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.     

Relational quality and innovative performance in R&D based science and technology firms

The knowledge‐based view of the firm implies that the innovative performance of R&D based organisations is strongly influenced by the quality of their relational capital. However, the quality of the employment relationship has been underplayed in this perspective. A model is developed that tests the quality of three dimensions of the employment relationship – the psychological contract, affective commitment and knowledge‐sharing behaviours – and their consequences for innovative performance amongst 429 R&D employees in six different science and technology based firms. Analysis found that affective commitment plays an important role in mediating psychological contract fulfilment on knowledge‐sharing behaviour, which in turn is strongly related to innovative performance. More specifically, fulfilment of the job design dimension of the psychological contract has an independent positive association with innovative performance, whereas fulfilment of the performance pay dimension is negatively associated.     

Green human resource management and the enablers of green organisational culture: Enhancing a firm's environmental performance for sustainable development

Scholars have shown that green human resource management (GHRM) practices enhance a firm's environmental performance. However, existing studies fail to explain how GHRM initiatives can enable a green organisational culture or how such a culture affects the environmental performance and sustainable development of the firm. This paper examines the relationship between GHRM practices, the enablers of green organisational culture, and a firm's environmental performance. We conduct a large‐scale survey of 204 employees at Chinese manufacturing firms. Our findings suggest that proenvironmental HRM practices including hiring, training, appraisal, and incentivisation support the development of the enablers of green organisational culture. We suggest the key enablers of green organisational culture include leadership emphasis, message credibility, peer involvement, and employee empowerment. Our paper contributes to HRM theory in terms of originality and utility of research by explaining that the enablers of green organisational culture positively mediate the relationship between GHRM practices and environmental performance. Managers are provided with a detailed understanding of the GHRM practices needed to enable an organisational culture of environmentally aware employees. Finally, we address potential implications of this work for teaching green organisational culture to future generations of responsible managers.     

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.     

An empirical study of high performance HRM practices in Chinese SMEs

This paper explores the performance effects of human resource management (HRM) practices in 74 Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Four high performance HRM practices are identified: performance-based pay, participatory decision-making, free market selection, and performance evaluation. Regression analysis results support the conventional idea that the adoption of HRM practices generates better HRM outcomes and, in turn, better HRM outcomes contribute positively to firm performance. However, not all HRM practices, and their effects, led to improved SME performance. Among the Chinese SMEs investigated, a high level of employee commitment was identified as being the key HRM outcome for enhancing performance.     

Theoretical implications from the case of performance-based human resource management practices in Japan: management fashion,institutionalization and strategic human resource management perspectives

In Japan, a new type of human resource management (HRM) practices called ‘performance-based HRM practices’ (seika-shugi in Japanese) emerged in the 1990s, and has been adopted by many Japanese firms. In this paper, I illustrate how these type of practices emerged as a management fashion, diffused across a large number of Japanese firms, and became institutionalized in the Japanese business context; and discuss the relationship between performance-based HRM practices and firm performance. This illustration is used to develop a theoretical framework to better understand the relationship between HRM practices and firm performance by integrating theories of management fashions, institutionalization and strategic HRM. Suggestions for future research are also discussed.     

Strategic integration of HRM and firm performance in a changing environment in China: the impact of organisational effectiveness as a mediator

In the context of dramatic changes in China, this paper investigates the role of organisational effectiveness as a mediator in the relationship between the strategic integration of human resource management (HRM) and firm financial performance. Our study is based on the survey responses of 618 managers in state-owned and private (domestic and foreign-invested) enterprises in China. While most studies of the linkage between HRM practices and firm performance in China have measured firm financial performance or used an ad hoc combination of financial and non-financial indicators, we argue for a distinction to be made between non-financial organisational effectiveness and financial performance. As hypothesised, controlling for sector (state-owned vs. private), we find positive relationships between perceived changing business environment and strategic integration of HRM, and between strategic integration of HRM and organisational effectiveness. Our research adds an important conceptual link by showing that organisational effectiveness plays an important role as a mediator in the HRM and firm financial performance relationship and reinforces the importance of the organisational and environmental context for HRM.     

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.     

High performance work systems,organisational culture and firm effectiveness

The HRM literature emphasises the importance of people in enhancing firm performance or even creating competitive advantage. This study provides further evidence on the link between so‐called high performance work systems and firm performance and relates these to organisational culture. In total 175 organisations from different sectors in the Netherlands participated. Senior HR managers were questioned on HRM practices and chief executives on organisational culture. Three different groups of personnel are distinguished in the measures: core employees, managers and specialist professional staff. One high performance work system could be distinguished, consisting of a combination of practices with an emphasis on employee development, strict selection and providing an overarching goal or direction. Results of regression analyses controlling for sector, firm size and age show a significant impact of this system on several performance outcomes (perceived economic outcomes, beyond contract and absenteeism), as well as positive relationships with three organisational culture orientations. Practices that are not part of this combination also show some positive (but limited) links with culture and outcomes.     

