From Intended to Actual and Beyond: A Cross‐Disciplinary View of (Human Resource Management) Implementation

Despite increasing interest in human resource management (HRM) implementation as an explanation for the association between HRM and firm performance, considerable confusion remains about what implementation means. In order to develop conceptual definitions of HRM implementation and implementation effectiveness, this study builds on three different literatures outside the HRM field (strategy, innovation, and change management), which have addressed this topic extensively. As a result, implementation is characterized as a dynamic process, involving the interaction among multiple actors, starting with the adoption of a new practice and ending with its routinization. This is distinguished from implementation effectiveness as an outcome of that process. The study helps to achieve construct clarity, hence providing a more solid basis for future research and allowing for a better consolidation of findings. The authors also develop an agenda for further research by reviewing a number of theoretical and methodological approaches that have been used in implementation research across fields, including HRM. Overall, the study aims to establish implementation research as a highly relevant academic and practical quest not only in HRM, but also in other management literatures.     

组织中的心理契约

拟对近年来西方组织行为和人力资源管理领域中兴起的组织中的心理契约问题研究 ,进行综述性的介绍 .内容有心理契约研究兴起的原因 ,心理契约的概念发展 ,心理契约的内容和心理契约对组织效果的影响     

Employees’ reactions to customer mistreatment: The moderating role of human resource management practices

This study examined the moderating roles of human resource management (HRM) practices in employees’ reactions to customer mistreatment. Drawing upon the job demands-resources (JD-R) model and stress appraisal theories, this study hypothesised that training and participation could buffer the negative effect of customer mistreatment on service employees’ work outcomes (i.e. emotional exhaustion and job performance). Data were collected from 730 service representatives and their team leaders at two time points. Results showed that customer mistreatment was less positively related to emotional exhaustion in teams where employees were provided with more participation opportunities, and customer mistreatment was less negatively related to performance in teams where employees received more training. The results suggest that different types of HRM practices could effectively buffer the negative impact of customer mistreatment on different work outcomes for service employees. Theoretically, this study extends the customer mistreatment literature by demonstrating the importance of studying HRM practices in the customer mistreatment context, and supports the integration of JD-R model as an overarching framework and stress appraisal theories as an explanatory theory to understand the role of HRM practices. Practically, the findings provide implications to managers in protecting employees from customer-related interpersonal stressors and maintaining a healthy and productive workforce.     

HRM practices of JIT firms in Canada

Many firms have adopted the just-in-time (JIT) philosophy to compete successfully in the global environment. The literature suggests that die success of JIT implementation depends on sound human resource management (HRM) practices that will attract, maintain, and retain employees with the required workforce characteristics. However, only a few field studies investigate the effectiveness of such practices. This empirical study examines HRM practices of 69 JIT manufacturing firms in Ontario, Canada. Specifically, it identifies important workforce characteristics, recruitment sources and selection instruments used by JIT firms. It also evaluates die degree of change in training, compensation, employee retention, and labour relations practices in the firms since JIT implementation. The level of attainment of various expected outcomes of JIT implementation and die competitiveness of the JIT firms are investigated. Problems faced by HRM managers are also discussed.     

From Customer‐Oriented Strategy to Organizational Financial Performance: The Role of Human Resource Management and Customer‐Linking Capability

Drawing on the organizational capabilities literature, the authors developed and tested a model of how supportive human resource management (HRM) improved firms’ financial performance perceived by marketing managers through fostering the implementation of a customer‐oriented strategy. Customer‐linking capability, which is the capability in managing close customer relationships, indicated the implementation of the customer‐oriented strategy. Data collected from two emerging economies – China and Hungary – established that supportive HRM partially mediated the relationship between customer‐oriented strategy and customer‐linking capability. Customer‐linking capability further explained how supportive HRM contributed to perceived financial performance. This study explicates the implication of customer‐oriented strategy for HRM and reveals the importance of HRM in strategy implementation. It also sheds some light on the ‘black box’ between HRM and performance. While making important contributions to the field of strategy, HRM and marketing, this study also offers useful practical implications.     

