Configurations of human resource management practices: a model and test of internal fit

This study examined human resource management (HRM) configurations. A typology consisting of four bundles of aligned HRM practices (labelled the bureaucratic, market, professional and flexibility bundle) linked to organizational structures was developed. Support for the proposed ideal-typical bundles was found in an assessment by a panel of experts. Next, the distance between the ideal types and actual bundles of HR practices was assessed for 175 organizations. For each, senior HR managers' ratings of HRM practices and CEO ratings of outcomes were obtained. Support was found for two of the four proposed types and about one-third of the firms showed some fit with one of these two types. The ‘fit in general hypothesis’ (i.e. the closer an observed HR bundle resembles any of the ideal types, the higher organizational performance) did not receive support. However, fit with a specific type of bundle (the professional bundle) did relate positively to outcomes. Organizations with observed HRM practices fitting the professional bundle score significantly higher on measures of firm performance, employees' going beyond contract, and firm innovativeness.     

Content vs. Process in the HRM‐Performance Relationship: An Empirical Examination

This study investigates the impact of a human resource management (HRM) system, which integrates both content and process of human resource (HR) practices, on organizational performance, through collective employee reactions. The analysis is based on a sample of 1,250 Greek employees working in 133 public‐ and private‐sector organizations, which operate in the present context of severe financial and economic crises. The findings of the structural equation modeling suggest that content and process are two inseparable faces of an HRM system that help to reveal a comprehensive picture of the HRM–organizational performance relationship. Based on the findings that collective employee reactions mediate the HRM content (i.e., organizational performance relationship) and HRM process moderates the HRM content (i.e., employee reactions relationship), the study has several theoretical and practice implications. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Metrics: HRM's Holy Grail? A New Zealand case study

What gets measured in business is noticed and acted on. The importance of human resource management (HRM) to be noticed as a vital key to business success has been argued profusely by the HRM profession over the last three decades. While the importance of human resource (HR) measurement is not disputed by business managers, the search for meaningful generic HR metrics is like HRM's Holy Grail. The purpose of this research is to investigate the issues confronting a sample of business organisations concerning measurement issues. It examines the current measurement practices used and their HR measurement needs. Developing appropriate HR measures, in terms of adding value, allows organisations to refocus their resources for leverage. Inappropriate measures simply encourage inappropriate behaviours not in the long‐term interests of the business. We know that HRM is less prepared than other business functions (like finance or management information systems) to quantify its impact on business performance. Our results suggest that HR metrics as the Holy Grail of HRM remain elusive. This research signals the importance of developing relevant and meaningful HR measurement models, while acknowledging that the actual metrics used (unlike accounting measures) may vary from business to business.     

Mind the Intended‐Implemented Gap: Understanding Employees’ Perceptions of HRM

This study aims to shed light on the implementation of HR practices as a key piece of the human resource management (HRM)–performance puzzle. Although the literature suggests that discrepancies between the organization's intended and implemented HR practices are essential to understanding employees’ perceptions of and reactions to HRM, little attention has been devoted to this issue. Drawing upon a multiple‐case study of German health and social services organizations, we therefore explore the linkages (and potential gaps) between intended, implemented, and perceived HR practices. Our study provides new insights into the underlying mechanisms of this relationship, highlighting an organization's ability to leverage its resources as playing a crucial moderating role in implementing intended HR practices, while employees’ expectations of HRM moderate the link between implemented and perceived HR practices. We advance a set of propositions that contributes to a more nuanced, multilevel understanding of the complex phenomenon of HRM implementation. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Quality and cost? The evolution of Walmart's business strategy and human resource policies and practices in China and their impact (1996–2017)

This study responds to calls for more in‐depth and qualitative studies, the return to a focus on external factors, and the inclusion of business strategy and industrial relations in human resource management (HRM) research, as well as more research in the retail sector in the Chinese context. We examine the coevolution of the business strategy and HR strategy of Walmart (China) in the last two decades and identify tensions in the context of intensifying competition in the Chinese retail market. We highlight the interactive effect of business and HR strategies through a historical lens. Our study reveals a shift from the original employee‐oriented win–win strategy through rent sharing between the firm and the employees to a win–lose strategy through the introduction of more cost conscious HR policies and practices. Findings of our study challenge the conventional wisdom that firms adopt either the cost or quality strategy and, along with it, the suggestion of matching the quality strategy with employee‐oriented HR policies and practices, and cost leadership with a transactional approach to HRM. We argue a cost and quality business strategy may be adopted, which requires the support of employee‐oriented, rather than cost‐oriented, HR policies and practices.     

