Adoption Of Human Resource Management Research Articles

Effects of employer management on employee recruitment, satisfaction, engagement, and retention on large US dairy farms

Lack of employee engagement and satisfaction and high turnover rate of employees are major problems on some US dairy farms. Farm adoption of human resource management (HRM) practices varies widely. Using feedback from 168 employees from 12 large dairy farms, our objectives were to understand employee perceptions of HRM strengths and weaknesses and their influence on (1) employee satisfaction, (2) retention of employees, (3) willingness of employees to recommend the farm as a place to work, and (4) level of employee engagement on the farm. Employees who rated their employers higher for almost any management-related question (MRQ) were more satisfied in their jobs and more likely to recommend their place of work to other potential employees. Employees reported a higher intention to stay on the farm when employers scored higher on MRQs connected to employer-employee relationships. Employees who rated "Relationships" (a component consisting of 5 MRQs) higher were more likely to have a higher rate of satisfaction, were more likely to intend to stay at their job, and were more likely to recommend their place of work to others. No single management question was positively related to employee engagement (as measured by employees having and sharing ideas to improve the business); however, ethnicity, gender, job role, duration of employment, and employee's self-appraisal of their desire to learn and commitment to the farm were each associated with engagement. Female employees were less likely to provide ideas to their employers (compared with male employees), as were Spanish-speaking employees (compared with English-speaking employees). Differences between Spanish- and English-speaking employees were also present in measures such as intention to stay (shorter) and willingness to recommend the farm as a place to work (higher). Employees who rated themselves higher on their desire to learn and commitment to the farm were more likely to provide ideas to their employers, as were longer-term employees. In conclusion, we inferred that dairy farm management can improve employee retention and engagement through improved use of HRM practices.

Industry- and firm-level determinants of employment relations in China: a two-level analysis

Factors influencing the adoption of human resource management (HRM) policies and practices are nested within the multilevel contexts of firms and industries. Institutional theory focuses on environmental pressure and suggests that an organization’s choice of an HR system is partly attributable to mimetic isomorphism. This paper contributes to the strategic HRM literature by estimating the relative effects of industry-level isomorphism and firm-level contingencies on employers’ choice of labor contracts. Drawing on different theoretical perspectives, this study examines multilevel environmental and organizational factors as determinants of HR systems and tests their impacts on the use of short-term labor contracts and weighted average labor contract duration, using a survey of 313 manufacturing plants in China. Utilizing a hierarchical linear model, our analysis shows that while most of the variance in HR systems occurred at the firm level, approximately 7% of the total variance in the four HR programs we studied are explained by industry-level factors. Findings suggest that international competitive pressure, capital intensity, firm size, unionization and ownership type have significant effects on use of labor contracts in a manufacturing context.

Industry and Firm-level Determinants of Employment Relations in China: A Two-level Analysis

Factors influencing the adoption of human resource management (HRM) policies and practices are nested in multilevel context of firm and industry. Institutional theory focuses on environmental press...

The “Suite” Smell of Success

The authors use a panel of more than 1,500 New Zealand firms, from a diverse range of industries, to examine how the adoption of human resource management (HRM) practices affects firm performance. The panel is based on managerial responses to mandatory surveys of management practices in 2001 and 2005 administered by the national statistical office, linked to objective longitudinal firm performance data. The authors find that, after controlling for time-invariant firm characteristics and changes in a wide range of business practices and firm developments, a suite of general HRM practices has a positive impact on firm labor and multifactor productivity. Conversely, these practices tend to have no effect on profitability, in part because the adoption of performance pay systems raises average wages in the firm.

A diachronic analysis of HRM transfer: Taiwanese multinationals in the UK

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to use a diachronic analysis to explore the influence of country of origin effect and country of management effect on the adoption of human resource management (HRM) practices at different stages.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology starts with an intensive literature review to establish an analytical framework by bringing country of origin and country of management effects on the HRM transfers. By using a longitudinal qualitative research design, a total of 164 interviews from four British subsidiaries of four Taiwanese multinationals were conducted to explore the change over time during the HRM transfer processes over a five‐year period.FindingsThe results provide evidence of the paradox as a result of country of origin effect and country of management effect on the adoption of HRM practices over time.Research limitations/implicationsIt is problematic to conclude absolutely regarding the convergence or divergence of HRM practices. This is due to HRM practices being in a constant state of flux between global integration and local adaptation during the transfer process.Originality/valueThis is the first empirical study to examine the impacts of country of origin effect and country of management effect on the HRM transfers from emerging multinationals in the advanced economy from a diachronic perspective.

HRM practices and knowledge sharing: an empirical study

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the association between human resource management (HRM) practices and knowledge sharing from the Malaysian industry context.Design/methodology/approachThe method of exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were employed to evaluate the reliability and validity of the measurement model. The structural equation modeling (SEM) method was applied to examine the theoretical framework.FindingsThe results indicate that recruitment and selection, teamwork, training and development, and performance appraisal, showed a positive relationship with knowledge sharing, as perceived by the managers in the Malaysian manufacturing and service organizations.Research limitations/implicationsThe research design in this study was cross‐sectional rather than longitudinal. Hence, even though the SEM method was adopted, the interpretations of the cause‐effect‐relationship among the variables could not be determined. In this case, longitudinal research designs serve to be more constructive as compared with cross‐sectional designs in providing causation evidence between HRM practices and knowledge sharing.Practical implicationsFindings from this study should be beneficial for HRM managers in developing countries such as Malaysia, who plan to develop competitive knowledge sharing competencies through the adoption of HRM practices.Originality/valueThe contribution of this study is the construction of a measurement system of HRM practices and knowledge sharing that could facilitate future research on human resource management, as well as highlighting important implications for HR managers in developing countries.

