Anna Christina Bos-Nehles

HRM and innovative work behaviour: a systematic literature review

Purpose Although we know that HRM practices can have a huge impact on employees’ innovative work behaviour (IWB), we do not know exactly which practices make the difference and how they affect IWB. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to determine the best HRM practices for boosting IWB, to understand the theoretical reasons for this, and to discover mediators and moderators in the relationship between HRM practices and IWB. Design/methodology/approach Based on a systematic review of the literature, the authors carried out a content analysis on 27 peer-reviewed journal articles. Findings Working with the definitions and items provided in the articles, the authors were able to cluster HRM practices according to the ability-motivation-opportunity framework. The best HRM practices for enhancing IWB are training and development, reward, job security, autonomy, task composition, job demand, and feedback. Practical implications The results of this study provide practical information for HRM professionals aiming to develop an HRM system that generates innovative employee behaviours that might help build an innovative climate. Originality/value A framework is presented that aggregates the findings and clarifies which HRM practices influence IWB and how these relationships can be explained.

Innovative work behaviour in knowledge-intensive public sector organizations: the case of supervisors in the Netherlands fire services

Abstract Studying innovative employee behaviours within knowledge-intensive public sector organizations (KIPSOs) might seem an odd thing to do given the lack of competitive pressures, the limited identification of the costs and benefits of innovative ideas and the lack of opportunities to incentivize employees financially. Nevertheless, KIPSOs require innovations to ensure long-term survival. To help achieve this goal, this paper explores the role of supervisors in supporting innovative work behaviour (IWB) by considering the unique challenges of KIPSOs and the conditions and characteristics of IWB in this context. Based on our rich qualitative data of a single case study in the Netherlands Fire Services, we demonstrate the ability of public-sector supervisors to engage employees in innovative behaviours. On the downside, implementation failures and a lack of radical innovation projects seem to be the result of loosely coupled bottom-up and top-down innovation projects and decentralization in the KIPSO which requires situational leadership that emphasizes networking activities and lobbying with public managers.

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.

Understanding the congruence of HRM frames in a healthcare organization

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the differences and similarities in the HRM frames of middle-level managers and HR professionals, and to uncover the roots and contents of (dis)agreements in the HRM frames among HR professionals and middle-level managers. Design/methodology/approach – An explorative case study performed in a Dutch homecare organization explored the reasons for the different roots and dynamics of the cognitive frames of HR professionals and middle-level managers. Findings – The research shows that these differences originate in the lack of clarity concerning the experienced philosophy and goals of HRM, leading to different client foci, in the inertia- and intuition-based execution of HRM practices and in the seemingly large distance between central and local HRM administrative functions. The alignment of HRM frames developed from being congruent in the HRM vision towards incongruence in daily HRM execution. Originality/value – This research confirms that HR professionals and middle-level managers have different HRM frames that encompass knowledge, assumptions and expectations. Congruent thinking by both social groups can lead to a better HRM system and to changes in HRM processes, enabling easier progress

HRM Implementation by Multiple HRM Actors : A Social Exchange Perspective

Abstract 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.

How employees’ pro-activity translates high-commitment HRM systems into work engagement: the mediating role of job crafting

Abstract In this study, we examine whether the relationship between employees’ perceptions of human resource management (HRM) and work engagement is mediated by job crafting. Using conservation of resources (COR) theory, we propose that HR practices offer job resources which employees reinvest by displaying job crafting behaviours. Since job crafting involves the pro-active redesign of job characteristics by employees, this study advances the idea that employees are pro-active in their response to HRM and translate perceived HRM practice into attitudinal outcomes through displaying pro-active behaviour. In support of this idea, our results show that the relationship between perceived HRM and work engagement is fully mediated by the job crafting type ‘increasing job resources and challenging job demands’. The job crafting type ‘decreasing hindering job demands’ turned out to be insignificantly related to both employee perceptions of HRM and work engagement.

Organising HRM: the HRM department and line management roles in a comparative perspective.

