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.     

Valuing and value in diversity: the policy‐implementation gap in an IT firm

The focus of UK‐based research on diversity theory and diversity managers has led to a relative dearth of studies focusing on the critical issue of line managers' agency in policy implementation. This article provides a context‐sensitive organisational case study of the policy‐implementation gap in the UK base of one multinational IT company. The article explores male and female managers' perspectives on valuing diversity at a level of general abstraction, and the extent to which they see value in diversity for the effectiveness of their project teams. In the context of a White, male‐dominated industry, the case study shows how the gap is sustained rather than bridged despite the implementation of numerous diversity initiatives.     

Do Opportunities for Formal Learning Stimulate Follow‐Up Participation in Informal Learning? A Three‐Wave Study

Informal learning is an important source of employee adaptability and expertise, yet it is unclear how it may be encouraged through human resource management (HRM) practices. In this study, we investigate how opportunities for formal learning may be used to stimulate short‐ and long‐term participation in informal learning. In addition, we examine whether HRM system strength intensifies the relationship between opportunities for formal learning and informal learning. Using a sample of 430 respondents in 52 teams within six Dutch vocational and educational training schools, we adopt a longitudinal design to examine two types of autonomous informal learning activities (reflection and keeping up to date), and three collaborative activities (asking for feedback, knowledge sharing and innovative behavior) over two years. Opportunity for formal learning was positively related to short‐ and long‐term participation in informal learning activities, with the exception of long‐term innovation. Moreover, HRM system strength intensified these relationships. Managerial implications of these findings for encouraging informal learning activities at work are discussed. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Communicating the psychological contract: an employer perspective

The concept of the psychological contract, with its focus on the exchange of perceived promises and commitments, is increasingly used as a framework to study the employment relationship. Yet research has predominantly focused on employee views and has largely neglected the organisational perspective and the management of the psychological contract. This article begins to redress the balance by reporting a study, based on a survey of 1,306 senior HR managers, that explores the management of the psychological contract and in particular the role of organisational communication. Three distinct and relevant aspects of organisational communication are identified, concerned with initial entry, day‐to‐day work and more future‐oriented, top‐down communication. Effective use of these forms of communication is associated with what managers judge to be a clearer and less frequently breached set of organisational promises and commitments, as well as with a fairer exchange and a more positive impact of policies and practices on employee attitudes and behaviour. The findings are discussed within the context of the wider literature on psychological contracts, organisational culture and HRM. The study confirms that the psychological contract offers managers a useful framework within which to consider and manage the employment relationship.     

Systemic justice and burnout: A multilevel model

With the aim of extending organisational justice research to embrace significant and enduring aspects of the workplace context, this study examines organisational culture and human resource management (HRM) as constitutive dimensions of systemic justice and relates them to employee health. Bridging organisational justice, HRM, organisational culture, and occupational health research, we advance and test a multilevel model relating systemic justice to burnout. Data collected from 60 organisations; 89 employee groups; and 1,976 employees provide support for the hypothesised relationships between justice‐oriented culture, in terms of organisational values and group culture, and justice‐oriented HRM. In turn, justice‐oriented HRM related directly to employee burnout and indirectly through employee perceived job control and supervisor social support.     

Retraction

The following article from Human Resource Management Journal: The impact of development and information sharing practices on employee retention‐related attitudes: exploring the mediating role of organisational trust by Sylvie Guerrero and Olivier Herrbach, published online on 28 December 2009 in Wiley Online Library ( http://www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com ), has been retracted by agreement between the authors, the journal Editors in Chief, David Collings, Tony Dundon and Michael Marchington and Blackwell Publishing Ltd. The retraction has been agreed due to overlap between this article and the following article published in ‘Relations Industrielles: La confiance organisationnelle au coeur de l'échange social : et si bien traiter ses employés était payant?’ by Sylvie Guerrero and Olivier Herrbach. Contact: Professor Olivier Herrbach, Université de Bordeaux and ESC Rennes School of Business, Institut d’Administration des Entreprises, 35 Avenue Abadie, 33072 Bordeaux Cedex, France. Email: olivier.herrbach@u‐bordeaux4.fr Reference: Guerrero, S. and Herrbach, O. (2011), Retracted: The impact of development and information sharing practices on employee retention‐related attitudes: exploring the mediating role of organisational trust. Human Resource Management Journal. doi: 10.1111/j.1748‐8583.2009.00119.x     

