Ed Snape

In search of sustained competitive advantage: the impact of organizational culture, competitive strategy and human resource management practices on firm performance

We develop and test a dynamic model of co-specialized resources for competitive advantage. Using matched data from senior executives and human resource managers, we test the direct and interactive effects of high-performance human resource (HPHR) practices and organizational culture on firm performance. Although the HPHR practices were not an important influence on performance, our findings indicate that organizational culture can be a valuable resource for companies.

HRM Practices, Organizational Citizenship Behaviour, and Performance: A Multi-Level Analysis

We examine the relationship between HRM practices, conceptualized at the workplace level, and individual employee attitudes and behaviour. We focus on two possible explanations for the relationship: social exchange and job influence/employee discretion. Findings from a study of employees in North-East England suggest that there is a positive impact of HRM practices on organizational citizenship behaviour, through an effect on perceived job influence/discretion. There was no such effect for perceived organizational support. These findings provide support for a job influence and opportunity explanation of HRM effects on employee attitudes and behaviour.

An evaluation of a three-component model of occupational commitment: Dimensionality and consequences among United Kingdom human resource management specialists

This study evaluated the J. P. Meyer, N. J. Allen, and C. A. Smith (1993) model of occupational commitment using a sample of 678 United Kingdom human resource management specialists. Support was found for the 3-component model, and findings suggest that the consequences of the affective, normative, and continuance components differ. Affective and continuance commitment were negatively related to occupational withdrawal cognitions, whereas normative commitment was negatively related to withdrawal cognitions only when continuance commitment was low. Affective and, to a lesser extent. normative commitment were related to intention to participate in professional activities. Continuance commitment had no significant relationship with intention to participate in professional activities.

Managing human resources for TQM: possibilities and pitfalls

Examines the implications of total quality management for the management of people. The implementation of TQM requires the development of a high commitment employee relations strategy and involves an attempt to build a culture of continuous improvement among employees. Argues that employee relations strategies have a key role to play in the success of TQM initiatives. Cautions against underestimating the difficulties faced in winning commitment. Emphasizes that the successful implementation of TQM is likely to require far‐reaching changes, not only in employee relations policies, but also in management style and work organization.

Entrepreneurial Competencies and the Performance of Small and Medium Enterprises: An Investigation through a Framework of Competitiveness

Abstract As an attempt to investigate the relationships between entrepreneurial characteristics and firm performance,we operationalized a theoretical framework of the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) and empirically tested the four hypotheses derived from it. The framework links together entrepreneurial competencies and SME performance with two further constructs: competitive scope and organizational capabilities. The empirical study consisted of a stage of instrument development specific to the research context, as well as a stage of hypothesis testing. The results of hypothesis testing, involving a sample of 153 owner/managers of SMEs, provided evidence for the direct and indirect contributions of the entrepreneurs opportunity, relationship, innovative, human and strategic competencies in affecting the long-term performance of an SME via competitive scope and organizational capabilities. This initial success, with the validated survey instrument of entrepreneurial competencies, may serve as the ground for further research in this area.

Evaluating the human resource shared services model: evidence from the NHS

This paper examines the shared service model of organizing the human resource management function. It reports the results from a study of the introduction of human resource shared services (HRSS) in four NHS organizations. Findings suggest that the HRSS model has a number of advantages for organizations but that it has difficulty addressing the transformational HR agenda. In contrast, with the exception of a small cadre of staff, there is few advantages for HR employees themselves in HRSS systems. We suggest that the apparent neglect of the work experience of HR staff under HRSS models may significantly undermine the potential for its wider successful implementation.

Commitment to the union: a survey of research and the implications for industrial relations and trade unions

This paper presents an overview of the literature on union commitment. The aim is to survey the main approaches, findings and implications of the research. The nature and dimensionality of union commitment are examined, and the antecedents and consequences of union commitment are discussed in detail, including a review of the implications for union participation. There is also a discussion of the possibility of dual commitment to union and employer, and of the ‘multiple constituencies’ view of commitment. An attempt is made to link the union commitment findings to the wider industrial relations literature on, for example, why people join unions and the ‘union renewal’ thesis. The article concludes by discussing the implications of the literature for union–management relationships and for unions themselves, and with some suggestions for future research.

Quality management in services: is the public sector keeping pace?

Quality management has been in vogue within manufacturing for over a decade. Service industries have more recently been making heavy investments in this area. Also there are major initiatives from the public sector to improve quality. Investigates the take‐up of quality management techniques in the public sector, their perceived effectiveness and the consequent impact on the managers running the programmes (private sector services are used as a basis for comparison). Results of survey responses from 394 service organizations show that the uptake of quality management techniques is now similar between public and private sectors, as is the perception of the impact on managerial work. A major difference occurs in terms of perceived effectiveness and results of the quality programmes. In this latter area the public sector fares somewhat worse.

Exchange Ideology and Member-Union Relationships: An Evaluation of Moderation Effects

Based on studies of unionized nurses and water workers in the United Kingdom, perceived union support was associated with union commitment, union citizenship behaviors, and intent to quit union membership and switch unions. Instrumentality was less significant as an antecedent of most of these outcomes. In contrast to earlier findings on organization-employee exchange, although accounting for a relatively small percentage of variance, exchange ideology negatively moderated several of the relationships between support and instrumentality, on one hand, and commitment and union citizenship behaviors, on the other.

Evaluating the multi-dimensional view of employee commitment: a comparative UK–Chinese study

This study evaluates the contribution of the multiple constituencies of commitment framework to the explanation of work attitudes and behaviours among samples of manufacturing workers in the United Kingdom (UK) and the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). Our findings suggest that the organization, the supervisor, co-workers and the union were seen by respondents as separate commitment foci. Consistent with the ‘compatibility hypothesis’, the relationship between commitment and outcome was stronger where the constituency focus was matched. However, the ‘cultural hypothesis’, on the greater salience of person- or group-based commitments in the PRC context, was generally not accepted. The findings are discussed in the light of the comparative cultural and industrial relations contexts of the two countries.