The Role of Task Uncertainty in IT Project Team Advice Networks

Advice seeking is often the most critical success factor in today's IT project teams. To understand how advice seekers are motivated, we integrate the antecedents of advice seeking—as defined by network theory (Granovetter, 1983)—into a cost/benefit model based on expectancy theory (Vroom, 1964). To contribute to the research on advice network formation, we integrate the role of task uncertainty—one of the defining characteristics of IT projects—into that research (Wallace & Keil, 2004). Based on a controlled quasi‐experiment, this study demonstrates that when task uncertainty is low, individuals with attractive personalities and similar demographics will be sought out for advice more frequently, regardless of their knowledge and resources (i.e., the benefits to the advice seekers). However, when task uncertainty is high, individuals with greater knowledge and access to resources are sought out more often in an advice network. These results provide clarity to prior research that has found mixed results concerning the effectiveness of the traditional antecedents to advice seeking (e.g., knowledge, power, and transactive memory) (e.g., Xu, Kim, & Kankanhalli, 2010a). In addition, project managers may choose to alter their team structure in order to optimize the advice network based on the anticipated level of IT project risk or task uncertainty.     

Human resource management in the just-in-time environment

Successful just-in-time (JIT) implementation requires a multiskilled group-oriented and self-disciplined workforce with good quantitative skills. Little discussion exists in the JIT literature concerning the development of such a workforce. The human resource management (HRM) literature deals with employee issues but does not identify strategies for achieving a JIT workforce. In order to identify appropriate HRM strategies for a JIT environment, a comprehensive model is presented to show the critical linkage between JIT and HRM. Interactions between legal issues, management and union, and human input are examined. The impact of US labour laws on HRM practices is discussed and contrasted with Japanese practices. The literature review of HRM-related JIT articles suggests that HRM practices in the areas of staffing, training and development, compensation, and employee retention can be used to develop an effective JIT workforce. The article will help production managers to understand the impact of specific HRM strategies that are appropriate for developing a JIT workforce.     

Technology Acceptance Model 3 and a Research Agenda on Interventions

Prior research has provided valuable insights into how and why employees make a decision about the adoption and use of information technologies (ITs) in the workplace. From an organizational point of view, however, the more important issue is how managers make informed decisions about interventions that can lead to greater acceptance and effective utilization of IT. There is limited research in the IT implementation literature that deals with the role of interventions to aid such managerial decision making. Particularly, there is a need to understand how various interventions can influence the known determinants of IT adoption and use. To address this gap in the literature, we draw from the vast body of research on the technology acceptance model (TAM), particularly the work on the determinants of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, and: (i) develop a comprehensive nomological network (integrated model) of the determinants of individual level (IT) adoption and use; (ii) empirically test the proposed integrated model; and (iii) present a research agenda focused on potential pre‐ and postimplementation interventions that can enhance employees' adoption and use of IT. Our findings and research agenda have important implications for managerial decision making on IT implementation in organizations.     

The Determinants of DSS Success: An Integrated Model*

The results of a field study investigating the determinants of decision support systems (DSS) success are presented. A multivariate model was developed and tested using multiple regression hierarchical analysis on responses from 118 DSS users. Several specific hypotheses are also proposed and tested. Data analyses indicate that DSS success, as measured by DSS satisfaction and perceived benefits, depends on several factors: previous user experience with DSS, user involvement, user training, top management support, information sources, the level of managerial activity, and task structure, difficulty and interdependence. Based on the research results, several suggestions are made to improve the likelihood of successful DSS implementation.     

CEO transformational leadership and organizational outcomes: The mediating role of human–capital-enhancing human resource management

Using a field survey and company data of 170 firms in Singapore, we tested an integrated theoretical model relating CEO transformational leadership (TL), human–capital-enhancing human resource management (HRM), and organizational outcomes, including subjective assessment of organizational performance, absenteeism, and average sales. We found that human–capital-enhancing HRM fully mediates the relationship between CEO transformational leadership and subjective assessment of organizational outcomes and partially mediates the relationship between CEO transformational leadership and absenteeism. We discuss practical and theoretical implications.     