A core characteristic of human resource management (HRM) work is that it cannot be fully allocated to one particular actor or unit within the organisation (Tsui & Milkovich, 1987). Instead, HRM work involves HRM specialists, line and top management. Organising HRM work addresses the task of assigning HRM tasks and authority to diff erent units within an organisation and enabling these units to coordinate their work with each other. The varying roles of HRM specialists, the debate over devolution of operational HRM tasks from specialists to the line (e.g. Nehles et al., 2006; Perry & Kulik, 2008) and the longstanding question of whether HRM is a specialist or a generalist task (Baron & Kreps, 1999: 503) indicate that organising HRM work is not straightforward. But what are the possible alternative ways to organise HRM work? And why do organisations employ a particular form of organising HRM? In this chapter, we outline three options for organising HRM work and review how HRM scholars have explained diff erences and similarities in the prevalence of these alternatives in a crossnational perspective. Our subsequent focus on the national context builds on the premise that organisations are open systems that need to relate their structural elements to their environments in order to survive. While contextual factors relevant for organising HRM work can be found at various levels (e.g. industry, sector, organisational), the national context is a particularly promising perspective: fi rst, government activities such as labour legislation and structuring of labour markets have contributed to the rise of the HRM function in organisations (Baron et al., 1986; Jacoby, 2003). Second, the HRM function operates within the specifi c societal context that sets limits or encourages development towards decentralisation and devolution (Andolšek & Štebe, 2005: 327). We review four theoretical perspectives that seek to explain why there are diff erences and similarities in organising HRM work across countries: contingency theory, cultural theories, institutional theory and paradox/ duality theory. We examine what factors these perspectives see as relevant and review how far HRM scholars have applied these perspectives in

Transformation to self-managing teams: lessons learned

Purpose Although self-management is not a new phenomenon, there is a lack of understanding about how to transform organizations towards self-managing teams (SMTs). The purpose of this paper is to propose a guiding framework for how the empowerment process can be managed. Design/methodology/approach The paper sets out 12 guidelines on how to address the transition towards SMTs based on a case study at a large Dutch healthcare organization. The lessons are drawn from observations, documents and more than 55 interviews with key informants. Findings This paper provides a holistic overview of lessons learned from the transformation process towards SMTs. The 12 recommendations are targeted at four stakeholder groups, namely, the management/board, HRM department, coach-managers and members of the SMTs. Originality/value The originality lies in the systematic approach including lessons learned for all levels of the organization.

Toward a Marketing Perspective on How ‘Active Employees’ Create Valuable Human Resource Management Outcomes: The Role of HRM Consumption and Psychological Ownership

In the human resource management (HRM) literature, employees are increasingly conceptualized as active agents. Although existing studies show how HRM practices relate to employee agency (e.g. job crafting, pro-activity or career self-management), they limitedly focus on employee agency in HRM implementation, that is, how employees utilize provided HRM practices. This is important to know since HRM outcomes emerge from employees’ involvement in HRM. To this end, we bring service marketing insights to the HRM literature to present the new HRM consumption concept to propose that HRM outcomes depend on how employees integrate HRM practices with complementary resources. Furthermore, we propose that HRM consumption provides benefits for employees and their employers while it builds feelings of psychological ownership.

Perceptions of HR practices and innovative work behavior: the moderating effect of an innovative climate

Abstract The purposes of this paper are to explore the effect that perceived HR practices have on the innovative work behavior (IWB) of individual workers and to examine the role that an innovative climate plays in this relationship. We hypothesize that employees will show greater IWB if they perceive the organizational climate to support innovation and perceive the presence of HR practices related to a compensation system, training and development, information sharing, and supportive supervision. Using data from 463 individuals in four Dutch manufacturing companies, the study tests the effects of employees’ perceptions of HR practices and of an innovative climate on their innovative behaviors. We found that employee perceptions of a compensation system are negatively related to IWB, and that employee perceptions of information sharing and supportive supervision are positively related to IWB. The effect of perceptions of information sharing and training and development on IWB are moderated by an innovative climate, in such a way that information sharing has a stronger effect on IWB and training and development a weaker one. Managers can stimulate innovative behavior by investing in information sharing, supportive supervision, and establishing an innovative climate.