Training and organisational performance: A meta‐analysis of temporal,institutional and organisational context moderators

Drawing on systems theory, we conducted a moderated meta‐analysis of the training and organisational performance relationship using 119 primary studies. We examined the moderating effects of quality versus quantity of training, time, institutional and organisational context factors in the relationship between training and organisational performance. Our findings reveal that training is positively and directly related to organisational performance with no statistically significant difference between measures of training quality and quantity. We found that the relationship was stronger over time and that country performance orientation and country labour cost moderate the training and organisational performance relationship. We found no evidence for the moderating effects of the three organisational context moderators we examined (i.e. industry sector, organisational size and technology intensity). Finally, our results reveal that training type (i.e. general or firm‐specific) does not moderate the training and organisational performance relationship.     

The making of the German minimum wage: a case study of institutional change

In the more recent dualistic theories, Germany is cited as an example of a less solidaristic equilibrium, in which ‘producer coalitions’ between core workforces supposedly unaffected by deregulation and their employers prevented the introduction of a minimum wage. The present article shows that such an equilibrium never existed. Core workforces are being threatened by the outsourcing of jobs to the low‐wage sector. This threat created the breeding ground for a joint campaign by manufacturing and service unions for a minimum wage, which made it possible to amalgamate the unions' considerable resources at company level, their strength being derived from the German system of codetermination. Under pressure from the manufacturing unions in particular, the arrangements for the minimum wage follow, as far as possible, the traditions of free collective bargaining. As a result, the social partners in Germany have a considerably stronger influence on the minimum wage than those in the UK.     

Selective perception,unions and organisational change

This article uses a large scale body of survey data to investigate the proposition that reported management perceptions of the extent to which unions constitute a constraint on organisational change will vary systematically according to certain personal and organisational characteristics. The resulting evidence of selective perception has a number of implications for survey work that seeks attitudinal based responses to questions, particularly from a single management respondent per employment establishment.     

Ever larger unions: organisational restructuring and its impact on union confederations

Unions have responded to current membership decline and other organisational problems by restructuring via mergers, increasing union concentration within and across union confederations. A particular noted feature are amalgamations to form ‘super‐unions’. These conglomerate unions threaten to undermine the role played by confederations in respect of political voice, bargaining coordination, and service provision. Despite these mergers, union pluralism still prevails in many European countries with separate peak associations organised along employment/occupational status or political and religious lines. After comparing the recent merger waves and increased union concentration in western European countries, the consequences for union movements are discussed.     

Predicting pro‐change behaviour: the role of perceived organisational justice and organisational identification

This study sets out to determine some of the key factors that foster employees’ behavioural support for change management interventions. Specifically, we examine the relationships between organisational justice, organisational identification and employees’ pro‐change behaviour by analysing questionnaire‐based survey data from 137 market research employees. Full structural equation modelling results indicate that out of the four main organisational justice types, only interpersonal justice perceptions play a significant role in predicting pro‐change behaviour after controlling for same source bias effects. In particular, the relationship between interpersonal justice and pro‐change behaviour is partially mediated by organisational identification. The results additionally indicate that age is positively associated with pro‐change behaviour and tenure with organisational identification. The study as such indicates that while perceptions of fair treatment based on respectful and courteous interactions are important in encouraging employees’ behavioural engagement in change management interventions, key in this process is the role that they play in encouraging identification with the employing organisation.     

Procedural justice and identification with the acquirer: the moderating effects of job continuity,organisational identity strength and organisational similarity

This study examined factors influencing whether acquired employees identify with their acquirer and the complex role that the different types of continuity play in moderating relationships between procedural justice and post‐acquisition identification. Data were obtained (n = 156) from a three‐country sample of employees working for a recently acquired multinational. Multiple regressions showed that expected job continuity moderated the relationship between acquirer procedural justice and post‐acquisition identification. Analysis examined combinations of two organisational identity‐related continuity forms (organisational similarity and acquirer organisational identity); results showed complex interactional effects of organisational similarity and acquirer organisational identity on the relationship between justice and identification with the acquirer.     