Exploring the power dimensions of the human resource function

While a large body of literature has investigated the content of human resource management (HRM) practices, this research explores the process through which the HRM function impacts on organisational performance. Specifically, the research explores the reasons for the success or failure of HRM initiatives that have been associated with organisational outcomes and classifies the reasons as dimensions of HRM power. Based on 26 interviews conducted in Australia with senior HRM executives, top management team (TMT) executives and two management consultants, we found that, in order to contribute to organisational performance, HRM professionals can effectively utilise three dimensions of power, namely power of resources, power of processes and power of meaning. The findings offer new insights to the relationship between dimensions of HRM power and organisational performance.     

Human resource management and employee well‐being: towards a new analytic framework

The mutual gains model suggests that HRM should benefit both individuals and organisations. However, the dominant models within HRM theory and research continue to focus largely on ways to improve performance, with employee concerns very much a secondary consideration. Furthermore, pressures at work and in society more widely are creating an increasing threat to employee well‐being. If employee concerns and the threats to well‐being are to be taken seriously, a different analytic framework for HRM is required. The article sets out an alternative approach to HRM that gives priority to practices designed to enhance well‐being and a positive employment relationship, proposing that both elements are essential. Evidence is presented to support the choice of practices and to argue that these also hold the potential to improve both individual and organisational performance. It therefore offers a different path to mutual gains. The research and policy implications of this approach are discussed.     

Challenges to the psychological contract in Hong Kong

This study investigates empirically the psychological contract of a sample of 205 Hong Kong junior and senior managers. It determines the perceptions of factors that employers and employees see as relevant to the employment relationship, and then analyses perceptions of and attitudes towards recent changes in the Hong Kong business environment. In addition to exploring the nature and content of manager's psychological contracts in Hong Kong, the study explores how contracts are related to and affected by both the external environment and internal management practices. A survey questionnaire is used to measure the promises and commitments perceived to have been made by organizations, and the obligations that employees perceive they owe to their employer. In addition, the actual policies and practices of the employing organizations are determined. The impact of the HRM climate of the employing organizations (actual policies and practices) and the attitudes, expectations and feelings of organizational members about ongoing changes in the business and management environment on this exchange relationship are isolated. The study makes two contributions to the psychological contract literature: it examines the relevance of a psychological contract approach in a nonWestern geographical region; and it moves the concept of HRM preferences more centrally into the psychological contracting literature. This enables a better understanding of the construct in relation to the comparative management literature. The content of the psychological contract is shown to be multi-dimensional. Perceptions of organizational commitments and promises focus around four judgements: an intrinsically satisfying and challenging environment; a secure and rewarding job; equity; and supportive leadership. By Western standards the employee side of the employment relationship 'deal' is more one-sided. The proportion of managers who believe employees are strongly obligated to do certain things for their employers is very high. The study examines the factors that predict employees' psychological contracts. Actual HRM practices are shown to predict perceived commitments and obligations, and the strength of obligation is related to perceived promises and commitments. In contrast to the emphasis on the internal cognitive and individualized conception of the psychological contract in much of the literature, this study indicates that this decontextualizes psychological contracts. The true nature of a psychological contract is shown to be an exchange relationship firmly linked to a culture's reciprocity norms.     

The relationship between human resource management practices,business strategy and firm performance: evidence from steel industry in Taiwan

The primary objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between human resource management (HRM) practices, business strategy and firm performance. We examined the following HRM practices: training and development; teamwork; compensation/incentives; HR planning; performance appraisal; and employment security. We surveyed 236 managers working at steel firms in Taiwan to explore their perceptions on the impact of HRM practices and business strategy on firm performance. The results of this study are summarized as follows: (1) HRM practices will be positively related to firm performance; (2) there is a close linkage between HRM practices and business strategy; (3) business strategies will be positively related to firm performance; (4) integrating HRM practices with business strategies will be positively related to firm performance.     

Innovative human resource management and corporate performance in the context of economic liberalization in India

The Indian economy was forced to adopt a structural adjustment programme at the beginning of 1991. The structural adjustment programme or liberalization initiated the process of the opening up of an otherwise closed economy of India. Liberalization created a hyper-competitive environment and to respond to this turbulence, Indian organizations adopted innovative changes in their HRM practices. Current research shows that HRM practices are important for enhanced corporate performance but little has been reported on the effect of HRM practices and corporate performance in the context of economic liberalization of India. This study tries to understand the role of innovative HRM practices and specifically questions how HRM practices, such as the role of HR department, recruitment, retraining and redeployment, performance appraisal and compensation, enhance corporate performance during the change process. A multiple-respondent survey of 69 Indian organizations was undertaken to study the impact of innovative HRM practices on firm performance. The survey found that the innovative recruitment and compensation practices have a positive significant relationship with firm performance. It was observed that recruitment, the role of the HR department and compensation practices seem to be significantly changing within the Indian firms in the context of India's economic liberalization. The synergy between innovative HRM practices was not significant in enhancing corporate performance during the liberalization process.     