Involving Information System Users in Defining System Requirements: The Influence of Procedural Justice Perceptions on User Attitudes and Performance

This study incorporates the theoretical framework of procedural justice into the information system (IS) user participation research paradigm. In a field setting, 726 subjects representing 59 local newspaper sites took part in a fully randomized, longitudinal experiment. Four increasing levels of participation concerning specifying system requirements were manipulated: mute, voice, choice, and voice plus choice. As the participation level increased, procedural justice judgments increased correspondingly. Perceptions of control over the development process, satisfaction with the outcome, and objective measures of performance increased from the mute to voice conditions, were unchanged from the voice to choice conditions, and increased again as participation was manipulated at the highest level—voice plus choice. The rich contextual field setting in which this experiment was conducted, combined with strong attitudinal and performance results, encourage researchers to integrate the psychology of procedural justice into the study of IS user participation.     

Limitations to Freedom: is there a Choice for Human Resource Management?

There is a great variety in human resource management (HRM) practices, not only in terms of policies and personnel activities, but also with regard to the parties involved and the procedures for decision-making. But which factors can best account for these differences? Are they due to organizational and environmental characteristics or are they basically due to the interests, preferences and power positions of the parties concerned - parties like management, employees, personnel management staff, trade union representatives, members of the works council and so on? Based on elements of industrial relations theory, organization theory and organization sociology, a research project was set up with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the factors which can shape HRM practices. The empirical part of the research consisted of paired comparative case studies from different industries. The result is a conceptual model which not only encompasses the relevant forces in the shaping of HRM, but also states the conditions determining the amount of room for manoeuvre the parties concerned have to make their own strategic choices with regard to HRM.     

Workplace learning strategies,barriers, facilitators and outcomes: a qualitative study among human resource management practitioners

Recently the role of human resource management (HRM) practitioners has become more professionalized and more strategic. Consequently, HRM practitioners have had to develop new competencies in areas such as change management, influence and technology. Workplace learning, which is important for professional development, is examined for 13 HRM practitioners in government, healthcare, post-secondary education and business organizations in the Halifax Regional Municipality area. Of particular interest were learning strategies, barriers to and facilitators of learning and outcomes of learning. To obtain rich data, practitioners were interviewed face to face using an interview guide. Results indicated that these practitioners are mostly similar to other professional groups in terms of workplace learning, with a few key differences. The similarities and differences are presented, and implications of these findings for HRM practitioners and future directions for research are discussed.     

Reverse Auctions to Innovate Procurement Processes: Effects of Bid Information Presentation Design on a Supplier's Bidding Outcome

Information technologies (ITs) are being used to innovate various procurement processes. This research study focuses on the supplier‐side effects of IT design choices to conduct reverse auctions, which are increasingly used to procure a wide range of products and services. IT–enabled reverse auctions enhance supplier participation across geographical boundaries, leading to more efficient pricing. However, there are growing concerns about the adverse effects of IT–enabled reverse auctions on a supplier's performance. Supplier‐side issues are gaining prominence in the reverse auction literature and are critical for the long‐term success of reverse auctions. Therefore, we focus on suppliers’ bidding outcomes and assess how the design of an IT–enabled reverse auction facilitates the auction bidding outcomes of participating suppliers. Specifically, we examine the effects of two types of bid information presentation design—full price visibility and partial price visibility—on supplier's auction bidding outcomes, across auctions with different cost certainty and suppliers bargaining power vis‐à‐vis the buyer. The results of this study contribute new knowledge about the ways to use IT for creating effective auction designs and innovating procurement through auctions to enhance both the buyer's and suppliers’ performance. We present the detailed theoretical contributions of our study and discuss the managerial implications for designers of reverse auctions.      

How MNE subsidiaries transfer HRM practices in distant environments: A tale of two IKEA subsidiaries

While most research in the international business field focuses on the impact of the national institutional environment on multinational enterprises (MNEs), this paper explores the opposite relationship—the role and impact of MNE subsidiaries on the host country institutional environment. I analyze the subsidiaries' agency in the transfer activities of human resource management (HRM) practices by bringing the case of IKEA subsidiaries in Korea and Japan and find that these subsidiaries not only adapted to pressures arising from an institutional distance but also played an important role in influencing the institutional arrangement for employment system of their host countries. With a contextualized agency model, this study finds that institutional and organizational contexts that these subsidiaries are embedded in shaped their agencies and strategic responses and co-evolved with their host institutional environments while transferring HRM practices. These findings have implications for the IB and IHRM field, as they highlight the potential of MNE subsidiaries as agents.     