The impact of human resource management practices on intention to leave of employees in the service industry in India: the mediating role of organizational commitment

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a bundle of eight human resource management practices on intention to leave, and to examine the mediating effect of organizational commitment on the relationship between the HRM practices and intention to leave of employees of a service organization in India. Most of the prior HRM practices–employee turnover studies have been from the HR manager's point of view. This study took a different approach and studied this relationship from an employee's point of view. Internet survey questionnaires were used to collect the data from 183 employees working in a service company in India. Multiple linear regression and hierarchical linear regression analysis were conducted to test the hypotheses. The study found not only that the HRM practices lower employee intentions to leave, but also that this relationship is partially mediated by organizational commitment. The results of the study not only supported that organizations should focus on employee perceptions of the organizations' HRM practices but also indicated that human resources should go beyond establishing policies and procedures to providing an employee-friendly work environment (Biswas and Varma 2007).     

Human resource function strategic role and trade unions: exploring their impact on human resource management practices in Uruguayan firms

Organizations worldwide are confronted with different contextual constraints. Jackson and Schuler [1995, ‘Understanding Human Resource Management in the Context of Organizations and their Environments,' Annual Review of Psychology, 46, 237–264], in their classical review, highlight the importance of the impact of the internal and external organizational context on human resource management (HRM) practices. This paper uses data collected through a survey of firms located in Uruguay, in a context where HR function and trade unions have gone through significant changes, to determine their impact on the adoption of different HRM practices. The authors find that organizations with an HR function strategically involved and with higher degree of union presence have more person-centred HRM practices, while performance-centred HRM practices were positively influenced by HR function strategic role. However, the findings do not support the moderating role of trade union presence on the relationship between the HR function strategic role and HRM practices.     

Work transformation and the HR ecosystem dynamics: A longitudinal case study of HRM disruption in the era of the 4th industrial revolution

Disruption in human resource management (HRM) practices necessitates processes of mutual adjustment within the organization that seeks to address these changes properly, overcome tensions, and fit strategic needs. In our single longitudinal case study of a new HRM practice development concerning blue-collar worker talent management, we examine how HR professionals and managers interact and develop new HRM practices as a response to disruptive work transformation. Considering these interactions from the perspective of HR ecosystem alignment dynamics, we find that both managers and HR professionals engaged in fruitful collaboration processes along three differentiated steps to provide value for the whole organization. We propose a grounded theorizing of HR ecosystem alignment that is based on the progression of successive convergent and divergent phases and introducing collaborative spaces of work.     

Variability in HRM implementation among line managers and its effect on performance: a 2-1-2 mediational multilevel approach

Over the last few decades, a substantial body of research has examined the relationship between human resource management (HRM) and performance. However, little attention has been given to the implementation of HRM, although an HR policy can be implemented in various ways within an organization. In addressing recent calls in the literature to examine this issue more closely, we study the role of line managers in implementing HRM and the influence of employees' perceptions of HRM. In a multilevel study of 315 employees and 41 line managers drawn from various work-units of a Dutch municipality, we tested whether HR practices, as implemented by line managers, affect employees' perceptions of HRM and whether these perceptions in turn relate to perceived unit performance. The analysis shows that implemented HR practices differed between work-units. More specifically, our study shows that these differences can be explained by a line manager's leadership style. Moreover, our findings indicate that employees' perceptions of the HR practices implemented mediate the relationship between the HR practices implemented by line managers and perceived unit performance. These findings contribute to our understanding of how HRM affects performance.     

Demands or Resources? The Relationship Between HR Practices,Employee Engagement,and Emotional Exhaustion Within a Hybrid Model of Employment Relations

This article explores the ways in which employees may experience and respond to tensions inherent in the mix of potentially conflicting human resource (HR) practices that compose hybrid models of employment relations. By drawing on the job demands–resources (JD‐R) literature and viewing HR practices as “demands” and “resources,” we explore the impact of performance management and employee voice practices on employee well‐being, as exemplified by engagement and emotional exhaustion, in a large public‐sector organization in Ireland. Our findings suggest that employee voice mechanisms may act as a resource in both enhancing engagement and in counterbalancing the demands presented by a performance management system, thus reducing the deleterious effects of emotional exhaustion. Our study extends understanding of hybrid models of human resource management (HRM) and of the ways in which employees manage the contradictory signals that such models may send in terms of performance expectations. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Dynamism and realignment in the HR architecture: Online labor platform ecosystems and the key role of contractors

Given the widespread contribution of independent contractors to organizational innovation and competitive advantage, it is timely to reassess assumptions about the HRM practices appropriate to their management and the rationale for organizations to work with them. In the original and highly influential HR architecture model of Lepak and Snell (1999), contractor status is viewed as an outcome of the low value and/or low uniqueness of human capital resulting in the proposition to externalize and manage them using either none or minimal compliance-based HRM practices. Developments in digital technologies and algorithmic management epitomized by online labor platforms prompt us to reconsider these assumptions and to challenge the proposed links between value/uniqueness of human capital, employment mode and HRM practices that are assumed by the HR architecture model. Using insights from online labor platforms, we argue that the significant benefits to firms of working with contractors, coupled with the possibilities offered by algorithmic management to efficiently monitor and regulate their behavior, provide a compelling reason for organizations to choose external employment modes even when workers are key to value creation. We challenge the alignment and stability of the relationships proposed by the HR architecture model, and offer propositions to extend the model by reconsidering the rationale for, and nature of, HRM practices associated with contractors. This reassessment is both timely and relevant given the growing prominence of business models where externalizing workers is central alongside the development of new forms of algorithmic human resource management to control them.     

