HRM Systems for Knowledge Workers: Differences Among Top Managers,Middle Managers,and Professional Employees

This theoretical study contributes to the debate in the field of strategic HRM on whether HRM systems should differ across employee groups within the firm. It explores differences in the efficacy of two HRM systems—high‐involvement HR and internal labor market systems—across top management teams, middle managers, and professional employees. In addition, it examines factors that may prevent the adoption of effective HRM systems for these groups of knowledge workers. A model is proposed depicting how four job‐level moderators influence the HRM‐performance relationship and how these moderators apply to each of the three employee groups. Short‐term performance pressures and favoritism in staffing are proposed as factors that may hinder the adoption of effective HRM systems. Finally, HRM systems for different employee groups are classified based on their gains potential and barriers to implementation, yielding four categories of strategic HRM activity metaphorically labeled low‐hanging fruits, high‐hanging fruits, peanuts, and barren land. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Union substitution effects of human resource management practices in South Korean workplaces, 2005–2013

Abstract

This article explores the association between various workplace-level HRM practices and a decline in union strength using a unique longitudinal survey data-set gathered in South Korea from 2005 to 2013. It addresses the underlying theoretical mechanisms by which HRM programs substitute for the roles labor unions have traditionally played. Suggesting more nuanced theoretical implications about HRM practices and union decline, statistical analyses reveal that workplaces that have implemented HRM practices have unions with a weaker organizational base than those without such practices, but that certain HRM programs correlate with unions with a strong collective voice in management decision-making. This article identifies the new roles for unions in South Korea in the era of HRM.     

Co-operation and conflict in industrial relations: what are the implications for employees and trade unions?

This article explores the effects on employees of co-operation and conflict the workplace, outlining six workplace types. A survey of union representatives UK steel industry reveals evidence of co-operative industrial relations linked to superior terms and conditions, employee involvement and health and safety outcomes. However, it fails to find evidence that co-operative industrial relations are associated a broader HRM package of workplace restructuring, high performance work teams security provisions. Nor is any association revealed between co-operation and a greater role for trade unions. These findings suggest workplace co-operation in this industry remains part of a traditional gainsharing package and an 'alliance of insiders' than an HRM partnership or union incorporation. This raises broader questions the ability of co-operation to deliver important aspects of organizational competitive advantage.     

Actions speak louder than words: how employees mind the implementation gap

Abstract

Integral to employees’ working lives are the HR policies and more importantly, the practices that follow those and their implementation, which employees experience directly. To date, research on HR implementation considers how HRM is ‘done to’ employees by management and therefore ignores the agency of individuals to shape how HRM is ‘done to them’. Taking the perspective of employees, in a qualitative study of female lawyers, this paper examines employees’ roles in shaping HR implementation, addressing a lack of understanding about the role of ‘others’ in the process. Drawing on the concept of social power, the article focuses on the implementation of agile working practices within UK-based law firms. It finds that despite lacking legitimate position power to influence processes, employees draw on a variety of other power sources (e.g. referent, information, coercive) and tactics (e.g. leveraging membership of professional networks) in order to influence their working environment with respect to HR policy and practice, particularly in response to perceived implementation gaps. The current study underlines that employees may be integral to bridging the gap between policy and practice and therefore to ensuring the link between HRM and organisational performance. It also proposes that behavioural responses to HR practices should be considered in future theorising of the HRM-performance relationship.     

Ambidextrous work in smart city project alliances: unpacking the role of human resource management systems

Abstract

Organizations that are competing in dynamic global markets are increasingly adopting ambidextrous strategies where exploration and exploitation capabilities are combined simultaneously. However, ambidextrous work raises new challenges for human resource management (HRM). Based on 21 interviews with managers in seven multinational firms in Europe, we investigate how ambidextrous work in smart city work is supported through HRM systems. Our findings suggest a complex mix of three different HRM systems (one at corporate and two at project levels) designed to support ambidextrous exploratory and exploitation work. Specifically, corporate HRM systems focused on incentives and development of dual capabilities for smart city managers (SCMs). At project levels, interconnected explorative and exploitative HRM systems offered tailored managerial tools to support social integration and knowledge management between internal and external employees. Theoretical contributions, future research paths, and practical implications are addressed.     