Team Dispersion,Information Technology,and Project Performance

The impact of information technology (IT) on the performance of distributed projects is not well understood. Although prior research has documented that dispersion among project teams has an adverse effect on project performance, the role of IT as an enabler of communication to bridge the spatial distance among team members in distributed networks has not been empirically studied. We focus on the role of IT as a moderator of the relationship between team dispersion and project performance using projects as the unit of analysis. We find that IT mitigates the negative effect of team dispersion on project performance, especially in high information volume projects. Our central contribution is the development of an empirically tested model to improve the understanding of the operational impact of IT as a vehicle to bridge spatial dispersion among distributed teams that are engaged in knowledge‐intensive work.     

The importance of employee participation and perceptions of changes in procedures in a teamworking intervention

The powerful positive results of implementing teamwork are not always achieved. It has been suggested that attempts to implement theories regarding teamwork do not always lead to those theories being put into practice, and as a result positive outcomes are not always found. The participation of employees in the development and implementation of an intervention may help to ensure that changes take place. In this longitudinal study (N = 583) of teamwork implementation in Denmark we examined the links between pre-intervention working conditions and well-being, levels of participation in planning and implementation, employees' reports of changes in procedures, and intervention outcomes. Pre-intervention levels of autonomy and job satisfaction predicted the degree of employee participation in the planning and implementation of the intervention. Pre-intervention well-being and social support were linked directly to the degree to which employees reported changes in existing work practices concerning teamwork. In addition, participation and changes in work procedures were significantly associated with post-intervention autonomy, social support and well-being. The results indicate that employee participation in intervention processes is crucial in what appears to be an important association with perceived changes in procedures and, therefore, in intervention outcomes.     

Client/Server System Success: Exploring the Human Side

Client/server systems (CSS) are emerging as the new paradigm for systems development, replacing or integrating legacy applications with systems that provide higher quality user interfaces on the client component and substantial user-transparent data processing capability on one or more servers. Due to the dramatically different CSS development approach and the CSS emphasis on user friendliness, research findings based on non-CSS should be retested in the CSS context. Using a relatively well-established theoretical foundation, this study focuses on the human aspects of CSS implementation. Specifically, four major factors important to success with this emerging technology are studied: the degree of end-user involvement in the CSS development process, end-user characteristics, developer skills, and management support for the CSS project. The measures of CSS success are end-user satisfaction with the CSS, system usage, and its impact on end-users' jobs. The results indicate that the four independent variables explain a significant percentage of the variance in the dependent variables. Based on the results, recommendations are made for the management of CSS implementation and for further research on this important emerging technology.     

United we stand: HR and line managers’ shared views on HR strategic integration

Based on strategic consensus literature and the strategic integration of HRM, this study hypothesizes that HR and line managers’ shared views on HR strategic integration (i.e., strategic congruence) lead to beneficial organizational outcomes. Drawing on a dyadic sample of 102 organizations, we examine the strategic congruence of line management (LM) and HRM, its joint impact on HRM value, and, in turn, the influence on internal efficiency. In this context, HRM value refers to the perceived importance of the HR function to the organization. Structural equation modeling, polynomial regressions, and response surface methodology show that there is, in fact, a non-linear relationship between strategic congruence and HRM value. Thus, only when the views of the line managers and HR managers are congruent (i.e., in agreement) does the HRM value increase, which, in turn, mediates the effect on internal efficiency. Thereby, we offer new insights into the mechanisms of strategic congruence, the mediating role of HRM value, and firm-level outcomes. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

Change Management Choices and Trajectories in a Multidivisional Firm

This paper draws on a comparative case study of the implementation of a planned change initiative across three different divisions of a multidivisional oil company to investigate the influences guiding division‐level change agents in their choice of a change management approach and the impact of different approaches on change outcomes. While the contingency perspective suggests that change management approaches should be chosen to fit with change content and context, we found that change agents navigated amongst three concerns: substantive concerns related to goal attainment, political concerns related to conformity to corporate demands, and relational concerns concerning relations with employees. We identified three different change management trajectories across the three divisions based on alternative ways of balancing the concerns. The data show that, regardless of the change management approach adopted, change tends to be diluted in implementation. However, the various trajectories have differential consequences for other important dimensions such as corporate approval and relationships with employees.