HRM Implementation Research Articles

Barierrs to Implementing the Concept of Green Human Resource Management: The Case of Poland

Purpose: The Green Human Resource Management concept is relatively new to Polish managers. There is a research gap with respect to investigating the reasons behind limited practical implementation of GHRM. The objective of the study is the identification of major barriers to the implementation of the GHRM concept in Polish companies. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study was conducted in 2018 on a random sample of 300 Polish enterprises. The respondents were managers responsible for HR policy development. The method used in the study was CATI. In the first stage of the analysis, an assessment of the level of implementation of the GHRM concept in 7 functional areas was carried out with the use of a 5-point Likert scale. The second stage involved identification of the main barriers impeding the implementation of green HR practices. Findings: Green Human Resource Management viewed as the latest research tendency plays a crucial role in the strategies of corporate sustainable development. However, studies demonstrate that the level of GHRM implementation in Polish companies is low. In the course of the analysis, it appeared that the primary barriers limiting GHRM implementation are: limited financial means, lack of incentives to engage in environmentally friendly activities, low competencies of the management with respect to sustainable HRM, no or low effectiveness of GHRM tools and a culture based on economic values. Practical Implications: If the major barriers to GHRM implementation are identified and Polish managers become aware of them, barrier removal may prove easier and, consequently, the scope of implementation of green practices within the HR function may be broadened. Originality/Value: This article is a pioneer attempt to identify the barriers to Green HRM implementation in Poland. The research enriches the still limited set of literature concerning environmental practice performance in the area of HR. The author believes that the results of the presented research may stimulate interest in GHRM concept’s implementation in Polish companies as a tool of corporate sustainable development.

Placement of Shared Leadership in Between ERP and HRM Implementation

The study aimed to identify the placement of shared leadership in between ERP and HRM implementation. The following study is mainly characterised with the quantitative research design which has been selected considering the nature of the study. The present study is focused towards assessing the mediating effect of shared leadership in between ERP and HRM implementation. In this manner, the researcher has used positivism philosophy of the research along with the deductive approach which assisted the research in data collection and carrying out analysis. The questionnaire is distributed to 348 sample size to get the respondents. The results has revealed that the overall influence of shared leadership in between ERP and HRM implementation was identified to be significant. However, there was partial mediation in terms of leadership types, characteristics of leadership with respect to HRM implementation. The following study has identified the placement of shared leadership in between HRM and ERP in the manufacturing sector of Vietnam. Moreover, there were certain limitations on this study which can be taken into consideration by the future researchers.

Beyond HRM Implementation: New Avenues for Line Managers Through HRM Differentiation

We know of the importance of HRM implementation for the effectiveness of HRM and the crucial role that line managers play in this process. Underlying some of this research, there has been the implicit assumption that effective implementation occurs when line managers faithfully and consistently translate corporate policies in the ways they are intended. While this idea is not inherently wrong, it tends to pay little attention to line managers’ agency in that process, and to the need for workforce differentiation. It also runs against recent conceptualizations of implementation, which explicitly acknowledge its malleable nature, emphasizing variability in the way in which different actors directly or indirectly influence how a particular policy is used. Line managers may not only implement HRM in a narrow sense, but also complement, edit, and innovate in delivering HRM to their work units, modifying their HRM-related decisions as they see fit. More research is needed that considers line managers’ HRM implementation from different perspectives, acknowledging their agency and contribution to HRM differentiation. In this symposium, we will aim to find answers to the following questions: What is the role and agency of line managers in HRM implementation? And in what way is line managers’ HRM differentiation related to effective HRM implementation? Beyond HRM Implementation: New Avenues for Line Managers Through HRM Differentiation Presenter: Anna C. Bos-Nehles; U. of Twente Presenter: Jordi Trullen; ESADE Business School

Rethinking the Top-Down Approach to HRM Practices Implementation: The Case of Chronic Ill Employees

Although the literature acknowledges the importance of exploring the dynamic and complex nature of HRM practices implementation, our understanding of this process is still limited. Further, research has mainly focused on the “what” of implementation, with a minimal focus on the “how”. Drawing from strategic management theory and focusing on work adjustment practices for chronically ill employees, we examine the implementation of HRM practices as a situated process, looking at the continuous interplay among elements of the context and actors in shaping this process. We use a qualitative case study and adopt multiple perspectives, looking at the perceptions of all the actors directly or indirectly involved in the implementation of HRM practices. The findings demonstrate that there is not a unique way of implementing a practice but a variety of situations which result in different experiences of the same practice. This variation in how HRM practices are implemented and experienced across the organization depends on a process of collective enactment that unfolds at the local level, where multiple stakeholders intentionally and unintentionally contribute to the emergence of a shared meaning of the practice. Additionally, our findings show that diversity prevails when it comes to exactly who is involved in HRM implementation and how the actors' involvement takes shape, suggesting the existence of different models of HRM practices implementation and the emergence of interactions that go beyond the dyadic level. Implications for research and practices are discussed.