Approaches to HRM in the Barbados hotel industry

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to measure the extent of the adoption of human resource management (HRM), the existence of a formal HR strategy, and the development of the HR function in the Barbados hotel industry compared with Hoque's sample of hotels in the UK.Design/methodology/approachA quantitative survey, covering 46 hotels out of a population of 75 hotels was conducted with the respondents being the hotel's management: a general manager, HR manager or line manager.FindingsIt was found that the adoption of human resource (HR) practices was more prevalent in Barbados hotels than in the UK sample. With respect to the existence of a formal HR strategy, the results were mixed. The results also show that in many respects the Barbados hotels are ahead of their UK counterparts in the development of the HR function.Research limitations/implicationsThe research focused on a small sample in a developing country. In addition, responses were obtained from top management rather than all levels of staff.Practical implicationsThe findings about HR practices were based on management assertions. There is need for a follow‐up with more tangible evidence.Originality/valueThe paper highlights the importance of HR practices in a developing country. These findings were unexpected, given that the UK is a mature western economy, where Barbados is classified as a developing country. They may be explained by the better‐developed formal systems for the management of employment relations at an industry‐level in Barbados.

Small firms, big ideas: The adoption of human resource management in Australian small firms

Relatively little research has been conducted on human resource management (HRM) in Australian small firms. This study, using AWIRS 1995 data, investigates the adoption and character of HRM in small firms. The dominant findings indicate that, relative to medium and large firms, small firms in Australia are generally less likely to adopt ‘formal’ HRM practices, including recruitment and selection procedures, written OH&S guidelines, and performance evaluation practices. In contrast, small firms were just as likely as medium and large firms to utilise workplace innovations such as TQM. Regardless of establishment size, management have similar views regarding the devotion of resources to HRM and the development of a corporate ethic. Management in small firms, however, were less likely to receive training in employee relations and less likely to develop a formal organisational strategy. Industry differences are also apparent within the adoption of HRM by small firms. This study provides a greater understanding of where small firms are in the adoption of HRM in Australia relative to medium and large firms, as well as some of the critical issues that small firms may face. The paper concludes with a call for greater research regarding the adoption of HRM in small firms.

Strategic non-HRM— a viable alternative?

This article argues that the strategic management of people does not automatically involve the implementation of practices associated with human resource management (HRM), e.g. sophisticated selection methods, extensive communications, teamworking, extensive training, employee involvement and performance-related pay. The article begins by defining HRM and, in particular, the soft and hard variants of the concept. Soft HRM is defined as a bundle of practices aimed at securing high commitment and high performance from employees whereas hard HRM is defined as a group of practices based on the premise that human resources (HR) are a cost to be minimized. The empirical data are derived from a survey of personnel policy and practice amongst engineering companies in the east Midlands. Respondents are mainly from small and medium-sized establishments and the article concentrates on those who reported the existence of a formally-endorsed HR strategy. The survey finds evidence of bundles of practices that could be labelled as predominantly soft or hard HRM. However, the findings also identify a number of establishments that have an HR strategy but do not appear to have adopted either approach. The article goes on to identify the practices common to this middle approach, tentatively labelled ‘strategic non-HRM’. It concludes that firms may adopt a strategic approach to the management of HR which is neither commitment maximizing or cost minimizing but somewhere in between and suggests that this middle ground should be explored in its own right rather than dismissed as merely the ad hoc or piecemeal adoption of HRM. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Creating and replicating HRM on greenfield sites: rhetoric or reality?

Greenfield sites have been seen as the most favourable setting for the adoption of human resource management (HRM). Presents a study of two greenfield employers’ attempts to introduce and maintain HRM philosophy and practices. Contrasts one management’s creation of HRM philosophy with another’s efforts to replicate its principles in a new unit. Describes and assesses these managements’ practices over the ten years since start up. Demonstrates that in the face of market pressures, greenfield managers are no more capable of maintaining soft‐version practices than their brownfield counterparts. Shows how these managers attempted to legitimize hard‐version practices by continuing to rely on language which reflected the humanistic principles of HRM. Concludes that without a radical reappraisal of management’s values, the long‐term aims of HRM will elude greenfield and brownfield sites alike.

Human resource management

This paper undertakes an exploration of the nature of employment and development practices in a sample of companies in Kenya. A contemporary ‘Western’ model of human resource management (HRM) is adopted as an analytical tool as well as an aid in the search for comparability between the popular beliefs in the conception of HRM and the extant managerial practices of these companies. The findings suggest that the adoption of HRM will be mediated by various contextual circumstances as well as the internal coherence of the concept of HRM itself.

The Attempted Restructuring of Worker Representation under Different European industrial Relations Systems: A Post Modern Convergence?

The adoption of human resource management (HRM) and assertive attempts at organisational change in key multi‐national corporations (MNC's) present the European labour movement with a serious challenge in terms of its traditions. Such a challenge has various dimensions. First, it attempts to construct the company as the locus of worker loyalty through a range of techniques disturbing traditional understandings of solidarity. Secondly, representation at the level of the company is developed and articulated around the broader concerns of the company. Thirdly, the adoption of techniques such as teamworking, team briefings and other direct communications with employees indirectly undermines the joint union‐management regulations of work in its attempt to redefine working practices, and opens up an alternative vision of collective worker organisation. The combination of these three dimensions, when used in a concerted manner, serve to undermine the independent nature of labour representation via the trade union. Co‐existence, as envisaged by Guest (1989), between traditional industrial relations systems and the HRM project is difficult to accommodate given that its long term objective is to gain worker allegiance.