International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management (15 papers in press)

Regular Issues

• A Case Study of Strategic Human Resource Management: Implementation Levels and Communication  
  by Ryan McCann, Stuart Allen 
  Abstract: The communication of information relevant to strategic human resource management (SHRM) has the potential to support SHRM implementation and should be reflected in the activity of an organisations inter- and intra-organisational communication networks as forms of organisational information processing. This multiple case study examined SHRM implementation levels in a sample of oil and gas companies with the aim of examining the extent to which communication flows reflect the level of SHRM implementation. The case studies showed similarly low levels of SHRM-related communication and SHRM implementation, suggesting the need for further research to explore this relationship. The authors propose that SHRM-related communication could be an additional factor in assessing SHRM implementation levels and that organisational design must be considered in understanding low levels of SHRM-related communication.
  Keywords: strategic human resource management; organisational communication; organisational information processing; networks; oil and gas industry; case study; western Pennsylvania.
  
  
• Predictors for strategic HR management in German small and medium-sized enterprises: what it takes to install a strategic HR architecture as a contributor to success  
  by Martin Hirsch, Jens Nachtwei 
  Abstract: In Germany the requirements for strategic HR operations are predominantly to be found in large enterprises, the aim being an increased contribution to added value. As far as German small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are concerned however, this subject seems to hardly exist. Theories of knowledge-based competition focus on internal resources as the source of value creation. To this end an analysis is carried out that leads to an identification of predictors for a strategic HR architecture for SMEs. This architecture is then intended to enable optimum use of internal resources and thus contribute to the company's success. To achieve this, the status quo must first be analysed of how the strategic landscape of HR departments in German SMEs is structured. In this context, a qualitative survey of 60 personal interviews with HR managers, executives and HR consultants is conducted. This paper outlines the results and discusses the implications accordingly.
  Keywords: human resources strategy; strategic human resources management; HR role; qualitative research method; theories of knowledge-based value creation; resource-based view; contribution to corporate success; strategic HR landscape; small and medium-sized enterprises; SMEs.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJHRDM.2020.10028155
   
  
• The role of principals' values and leadership styles in developing organisational commitment among Arab teachers in Israel  
  by Aaron Cohen, Ibrahem Abd El Majid 
  Abstract: In this study, the relationship between: 1) values of the principals; 2) transformational leadership; 3) dimensions of organisational commitment (OC) was examined in a sample of 1,268 teachers and 64 principals employed in Arab schools in Israel. Through questionnaires, the principals reported their values, and the teachers reported their leadership style and OC. Specifically, the authors posited that the principals' values are transmitted to the teachers and thereby affect their OC. The results of hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) showed that the principals' values, particularly those of tradition and benevolence, were related to two forms of commitment, affective and normative. The dimension of continuance commitment was uninterpretable in the current sample. Contrary to expectations, the principals' positive evaluation of teacher achievement affected both forms of the teachers' commitment. The findings also showed a strong positive relationship between transformational leadership and the two forms of commitment. However, this strong relationship did not eliminate the effect of the principals' values on teacher achievement. The authors conclude the paper by suggesting several directions for future research on the relationship between values and commitment.
  Keywords: organisational commitment; principals' values; transformational leadership; Israeli educational system; Israel.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJHRDM.2020.10028135
   
  
• The effects of social capital and psychological resilience on employees' positive work attitudes  
  by Asghar Afshar Jahanshahi, Tahereh Maghsoudi, Khaled Nawaser 
  Abstract: This study analyses the antecedents and consequence of employees' psychological resilience (PR) in the workplace. We first examined the three dimensions of the effects of social capital (structural, relational and cognitive) on employees' PR. Then, we tested the effects of PR on employees' positive work attitudes. A cross-sectional survey data from 204 employees working in an Iranian state-owned organisation supports the positive effects of three dimensions of employees' social capital on their psychological resilience. We also found that PR contributes to increasing positive work attitudes toward the achievement of organisational goals among employees.
  Keywords: psychological resilience; social capital; positive work attitudes of employees; goal achievement; Iran.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJHRDM.2020.10028145
   
  
• Benefits, barriers and risks – the role of technology in e-HRM implementations in public sector organisations: evidence from Bangladesh  
  by Mushfiqur Rahman, Erhan Aydin 
  Abstract: This paper aims at understanding the role of technology in e-HRM implementations by considering the focus of human agents and structural constraints of technology. In this respect, benefits-barriers-risks of technology is deemed to create a framework that demonstrates agency and structure relations based on the structuration theory of Giddens. A qualitative study was conducted. The data came from 30 semi-structured interviews that come from two different ministries in Bangladesh. The findings demonstrated that the focus of a human agent in implementing e-HRM and structural constraints of technology are the key findings based on the structuration theory of Giddens. The main contribution of this research is to bring a new perspective to e-HRM as considering barriers and risks of technology in addition to the benefits of it through adopting structuration theory. Thus, this research makes a comprehensive contribution to the e-HRM field that focuses on only benefits.
  Keywords: structuration theory; e-HRM; Bangladesh; public sector organisations; technology.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJHRDM.2019.10022601
   