The Line Manager Factor: Explaining Employee Perceptions of Training & Development Effectiveness

This paper studies the link between LMs’ ability-motivation- opportunity (AMO) and their effective implementation of Training and Development (T&D) practices. Addressing calls for further examination of the AMO framework, this paper extends current combinative models and empirically tests the interaction effects of the AMO variables with a key moderating mechanism: employees’ perceptions of leader- member exchange (ELMX), in order to assess the relational effects that potentially strengthen the link between LMs’ AMO and T&D implementation effectiveness. Our multilevel analyses of matched data from a sample of 61 team leaders and 452 employees from Philippine call centers confirm that out of the AMO variables, only ability has a significant direct effect on LM’s T&D implementation effectiveness. Moreover, we found that ELMX was significantly and positively associated with employee perceptions of their LM’s T&D implementation. We also found that ELMX negatively moderates the relationship between ability and T&D effectiveness, and positively moderates the opportunity-T&D effectiveness relationships. Our contextual approach contributes to the current discourse on improving our understanding of the AMO framework, as well as the literature on HRM implementation, particularly in the field of T&D. Our findings also offer valuable insights about the unique work culture in Philippine call centers, and offer suggestions to organizations on how to make the most of the line manager factor in successfully implementing training and development initiatives.

Revisiting How HRM Influences Employee Intention to Leave: Linking Both Actual and Perceived HRM

This paper investigates the indirect influence of perceptions of HR practices on employee outcomes. It adopts a novel linkage model to examine the relationships between employees’ perceptions of HRM practice implementation by line managers, experienced HRM by employees, psychological contract fulfilment and intention to leave. The model is tested via two studies. Study 1 adopts a cross-sectional research design and uses data collected from 1903 employees working in professional service firms. Study 2 adopts a time-lagged research design and uses data collected from 350 employees via two time points. Findings were consistent across studies: employee satisfaction with HRM implementation by line managers is positively associated with experienced HRM, which in turn is associated with psychological contract fulfilment, ultimately reducing employees’ intention to leave.

Implications of self-managing teams for the HRM function

PurposeOrganisations increasingly implement self-managing teams (SMTs) to empower their employees. By drawing from the HRM process model and multilevel thinking, this paper explores how the HRM function changes in terms of actors and activities when introducing SMTs.Design/methodology/approachAn in-depth, multilevel case study was conducted at a large healthcare organisation in The Netherlands, making use of 70 interviews, document analysis and observations.FindingsThe findings show that SMTs transform the HRM function by changing the responsibilities of teams, HRM professionals and line managers in the implementation of HRM activities. The analysis shows that many HRM responsibilities are devolved to SMTs, which are supported by the HRM department.Research limitations/implicationsThese changes in the HRM function influence the HRM implementation process and provide all actors with new roles and activities. Based on these findings, this paper presents an inductive model of HRM implementation.Practical implicationsThe findings help HRM practitioners to transform the HRM function when deciding to introduce SMTs.Originality/valueThis article is one of the first that empirically explores how the HRM function changes as a consequence of introducing SMTs. This is important because more and more organisations are adopting SMTs, while knowledge about the role of HRM is lacking.

Line management attributions for effective HRM implementation

PurposeMany HRM practices are never thoroughly implemented, or are implemented ineffectively. To better understand what line managers need to implement HRM practices effectively, the authors have developed and validated a psychometrically sound measurement instrument dealing with line managers' attributions for effective HRM implementation. Based on the theory of causal attributions, the authors distinguish between internal and external attributions that determine how line managers implement HRM practices on the work floor.Design/methodology/approachA multidimensional approach has been used, and, after collecting data from 471 line managers, thorough scale development guidelines and validation procedures have been applied for instrument development.FindingsThe instrument's psychometric qualities have been assessed by calculating the reliability and validity of line managers' internal attributions – including its composing dimensions of desire and competences – and their external attributions – including the dimensions of support, capacity and policy and procedures. In particular, both convergent and discriminant validity as well as intra-class correlations have been established. The newly developed measures are found to be of good quality. The scales appear to discriminate well between the distinguished groups and show a good variation within groups.Practical implicationsThe developed measurement instrument helps HRM professionals to better understand line managers' attributions to effectively implement HRM practices and to provide them with support and training for effective HRM implementation.Originality/valuePrevious research has already identified weaknesses in HRM implementation, but lacked addressing the causes of this. The study presents antecedents for HRM implementation effectiveness, based on the causal attribution theory, and a psychometrically validated instrument to measure these antecedents.

