The effect of human resource management practices on the perceptions of organizational and market performance of the firm

The purpose of our study is to extend the emerging empirical literature on the firm‐level impact of human resource management practices. Results based on a national sample of organizations from private and public sectors in Israel indicate that these practices have a significant impact on both the perceived organizational and market performance of the organization. The single independent variable found to be statistically significant in affecting perceived organizational performance was training practices. In the case of perceived market performance, we found that, in addition to training practices, employee selection practices also significantly affected the perceived market performance.¹ © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Discretionary and transactional human resource practices and employee outcomes: The role of perceived organizational support

Utilizing perceived organizational support (POS) as the mechanism linking HR practices to employee behaviors in the workplace, we examine a broad set of HR practices in order to understand the relative importance of each HR practice (i.e., those that explain incremental variance over other practices) in influencing employee behaviors. We differentiate between discretionary and transactional HR practices to test the discretionary investment requisite of POS theory. The results show that of the eight discretionary practices, only participation and decision making directly influenced the extra‐role behaviors that employees exhibit, and only training and development directly impacted the customer‐oriented behaviors. Furthermore, one of the transactional HR practices was found to have a direct effect on organizational citizenship behavior. Our findings indicate that the performance management process, promotional opportunities, participation, and involvement in decision making affect how employees behave toward the customer and the extra‐role behaviors they exhibit. Furthermore, this occurs through the view employees develop of the organization as a place to work. That is, these four HR practices demonstrate to employees that they are valued, and, in turn, this feeling of being appreciated impacts their commitment to delivering high‐quality service to the customer and going beyond their job responsibilities. Implications for research and practice are discussed. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The role of strategic HR practices in organisational effectiveness: an empirical investigation in the country of Jordan

This study responds to the call of researchers, and is conducted in a non-western context in the country of Jordan. The study contributes to our understanding of human resource (HR) practices' impact on organisational effectiveness. The empirical analysis is based on theoretical prepositions that motivated employees through good HR practices stay longer and contribute positively to the overall financial performance of organisations. Rigorous statistical testing of the data on the population of financial firms shows that careful recruitment and selection, training and internal career opportunities have a positive impact on reducing employee turnover. Training, in particular, is found to have a strong positive impact on financial performance measured by return on assets and return on equity. Furthermore, the findings provide strong support for the direct approach in strategic HR management–performance research that a group of best HR practices will continuously and directly generate superior performance. Despite such compelling arguments, however, we did not find evidence to support the notion that a bundle of HR practices impact better on financial performance than individual HR practices. It is possible that the optimal configuration may not only be contingent on national context, but could be due to the sector and the specific characteristics of the firm.     

Co-alignment of supplier quality management practices and cognitive maps – A neo-configurational perspective

Much of the previous research on the ‘purchasing practice–performance link’ rests on the notion of “net effects,” which assumes that specific practices independently of each other impact outcomes. This study challenges this core tenet by adopting a neo-configurational perspective, exploring how different combinations of factors (called “configurations”) affect outcomes. Another limitation of extant studies on the ‘purchasing practice–performance link’ is the narrow focus on practices; more recent behavioral supply management research finds the behavior of managers to be critically influenced by cognitive maps—the lenses through which managers perceive, simplify, and interpret the world. Focusing on supplier quality as a core aspect of the broader ‘purchasing practice–performance link’, this study explores how configurations of different supplier quality management (SQM) practices and SQM-related cognitive maps help firms to manage supplier quality. It uses fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to identify SQM configurations and a cognitive-linguistic approach for the computerized text analysis of purchasing managers’ cognitive maps in the context of Western companies sourcing from Chinese suppliers. The configurational fsQCA analysis identifies four different configurations associated with overcoming barriers to SQM in emerging markets. SQM-related cognitive maps prove to be a critical component in these four configurations.     

Emerging competency methods for the future

Competency‐based applications have gained a foothold in HR practice worldwide; however, changes in the business environment and the structure of work itself are challenging the value of traditional competency methods in achieving strategic organizational benefits. The key question facing HR executives and practitioners today is how to leverage existing competency practices to greatly increase the impact of competency development on business results. The authors identify five emerging trends in the evolution of competency methods, identify the implications for HR practice, and propose several new directions for the application of competency methods to improve organizational learning and business performance. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Adjusting to the national minimum wage: constraints and incentives to change in six low‐paying sectors

Interest in the national minimum wage (NMW) includes not only its direct impact on employment and wages, but also its indirect impact on organisational performance resulting from a reorientation of employer behaviour with regard to employment practices and product market competition. Drawing on data from small firms in six low‐paying sectors, this article identifies three key constraints that have undermined the possible effect of the NMW in generating a virtuous cycle between employment practices and product market approach. These constraints relate to product market conditions, employer norms and labour market institutions (especially training).     

HR practices and New Zealand firm performance: what matters and who does it?

