Edoardo Ezio Della Torre

High-performance work systems and the change management process in medium-sized firms

Both high-performance work systems (HPWS) and SMEs have received growing attention in HRM research. However, the literature on HRM in SMEs has mainly focused on the issues of ‘homogeneity’ versus ‘heterogeneity’ behaviours, on the one hand, and on the antithesis between the ‘small is beautiful’ and the ‘bleak-house’ perspectives on the other. On the basis of original information acquired by means of a survey performed on more than 100 Italian firms and an in-depth study of eight of them, this study analyses the degree of adoption of HPWS and aspects related to the processes of change towards HPWS in medium-sized firms. We consider the main theoretical approaches that address the choices made by enterprises, paying particular attention to the role of organisational culture. The main findings show that: (1) decision-making power on work organisation is a prerogative of the owner and top management, while HRM functions play an important role mainly in the proposal-making stage; (2) change in smaller enterprises is managed autonomously by management, while worker involvement prevails in larger enterprises; and (3) strategies for change concentrate mainly on clearly identified occupational groups and they do not translate into a true paradigm of change in organisational management as a whole. These findings have major implications for future research and for the SME policy debate.

Internal and external equity in compensation systems, organizational absenteeism and the role of explained inequalities

We investigate how the design of compensation systems influences workers’ behaviours at the organizational level by building upon the consequences of equity theory at the individual level. We identify four main gaps to fill in the existing equity-in-compensation research: i) the simultaneous analysis of internal and external inequity; ii) the distinction between inequitable and unequal compensation systems; iii) the organizational-level (rather than individual) effects of inequitable systems; and iv) the inclusion of absenteeism among the negative organizational outcomes of inequitable systems. The analysis of a sample of about 1500 Italian manufacturing firms shows that both internal and external equity are relevant factors in explaining the level of absenteeism. On the one hand, external pay equity is associated with a lower level of absenteeism, and the relationship becomes stronger when high pay levels are explained by past employees’ performances. On the other hand, internal pay equity showed a more complex relationship, where blue-collar employees seem to react more in terms of absence to internal inequity than white-collars; moreover, performance-based pay policies (i.e. explained inequalities) further enhance the extent blue-collar employees react to internal pay equity. These results have important theoretical and practical implications, and confirm that the organizational consequences of workers’ behaviours are not a mere reflection of individual-level decisions.

High performance work systems, technological innovations and firm performance in SME: evidences from Italy

The empirical evidence of the past 15 years has shown the existence of a positive relationship between the adoption of organisational innovations and a firms economic results. However, only few studies focus on the actual adoption and the effectiveness of high performance work systems in small and medium-sized enterprises, and especially so in the case of Italy. Through analysis of an original sample of SMEs in the Milan area, this paper shows that organisational innovations have been introduced in a large part of firms, but in many cases the process of organisational change is not yet complete. Moreover, confirming a large part of the existing evidences, analysis of the relationships with business performance shows that SMEs which have achieved the largest productivity increases are those which have combined investments in the new organisation of work with advanced technologies and with the embeddedness in stable relational networks with other firms.

Innovation adoption and training activities in SMEs

This article adopts the resource-based view and the complementarities approach to examine how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) combine the adoption of organisational and technological innovation with investments in training activities. The results of econometric analysis on a panel data-set of about 118 Italian manufacturing SMEs furnish a quite complex picture of the effects of innovation on training. On the one hand, organisational innovation seems to be related to higher investments in (formal and informal) internal training; specifically, it is the adoption of autonomous teams and multi-skilling practices that is associated with the coverage and the intensity of internal training, whereas job rotation is negatively associated with the coverage of external training. On the other hand, the general index of technological innovation does not show any significant relationship with training activities, whereas the individual technological innovation variables are associated with internal training. Specifically, the coverage of internal training is positively affected by ICT innovation and negatively affected by process innovation. These results demonstrate that SMEs have limited awareness of the risks associated with underinvesting in training during the implementation phase of the innovation process. The implications of such findings for research and practice are discussed.

Governance and industrial relations in the Italian system of continuous vocational training

This paper analyzes the role of social partners in the governance of the Italian systems of continuous vocational training. Despite the relevance of the social dialogue approach emphasized at the European level, few empirical studies address the issue of the interactions between the social partners in planning and developing training programs. Through focus group and individual and collective interviews with 42 Italian social partners representatives of the metal-machinery industry, this study provides evidences about the quality of the interactions between trade unions and employer associations in the design, implementation and evaluation of training programs funded by the Italian bipartite body Fondimpresa. The main results show that at the national level the interactions between the social partners seem to work in a quite effective way, while at the territorial and company level the training issue remains a prerogative of the employer. These results are partially determined by the lack of technical skills of the trade union representatives in the workplace, which often results in a concessive approach to training negotiation with the employers. Finally, the interactions between the social partners are negatively affected by the low level of strategic and operational coordination among the various levels of action of the actors themselves.

Workforce churning, human capital disruption, and organisational performance in different technological contexts

We assess the influence of workforce churning on the relationship between organisational human capital and labour productivity. Building on collective turnover research and human capital theory, we examine how the components of workforce churning (i.e., voluntary turnover, involuntary turnover, and new hires) influence the relationship between existing human capital and labour productivity. Further, we examine how this influence varies according to a firms technological intensity. Our data come from 1,911 Italian manufacturing firms and reveals that collective voluntary turnover negatively affects the relationship between organisational human capital and labour productivity regardless of an organisations level of technological intensity. In contrast, collective involuntary turnover enhances the relationship between human capital and labour productivity, and its effect is even stronger for organisations with more technologically intensive operations. Finally, our results suggest that the integration of new hires disrupts the relationship between human capital and productivity, particularly for firms with technologically intensive operations.

Human Capital and Productivity: The Impact of Collective Employee Inflows and Outflows

This study draws on collective turnover and human capital theories to understand the effects of employee inflows and outflows on the relationship between collective human capital and labor producti...

From Practices to Processes: High Performance Work Systems and Integrity

Organizations show growing concern with the steady decline of engagement by workers, which is echoed by annual surveys. The results make the headlines of magazines and websites targeting managers and HR managers. According to a 2009 Corporate Leadership Council Study (CLC, 2010), 25 percent of HIPOs employees declared the intent to leave their present employer in 12 months. AON Hewitt, in its Trends in Global Employee Engagement (2010), showed that the global engagement score was 56 percent, down four percentage points from 60 percent in 2009. Even during times of a tough job market, employees voice their resentment with organization policies and HRM practices which do not seem to be as effective as they were designed to be. Still, companies are putting in extraordinary efforts and increasing their investment in HRM strategies aimed at developing engagement, like employer branding initiatives, increased communication, and talent management policies.