Creating Psychological and Legal Contracts Through HRM Practices: A Strength of Signals Perspective

We integrate the concept of signaling theory to propose that organizations create psychological and legal contracts through their human resource management practices (HRM). Focusing on the strength of the signal generated by HRM practices, we develop a framework for contract creation. Specifically, we define and outline how weak signals generate psychological contracts and strong signals develop legally binding contracts. We provide several examples of HRM hiring practices, the weak and strong signals which they emit and the psychological and legal contracts which they create. Our key contribution is to provide a precise model for understanding the distinction between a psychological and legal contract.     

What Determines Employee Perceptions of HRM Process Features? The Case of Performance Appraisal in MNC Subsidiaries

Against the background of Bowen and Ostroff's ( 2004 ) human resource management (HRM) process theorization, this study explores influences on individual employee perceptions of the visibility, validity, and procedural and distributive justice of performance appraisal in subsidiaries of multinational corporations, and at what levels these influences reside. The study adopts an embedded, multiple‐case design with interview data from 33 managers and professionals in six subsidiaries of three corporations. The findings show that perceptions of the performance appraisal process are driven by a number of influences pertaining to the unit, relationship, and individual levels. Further, the study highlights differences and similarities of influences across four performance appraisal process features, and identifies overlaps and inter‐linkages between the process features suggested by Bowen and Ostroff ( 2004 ). For practitioners, the value of our study lies in the identification of steps that can be taken to increase the likelihood that HRM practices are perceived positively and as intended by the organization. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Age‐related differences in the relations between individualised HRM and organisational performance: a large‐scale employer survey

The current study aimed to investigate the relationship between individualised HRM practices and several measures of organisational performance, including the moderating role of employee age in these relationships. A large‐scale representative study among 4,591 organisations in the Netherlands showed support for the relationships between individualised HR practices with organisational performance. Employee age moderated the relationships between the use of individualised practices and sickness absence and turnover, such that organisations with a high percentage of older workers benefited from work schedule practices, and organisations with high percentage of younger workers benefited from development practices.     

Shut the fridge door! HRM alignment,job redesign and energy performance

Anchored within the strategic HRM and alignment literature, and drawing on efficiency and legitimacy perspectives of organisational behaviour, we investigated a HRM intervention targeted at energy reduction goals in a large multinational retailer. The HRM intervention was focused on embedding the environmental and economic performance goals of the firm within the workplace through redesigning the job so that energy tasks were aligned with training and performance management systems, as well as organisational performance goals. Using a randomised control trial design, we tracked changes in energy behaviours and energy consumption in 769 retail stores (685 in the intervention condition, 84 in the control condition). The findings provide evidence that changing the alignment of HRM practices can influence both worker behaviour and organisational outcomes, including environmental outcomes. This work contributes to debates concerning the impact of HRM alignment on both the work and organisational performance context.     

The role of HRM practices in product development: Contextual ambidexterity in a US MNC’s subsidiary in India

Abstract

Recent studies have started exploring the linkages between organisational ambidexterity (OA) and HRM practices. OA is noted as a critical resource in achieving product, process, and business model innovations. By adopting an inductive case study of a US MNC subsidiary in India, we found empowerment-focused HRM practices were being used for exploration of new ideas and efficiency-focused HRM practices were adopted for the exploitation of the organisation’s existing strengths. Empowerment-focused HRM practices created a culture of openness and risk-taking, which facilitated the creation of an ambidextrous context. Further, ambidextrous learning was moderated by the adoption of a managerial/leadership style that focused on ‘mirroring competencies’ between the parent operation and its subsidiary. HRM practices were aimed at developing behaviours that valued the team-based co-development of graphic processor designs by means of a ‘parallel processing’ approach to product development. Additionally, the HRM practice of offering intrinsic employee rewards and both informal and formal training facilitated OA in delivering product innovation. This study represents a pioneering exploration of multiple levels of analysis (individual, functional, and organisational) for product innovation through the lenses of ambidexterity, innovation, and HRM practices. The implications for both theory and practice are also discussed.     

Why and when organizational culture fosters affective commitment among knowledge workers: the mediating role of perceived psychological contract fulfilment and moderating role of organizational tenure

Drawing on Denison and Mishra (1995)’s framework of organizational culture, this study examines why and when organizational culture is related to knowledge workers’ affective commitment. Data were collected from 640 employees working in three high-technology companies in China. The findings indicate that the relationship between organizational culture and affective commitment is mediated by perceived psychological contract fulfilment. In addition, organizational tenure moderates the relationship between two external dimensions (i.e. adaptability and mission) of organizational culture and perceived psychological contract fulfilment. This study extends the current theoretical framework of organizational culture by demonstrating the underlying mechanism and the boundary condition of the relationship between organizational culture and affective commitment. The findings also provide practical implications for international managers to design appropriate human resource management policies and practices in China.