We examine the impact of human resource practices, especially those considered as parts of high performance work systems, on firm performance. The analysis is unique in using data from an economy-wide official survey to determine whether firms that adopt high performance HR practices perform better than their rivals. We find that adoption of a suite of high performance practices (and adoption of specific practices pertaining to staff training and performance pay) has a causal impact on firm outcomes. The strength of the relationships differs by firm size and age. Firms that adopt high performance practices are predominantly young and in high-tech related sectors.     

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.     

The transferability question: comparing HRM practices in the Philippines with the US and Canada1

A survey of Philippine corporations was conducted to find out the prevalence and impact of practices in hiring, training and development, performance appraisal, pay and occupational health and safety. Overall, many of the practices that are prescribed in Western management can be found in most of the responding firms. Organizational characteristics were also found to be associated with some of the practices. Many practices were related to perceived organizational performance but only a few practices to voluntary turnover rate. Comparisons with US and Canadian data show that there were differences in most practices, but with the Philippines showing a higher extent of the HRM practice, and more correlations with organizational characteristics than the US and Canadian samples, suggesting that many of the practices developed in the West are easily transferred. Possible explanations examined include differences in country context, differences in sample characteristics and methodological artefacts from cross-cultural non-equivalence.     

Foreign Direct Investment from Emerging Markets to Africa: The HRM Context

In this article, we explore what determines the decisions of emerging‐market multinational corporations (MNCs) to invest in Africa and whether this is any different from their counterparts in mature markets, focusing on the HRM context. More specifically, we explore the effect of potential host‐country wages, local capabilities, and the relative rights of owners versus workers on foreign direct investment (FDI) decisions, as well as other relevant factors such as mineral resources and corruption. We found that emerging‐market MNCs were not deterred by relatively weak property owner rights (as indeed, was also the case for their counterparts from mature markets); hence, any weakening of countervailing worker rights is unlikely to unlock significant new FDI. However, emerging‐market MNCs were more likely to invest in low‐wage economies and did not appear to be concerned by local skills gaps; the latter would reflect the relative de facto ease with which even partially skilled expatriate labor can be imported into many African countries. At the same time, a reliance on low‐wage, unskilled labor, coupled with the extensive usage of expatriates, brings with it a wide range of challenges for the HR manager, which a firm committed to cost‐cutting may lack the capabilities to resolve. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

How the impact of HR practices on employee well‐being and performance changes with age

With changing retirement ages and an aging workforce, interest is growing on the potential contribution of relevant bundles of HR practices in eliciting well‐being and performance among aging workers. Drawing on theories on lifespan development and self‐regulation, we distinguished two bundles of HR practices: development HR practices that help individual workers reach higher levels of functioning (e.g. training), and maintenance HR practices that help individual workers maintain their current levels of functioning in the face of new challenges (e.g. performance appraisal). Further, based on lifespan theories, we expected and found that the association between development HR practices and well‐being (i.e. job satisfaction, organisational commitment and organisational fairness) weakens, and that the associations between maintenance HR practices and well‐being, and between development HR practices and employee performance, strengthen with age. In addition, a third bundle of ‘job enrichment’ HR practices emerged that elicited higher job performance among aging workers.     

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.     

The impact of HR practices on the performance of business units

This article examines the impact of HR practices and organisational commitment on the operating performance and profitability of business units. Using a predictive design with a sample of 50 autonomous business units within the same corporation, the article reveals that both organisational commitment and HR practices are significantly related to operational measures of performance, as well as operating expenses and pre‐tax profits.     

Can sustainable investments outperform traditional benchmarks? Evidence from global stock markets

To contribute to overcoming global sustainability challenges, investors have been increasingly interested in making sustainable investments and incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria into their portfolio selection decisions and managerial activities. However, these investors and other agents interested in sustainable investment need updated and robust information to support their decision making. We analyzed the performance of several Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSIs) and compared them with their respective market benchmarks from 2013 to 2018. The indices comprise the following regions and countries: the world, the Asia‐Pacific, Europe, emerging markets and the US. The analysis was conducted based on both classic and modern portfolio metrics. The results suggest that sustainable investment performance is still heterogeneous worldwide, but there is a promising opportunity for investors to obtain superior risk‐adjusted returns in certain regions while incorporating sustainable investment practices. The findings are of utmost importance to financial market practitioners, business managers, academics and other stakeholders interested in promoting investments, corporate practices and scientific knowledge to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).     

