Perceived HRM Practices Research Articles

The link between perceived HRM practices, performance and well‐being: the moderating effect of trust in the employer

The present study examines the interaction between perceived HRM practices and trust in the employer on employee performance and well‐being. Specifically, the study tests whether trust in the employer moderates the relationships between perceptions of HRM practices and task performance (as rated by employees’ supervisors), organisational citizenship behaviour, turnover intentions and employee well‐being. Support was found for the majority of the hypotheses using data from 613 employees and their line managers in a service sector organisation in the UK. Trust in the employer moderates the relationships between perceived HRM practices and task performance, turnover intentions and individual well‐being, but not organisational citizenship behaviour. Implications of the findings for organisations and future research are discussed.

Perceived HRM practices, organizational commitment, and voluntary early retirement among late‐career managers

AbstractUsing a sample of 514 French late‐career managers representing a variety of occupations and organizations, we investigated the relations among perceived HRM practices, organizational commitment, and voluntary early retirement. We found that the provision of training opportunities was associated with the most favorable outcomes. It was related to higher affective and high‐sacrifice commitment, lower lack of alternatives commitment, and reduced voluntary early retirement. On the other hand, we found that flexible working conditions and the assignment of older workers to new roles (for example, mentor or coach) did not have the expected positive effects. In addition, our results highlight the importance of disentangling the components of continuance commitment, as high‐sacrifice commitment was associated with reduced likelihood of voluntary early retirement, while lack of alternatives commitment had the opposite effect. These findings suggest that voluntary early retirement should be incorporated as a major outcome in future organizational behavior research. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The relationship between HRM practices and service behaviour in South African service organizations

This paper reports on findings from research conducted in South African service organizations that frontline employees' perceptions of HRM practices have a direct influence on their service behaviour. Specific HRM practices have more impact than others and this was attributed to the influence of external factors such as the socio-political situation and national culture and to internal factors linked to the way managers implemented the HRM practices in the organization. Organizational commitment was found to play a mediating role in the relationship between frontline employees' perceptions of HRM and their service behaviour.

The casual management of casual work: Casual workers' perceptions of HRM practices in the highly casualised firm

The increasing use of flexible labour forms such as casual employment has come under scrutiny in recent times. Investigations into casualisation have typically stemmed from either a labour-market economics perspective or a managerial focus. In contrast, this paper attempts to capture the experience of casual employment from the casual workers' perspective. The decline of the institutional regulation of workers points to a need for the enterprise to assume a more active role in the provision of support and opportunities for casual workers. Ignoring casual workers needs may impact negatively on their quality of work life as well as their quality of service provision. The research findings indicate that there is a need to reconceptualise HRM practices in the highly casualised firm. The implications for HR practice, particularly those associated with ethics and the issue of service provision in the casualised firm, are discussed in light of the results.