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.     

Strategic human resource management,human capital and competitive advantage: is the field going in circles?

The resource‐based view (RBV) of the firm has been consistently used as a backdrop in strategic human resource management (SHRM) research and has the potential to bridge the ‘micro–macro’ divide. The tension between the SHRM and the strategic human capital literature, however, signifies that RBV has not reached its potential. In this paper, we begin with a brief review of the conceptual logic linking human resource management (HRM) practices and firm outcomes that aim at highlighting the different treatment of RBV in the SHRM and strategic human capital literatures. We then propose a conceptual model that suggests that HRM practices are not simple levers that enable firms to create sustainable competitive advantage, as most of the strategic human capital research postulates. On the contrary, we argue that HRM practices can contribute to a firm's sustainable competitive advantage not only by enhancing employees' ability, and offering motivation and opportunities, but also by shaping supply‐side and demand‐side mobility constraints.     

Managing multiple forms of employment in the construction sector: implications for HRM

The construction industry is one of the largest and most complex industrial sectors in the UK. The industry's failure to adopt progressive human resource (HR) practices is routinely blamed on the challenges of operating in a fragmented, project‐based environment reliant on subcontracting. This research examines the extent to which existing HR theory accounts for the particular employment context of project‐based organisations operating in volatile markets. Drawing upon case study research from two different divisions within a large contracting firm, this article explores the extent to which different contracting arrangements impinge on attempts to reposition human resource management (HRM) as a strategic function along the business partnering model. Elevating the role of the HR function is found to be difficult to reconcile with the concurrent demands of managing multiple forms of employment arrangements. The research reveals a need for HRM models that account for the specificities of complex, differentiated organisations that operate in multiple environments.     

The relationship between perceptions of HR practices and employee outcomes: examining the role of person–organisation and person–job fit

Human resource management (HRM) practices can play an important role in matching people with the organisations and the jobs they work in. However, little is known about how employees perceive and interpret HR practices and whether or how these perceptions relate to perceptions of person–organisation (P–O) and person–job (P–J) fit. This study aims to bridge strategic HRM and person–environment fit literature by examining possible mediating and moderating roles of P–O and P–J fit in the relationship between employee perceptions of a broad set of HR practices and employee attitudes and behaviours. Results from a sample of 412 employees support direct relationships as well as a mediating and moderating role of P–O and P–J fit in the relationship between perceived HR practices and employee outcomes.     

A meta‐analytic investigation of the relationship between HRM bundles and firm performance

Human resource management bundles consisting of multiple complementary practices are typically considered superior to individual best practices in influencing firm performance. This study investigates the relationship between three such bundles (empowerment, motivation, and skill‐enhancing) and business outcomes (retention, operating performance, financial performance, and overall performance ratings). A meta‐analysis of 239 effect sizes derived from 65 studies reveals that HRM bundles have significantly larger magnitudes of effects than their constituent individual practices, are positively related to business outcomes, and display effect sizes that are comparable to or larger than those of high‐performance work systems. These findings reaffirm the case for firm‐level investments in synergistic HRM combinations and highlight the importance of investing in complementary practices. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Challenging ‘strategic HRM’ and the relevance of the institutional setting

One of the more fundamental aspects of the ongoing debate about the added value of HRM relates to ‘best’ practice versus ‘best‐fit’. Best practice suggests the universal success of certain HR practices, while best‐fit acknowledges the relevant impact of contextual factors. We argue that differences in embeddedness and in institutional settings between, for example, countries affect the nature of HRM. To understand this phenomenon, we are in need of additional theory. In this article we will use the theory of new institutionalism as a better way to understand the shaping of HR policies and practices in different settings. After a concise review of the latest debates in the area of strategic HRM, in which the resource‐based view is the dominant perspective, we turn to an analysis of HRM in different institutional settings, which suggests the need for additional theory: ie new institutionalism. We offer propositions to explain the impact of different institutional mechanisms, including coercive, normative and mimetic ones, on the shaping of HR policies and practices in organisations. The remainder of the article then focuses on possible implications for practitioners, theoretical implications for future research, and challenges for strategic HRM.     

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.     

The making of twenty‐first‐century HR: An analysis of the convergence of HRM,HRD, and OD

Twenty‐first‐century HR is emerging to uniquely combine activities and processes of human resource management (HRM), human resource development (HRD), and organization development (OD)—three fields that “grew up” distinct from each other. Contributing strategically to organizations demands that HRM, HRD, and OD coordinate, partner, and think innovatively about how they relate and how what they do impacts people and organizations. An analysis of the evolutions of these fields helps to explain why the distinctions between them continue to blur and how the similarities among them provide the necessary synergy for HR to be a truly valued organizational partner. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.