Working here makes me sick! The consequences of sick building syndrome

This study investigates the consequences of sick building syndrome (SBS) by extending previous research on its impact on employee behaviours and attitudes. The article examines the effect of working in sick buildings on employees' organisational citizenship behaviours, absence, stress, burnout and job satisfaction. We report the findings from a survey of police officers working in air‐conditioned buildings in the Caribbean region. The study draws on social exchange and social relations theories to develop hypotheses on the impact of SBS on employee well‐being and extra‐role behaviours. The findings provide partial support for the hypotheses with SBS associated with reduced employee well‐being and absence but not with organisational citizenship behaviour. The implications of these findings, limitations of the study and further research considerations are discussed.     

Winning at all costs: An exploration of bottom‐line mentality,Machiavellianism, and organisational citizenship behaviour

This study seeks to advance the bottom‐line mentality literature by exploring an antecedent and outcome of employee bottom‐line mentality. We build and test a moderated‐mediation model by arguing that the personality trait of Machiavellianism promotes an employee's adoption of a bottom‐line mentality. Moreover, drawing on trait activation theory, we argue that this relationship is fully activated when the employee perceives that the organisation endorses a bottom‐line mentality. To expand our theoretical model, we also suggest that employee bottom‐line mentality inhibits organisational citizenship behaviour directed towards co‐workers. Lastly, we investigate whether an employee's perception of an organisation's bottom‐line mentality conditionally moderates the indirect effect of Machiavellianism on organisational citizenship behaviour directed towards co‐workers through the mediated mechanism of employee bottom‐line mentality. Our theoretical model is tested across two distinct studies. Study 1, a field study conducted within a variety of organisations, provides evidence for our initial predictions (Hypotheses 1 and 2). Study 2, a multisource field study conducted in multiple industries, replicates and extends the findings from Study 1 by providing evidence for the entire moderated‐mediation model. We find support for our hypothesised model across both studies. Implications for theory and practice are discussed, and suggestions for future research are identified.     

Human resource management–well‐being–performance research revisited: Past,present, and future

The authors provide an up‐to‐date theoretically based qualitative review of research dealing with the relationship between HRM, employee well‐being, and individual/organisational performance (HRM‐WB‐IOP research). The review is based on a systematic critical analysis of all HRM‐WB‐IOP studies (N = 46) published in 13 core HRM and management journals in the 2000 to 2018 period. The authors first identify different theoretical models of the HRM‐WB‐IOP relationship, which they then use to map research in the area. The results show that mutual gains conceptualisations play a dominant role in extant HRM‐WB‐IOP research, at the expense of alternative conflicting outcomes and mutual losses models, which are also shown to receive very limited empirical support across the 46 studies. As part of this mapping exercise, the authors identify important knowledge gaps in the area and conclude by setting out a number of key recommendations for future research to address these gaps.     

Front‐line managers as agents in the HRM‐performance causal chain: theory,analysis and evidence

Research on the link between HRM and organisational performance has neglected the role of front‐line managers, yet it is these managers who are increasingly charged with the implementation of many HR practices. Using an employee survey in 12 ‘excellent’ companies we explore the extent to which employee commitment towards their employer and their job are influenced by the quality of leadership behaviour and by satisfaction with HR practices. Both have a strong effect on employee attitudes. The article concludes with a case study of a planned effort to improve front‐line managers' skills in people management.     

