Lone wolves reciprocate less deviance: a moral identity model of abusive supervision*

Abstract

Although previous studies provide diverse perspectives on the influences of abusive supervision, the moral perspective receives little attention in the literature. We rely on social cognitive theory to present a moral identity model of abusive supervision that accounts for the influences of perceiving abusive supervision on organizational and interpersonal deviance. In particular, we propose that employee moral identity mediates the positive relations between abusive supervision, as perceived by followers, and their subsequent organizational and interpersonal deviance. We also test the extent to which lone wolf tendencies alleviate the main negative impact of abusive supervision on moral identity and the indirect effect of abusive supervision on organizational and interpersonal deviance through moral identity. More specifically, when the level of lone wolf tendencies is high, the relationship between abusive supervision and moral identity, and the magnitude of the moral identity mediating mechanism will be weaker. Using multi-wave, multiple-source data collected in China, our findings support most of our hypotheses and offer insightful theoretical directions for mistreatment, morality, and disposition research. Our moderated mediation model serves as a springboard for future research to understand the social cognitive processes that link abusive supervision and deviant behavior from the moral perspective.     

Human resourec management and a culture of Respect: Effects on employees' organizational commitment

The literature is reviwed to produce a set of 37 Human Resource Management (HRM) activities related to showing respect for the individual. Eighty-eight full-time employees from different organizations and enrolled in a part-time MBA program report HRM department motivation for such activities and the degree to which they are committed to their organizations. Respectful treatmentis indeed perceived to be one of the HRM departments' reasons for performing these 37 activities, although it was not usually the most common reason. After controlling for job satisfaction, subjects' organizational commitment is positively related to the perception that HRM activities are motivated by (a) management's desire to show respect for the individual and (b) management's desire to attact/retain employees. When the company's HRM activities are perceived to be motivated by the firm's desire to improve performance or to comply with the law, there is no significant relationship with organizational commitment.     

Top management: the missing stakeholder in the HRM literature

Abstract

Despite the significant influence that top management exerts on different aspects of people management, it remains the missing stakeholder in the HRM literature. In this paper, we take stock of previous research, and conclude that it is scarce and lacks consolidation. On the basis of our findings, but also thinking in terms of what is still missing, we develop a conceptual framework that may guide further research, advocating for the need to consider co-evolutionary approaches in an attempt to integrate selection and adaptation perspectives, as well as multi-level and multi-actor factors. Future work should systematically address and distinguish top management characteristics from top management agency and link these more clearly to a diversity of HRM dimensions. By doing so, scholars will help to firmly incorporate the role of top management in the research agenda of HRM and pursue different avenues that can be scientifically sound as well as practically relevant.     

Market orientation,HRM importance and competency: determinants of strategic HRM in Chinese firms

This study examined three factors leading to a firm's adoption of strategic human resource management (SHRM): market orientation, HRM importance and HRM competency. Using a sample of firms from China, empirical results showed that the three factors are significantly related to a firm's adoption of SHRM. Given the transitional nature of the Chinese economy, the moderating effects of ownership types and firm size were also investigated. However, the moderating effects were not as strong as predicted. Managerial implications and directions for future research of SHRM in an emerging economy context are discussed.     

The politics of HRM: waiting for Godot in the Moroccan civil service

This study illustrates the fundamental importance of a political understanding in order to improve HRM in both public and private organizations. It complements studies that have found a statistical relationship between public staff management and economic growth by presenting a case study of Morocco, using the strategic human resource management (SHRM) model as a framework.

There are several reasons why HRM in the Moroccan civil service has stagnated, notably unfamiliarity with HRM models and the French administrative heritage. But the fundamental reason is Morocco's political system, where real power resides in the Palace, and where political actors are reluctant to take bold initiatives. Thus a focus on the management level is currently misplaced, and fundamental political action harnessing the authority of the Palace without disempowering other political actors is needed.

The study implies that a political analysis is sometimes a prerequisite for improving HRM in both public and private organizations.     

Demographic diversity in the workplace and its impact on employee voice: the role of trust in the employer

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between demographic diversity principles and evaluations of employee voice. An analysis of survey data from 707 employees working at 37 hospitality institutions with different star categories confirmed that trust in the employer, followed by the modest contribution of education, is of the utmost importance in the evaluation of voice systems by all employees. Employee evaluations of voice opportunities were found to display differences between male and female employee groups. While generational cohort was a differentiating attribute for the male group, job tenure had the same effect for the female employees. Implications for future research and for HR managers are discussed.     

The presence of a feedback-seeking role model in promoting employee feedback seeking: a moderated mediation model

Abstract

Despite an increasing number of studies that show a positive relationship between the supportiveness of a feedback source and feedback seeking, little is known about the impact of supervisors’ demonstration of feedback-seeking behavior on promoting employees seeking feedback from them. In addition, although previous studies have shown that feedback seeking is an interactive process and is emotionally charged, to our knowledge, no studies have investigated the role that the source’s emotion regulation played in the feedback seeker’s seeking frequency. The present article developed a moderated mediation model to fill this void and tested it with data from a sample of 215 supervisor–subordinate dyads from China. We hypothesized and found that supervisors’ feedback seeking from subordinates were positively related to subordinates’ feedback seeking from supervisors, mediated by the perceived value and cost of the feedback seeking. The results also supported the moderating roles of supervisors’ emotion regulation in the mediation model.     

