Employee morale, non-financial performance measures, deployment of innovative managerial practices and shop-floor involvement in Italian manufacturing firms

Abstract

The relationship between performance measures and the development of innovative managerial practices (IMPs) is far from clear. The deployment of IMPs often requires shop-floor involvement and this might intensify the level of importance of shop-floor non-financial performance measures (SFNFPMs) of Employee Morale. On the other hand, human resource managers have long been concerned with measures of lateness, absenteeism and staff turnover (core SFNFPMs relating to Employee Morale), but from a diagnostic rather than interactive standpoint. This study investigates whether the level of importance of SFNFPMs of Employee Morale in manufacturing firms should be ascribed to the deployment of IMPs or to shop-floor involvement (human resource) considerations. In late 2003, a survey of medium-large Italian manufacturing firms was undertaken. The Italian context was considered particularly appropriate because Italian firms lag behind in their application of contemporary management techniques, and, until the late 1990s, industrial relations were based on a conflict relationship. Our findings suggest that, contrary to human resources literature, the significant positive associations between the importance of SFNFPMs related to Employee Morale and the deployment of IMPs seem to be independent of shop-floor involvement. Furthermore, the significant positive association between training (one of the shop-floor involvement variables) and the level of importance of SFNFPMs related to Employee Morale is found to be dependent upon IMPs deployment.