Perceptions of HR practices and innovative work behavior: the moderating effect of an innovative climate

Abstract

The purposes of this paper are to explore the effect that perceived HR practices have on the innovative work behavior (IWB) of individual workers and to examine the role that an innovative climate plays in this relationship. We hypothesize that employees will show greater IWB if they perceive the organizational climate to support innovation and perceive the presence of HR practices related to a compensation system, training and development, information sharing, and supportive supervision. Using data from 463 individuals in four Dutch manufacturing companies, the study tests the effects of employees’ perceptions of HR practices and of an innovative climate on their innovative behaviors. We found that employee perceptions of a compensation system are negatively related to IWB, and that employee perceptions of information sharing and supportive supervision are positively related to IWB. The effect of perceptions of information sharing and training and development on IWB are moderated by an innovative climate, in such a way that information sharing has a stronger effect on IWB and training and development a weaker one. Managers can stimulate innovative behavior by investing in information sharing, supportive supervision, and establishing an innovative climate.     

Knowledge‐intensive firms: the influence of the client on HR systems

HR systems play a critical role in growing knowledge‐intensive firms (KIFs) by facilitating the conversion of human capital into intellectual capital, which has market value. However, the choice of HR system is constrained by the relatively small number of clients they have in business‐to‐business relationships. This article seeks to understand how and why these client relationships affect the choice of HR practices in these firms. We address this issue by drawing on extensive empirical research currently under way in KIFs. Our research shows that HR practices can be influenced strongly by the client, both directly and indirectly. However, some KIFs will use their HR practices as a means of managing the relationships they have with their clients by shaping their boundaries with their clients and building organisational, professional and client identities. The varying client influence can be understood by examining the nature of the power relationship between the client and supplier, which is influenced by the uniqueness of the services provided. This has implications for our understanding of the factors affecting the exercise of a constrained choice of HR systems.     

The antecedents of direct management communication to employees in Mauritius

We measure whether, in a developing country, existence of a ‘hard’ strategic human resource management (SHRM) strategy developed at high organizational levels or one designed to enhance employee knowledge inputs and thereby promote employer–employee interdependence (EEIN) is a stronger antecedent of direct communication to employees. We use data from a comprehensive survey of HR practices in Mauritius, one of Africa's most open and successful economies. We find that both SHRM and EEIN are antecedents, but that the latter is stronger in public organizations and in smaller and older companies. We conclude that EEIN is a significant analytic category for explaining management practices especially in a historic sense in this and possibly other developing country contexts.     

High-performance HR practices and OCB: a cross-level investigation of a causal path

This study investigates the relationships between high-performance human resource (HR) practices and individual outcome variables from a cross-level perspective. It also identifies the mediating role of job satisfaction in the relationship between psychological climate and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). Drawing on a sample of 576 employees from 11 manufacturing plants in Taiwan, our results show that psychological climate perceptions are positively and significantly associated with job satisfaction and OCB, and job satisfaction mediates the relationship between psychological climate perceptions and OCB at the individual level. At the plant level, high-performance HR practices have a positive and significant relationship only with job satisfaction. The theoretical and managerial implications and contributions of these findings are discussed.     

Managing knowledge through human resource practices: empirical examination on the Spanish automotive industry

This paper considers the relationship between human resource management (HRM) and knowledge management (KM). Specifically, it examines how the human resource (HR) practices that are expected to impact on employees’ abilities, motivation, and opportunity to engage in KM, do so by enabling knowledge sharing, knowledge maintaining, and knowledge creation within organizations. HRM expected to impact employees’ abilities include training and development practices. HRM expected to impact on employees’ motivation include rewards and appraisal practices. HRM expected to impact on employees’ opportunities including providing the support of trusting collaborative relationships. Therefore, HR practices impacting employees’ abilities, motivation, and opportunities are expected to be positively related to knowledge sharing and maintaining within organizations. HR practices impacting employees’ abilities, motivation, and opportunity are expected to be positively related to knowledge creation through their effect on knowledge sharing within organizations. Our research methodology uses a questionnaire survey approach to collect data from firms belonging to the Spanish automotive industry. Results from a final sample of 64 Spanish automotive firms show that HR practices aimed at motivating and giving employees the opportunity to behave as expected significantly affect knowledge sharing and maintaining. Further, knowledge sharing and maintaining is shown to mediate the relationship between HR practices and knowledge creation. The paper ends with a conclusion, limitations and implications for future research.     

Strategic human resource management effectiveness and firm performance

This study tests whether strategic human resource management (SHRM) effectiveness significantly affects organizational level outcomes. Using the resource-based view of the firm, this study examines the effective use of human capital on organizational performance. Further, the role that a contextual factor - capital intensity - plays in modelling is explored. Results show that SHRM effectiveness significantly reduces employee turnover and increases overall market performance assessment. However, SHRM effectiveness affected both firm productivity and return on equity only when moderated by capital intensity.     