Human resource strategies,workplace reform and industrial restructuring in Australia and New Zealand

In recent years, Australia and New Zealand have pursued two different routes of labour market reform. New Zealand opted for a radical experiment in the deregulation of industrial relations and other areas. Australia pursued a co-operative and co-ordinated approach to reform within the centralized arbitral system. Both reform initiatives were designed to stimulate improvements in organizational performance and cost competitiveness. In this paper, we argue that there are three main types of strategies that management can use to reduce labour cost and improve performance: productivity-enhancement, costminimization and work-intensification strategies. We argue that the former is a long-term sustainable strategy whereas the latter two are negative short-term strategies that may have deleterious longer-term effects. This paper reports the results of a cross-national survey in New Zealand and Australia into the extent of adoption of these management strategies. The results are presented by industry, employment size, mode of operation and countries as a whole. The research findings indicate that New Zealand's decentralization has encouraged a higher degree of employer experimentation with both positive and negative workplace change strategies, especially in the private sector. Australia's more centralized system limited the use of cost-minimization strategies but not productivity-enhancing strategies in the public and not-for-profit sector. The research found evidence of work intensification in both countries.     

Balancing tensions: Buffering the impact of organisational restructuring and downsizing on employee well‐being

This study examines the impact of employee experiences of restructuring and downsizing on well‐being. The job demands‐resources model was used to develop hypotheses related to job demands in the form of work intensity and job resources in the form of consultation. The job demands‐resources model allows for direct incorporation of employee perceptions and does not assume a singular, predetermined consequence of HRM practices. Hypotheses were tested via structural equation modelling on a nationally representative sample of over 5,110 employees from the Republic of Ireland in 2009. The findings indicate that work intensity serves as a conduit through which experiences of restructuring and downsizing negatively impact employee well‐being. Notably, consultation served as a buffer, diminishing the extent of this negative experience. The findings illuminate the complex pathways that shape how restructuring and downsizing are perceived by employees and the consequences for well‐being. We discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of these findings.     

HR,perceived organisational support and organisational identification: an analysis after organisational formation

Academic research has rarely investigated the role that people management plays in encouraging employees to identify with their employing organisation. This article reports on a study investigating the role that employee perceptions of the HR environment plays in encouraging organisational identification and the importance of perceived organisational support in this relationship. Two research surveys are discussed, one carried out shortly after the formation of the new organisation within the UK National Health Service, and one is a replication study undertaken 13 months later. The results show that key HR‐related factors predict organisational identification; this effect is both direct and indirect through perceptions of organisational support. The findings also demonstrate that, as the organisation matures, there are some interesting changes in which aspects of the HR environment predict identification and perceptions of organisational support.     

In at the deep end: Conducting processual research on organisational change

This article provides a series of reflections on the practice of carrying out processual research on organisational change. At a broad level, some of the main tasks associated with conducting company case studies are described and the benefits of this approach for dealing with complex change data are outlined. At a more specific level, the article addresses three main areas tied to the actual “doing” of processual research. First, the notion of tacit knowledge and “getting your hands dirty” by engaging in ongoing in-depth fieldwork. Second, the design and implementation of a longitudinal case study research programme. Third, the advantages and concerns of combining a range of different data collecting techniques in carrying out processual studies. Overall, the main intention is to provide some useful reflections and practical insights, as well as providing something of the flavour of carrying out this type of research.     

Workplace bullying in the context of organisational change: the significance of pluralism

The presence of depersonalised bullying during organisational change, highlighted through empirical research on lay‐off procedures in India's information technology sector, underscores the rhetoric of unitarist human resource management and reinforces the importance of union action and co‐worker mobilisation. The findings support the emergent view that collectivisation is the only solution to workplace bullying.     

The new workplace: change at work in Ireland

This paper examines new forms of work organization in Ireland, their incidence, shape and origins. Using data from a recently conducted national workplace survey it is timely on two counts: it provides for the first time reliable data on key dimensions of work reorganization. Previous research findings, which have relied on company listings for their sampling frames, have been of questionable statistical provenance. Second, from this more reliable statistical base, the paper seeks to question the popularly held contention that the radical shift in fortunes enjoyed by the Irish economy in recent years is, in no small measure, due to workplace innovation. In addition, the paper examines the factors associated with new work practices. Three variables stand out as exercising particularly robust effects: establishments in 'high-tech' sectors of the economy, financial services and competitive strategies that give emphasis to product and service customization. Finally, the paper attempts to locate patterns of workplace change in Ireland within the wider international literature.     

Caught in organized ambivalence: institutional complexity and its implications in the German hospital sector

Worldwide, public service-providing organizations confront regulatory hybridization. While their societal mission persists, they are expected to become more business-like. Drawing on theory concerned with institutional complexity and ambivalence in organizations, this article illuminates the case of German acute care hospitals. We depict the emergence of market orientation in this industry, its structural impact and major sensemaking patterns at the site level. In our multiple case study, we find ‘organized ambivalence’ shaping the institutional context and affecting the undertakings’ internal life. Thus, regulatory hybridization tends to create certain traps – which challenges ideas according to which it helps improve public management.     