Context, competencies, and local managerial capacity development: a longitudinal study of HRM implementation at Volvo Car China

This study investigates and analyzes qualitatively the effects of HRM implementation on managerial capacity development. Empirically, the study draws on a 4-year longitudinal in-depth qualitative case study of Volvo Car Corporation’s establishment in the Chinese market through its subsidiary Volvo Car China. The findings show that HRM at the case organization followed an implementation trajectory of establishing and building, deploying and broadening, reconfiguring and augmenting, and integrating and deepening. Managerial capacity development by means of ambience, permeability, accretion, and pertinence of competencies and the role of the local capacity context and its influence on local managerial capacity development is discussed.

Employee Performance Measurement Development Based on Green HRM Indicators

.

Conceptualizing and Measuring HRM implementation: Towards a Research Agenda

Despite increasing interest in HRM implementation as an explanation for the association between HRM and firm performance, there remains a lot of confusion about what implementation means and how to...

Macro‐institutional conditions in Ghana and the challenges to HRM program development and implementation

Multinational enterprises (MNEs) originating from advanced economies with operations in less developed host countries need to have a good understanding of the macro‐institutional conditions of the host country. Given HRM practices are context‐specific and embedded within the institutional and cultural settings of the host country, an exploratory qualitative study approach was employed to ascertain the host country's institutional dimensions (drivers) likely to undermine HRM program implementation in large local companies and in MNEs. Data were drawn from key stakeholder participants, including HR managers from MNE subsidiaries, domestic firms, and officials from key stakeholder institutions. The evidence points to six (6) dimensions of a less‐developed host country's macro institutions that undermine firms' HRM advancement. These include the regulatory system, education and training arrangement, labor market conditions, cultural barriers, political actors' intrusion, and economic uncertainty. The implications thereof are discussed.

The dynamic nature of HRM implementation: a structuration perspective

Over the past decades, scholars have dedicated substantial attention to the process of HRM implementation. Most progress has been made with debates on HRM system strength, roles of organisational actors in HRM implementation, and intended, actual and perceived HRM. In this paper, we challenge the current view on HRM implementation as being too static and one-directional. By building on structuration theory, we show that the process of HRM implementation is less straightforward than has been previously assumed. After their initial introduction, HRM practices evolve through turbulent developments. Furthermore, instead of neatly distributed roles following meticulously scheduled planning, HRM practices are influenced by various organisational actors. For successful implementation, HRM practices need to become inscribed into the interpretive schemes of organisational actors, resources have to be distributed, the HRM practice has to gain legitimacy. We develop a comprehensive framework that assists in understanding the process of HRM implementation.

HRM implementation by multiple HRM actors: a social exchange perspective

In this study, we understand HRM implementation as a social process that depends on the social exchange relationships between line managers and both HRM professionals and employees. As such, we offer a fresh approach to understanding HRM implementation by concentrating on the social exchange among HRM actors. We do so by investigating to what extent these exchange relationships influence HRM implementation, as reflected in employees’ perceptions of the presence of HRM practices and their affective commitment. We collected multilevel data from two sources (line managers and employees) and in two phases in a Dutch engineering firm, and obtained fully matched manager – employee information from 75 employees and 20 line managers. Our results show that employees perceive a larger number of HRM practices when they have a good relationship with their line managers and when their line managers are motivated to implement HRM practices. Line managers, in turn, reciprocate perceived support from the HRM department with greater motivation to implement these practices. We conclude that because HRM actors engage in social interactions, HRM practices will be implemented at the organizational level because employees perceive the presence of HRM practices and then reciprocate this with affective commitment.

Frontline managers’ contribution to mission achievement: A study of how people management affects thoughtful care

ABSTRACTThis study addresses the question to what extent frontline managers’ people management activities contribute to mission achievement through frontline workers’ behaviors. Drawing on the case of elderly care, we contribute to the literature by: (1) providing a compact measure of mission achievement in elderly care and specifying the requisite employee behaviors; and (2) showing that frontline managers’ people management activities impact on employees’ behaviors, and ultimately on mission achievement. In doing so, we also contribute to more knowledge about elderly care, which is an under-researched sector, and about the role of line managers (instead of top managers) in HRM implementation.

At the Interface of EHRM, Talent Management and HR: A Social Constructionist Perspective

This study examines the role of electronic human resource management technologies (eHRM) plays in how HRM practices are implemented in organizations and the influence eHRM has on the role of the Human Resource (HR) function. Using a qualitative case study of a professional service company with multiple business units, we follow the introduction of a new talent management information technology and how it influences the way in which talent is identified. Our findings illustrate the context- dependent nature of the HRM implementation process. We find that despite there being a standardized HRM process encoded in information technology, a common environmental and organizational context, and HRM policy on talent identification, the final implementation of the HRM practice differed significantly across business units and shaped the role of HR in divergent ways within the same organization. We argue that consideration of contextual factors is of direct significance to the implementation of HR practices and to ongoing debates about the ability of HR functions to become strategic business partners.