Perceived organizational support and knowledge sharing: employees’ self-construal matters

Abstract

HR professionals are expected to become more involved in knowledge management and facilitate knowledge sharing among employees in the knowledge economy. In this study, we investigated the relationship between perceived organizational support and knowledge sharing by taking account of employees’ interdependent and independent self-construal. Our hypotheses were examined using a 2-wave survey data-set from 145 teachers working at 4 Dutch vocational education and training schools. The results showed that perceived organizational support was positively related to knowledge sharing for employees either with a high interdependent self or with a low independent self. However, this positive relationship disappeared for employees either with a low interdependent self or with a high independent self. Overall, the moderating effect of self-construal revealed a new avenue towards a better understanding of the relationship between organizational support and employees’ knowledge sharing. It provided a tentative answer to the question of why organizational support does not often succeed in motivating employees to share their knowledge in the workplace.     

The role of HRM and social capital configuration for knowledge sharing in post-M&A integration: a framework for future empirical investigation

The literature on human resource management (HRM) indicates that HRM plays an important role in merger and acquisition (M&A) integration success, but pays little attention to the mechanisms for knowledge sharing in post-M&A integration. Limited work has been carried out to provide understanding on how social capital and HRM practices influence intra-organizational knowledge sharing in M&A integration. This paper primarily focuses on the phenomenon of social capital and HRM practices – one of the primary means by which knowledge sharing can occur within firms. The main aim of this paper is to provide an alternative framework that introduces the literature on HRM and social capital to discuss how HRM practices and the various dimensions of social capital may enhance knowledge sharing in post-M&A integration. Drawing on the literature on social capital and HRM, we offer an alternative view on the issue of knowledge sharing in M&A integration by explaining how specific HRM practices that have an impact on employees’ knowledge, skills and abilities for participating in knowledge sharing activities may depend on relational, cognitive and structural social capital. We isolate a number of HRM practices and social capital variables that may enhance knowledge sharing in post-M&A integration, and develop a research model and propositions for future empirical investigation.     

Strategic human resource management,firm performance,and employee relations climate in China

We examined strategic human resource management (SHRM) and human resource practices in the People's Republic of China to assess the impact of these practices on firm performance and the employee relations climate. We also tested whether firm ownership moderates the above relationships. Empirical results from a sample of Chinese firms from various industries and regions showed that the levels of adoption of SHRM and HR practices were lower in state‐owned enterprises (SOEs) than in foreign‐invested enterprises (FIEs) and privately owned enterprises (POEs). Both SHRM and HR practices were found to have direct and positive effects on financial performance, operational performance, and the employee relations climate. However, the moderating effect of ownership type was significant for financial performance only. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

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.     

The relationship between principals’ configuration of a bundle of HR practices for new teachers and teachers’ person–organisation fit

Abstract

Based on studies in the private sector showing the positive effects of strategic human resources management (SHRM) on performance, many stress the value of adopting SHRM in the public sector. However, until now, the argument for applying SHRM in the public sector remains largely theoretical. Especially in educational contexts, it is unclear through which mechanisms SHRM affects performance. Therefore, this paper zooms in on the relationship between the configuration of a bundle of human resources (HR) practices and person–organisation (P–O) fit. A mixed methods design was used to collect both qualitative and quantitative data from principals and teachers in 56 Flemish primary schools. The qualitative data, which provides insight into principals’ configuration of HR practices, were converted into numerical scores and analysed, together with the quantitative teacher data, using multilevel analysis. The results show that both principals’ strategic and HR orientation are associated with teachers’ P–O fit. This study contributes to the research field of SHRM in education by studying a bundle of HR practices and how this relates to the fit of teachers’ own values with the school culture. The practical implications for schools are discussed.     

How perceived empowerment HR practices influence work engagement in social enterprises – a moderated mediation model

Abstract

Drawing insights from the group engagement model and self-determination theory, our research explored the role of perceived empowerment human resource (HR) practices in the hybrid organizational form of social enterprise in China. Based on two studies, this paper developed and examined a moderated mediation model, linking perceived empowerment HR practices, identification motivation, work engagement, and authority work value. Specifically, in Study 1 we found perceived empowerment HR practices increased employees’ work engagement through enhancing employees’ identification motivation. In Study 2, we adopted a two-wave design to duplicate and extend this mediation model. A moderator, employees’ authority work value, was found to weaken both the mediation relationship, and the positive relationship between perceived empowerment HR practices and identification motivation. This study broadens the understanding of what social enterprises look like in alternative contexts, while providing an opportunity to explore how a HRM mechanism and its boundary condition function in large social enterprises in China.     