Human resource management control system and firm performance: a contingency model of corporate control

This study explores how corporate controls used by the parent company of a conglomerate affect subsidiaries' human resource management (HRM) control–performance relationship. Empirical results from 93 firms reveal that the appropriate use of HRM control systems was a contributing factor to firm performance. When a subsidiary's approach to HRM was based on behavior control, performance was lower when the parent company emphasized financial control. When a subsidiary's approach to HRM was based on output control, performance was higher when the parent company emphasized either strategic or financial control. When a subsidiary's approach to HRM was based on input control, performance was higher when the parent company emphasized strategic control.     

The dynamic nature of HRM implementation: a structuration perspective

Abstract

Over the past decades, scholars have dedicated substantial attention to the process of HRM implementation. Most progress has been made with debates on HRM system strength, roles of organisational actors in HRM implementation, and intended, actual and perceived HRM. In this paper, we challenge the current view on HRM implementation as being too static and one-directional. By building on structuration theory, we show that the process of HRM implementation is less straightforward than has been previously assumed. After their initial introduction, HRM practices evolve through turbulent developments. Furthermore, instead of neatly distributed roles following meticulously scheduled planning, HRM practices are influenced by various organisational actors. For successful implementation, HRM practices need to become inscribed into the interpretive schemes of organisational actors, resources have to be distributed, the HRM practice has to gain legitimacy. We develop a comprehensive framework that assists in understanding the process of HRM implementation.     

‘Intended’ and ‘implemented’ HRM: the missing linchpin in strategic human resource management research

We argue that inconclusive findings in the SHRM literature regarding the relationship between HRM systems and organizational performance may result primarily from methodological weaknesses and a failure of researchers to distinguish between HR practices intended by the organizations and those actually implemented. Rather than relying upon a single respondent per organization as is the norm, we contrast reports of both managers and non-managers from inside and outside HR departments to highlight differences between intended and implemented HRM. The findings, arrived at with the help of 195 interviews, 508 questionnaire responses and several company documents, support our expectation: implemented HRM may be substantially different from intended HRM; consistent implementation increases employee satisfaction with HRM, which is positively related to organizational performance. The current study thus highlights new factors that require attention in developing HR–performance analyses and also suggests that a mere imitation of HRM in the hopes of improving organizational performance creates no value. It is crucial that HR departments and managers remain committed and supportive to the development of effective HRM systems by focusing upon actual ‘implementation’ within their organizations.     

A mutual gains perspective on workplace partnership: Employee outcomes and the mediating role of the employment relations climate

Recent years have witnessed increased research on the role of workplace partnership in promoting positive employment relations. However, there has been little quantitative analysis of the partnership experiences of employees. This article examines how the kinds of attributions employees make regarding indirect (union‐based) and direct (non‐union‐based) employee participation in workplace partnership might influence the process of mutual gains. It uses employee outcomes to reflect partnership gains for all stakeholders involved (i.e. employees, employers and trade unions). The article contributes to existing knowledge of workplace partnership by examining the potential role of the employment relations climate as an enabling mechanism for the process of mutual gains. The findings suggest mutual gains for all stakeholders are varied and mediated through the employment relations climate.     

Which HRM practices enhance employee outcomes at work across the life-span?

Abstract

Based on the social exchange theory and on ageing and life-span theories, this paper aims to examine: (1) the relationships between perceived availability and use of HRM practices, and employee outcomes (i.e. work engagement and employability); and (2) how employee age moderates these relationships. Using a sample of Nmaximum = 1589 employees, correlational analyses and multiple hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. First, confirming our hypotheses, results showed predominantly positive relationships between work engagement and both perceived availability and use of development HRM practices, such as HRM practices related to learning, development, and incorporating new tasks. The study outcomes opposed, however, our hypotheses with predominantly negative relationships between work engagement and perceived availability and use of maintenance HRM practices. Predominantly positive relationships were furthermore found, as was hypothesized, between employability and perceived availability and use of development as well as maintenance HRM practices. Generally speaking, these results were not more pronounced for any of the age groups. That is, age appeared to not play any significant moderating role. Research limitations, implications for practice and directions for future work are also discussed.     

