Denis Chênevert

The role of HRM practices, procedural justice, organizational support and trust in organizational commitment and in-role and extra-role performance

Taking the social exchange perspective, we examine the process (black box) linking human resource practices and organizational commitment and superior rating performance. Using procedural justice, organizational support and trust, as relational exchange mechanisms, we evaluate which such complex psychological states mediate the relationship between HRM practices and performance. On the basis of a sample of 1,219 employees from a Canadian hospital, our results indicate that HRM practices can stimulate greater in-role and extra-role performance if they are perceived as signs of support and procedural justice. Consequently, we find that that the sole implementation of HRM practices, however innovative they may be, does not suffice to improve behavioral performance. Our study thus contributes to a better understanding of the ‘black box’ phenomenon that links HRM practices to organizational performance indices. Because of the number of psychological states studied, our research enriches knowledge of the social exchange mechanisms.

Fits in strategic human resource management and methodological challenge: empirical evidence of influence of empowerment and compensation practices on human resource performance in Canadian firms

This study attempts to answer three questions: 1) How does the methodological approach used to measure fit among practices influence the results obtained? 2) To what extent do bundles of empowerment and compensation practices individually influence human resource outcomes? and 3) Does the fit between these bundles of practices increase the prediction of the level of discretionary effort, turnover and productivity? Following a two-wave survey strategy, statistical analyses performed on 128 Canadian companies suggest that the statistical methods used to measure fit are not interchangeable. The findings reveal that the use of an extensive relational empowerment strategy is significantly and negatively related to voluntary turnover when accompanied by a compensation program that rewards performance. In contrast, a compensation strategy that supports good working conditions or the use of financial incentives seems sufficient to influence human resources performance. Nonetheless, the results militate in favour of adopting a configurational approach with empirical deviation profile to fit to better understand the complexity of the equifinality effect of HR strategies. Lastly, the polynomial regression results question the linearity assumption of the relationship between empowerment, working conditions and productivity.

Influence of Compensation Strategies in Canadian Technology-Intensive Firms on Organizational and Human Resources Performance

This study examines the role of technological intensity in the choice of compensation policies and the influence of such policies on organization (market, productivity) and human resources performance (turnover, work climate, discretionary efforts). Using a survey of 252 Canadian firms, the authors show that technological intensity has a significant influence on compensation policies. A second survey of 128 Canadian organizations also demonstrates that technological intensity has a significant moderating effect on the association between several compensation policies and both human resources and organizational performance. More specifically, the authors find that greater emphasis on group performance plans and market pay is positively associated with productivity in high-technology firms. Extensive use of individual performance pay plans in high-technology firms is positively associated with turnover, whereas the use of group performance plans is negatively related to turnover.

The role of organisational justice, burnout and commitment in the understanding of absenteeism in the Canadian healthcare sector

PURPOSE The purpose of this paper is to integrate Greenbergs perspective on the connection between injustice and stress in order to clarify the role of organisational justice, burnout and organisational commitment in the understanding of absenteeism. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH The study was carried out among 457 workers of a large healthcare establishment in the Canadian public healthcare sector. The model was tested using structural equation methods. FINDINGS The results reveal that procedural and interactional justices have an indirect effect on exhaustion through distributive injustice. Moreover, it was found that distributive injustice is indirectly linked to short-term absences through exhaustion. By contrast, the relationship between distributive injustice and long-term absence can be explained by two mediating variables, namely, exhaustion and psychosomatic complaints. RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS In spite of the non-longitudinal nature of this study, the results suggest that the stress model and the medical model best explain the relationship between organisational injustice and absenteeism, while the withdrawal model via organisational commitment is not associated in this study with absenteeism. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS Healthcare managers should consider the possibility of better involving employees in the decision-making process in order to increase their perception of procedural and interactional justice, and indirectly reduce exhaustion and absenteeism through a greater perception of distributive justice. SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS For the healthcare sector, the need to reduce absenteeism is particularly urgent because of budget restrictions and the shortage of labour around the world. ORIGINALITY/VALUE This is one of the first studies to provide a complete model that analyses the stress process in terms of how organisational justice affects short- and long-term absences, in a bid to understand the specific process and factors that lead to shorter and longer episodes of absence.