Exploring the link between organizational values and human resource certification

We contribute to the discussion of human resource (HR) certification by identifying organizational values as a key antecedent to (1) an organization's use of HR certification and (2) whether organizational members choose to pursue HR certification. Building on research which has looked at the influence of organizational values on the behavior and attitudes of the organization and its employees, we propose that key organizational values will influence the extent to which an organization and its members value HR certification. Specifically, we explore the relationship between the organizational values of innovation, people orientation, and stability and the extent to which an organization uses HR certification for selection purposes. In addition, we propose that these key organizational values will also influence whether the organization's members pursue HR certification. Exploring the link between key organizational values and HR certification is critical to our understanding of an organization's HR practices and the behavior of its employees. By taking a more organization focused perspective, we highlight the top-down effects of organizational values on the value of HR certification and call for additional research on the antecedents of the value of HR certification.     

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.     

Why Complementary HRM Practices Impact Performance: The Case of Rewards,Job Design,and Work Climate in a Knowledge‐Sharing Context

The strategic HRM literature suggests that HRM influences employees in combinations of practices that “fit” each other rather than as stand‐alone practices; however, it pays little attention to the underlying individual‐level mechanisms. In contrast, the HRM literature on knowledge sharing examines the influence of single practices on individual‐level knowledge sharing, but fails to include the influence of combinations of practices. We link the idea of fit between practices to employee motivation for knowledge sharing by arguing that rewards may be ambiguous and difficult to interpret, but that such ambiguity may be reduced if rewards are combined with other aligned HRM practices, notably job design and work climate. Thus, fit is established through the ambiguity‐reducing effect of combining specific HRM practices. Accordingly, we test for complementarities among rewards, job design, and work climate in the form of a three‐way interaction among these variables with respect to their impact on knowledge‐sharing motivation. Our analysis of 1,523 employees in five knowledge‐intensive firms shows that employees who are exposed to knowledge‐sharing rewards experience higher levels of autonomous motivation to share when they are simultaneously exposed to a noncontrolling job design and work climate that support knowledge sharing. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Linking HRM and knowledge transfer via individual‐level mechanisms

In response to recent calls for more research on micro‐foundations, we seek to link human resource management (HRM) and knowledge transfer through individual‐level mechanisms, arguing that individual‐level conditions of action influence the extent to which employees engage in knowledge exchange. We examine four such conditions empirically using data from 811 employees in three Danish multinational corporations (MNCs). Our findings suggest that individual‐level perceptions of organizational commitment to knowledge sharing, and extrinsic motivation, directly influence the extent to which employees engage in firm‐internal knowledge exchange. We also find that intrinsic motivation and engagement in social interaction significantly mediate the relationship between perceived organizational commitment and knowledge exchange. Given that HRM can influence such conditions through an overall signaling effect and various practices, an understanding of these micro‐foundations will shed light on how organizations can effectively enhance knowledge transfer through HRM. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, 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.     

A multilevel analysis of the effects of HR diversity management on employee knowledge sharing: the case of Chinese employees

This study explored the effects of human resource diversity management on employee knowledge sharing and the mediating and moderating variables underlying this link, among Chinese employees. Multilevel analyses of the data from 716 respondents in 37 firms revealed that organizational-level HR diversity management practices explained significant variance in employee knowledge sharing. The relationship between HR diversity management and knowledge sharing was fully mediated by employee trust in the organization. Moreover, cooperative norms moderated the second stage of the mediation, which is the relationship between trust in the organization and knowledge sharing. The findings of this research provide important insights into the relationship between HR diversity management and employee work outcomes.     

The role of corporate culture in the process of strategic human resource management: Evidence from Chinese enterprises

Extant research on strategic human resource management (SHRM) has primarily focused on the content of SHRM (best practices, bundles of practices, etc.) and its effect on firm performance. Little research has examined the SHRM process so as to better understand how SHRM is adopted and implemented and what impact it has on organizational processes and outcomes. This article examines the role of corporate culture in the SHRM adoption and implementation process. Empirical results from a sample of 223 Chinese enterprises indicate that corporate culture has an impact on the adoption of SHRM, and that different types of culture affect the SHRM process differently. Specifically, group and developmental cultures have positive effects on the adoption of SHRM, but the effect of hierarchical culture is not significant. Developmental culture is also found to have a direct effect on firm performance. This study offers significant implications for HRM in China and other dynamic and emerging economies. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Does HRM generate ambidextrous employees for ambidextrous learning? The moderating role of management support

During the past decade, organizational ambidexterity has emerged as a central research stream in management science to investigate how organizations manage to remain successful over time. By using the lens of organizational learning, ambidexterity can be defined as the simultaneous pursuit of exploratory learning and exploitative learning. In this study, we attempt to bring human resource management into the forum by introducing and testing how human resource (HR) systems affect the firm's ambidextrous learning. We show how high-involvement HR systems may support ambidextrous learning by stimulating firm employees to behave ambidextrously. We also emphasize the moderating role of management support in sustaining ambidextrous learning through high-involvement HR systems. A field study of 182 companies from Spain showed that high-involvement HR systems were positively related to ambidextrous learning and validated the moderating role of management support.