HRM implementation in multinational companies: the dynamics of multifaceted scenarios

This study explores why the subsidiary line managers of multinational companies (MNCs) implement HRM practices differently than intended by headquarters. HRM implementation is understood as a process in which one has to differentiate between a range of multifaceted HRM implementation scenarios. We build on a single case study in a Dutch subsidiary of a US engineering company that we characterised as an extreme case. The analysis comprises in-depth interviews with HRM and line managers and a study of policy documents using multiple iteration cycles with the software ATLAS.ti. Line managers engage in a range of behaviours: they ignore, deviate, imitate, internalise, initiate and/or integrate the delegated practices because they fail to see the value of the content of the practice and the process of execution. The HRM implementation scenarios found, although distinctive, often overlap, evolve or coexist in a dynamic HRM implementation process. We predict a support role for HRM managers in which they facilitate line managers in deviating from intended practices, and initiating new ones, in order to increase the likelihood of successful internalisation and integration.

HRM implementation in multinational companies: the dynamics of multifaceted scenarios

This study explores why the subsidiary line managers of multinational companies (MNCs) implement HRM practices differently than intended by headquarters. HRM implementation is understood as a process in which one has to differentiate between a range of multifaceted HRM implementation scenarios. We build on a single case study in a Dutch subsidiary of a US engineering company that we characterised as an extreme case. The analysis comprises in-depth interviews with HRM and line managers and a study of policy documents using multiple iteration cycles with the software ATLAS.ti. Line managers engage in a range of behaviours: they ignore, deviate, imitate, internalise, initiate and/or integrate the delegated practices because they fail to see the value of the content of the practice and the process of execution. The HRM implementation scenarios found, although distinctive, often overlap, evolve or coexist in a dynamic HRM implementation process. We predict a support role for HRM managers in which they facilitate line managers in deviating from intended practices, and initiating new ones, in order to increase the likelihood of successful internalisation and integration.

HRM and performance: the vulnerability of soft HRM practices during recession and retrenchment

This multi‐method case explores how change in HRM implementation can impact performance metrics in a recessionary climate. Qualitative HR outcome data are mapped against financial metrics to explore adoption of hard‐line HRM practices in a major UK retailer. Despite record profits throughout the recession, the organisation responded strategically to worsening conditions in the labour market, firstly to maintain operational flexibility, but then to opportunistically enlarge jobs and intensify work to help achieve immediate gains in financial metrics, including a gain of 37 per cent in profit per employee over 3 years. These gains were achieved by derailing commitment‐based approaches to HRM, pointing towards the vulnerability of soft HRM systems during times of austerity or retrenchment.

Strategic Human Resource Management in Higher Education Institutions: Empirical Evidence from Saudi

Abstract Recent studies have shown that high performing business organizations practice strategic human resource management (SHRM). However, there is a huge gap in both conceptual and or empirical studies on SHRM in higher education. This gap is more so in the Arab world. Although many institutions have noted the importance of some elements of strategic human resource management, few have practiced the elements on a frequent basis. It was the purpose of this study to explore the integration of institutional strategies to HRM by examining the strategic HRM practices in universities in Saudi. A quantitative and qualitative exploratory research design was used to study strategic human resources management best practices in higher education in Saudi Arabia. Literature was reviewed and the general features of strategic HRM practices were identified. These were captured in a survey instrument which was later administered to staff in the selected higher education institutions in Saudi to determine the extent of strategic HRM implementation. Statistical analysis was conducted to cluster similar variables together with the aim of identifying the focal areas for determining the extent to which strategic HRM practices had been implemented in a university. The results of the study indicate that based on participants’ perceptions, the higher education institutions under study have a strong level of awareness of SHRM. However, Saudi higher education is facing major problems surrounding the development of human capital, especially of the faculty members and needs to devote more attention to their SHRM practices. The employee recruitment and selection process is largely inadequate and needs effective attention. The results also showed that the performance appraisal and compensation system does not guarantee a highly motivated core of staff, especially if they are expatriate workers. As a result of these findings, there are strong implications for administrators, faculty, and other higher education personnel interested in applying and improving their best practices in strategic human resources management. Future research should include more universities, both public and private. In addition, future research should also consider moderating variables such as university culture, organization climate, and the labour market, especially with the Saudization (nationalisation) of the labour force, legal and regulatory environment. Drawing on the analysis, the study contributes rich and fruitful findings to the area of strategic human resource management.