Between universality and contingency: An international study of compensation performance

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to examine whether the performance of the compensation system is better explained by the universalist approach or the contingent approach. The paper also attempts to determine the type of fit that yields the most promising gains in terms of perception of performance. Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected by questionnaire from 602 large organizations in three countries (Canada, France, and the UK), and from this, five hypotheses were formulated and tested using moderated regression analysis. Findings - The study shows that having an optimal relationship among compensation policies (intra-activity fit) leads to a more efficient compensation system than that obtained following an alignment with business strategies (vertical strategic fit) and with organizational development strategies (internal organizational fit). However, the results suggest that the universalist perspective cannot be rejected. Practical implications - Human resources managers should exercise prudence regarding the pairing of compensation policies with various organizational characteristics, particularly those related to compensation management policies, because it is the interaction between compensation policies and their management methods that most influences the perception of performance. Of all these management policies, transparency of salary information seems to be central to the contingency perspective. Originality/value - One of the most interesting contributions of this research is the identification of negative alignments that may result in negative performance. The joint application of two compensation policies, which, individually, have a positive influence on performance, can create a negative interaction. Contingency is therefore not always desirable, and prudence is recommended in the types of alignments introduced.

Multiple sources of support, affective commitment, and citizenship behaviors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the moderating role of passive leadership in the relationships of perceived support from organization, coworkers, and physicians to affective commitment and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) among hospital employees. Design/methodology/approach – Using a sample of 182 hospital employees and a time-lagged design in which predictors and moderator were assessed at Time 1 and self-reported OCB was obtained 2.5 years later, the authors examined whether passive leadership moderates the relationships of perceived supports to commitment and their indirect effects on OCB. Findings – Analyses indicate that at high levels of passive leadership, the relationship between support from organization and coworkers and commitment is less positive and the relationship between support from physicians and commitment is negative. Moreover, the indirect effect of perceived support from coworkers and physicians on OCB through affective commitment is weaker at high levels ...

Perceptions of high-involvement work practices and burnout: the mediating role of job demands

This study examined the impact of perceived high-involvement work practices on job demands (role conflict, role overload and role ambiguity) and burnout (emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation). The study was conducted in a Canadian general hospital. Findings from structural equation modelling (N = 545) revealed that perceived HIWPs were significantly and negatively related to job demands and burnout. Role conflict and role overload have a significant positive association with emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation. Finally, role conflict and role overload partially mediate the relationship between perceived HIWPs and burnout. We discuss the theoretical and managerial implications of these findings for our understanding of how HIWPs influence the job demands and burnout of employees.

Changes in relationship conflict as a mediator of the longitudinal relationship between changes in role ambiguity and turnover intentions

Purpose – This study aims to clarify the relationship between changes in role ambiguity and turnover intentions. The authors propose that increases in role ambiguity over time can bias employees’ interpretations such that they come to view more relationship conflict at work. Because of the importance of social relationships at work, the authors propose that these increases in perceptions of relationship conflict mediate the positive effect of increases in role ambiguity on turnover intentions. Design/methodology/approach – This study is a two-wave longitudinal analysis of survey responses obtained from 146 employees working in the health-care sector over a three-year period. Structural equation modeling of cross-lagged correlations was used to test the hypothesized model. Findings – The positive relationship between increases in role ambiguity and turnover intentions over time is mediated by increases in relationship conflict. Results provide an integrative explanation of the phenomenon, uniting role theo...

Investigating occupational disidentification: a resource loss perspective

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of occupational disidentification through the lens of conservation of resources (COR) theory (Hobfoll, 1989, 1998). Occupational disidentification is conceptualized as a coping strategy, or an investment of resources to cope with poor perceived prestige of the occupation, which represents a threat to an individual’s resource: one’s self-esteem. However, occupational disidentification, as an avoidance coping strategy, generates a loss of cognitive and emotional resources leading to emotional exhaustion and, in turn, departure from the organization. Design/methodology/approach The research hypotheses are tested among two samples of employees working in health and social services (Study 1, N=544), and in home care services (Study 2, N=113). Measures of employees’ attitudes were collected at the same time, and turnover was collected 18 months (Study 1) and 12 months (Study 2) later. Findings Research hypotheses are all supported. Occupational disidentification partially mediates the occupational prestige-emotional exhaustion relationship, and emotional exhaustion partially mediates the occupational disidentification-turnover intention relationship. Perceived organizational support moderates the negative relationship between perceived occupational prestige and occupational disidentification. Originality/value The main contribution of this study is the conceptualization of occupational disidentification within the theoretical framework of COR. In that vein, the study provides: a deeper understanding of the mechanisms explaining and buffering occupational disidentification, and empirical evidence of the key role of emotional exhaustion to explain the consequences of occupational disidentification.

Employee 'words' on high involvement work practices, value congruence and burnout

This article examined the impact of perceived high involvement work practices (HIWPs) on person-organization value congruence (P-O fit) and long term burnout. The study was conducted in a Canadian ...