Abstract
Related to the theoretical work of Bowen and Ostroff (2004; also Ostroff/Bowen 2000), this article focuses on the features of an HRM system that help or constrain organizations to get their HR message across. At a department-level of analysis, we focus on the consensus between line managers and decentralized HR professionals on the human resource practices in place and on the either strategic or operational role of the HR function in the process of the management of employees. Stating that an organization’s HR policies are transmitted by decentralized line and HR managers, it is proposed that the more line and HR executives agree on the status of their relationship and the HR practices in place, the less employees vary in their affective attitudes of commitment to the organization. Central to this article is the of affective organizational commitment among unit-members in a sample of 671 employees from 66 hospital departments drawn from four Dutch hospitals. Multi-level analyses indicate that consensus between HR professionals and line managers on HR practices (career opportunities, appraisal criteria) and on HR’s role is positively related to the commitment strength within a department. It is concluded that the collectivity of employee commitment to the organization is partly a function of department-level HR process indicators. Research limitations and implications for HR practitioners are discussed.
Highlights
Puzzling questions regarding the dynamics between HRM and organizational performance outcomes have generated various conceptual models on the HR– organizational performance link (Guest 1997; Becker et al 1997; Wright/Snell 1998; Ostroff/Bowen 2000; Wright/Nishii 2004)
The last decade, particular research interest in high commitment models of HRM depicted that a bundle of HR practices focusing on employee commitment to the organization would contribute to organizational effectiveness, through the added value of dedicated employees working harder, smarter and sharing the objectives of the organization (Arthur 1992; Guest 2002; Edwards/Wright 2001)
The goal of this study was to make an empirical contribution to a part of the conceptual model of Ostroff and Bowen (2000; Bowen/Ostroff 2004) in which the HR process is framed at a department level of analysis
Summary
Puzzling questions regarding the dynamics between HRM and organizational performance outcomes have generated various conceptual models on the HR– organizational performance link (Guest 1997; Becker et al 1997; Wright/Snell 1998; Ostroff/Bowen 2000; Wright/Nishii 2004). The last decade, particular research interest in high commitment models of HRM depicted that a bundle of HR practices focusing on employee commitment to the organization would contribute to organizational effectiveness, through the added value of dedicated employees working harder, smarter and sharing the objectives of the organization (Arthur 1992; Guest 2002; Edwards/Wright 2001). A main difference is that the high commitment models suggest a direct relationship between individual employee reactions such as an employee’s commitment to the organization in exchange for certain HRM investments (Whitener 2001) whereas organizational climate models suggest that HR practices influences a process of organizational sense-making (Weick 1995) by which “group members collectively understand and share their experiences of organizational events” (Parker et al 2003: 391)
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