Making Good Things Last Longer: The Role of Savoring on the Relationship Between HRM and Positive Employee Outcomes

This work studies sales managers’ perceptions of performance‐oriented HR practices, and the mediating and moderating processes through which these practices are linked with affective commitment. Specifically, we tested whether work engagement mediated the relationship between perceptions of performance‐oriented HR practices and affective commitment using a sample of 117 sales managers from one large retail store. Furthermore, we tested whether managers’ savoring strategies would moderate the positive relationship between perceptions of performance‐oriented HR practices and work engagement, and if the strength of the hypothesized indirect effects were conditional on the use of savoring strategies. Results showed that the relationship between perceptions of performance‐oriented HR practices and affective commitment was mediated by work engagement. In addition, savoring strategies were found to moderate the relationship between perceptions of performance‐oriented HR practices and work engagement, so that the highest levels of work engagement were found in individuals who reported high perceptions of performance‐oriented HR practices and high use of savoring strategies. Finally, results support a conditional indirect effect of performance‐oriented HR practices on predicting affective commitment via work engagement when levels of savoring strategies were moderate to high, but not when their use was low. Altogether, these results demonstrated that work engagement and savoring strategies represent key elements in explaining how perceptions of performance‐oriented HR practices are associated with affective commitment. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Workplace bullying and employee outcomes: a moderated mediated model

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between workplace bullying and employee outcomes in a healthcare setting. Drawing on HR process theory, we investigate the mediating role of the perceived effectiveness of implementation of anti-bullying practices on employee outcomes and whether targeted line manager training was a moderator of that relationship. Our multi-level analysis (utilising responses from 1507 employees within 47 hospitals with matched HR Director interviews), finds that the relationship between workplace bullying and employee outcomes is partially mediated by employees’ perceived effective implementation of intended anti-bully practices. The mediated relationship is moderated by targeted line manager training in anti-bullying practices. The mediated moderation model illustrates that it is effective implementation of anti-bullying practices enhanced by targeted training that is required to reduce bullying probabilities and their associated negative employee outcomes. The paper contributes to resource based view of the firm, HR process and human capital theories. The implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

The influence of HR practices upon knowledge brokering in professional organizations for service improvement: Addressing professional legitimacy and identity in health care

Drawing upon sociology of professions, our study extends insight into the specific HR practices that shape the microdynamics of knowledge-sharing behaviors among professionals. Empirically, we examine the influence of Human Resource (HR) practices on enactment of a knowledge-brokering role by doctors to drive service improvement in health care. Our study shows, first, HR practices influence professional identity, which is predicated on jurisdictional autonomy and client interest. Second, HR practices influence the legitimacy of any role and associated activities, with professionals valuing collegial leadership and evidence-based practice. Our study highlights it is employee perceptions of the effect of HR practices upon their legitimacy and identity that shape their attitudes and behavior toward knowledge sharing. Thus, different HR practices have different effects on knowledge sharing. Further, the same HR practice may be perceived differently even within the same cadre of professionals, depending upon their relative status and career interests.     

Uncovering competitive and institutional drivers of HRM practices in multinational corporations

Current international human resource management (IHRM) literature focusing on multinational corporations (MNCs) presents evidence of both similarities and differences in the HR practices adopted in different global locations. However, the drivers behind this duality require more detailed investigation. This article focuses on exploring why MNCs position themselves within global markets as they do, exploring how extant theory can help explain the drivers behind both global and national HR practices. Based on a worldwide sample of in‐depth interview‐based case studies of well‐known MNCs, we explore the ways in which different firms react to both institutional and competitive pressures in selecting their approach to HRM. The findings uncover a differentiation between external global competitive isomorphic pressures, external national institutional isomorphic pressures, and internal processes of strategic choice and competitive differentiation. It is suggested that MNCs face all three drivers of HRM simultaneously, leading to different patterns of practice adoption, adaptation and innovation.     

When good HR gets bad results: exploring the challenge of HR implementation in the case of workplace bullying

Research on the relationship between HRM and organisational performance has highlighted a gap between intended and implemented HR practices. However, this gap has rarely been explored systematically, and the consequences of the effectiveness of the implementation process for relevant outcomes remain poorly understood. This article addresses this issue by examining the process and quality of HR implementation. Drawing on a model of HR implementation, it presents a detailed case study of the implementation of HR practices relating to workplace bullying. Findings reveal that while the policy reflected best practice, implementation was uneven, resulting in persisting high levels of bullying which negatively affected staff well‐being and performance. The results indicate that it is misleading to look just at HR practices, and that even ‘best HR practices’ are unsuccessful unless implemented effectively. It is argued that a greater focus on HR implementation will improve our understanding of the HRM – performance relationship.     

An analysis of the talent management challenges in a post-communist country: the case of Poland

There is a dearth of empirical studies on talent management (TM) in the emerging markets, and in particular a lack of research on TM in the countries of the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. Our empirical study in 58 organisations in Poland, a major economy in the CEE region, is one of the first studies to examine TM in this context. Our study highlights the particular nature of the TM challenges facing organisations in Poland and shows that there is little evidence to suggest that Polish practice is converging with Western models. Our paper suggests that TM is likely to challenge many traditional management practices and attitudes which continue to dominate Polish culture in the period of transition to a market economy.