James P. Guthrie

High-Involvement Work Practices, Turnover, and Productivity: Evidence from New Zealand

Study results indicate a positive association between use of high-involvement work practices and employee retention and firm productivity. A disordinal interaction was indicated: employee turnover was associated with decreased productivity when use of high-involvement work practices was high and with increased productivity when use of these practices was low.

Human resource management and labor productivity: Does industry matter?

There has been growing interest in the degree to which human resource systems contribute to organizational effectiveness, yet limited research attention has been paid to the contextual conditions that moderate the efficacy of these practices. In this study, we examined how industry characteristics affect the relative importance and value of high-performance work systems. Findings indicate that the impact of these human resources systems on productivity is influenced by industry capital intensity, growth, and differentiation.

Causes and Effects of Employee Downsizing: A Review and Synthesis

As employee downsizing has become increasingly ubiquitous in recent years, the study of this phenomenon has assumed greater significance. This article develops an integrative framework that incorporates environmental and organizational antecedents as well as the implications of downsizing for individuals and organizations. Key empirical studies are reviewed and major patterns and contradictions are identified. The authors identify and discuss theoretical and methodological concerns related to the extant literature and provide recommendations for future research aimed at developing a better understanding of employee downsizing.

Strategy, Size and Performance

Miles and Snows four different types of strategy are discussed and operationally defined in terms of three recurring organizational problems. A field study of 47 firms was conducted to investigate the typology and the relationship between the typology, size and performance. Support is provided for the analyzer and prospector strategies but there is less evidence for defenders. Results demonstrate the importance of contingency research and indicate that firm size can explain differences in the relationship between strategy and performance.

Correlates and consequences of high involvement work practices: the role of competitive strategy

Illustrative of world-wide trends, New Zealand has undergone drastic product and labour market reforms in an attempt to stimulate economic growth and national competitiveness. Towards this goal, firms have been urged to emphasize differentiation strategies in their approach to their markets and also to become more progressive in their management of human resources. This study finds that whereas more intensive use of high involvement work practices promotes firm effectiveness, this effect depends on the competitive strategy being pursued. The use of high involvement work practices is positively associated with performance in firms competing on the basis of differentiation and shows no relationship in firms pursuing a strategy of cost leadership.

High performance work systems in Ireland: human resource and organizational outcomes

From the perspective of the resource based view (RBV), although traditional sources of competitive advantage such as natural resources, technology, economies of scales, and so forth, create value, these resources are increasingly easy to imitate. As such, human capital and human resource management may be an especially important source of sustainable competitive advantage. Over the past few years, there has been growing research interest in the competitive advantage associated with high performance work systems (HPWS), a set of management policies and practices thought to endow employees with greater levels of skill, information, motivation and discretion. In this study, we describe a study examining the relative effectiveness of HPWS in the Irish context. Results suggest that greater use of high performance work systems is associated with positive human resource and organizational outcomes. Specifically, firms utilizing higher levels of HPWS tend to have lower rates of employee absenteeism and voluntary turnover along with higher labor productivity and lower labor costs.

Alternative Pay Practices and Employee Turnover: An Organization Economics Perspective

Using arguments drawn from the organization economics literature, associations between the use of alternative pay practices and firm turnover rates are hypothesized. Relationships between the use of skill-based and group-based compensation plans and firm turnover rates were examined in a sample of 153 New Zealand firms. Ordinary least squares regression results indicate that use of skill-based pay systems improves employee retention, whereas group incentive plans are associated with greater turnover. This latter association is magnified as organization size increases.

Additional validity evidence for a measure of morningness.

Morningness refers to a preference for morning versus evening activities. This study assessed the predictive validity of an instrument developed by C. S. Smith, C. Reilly, and K. Midkiff (1989) to measure the morningness construct. Morningness data were collected from university students (N= 454) at the beginning of a semester to examine the relationship between morningness and student behavior (i.e., sleeping, studying, and class scheduling) and performance. Results indicate that morningness was predictive of patterns of sleeping, studying, and class scheduling. Morningness also interacted with the time at which classes met to affect performance

Are women “better” than men?

Using data from 1,080 study participants, this study simulates a hiring scenario in which personality measures are used to screen candidates for a hypothetical expatriate (expat) position. On the basis of recent research indicating that selected “big five” personality variables are related to expat assignment success, an expatriate composite score was computed‐based on NEO personality inventory and Hogan personality inventory scale scores. Across these two personality instruments, four samples, and eight selection ratios, a greater proportion of women versus men are consistently “selected”. Statistical tests confirm that the use of personality criteria results in gender being significantly associated with selection outcomes. These results are consistent with arguments that women are dispositionally advantaged with respect to international assignments. These findings contrast sharply with extant evidence indicating that women hold relatively few expat positions.

Executive turnover: The influence of dispersion and other pay system characteristics.

Using tournament theory as a guiding theoretical framework, in this study, we assess the organizational implications of pay dispersion and other pay system characteristics on the likelihood of turnover among individual executives in organizational teams. Specifically, we estimate the effect of these pay system characteristics on executive turnover decisions. We use a multi-industry, multilevel data set composed of executives in publicly held firms to assess the effects of pay dispersion at the individual level. Consistent with previous findings, we find that pay dispersion is associated with an increased likelihood of executive turnover. In addition, we find that other pay characteristics also affect turnover, both directly and through a moderating effect on pay dispersion. Turnover is more likely when executives receive lower portions of overall top management team compensation and when they have more pay at risk. These conditions also moderate the relationship between pay dispersion and individual turnover decisions, as does receiving lower compensation relative to the market.