Human resource management in the Canadian manufacturing sector

Using a sample of 356 Canadian manufacturing organizations, this study examines the pattern of implementation of a wide range of HRM practices including external recruitment procedures, internal job posting systems, performance appraisal methods, job evaluation methods and pay-for-performance systems. A comparison of the adopted HRM practices between large and small firms and between union and non-union firms is also made. The results show that the main difference between large and small firms lies in the recruitment procedure and the job evaluation process. The difference between the union and non-union firms is associated with the greater emphasis placed on performance by the latter.

This study also presents some evidence regarding the perceived importance of twenty HRM activities. The evidence suggests that the three most important activities include health and safety compliance, employee/labour relations and disciplinary issues. On the other hand, the three least important ones are conducting attitudinal surveys, public relations activities and career planning development.     

In Search of Collaborative Public Management

Abstract

This paper describes how managers from disparate organizations collaborated to implement a crime programme through the mechanism of a multi-layered crime partnership. The case is analysed using three theoretical models: collaborative public management (CPM), new public management (NPM) and public administration (PA). A case study research strategy was adopted with eighteen managers from the partnership being interviewed and ten partnership meetings being observed, to enhance understanding of management practice under partnership. This paper provides evidence for CPM, a model of management suited to deliver on the shared outcomes required by government from the varied organizations involved in crime programmes.     

HRM implementation by multiple HRM actors: a social exchange perspective

Abstract

In this study, we understand HRM implementation as a social process that depends on the social exchange relationships between line managers and both HRM professionals and employees. As such, we offer a fresh approach to understanding HRM implementation by concentrating on the social exchange among HRM actors. We do so by investigating to what extent these exchange relationships influence HRM implementation, as reflected in employees’ perceptions of the presence of HRM practices and their affective commitment. We collected multilevel data from two sources (line managers and employees) and in two phases in a Dutch engineering firm, and obtained fully matched manager – employee information from 75 employees and 20 line managers. Our results show that employees perceive a larger number of HRM practices when they have a good relationship with their line managers and when their line managers are motivated to implement HRM practices. Line managers, in turn, reciprocate perceived support from the HRM department with greater motivation to implement these practices. We conclude that because HRM actors engage in social interactions, HRM practices will be implemented at the organizational level because employees perceive the presence of HRM practices and then reciprocate this with affective commitment.     

Partnerships in Local Government: The case of transition support services for young people with learning disabilities

Abstract

This paper examines a type of partnership that is formed to deliver transition support services for young people with learning disabilities. What makes transition partnerships instructive for partnership research is that they are constituted between statutory and non-statutory agencies across a wide range of service sectors. Transition for this population group with its specific needs has often been described as a ‘wicked problem’. The paper suggests that a split between strategic and operational levels of partnership work adversely affects policy implementation and contributes to the inability of stakeholders to bring about improved outcomes for service users.     

Listen carefully: transgender voices in the workplace

Abstract

We find that only 17% of FTSE 100 company websites refer directly to transgender (‘trans’) individuals, illustrating the extent to which trans voices are unheard in the workplace. We propose that these voices are missing for a number of reasons: voluntary silence to protect oneself from adverse circumstances; the subsumption of trans voices within the larger ‘LGBT’ community; assimilation, wherein many trans voices become affiliated with those of their post-transition gender; multiple trans voices arising from diversity within the transgender community; and limited access to voice mechanisms for transgender employees. We identify the negative implications of being unheard for individual trans employees, for organizational outcomes, and for business and management scholarship, and propose ways in which organizations can listen more carefully to trans voices. Finally, we introduce an agenda for future research that tests the applicability of the theoretical framework of invisible stigma disclosure to transgender individuals, and calls for new theoretical and empirical developments to identify HRM challenges and best practices for respecting trans employees and their choices to remain silent or be heard.     

