of organizational commitment (OC) and organizational engagement (OE) on the relationship between human resource (HR) practices (career management, performance appraisal, compensation, person–job fit and job control) and turnover intention. A total of 457 employees working in various sectors in a selected region in Malaysia participated in this study. It was found that all the variables used to measure HR practices have significant effects on OC and OE. However, multiple regression analyses indicated that career management and job control did not have any significant influence on turnover intention. OC and OE were discovered to give partial mediating effects on the relationship between HR practices and turnover intention.