To integrate or not to integrate: HRM practice of Chinese banks in Canada

Abstract

Are emerging market banks necessarily prone to localize HRM when entering developed markets? According to this comparative case study of two Chinese banks in Canada, we instead found a trend toward the integration of HRM with the parent companies’ practices, with varying levels of integration based on factors such as international experience and investment method. Importantly, the current practice, which may appear to be suboptimal in light of the localization imperative, has not prevented the banks from attaining steady financial performance, partly enabled by the carrying-over of home grown customers and the presence of a distinct co-ethnic community. However, such practice may have adverse effects on their long-term success, especially given their claimed aim to become global competitors. A conceptual model is built upon these findings, which also offers important practical implications.     

HRM and knowledge-transfer: a micro analysis in a Middle Eastern emerging market

This is a study surrounding the interplay between Human Resource Management (HRM) and knowledge transfer within an emerging institutional petro-state. It seeks to link HRM and knowledge transfer through individual-level mechanisms in response to the recent calls for more research on micro-foundations. Our findings provide empirical evidence for HRM-related factors influencing knowledge exchange in a sample of 815 employees in the national context of the UAE. We found that individual-level perceptions and extrinsic motivation have a positive impact on knowledge exchange; however, we found evidence to suggest only an indirect effect of individual perceptions of organisational commitment to knowledge exchange, via individual intrinsic motivation and social interaction. Unlike some existing accounts from the Western world, individual perceptions of organisational commitment to knowledge sharing had no direct positive impact on knowledge exchange – an issue that may be ascribed to the distinct institutional setting of the UAE. This paper adds to the existing literature on HRM and knowledge exchange by bringing to bear new evidence from a Middle Eastern emerging market setting – an area thus far relatively neglected in the literature.     

Customer service-focused HRM systems and firm performance: evidence from the service industry in Taiwan

Abstract

This study adopts a resource-based view, attraction–selection–attrition theory and a focused approach to examine the link between service-focused human resource management (HRM) systems and firm performance. Internally, we examine employee competency as the ‘black box’ between service-focused HRM systems and firm performance. Externally, we examine the effect of the interplay of a service-focused strategy and service-focused HRM systems in predicting firm performance. We collect data from different sources (i.e. executives, human resource members, and line managers). Using a final sample included 2120 respondents from 175 firms in the service industry in Taiwan, the results show that customer service-focused employee competency transmitted 53% of the effect of customer service-focused HRM systems on firm performance. In addition, when a firm implements a less service-focused business strategy, service-focused HRM systems leads to significant improvement in firm performance. Implications for research are discussed.     

Coworker support as a double-edged sword: a moderated mediation model of job crafting,work engagement,and job performance

Abstract

This research aims to test the mediating effect of work engagement on the relationship between job crafting and job performance, as well as the moderating effects of two forms of coworker support on the job crafting–work engagement relationship. We collected survey-based data from two South Korean samples. Study 1 was conducted on 175 flight attendants. The results of Study 1 were then replicated in Study 2 wherein 181 hotel employees reported their own job crafting and work engagement, and their supervisors rated their job performance one month later. In both studies, work engagement fully mediated the relationship between job crafting and job performance. The positive association between job crafting and work engagement was more pronounced when coworker emotional support was high than when it was low. In contrast, the positive link between job crafting and work engagement was stronger when coworker instrumental support was low than when it was high. Coworker emotional and instrumental support further moderated the indirect effect of job crafting on job performance through work engagement.     

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.     

The mediating effects of cognition-based trust and affect-based trust in transformational leadership's dual processes: evidence from China

In this study, we proposed and tested a dual process model in which cognition-based trust and affect-based trust mediate the relationships between transformational leadership and followers' task performance and job satisfaction. Data were collected from 175 sales and service employees and their supervisors in two private companies located in Southeast China. The results show that cognition-based trust mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and followers' task performance, while affect-based trust mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and followers' job satisfaction. Implications for the theory and practice of leadership are then discussed.     

社会工作介入企业人力资源管理的可行性与难点分析——以山东某机械公司为例

在当前企业人力资源管理各项职能中还存在着几方面值得关注的问题,需要企业引入一种新的力量专门解决。这种新的力量可以是社会工作理念、社会工作方法和社会工作者。企业社会工作能够增强员工的社会功能,充分挖掘员工自身潜能和调动外部资源促进生产环境改善。但社会工作介入企业人力资源管理仍有困难,社会工作者要想在企业中实现其价值,首先还要服从企业的战略,灵活地运用社会工作的方法和技巧帮助企业解决问题,做到"有为有位"。     

The theory and practice of strategic HRM and participative management: Antecedents in early industrial relations

A diversity of opinion exists about the definition, intellectual boundaries, and major premises of the fields of human resources management (HRM) and industrial relations (IR). To help provide a common frame of reference for discussion and debate on the symposium topic, I endeavor in this paper to flesh out a consensus position on these matters. The method used is largely historical. Based on a review of the origins and evolution of the two fields from the early 20th century to the present day, I show that human resources (HR) up to the early 1960s was typically considered to be a subfield of IR. In more recent years, however, HR has largely severed its links with IR and now is widely regarded as a separate, sometimes competing and sometimes complementary field of study. In the last part of the paper I use this historical analysis, together with a review of the literatures in the two fields and the findings and conclusions of the other papers in this symposium, to identity both the commonalities and differences that distinguish the two fields in terms of their approach to science building (research) and problem solving (policy/practice).     