Customer service-focused HRM systems and firm performance: evidence from the service industry in Taiwan

Abstract

This study adopts a resource-based view, attraction–selection–attrition theory and a focused approach to examine the link between service-focused human resource management (HRM) systems and firm performance. Internally, we examine employee competency as the ‘black box’ between service-focused HRM systems and firm performance. Externally, we examine the effect of the interplay of a service-focused strategy and service-focused HRM systems in predicting firm performance. We collect data from different sources (i.e. executives, human resource members, and line managers). Using a final sample included 2120 respondents from 175 firms in the service industry in Taiwan, the results show that customer service-focused employee competency transmitted 53% of the effect of customer service-focused HRM systems on firm performance. In addition, when a firm implements a less service-focused business strategy, service-focused HRM systems leads to significant improvement in firm performance. Implications for research are discussed.     

Graduate Recruitment In the Australian Public Sector

ABSTRACT

Service orientation in the HRM system is a lever for public employees to serve the public even beyond their work roles. Our research seeks to understand how work engagement links service-oriented high-performance work systems (HPWSs) to public employees’ service-oriented behaviours. Employees and their managers from public legal service agencies in the Vietnamese context were recruited as participants in our research project. The research results demonstrated the role of employee work engagement in mediating the relationships between service-oriented HPWSs and service-oriented in-role performance as well as service-oriented organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB). The interactions were also found between service-oriented HPWSs and HRM system strength, as well as between service-oriented HPWSs and public service motivation in catalysing work engagement.     

Managing people across hospital networks in the UK: multiple employers and the shaping of HRM

Building on the insights from a growing number of studies on the HRM implications of inter-organisational relations, this article investigates the HR issues in two case studies of ‘best practice’, long-term collaborative working. It identifies three common challenges for HRM: (a) how to build employee commitment and identity to the partnership without putting at risk the employing organisation's goals; (b) how to establish attractive career pathways in a partnership context requiring some degree of sharing of skill standards and coordination of training provision; and (c) how to sustain partnerships in a changing policy and organisational context. The data point to inherent problems in managing employment when there is more than one employing organisation exercising influence. Differences in organisational goals and HRM approaches in hospital networks are an obstacle to long-term integration – especially in public–private arrangements where integration of goals and HRM is more difficult.     

HRM in dynamic environments: Exploitative,exploratory, and ambidextrous HR architectures

Abstract

The current economic crisis has brought to the fore the need for firms to deal with ambiguity and complexity. Hence, firms need a specific balance between exploration and exploitation in order to keep pace with varying and changing environmental conditions. Hitherto, there is limited research that has examined the nexus of HR architectures, ambidexterity, and environmental dynamics. In this conceptual paper we ask: How do HR architectures serve as a means of balancing exploitative and exploratory learning in different dynamic environments? We explain how exploratory, exploitative, and ambidextrous HR architectures with their embedded HRM systems on the business unit level enable organizations to meet different environmental requirements. Thus, firms in which heterogeneous demands for flexibility and for innovation co-exist need to develop internally differentiated HR architectures. In particular, we elucidate how critical the organization’s ability is to connect different HRM systems to create an ambidextrous HR architecture to find an appropriate balance between exploration and exploitation.     

Contextualizing performance appraisal practices in Chinese public sector organizations: the importance of context and areas for future study

Abstract

Public sector organizations (PSOs) continue to undergo pressures for change due to economic globalization and the changing role of the state, resulting in increased focus on performance management, particularly employee performance appraisal. New public management’s emphasis on transparency, accountability, efficiency and performance highlights the multiple and often conflicting roles and performance outcomes of PSOs, the social and economic contexts in which PSOs operate, and the multiple ways they measure and manage performance. Responding to this special issue and calls for a richer understanding of performance management in PSOs we examine the impact of context on performance appraisal in Chinese PSOs. As China continues its transitions to a market-driven economy, Chinese PSOs have engaged in managerial reforms to improve governance, efficiency and productivity, including the strategic implementation of western-based HRM practices to manage employee performance. Our analysis demonstrates the challenges context poses for analysing HRM practices in Chinese PSOs.