Age diversity management and organisational outcomes: The role of diversity perspectives

Several macro‐level and meso‐level factors have led to unprecedented proportions of aged employees in organisations, resulting in higher levels of age diversity. Little is known about which age diversity practices and programmes are effective in which types of organisations for which outcomes. Derived from social exchange theory, this paper proposes and tests positive relationships between age diversity practices and organisational outcomes and work‐life programmes and organisational outcomes. Derived from contingency theory, it also proposes and tests for a moderating effect of diversity perspective (fairness and discrimination vs. synergy) on the two main relationships. Data were collected from 248 medium to large‐sized for‐profit organisations. The results partially support both main effect hypotheses and one moderating effect hypothesis. The findings suggest different organisational outcomes for age diversity practices and work‐life programmes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Employee voice: does union membership matter?

Industrial relations research has traditionally viewed trade unions as the primary mechanism for employee voice. With the decline in unionism in many advanced industrial economies over the past two decades, new direct non-union voice mechanisms have been introduced by employers. This focus on the mechanisms for employee voice, however, fails to take account of employees' perceptions of voice. We suggested that employee perceptions of voice vary between the different levels of an organisation and proposed that trade union membership will be more likely to enhance individual employee perceptions of voice at the wider organisational level. Contrary to our expectations, our analysis of 2,949 employees of a public sector scientific research organisation found that union membership had a significant negative impact on employee voice at the organisational level. The article concluded by offering possible explanations for this unexpected finding and the implications for theory, management and future research.     

Organisational consequences of asymmetries in task dependence: the moderating role of HR practices

This study integrates recent advances in interdependence theory with the literature on commitment‐based HR practices. New research on interdependence theory suggests that differences, or asymmetries, in task dependence among organisational members can cause interests to diverge. Prior research has shown that this can negatively affect interpersonal relations, individual outcomes and team processes. However, these insights gained on the dyadic, individual and team levels of analysis have not yet been explored at the organisational level and, until now, no research had yet connected these advances in interdependence theory to the field of HRM research. Hence, the current study investigates (a) whether asymmetries in task dependence do (or do not) matter at the organisational level and affect organisational effectiveness, (b) why this relationship may work by assessing a key mediator, namely, trust climate and (c) if and how these relationships can be altered by commitment‐based HR practices. Our moderated‐mediation model was tested and fully supported by a multi‐source data set of 8,390 employees from 67 organisations.     

The role of pay secrecy policies and employee secrecy preferences in shaping job attitudes

Although pay secrecy continues to garner attention in human resource management, little research examines how these policies impact employees. Research inconsistently links secretive pay policies to unfavourable outcomes but has yet to consider that employees may have varying attitudes toward these policies. We examine how employee preferences modify the effect that organisational pay secrecy policies have on employee attitudes in a sample of 431 employed adults. To accomplish this goal, we create measures of pay secrecy policies and pay secrecy preferences that each differentiate two facets of pay secrecy: distributive pay non‐disclosure and communication restriction. Polynomial and moderated regression analyses indicated that disparities between employee preferences and organisational pay secrecy policies can reduce job satisfaction and perceptions of informational, interpersonal, and procedural justice under certain circumstances. These results simultaneously highlight the importance of employee attitudes toward pay secrecy policies and the challenges human resource practitioners face in managing employees with diverse preferences.     

Justice source and justice content: evaluating the fairness of organisational career management practices

This article presents part of the findings of a multi‐method study into employee perceptions of fairness in relation to the organisational career management (OCM) practices of a large financial retailer. It focuses on exploring how employees construct fairness judgements of their career experiences and the role played by the organisational context and, in particular, OCM practices in forming these judgements. It concludes that individuals can, and do, separate the source and content of (in)justice when it comes to evaluating these experiences. The relative roles of the employer, line manager and career development opportunities in influencing employee fairness evaluations are discussed. Conceptual links with organisational justice theory are proposed, and it is argued that the academic and practitioner populations are provided with empirical evidence for a new theoretical framework for evaluating employee perceptions of, and reactions to, OCM practices.     