The impact of participative leadership on job performance and organizational citizenship behavior: distinguishing between the mediating effects of affective and cognitive trust

This study examines the mediating effects of cognitive trust and affective trust on the relationship between supervisors' participative leadership behavior and subordinate work outcomes, using data obtained from 247 dyads in a manufacturing organization located in mainland China. Structural equation modeling revealed that while affective trust fully mediated the relationships between participative leadership of supervisor and subordinate job performance and organizational citizenship behavior, cognitive trust had non-significant effects. These findings underscore the importance of interpersonal interactions between the supervisor and subordinate for engendering subordinate work outcomes. They also lend support to the exchange (relationship)-based explanation as to how trust enhances the response of subordinates to the participative leadership behavior of their immediate supervisor, given that affective trust involves a process of social exchange between both parties over an extended period of time.     

Representative voice in different organizational contexts: a study of 40 departments of a Dutch childcare organization

‘Representative voice’ can be defined as actions in which one or more speakers represent others when speaking up about a problem at the workplace or making a suggestion. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the concept of representative voice, assess the frequency of its occurrence and examine department characteristics associated with its frequency. We present a theoretical framework and develop and test hypotheses about the effects of characteristics of the departmental context on the frequency of representative voice. Our focus is on organizational design features, i.e. characteristics that can be directly implemented by management. Data on 40 departments of a large Dutch childcare organization suggested that representative voice occurred in most of the organization's departments, although not frequently. Multilevel analyses showed that representative voice was best predicted by the presence of shared problems. Further, representative voice was more frequent in departments in which employees worked directly with clients (i.e. children), and in larger departments. Frequent contact with the department's manager and among the department's employees had no effect.     

Going global,feeling small: an examination of managers' reactions to global restructuring in a multinational organisation

This paper is concerned with examining the reactions of managers to the process of global restructuring in a large, multinational food-processing company. Much extant research concerning globalisation has focused on the wider economic, political and social outcomes. Perhaps surprisingly, relatively little attention has been given to how globalisation is experienced inside organisations. This paper examines how country-level managers have been affected by the move to a new global structure in their organisation. We present evidence of these managers feeling disempowered by global reorganisation and of a largely negative impact on their feelings towards the organisation they work for.     

The transfer of HRM policies and practices to a transitional business system: the case of performance management practices in the US and Japanese MNEs operating in Vietnam

This paper focuses on employee performance management (PM) to explore how multinational enterprises (MNEs) localise their human resources within their subsidiaries in a developing country. It uses qualitative research methods to examine four US and four Japanese MNEs operating in Vietnam. The paper identifies both home and host country effects as significant factors in the transfer of MNEs' PM policies and practices. The US firms emphasised financial and non-financial measurements and utilised a wide range of PM management tools and techniques. These techniques, despite being unfamiliar in Vietnam and possibly considered incompatible with Vietnamese culture, were transferred successfully to the Vietnamese subsidiaries. The Japanese firms' PM approach was characterised by a more informal form of regular performance review, within a strictly top-down process and which suffered from accusations of bias and lack of transparency by Vietnamese respondents. This paper argues that the transitional period in Vietnam from a centrally planned economy to a market-oriented one has made the national business system more receptive to new and seemingly contrasting practices. It provides no evidence to support the argument that transfer of practices is more likely, where the cultures of the countries involved are relatively similar.     

Attitude and consciousness of Japanese men and women towards career commitment and continuity: the role of expected change in HRM policies

A survey was conducted on 302 working men and women in Japanese private firms and local government organization anrl 51 non-working Japanese women to examine the attitude and consciousness towards career commitment and continuity if organizations adopt some policy formulations in more relaxed ways to accommodate, particularly, Japanese women in the workplace. Many studies have well documented that women’s passive attitude towards career commitment and continuity, as compared to that of men, is the outcome of discriminatory HRM policies and practices in the internal labour market. The ANOVA results show that the attitude on the policy relating to work–home harmonization differs significantly between men and women. As compared to working women, non-working women would have a more positive attitude to career commitment and continuity if a work-home harmonization policy wcre adopted. The ANOVA results also reveal that men and women have shown an almost similar attitude to pay structure and, thus, the integrated corporate pay structure can help in developing women’s attitude and consciousness towards career commitment and continuity, but women cannot share equally with their male counterparts as regards the policy of career development; rather, they are demanding job security, distributive justice and career counselling in the workplace.