John W. Boudreau

An empirical examination of self-reported work stress among U.S. managers.

This study proposes that self-reported work stress among U.S. managers is differentially related (positively and negatively) to work outcomes depending on the stressors that are being evaluated. Specific hypotheses were derived from this general proposition and tested using a sample of 1,886 U.S. managers and longitudinal data. Regression results indicate that challenge-related self-reported stress is positively related to job satisfaction and negatively related to job search. In contrast, hindrance-related self-reported stress is negatively related to job satisfaction and positively related to job search and turnover. Future research directions are discussed.

Voluntary Turnover and Job Performance: Curvilinearity and the Moderating Influences of Salary Growth and Promotions

The relationship between job performance and voluntary employee turnover was investigated for 5,143 exempt employees in a single firm. As hypothesized, support was found for E. F. Jackofskys (1984) curvilinear hypothesis, as turnover was higher for low and high performers than it was for average performers. Two potential moderators of the curvilinearity were examined in an attempt to explain conflicting results in the performance-turnover literature. As predicted, low salary growth and high promotions each produced a more pronounced curvilinear performance-turnover relationship. Most notably, salary growth effects on turnover were greatest for high performers, with high salary growth predicting rather low turnover for these employees, whereas low salary growth predicted extremely high turnover. Additionally, once salary growth was controlled, promotions positively predicted turnover, with poor performer turnover most strongly affected.

Commissioned Paper: On the Interface Between Operations and Human Resources Management

Operations management (OM) and human resources management (HRM) historically have been very separate fields. In practice, operations managers and human resource managers interact primarily on administrative issues regarding payroll and other matters. In academia, the two subjects are studied by separate communities of scholars publishing in disjoint sets of journals, drawing on mostly separate disciplinary foundations. Yet, operations and human resources are intimately related at a fundamental level. Operations are the context that often explains or moderates the effects of human resource activities such as pay, training, communications, and staffing. Human responses to OM systems often explain variations or anomalies that would otherwise be treated as randomness or error variance in traditional operations research models. In this paper, we probe the interface between operations and human resources by examining how human considerations affect classical OM results and how operational considerations affect classical HRM results. We then propose a unifying framework for identifying new research opportunities at the intersection of the two fields.

The relationship between employee job change and job satisfaction : The honeymoon-hangover effect

Recent research suggests that the turnover process is not fully captured by the traditional sequential model relating job dissatisfaction to subsequent turnover. The present study contributes to this research by modeling within-individual job satisfaction as a function of job change patterns to determine if individual work attitudes change systematically with the temporal turnover process. Specifically, the authors hypothesized that low satisfaction would precede a voluntary job change, with an increase in job satisfaction immediately following a job change (the honeymoon effect), followed by a decline in job satisfaction (the hangover effect). Though this pattern is suggested in the literature, no prior research has integrated and tested this complete temporal model within individuals. Findings based on a sample of managers supported the proposed honeymoon-hangover effect.

MEASURING INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL: LEARNING FROM FINANCIAL HISTORY

This paper does not recommend a measurement system, nor a particular set of HRM measures. Rather, our purpose is to suggest a framework of thinking about human value and business measurement that may guide future measurement efforts.

Decision-Theoretic Utility Analysis Applied to Employee Separations and Acquisitions

A decision-theor etic utility model that describes the consequences of employee movements out of and into the organization (separations and acquisitions) is presented. The model is developed for three types of employee movement: (a) repeated acquisitions without separations, (b) repeated unreplaced separations over time, and (c) repeated separations over time that are replaced with new employees. The latter model is the most general case, and provides an explicit link between separation utility and existing selection utility models. In addition to a conceptual and algebraic model development, a computer algorithm is developed and used to provide a numerical simulation. The results strongly suggest that decisions about employee separations can substantially affect the utility of human resources. Literature-based implications for future selection and turnover research are presented.

Human resource management, information technology, and the competitive edge

Executive Overview Global competition is putting increasing pressure on U.S. managers to make faster and better business decisions. Investments in information technology are often touted as a critical means of speeding up and improving management decision making. Yet it has proved distressingly difficult to realize the potential of information technology investments. This is particularly so in business areas such as Human Resources (HR), though the longer lead times traditionally associated with changes in HR systems mean that it is a prime candidate to benefit from information technology. To pull into the lead in global competition, managers must control labor costs, motivate employees to high quality, customer-oriented performance, and continuously search out new and better ways of doing both. These objectives must be met in the face of shrinking head count and a global environment in which employees are more culturally diverse and located throughout the globe. Even the relatively routine tasks of emplo...

Separating the Developmental and Evaluative Performance Appraisal Uses

The multiple uses of performance appraisal (PA) have been the focus of much research, often yielding conflicting findings and conclusions. This study used an untreated control group design to examine the effects of separating the developmental and evaluative PA uses (in time and by person) on employee attitudes and behavioral intentions. Results indicated no effect on employee attitudes, however, employees in the separated PA group reported they were less likely to use development in the future.

Employee Satisfaction with Performance Appraisals and Appraisers: The Role of Perceived Appraisal Use.

This study investigates how perceptions of performance appraisal use relate to employee satisfaction with both appraisal and appraiser. The research brings renewed support for the importance of individual development in the performance appraisal process.

How leading companies create, measure and achieve strategic results through “line of sight”

Aligning employees with the organization’s strategic goals has become increasingly important as organizations struggle to gain or sustain a competitive advantage. This article defines “line of sight” as employee understanding of organizational objectives and how to contribute to those objectives. There has been much discussion among academics and practitioners, yet we have limited knowledge about what line of sight is, how to measure it, how it can be enhanced, and what it makes happen. Human resource professionals from leading organizations completed surveys and participated in focus groups to begin to explore these critical issues. Fruitful directions for future research and innovative practice are discussed.