Corporate sustainability strategies in institutional adversity: Antecedent,outcome, and contingency effects

This study examines (i) how top-level managerial institutional ties drive corporate sustainability strategies of emerging market firms operating under conditions of institutional adversity; (ii) the impact of corporate sustainability strategies on market performance; and (iii) the moderating role of financial resource slack on the relationships between corporate sustainability strategies and market performance. The study builds from institutional development logic and the structure–conduct–performance paradigm. Primary data are collected from 300 firms operating in a major sub-Saharan African market. Findings show that top-level managerial institutional linkages with regulatory national governmental officials, local community leaders, and top managers at other firms drive corporate proactive and responsive sustainability strategies, which in turn influence market performance. In addition, the findings reveal that financial resource slack strengthens the path between corporate proactive sustainability strategies and market performance, but not the path between corporate responsive sustainability strategies and market performance. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Commitment in the workplace: toward a general model

It is now well recognized that employees can develop multiple work-relevant commitments, and that commitment itself is a multidimensional construct. Unfortunately, there remains considerable disagreement, both within and across work commitment literatures (e.g., organizational, occupational, union), about what commitment is, its dimensionality, how it develops, and how it affects behavior. We argue that commitment should have a “core essence” regardless of the context in which it is studied, and that it should therefore be possible to develop a general model of workplace commitment. We propose such a model based on the propositions that commitment (a) is a force that binds an individual to a course of action of relevance to a target and (b) can be accompanied by different mind-sets that play a role in shaping behavior. We demonstrate how this model helps to explain existing research findings and can serve as a guide for future research and for the management of workplace commitments.     

Institutions and preferences in settings of causal complexity: foreign institutional investors and corporate restructuring practices in France

In this article, we illustrate how the interaction between institutional arrangements and the presence of different categories of firm stakeholders with specific preferences provides important insights to understand the conditions under which corporate restructuring practices are introduced. Institutions shape the range of actors' strategic options and mediate the translation of the preferences of firm stakeholders into corporate policies. Nonetheless, strategic choice remains possible since firm stakeholders constitute subgroups with different interests and incentives that influence how they operate in an institutional framework. In particular, we examine under what conditions UK/US-based institutional investors and equity-based compensation incentives are associated with the implementation of asset divestitures and employee layoffs in France. We uncover three key findings. First, the presence of hedge funds and equity-based pay influence the likelihood of French companies undertaking asset divestitures. Second, the impact of hedge funds on employee layoffs is contingent on the ownership structure of firms. Third, layoffs in France are driven by inferior performance – a result that contrasts with the American experience whereby employee layoffs are also used as a strategic mechanism to deal with institutional investors in good times. Our findings demonstrate the importance of the institutional constraints of (national level) employment protection and the moderating effects of ownership structure (firm level) on the strategic and employment policies of French companies.     

Flexible work arrangements,national culture,organisational characteristics,and organisational outcomes: A study across 21 countries

Using a contingency perspective, we investigated two complementary topics: (a) the influence of the GLOBE national cultural values and key organisational variables on employee use of flexible work arrangements (FWAs), and (b) the contribution of the level of congruence between cultural values and FWA use on absenteeism and turnover. The results, based on Cranfield Network on Comparative Human Resource Management—a large data set across multiple countries—supported the hypothesised effects of the cultural values on employee use of FWAs and the moderating effects of these cultural values on FWA use and organisational outcomes. Specifically, we found that national cultural values and organisational characteristics were related to outcomes via FWA use; and employees' use of FWAs had the overall effect of reducing absenteeism and turnover, but this effect was weakened when the FWAs were not consistent with cultural values. Theoretically, our results add to our knowledge and understanding of the effects of FWA use on absenteeism and turnover under different degrees of “fit” with cultural context. From a practical perspective, our results suggest that organisations should consider national cultural characteristics before implementing FWAs. A misfit between national culture and FWAs would potentially reduce employee use of FWAs and increase the likelihood of absenteeism and turnover.     

Nowcasting German GDP: Foreign factors,financial markets,and model averaging

This paper develops a nowcasting model for the German economy. The model outperforms a number of alternatives and produces forecasts not only for GDP but also for other key variables. We show that the inclusion of a foreign factor improves the model’s performance, while financial variables do not. Additionally, a comprehensive model averaging exercise reveals that factor extraction in a single model delivers slightly better results than averaging across models. Finally, we estimate a “news” index for the German economy in order to assess the overall performance of the model beyond forecast errors in GDP. The index is constructed as a weighted average of the nowcast errors related to each variable included in the model.