Challenged and satisfied: the role of organisational ownership and employee involvement

Abstract

This study aims to offer a more fine-grained approach to our understanding of the relationship between job stress and job satisfaction. Building on organisational theory and Job Demand-Control model, we investigated an important institutional characteristic – organisational ownership – as an additional moderator to influence the interactive effects of job demands and control upon job satisfaction. Using data collected from 1838 Chinese retail sector employees, we found that this three-way interaction was strongest for employees working in foreign-invested firms, who experienced higher employee involvement at work and perceived a high level of challenge-related stress. The relationship was weakest for employees in state-owned enterprises who reported low levels of both employee involvement and challenge-related stress. Our study constitutes an early attempt to assess the impact of institutional characteristics such as ownership on aspects of human resources management, and highlights the need for further research to recognise the importance of such characteristics as contextual factors that influence the effect of organisational practices and the work environment upon individual work-related outcomes. The paper’s concluding sections elaborate on the contributions our research makes both to theory as well as to the practicalities faced by human resource managers in contexts such as China.     

The link between perceived HRM practices,performance and well‐being: the moderating effect of trust in the employer

The present study examines the interaction between perceived HRM practices and trust in the employer on employee performance and well‐being. Specifically, the study tests whether trust in the employer moderates the relationships between perceptions of HRM practices and task performance (as rated by employees’ supervisors), organisational citizenship behaviour, turnover intentions and employee well‐being. Support was found for the majority of the hypotheses using data from 613 employees and their line managers in a service sector organisation in the UK. Trust in the employer moderates the relationships between perceived HRM practices and task performance, turnover intentions and individual well‐being, but not organisational citizenship behaviour. Implications of the findings for organisations and future research are discussed.     

Gender and voice in aged care: embeddedness and institutional forces

Abstract

Little is known about the role of gender in employee voice which is a particular research gap in feminised industries such as residential aged care. This article employs a multiple case study method to examine employee voice in residential aged care in New Zealand. It investigates the role of ‘embedded’ voice mechanisms, with a focus on informal voice and managerial agency as well as the impact of the external environment on organisational voice. This article questions the role of voice in maintaining low wages in residential aged care; and what role gender has in the embeddedness of voice. It finds that managerial agency is important at an organisational level, but that gender regimes influence institutional forces that have a greater influence on employee voice.     

Training match and mismatch as a driver of key employee behaviours

Training is widely believed to have the potential to improve key workplace outcomes such as the in‐role behaviours and organisational citizenship of employees. However, this article argues that match of actual training provision to requirements leads to the greatest possible improvement in key behaviours, an assertion that lacks prior validation. Undertraining relative to requirements would typically be associated with lower behavioural gain, or even negative behaviours. Overtraining may have both positive and negative implications; however, this article argues that on aggregate excess training will be associated with worse outcomes compared with match. An analysis of 699 matched employee–manager dyads supports the assertion that match is associated with the best relative levels of key workplace behaviours, and associates either undertraining or overtraining with degradation in outcomes. This research highlights the importance of training needs analysis and encourages active management of trained workers to match work to skills.     

The paradox of employee psychological well-being practices: an integrative literature review and new directions for research

Abstract

It is well established that many HR practices aimed at increasing employees’ psychological wellbeing (PWB) and organisational performance conflict and even contradict one another. We address this long-standing issue by undertaking an innovative integrative literature review using the paradox metatheory as a lens. Unlike the contingency approach, a paradox perspective deems real-world tensions as normal, which can also be harnessed, and benefit employees and the organisation. We make three contributions; firstly, we identify contradictory employee PWB and organisational performance HR practices; secondly, we offer a solution in addressing the inherent tension between PWB and organisational performance by developing a new sensemaking conceptual framework; and thirdly, we offer a more nuanced perspective of prevailing arguments by distinguishing endogenous factors that organisations can influence to enhance the synergies between employee PWB and organisational performance HR practices. The intended impact of this paper is to instigate a paradigm shift and shape a new trajectory of thinking about how employee PWB and organisational performance practices can exist side-by-side.