  
• Works councils, training activities and innovation: a study of German firms  
  by Ipsita Roy, Uwe Cantner, Wolfgang Gerstlberger 
  Abstract: Building on the distinction between general and technical human capital proposed by Becker (1962), the authors undertake a cross-sectional analysis on the role of works councils in the provision of workplace human resource training for innovative management in medium and large-size private sector establishments in Germany. Results from the first part of the empirical analysis confirm theoretical predictions that works councils are strongly and positively correlated with the provision of general training, while no such relation is found with respect to technical training. Addressing next the potential endogeneity issue, results from an instrumental variable estimation on the correlation between training types and innovation performance provide support that works councils are an effective instrument for promoting general training for incremental innovation in establishments, whereas technical training is found to correlate significantly with radical innovation when instrumented by the share of apprentices.
  Keywords: general training; technical training; works councils; instrumental variable; innovation.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJHRDM.2020.10028153
   
  
• Employability of the disabled people: a Brazilian case in the light of the theory of social learning for sustainability  
  by Lucilia Notaroberto, Marcia Juliana D'Angelo 
  Abstract: This study aimed to identify how several social actors – government, universities, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and firms – are socially learning to engage in promoting the recruitment, retention and advancement of people with disabilities, in Brazil. This is a case study in a NGO and the unit of analysis was the social project entitled 'Employment of people with disabilities – overcoming and autonomy'. The results show that, in Brazil, the recruitment, retention and advancement of people with disabilities is a complex situation. The various social actors are still socially learning to deal with it, since it involves daily living with restrictive, cooperative and leverage factors. Therefore, discuss the ontological, epistemological and practical implications for all involved social actors. In addition, a detailed process of social learning for sustainability, anchored in circularity, is shown in various stages, which is suggested to apply to several dimensions: environmental, social, economic, political, cultural, spiritual, geographical etc.
  Keywords: social learning for sustainability; employability; people with disabilities; restrictive factors; cooperative factors; leverage factors.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJHRDM.2020.10028156
   
  
• Beyond organisational boundaries: the complex relationship between transformational leadership, organisational justice, and work-family conflict  
  by Iván D. Sánchez, Juan M. Andrade, Mauricio Losada-Otálora 
  Abstract: Several studies have examined the direct relationship between transformational leadership and work-family conflict, but only few have explored the mechanisms that explain this relationship. We hypothesise that perceptions of procedural and interactional justice can mediate said relationship. We collect data on 466 employees from three organisations located in three different economics sectors. Using structural equation modelling and a bootstrapping regression-based approach, our results reveal that the only factor that mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and work-family conflict is the perception of interactional justice. Thus, we conclude that organisational leaders should be more aware and take greater care with respect to their interactions with employees at work, as their behaviours "go beyond the organisational boundaries" and often affect their employees' family lives. Transformational leaders seem to allow employees to better manage the interface of their work and family lives given the perceptions of justice that their behaviours produce.
  Keywords: transformational leadership; work-family conflict; WFC; procedural justice; interactional justice; organisational justice; psychological mechanism; human resources; management.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJHRDM.2020.10028158
   
  
• What comes in the way of engagement? Moderation analysis of stress on women marketing executives' work life balance  
  by Tanusree Chakraborty, Daisy Gohain, Raiswa Saha 
  Abstract: The aim of the present paper is to understand the nature of the relationship between work-life balance (hereafter, WLB) and employee engagement (hereafter, EE) among women marketing executives working in the (FMCG) sector. The paper attempted to understand the link between WLB and EE through different stress factors that pertains to woman's life. For this purpose, 350 women marketing executives from FMCG sector across India, in the age range of 25-45 years were taken as sample. Data collection was done through questionnaire administration in person, as well as, use of online Google forms. After statistical analysis, the results revealed that overall WLB has a positive relation to EE of the women marketing executives. Stress due to workload, stress due to child care, stress due to unmet career aspirations and stress due to family dissatisfaction moderates the relation between WLB and EE of the women marketing executives. Managers, psychologists and human resource practitioners of the day need to pay attention to the women workforce into marketing. Woman employees' need for autonomy and flexibility in addressing their stress factors and WLB is of utmost importance.
  Keywords: work life balance; employee engagement; stress; marketing executives; women.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJHRDM.2020.10028160
   
  

Special Issue on: ICMC 2017 Culture, Conflict, Decision Making and Experience of Organisational Norms for an Individual

• The Conflictual Sense of Commercialization and Academic Entrepreneurship  
  by Jukka Moilanen, Tero Montonen, Paivi Eriksson 
  Abstract: This article draws attention to how scientists make sense of commercialization activities at the university. Using the critical sensemaking lens (CSM), it illustrates how the juxtaposition of the dominant discourse of academic research and the emerging discourse of commercialization in academic work (re)produces a tensioned and conflictual sense of commercialization and academic entrepreneurship (AE). The article is based on empirical data gathered from a 2-year study of scientists working on a project that included both research and commercialization activities. The contribution of this article is twofold; it argues that commercialization is not only about organizing and funding, but also about power dynamics; and it demonstrates how hybrid projects that aim to integrate research with commercialization activities offer rich data for the researchers of AE.
  Keywords: academic entrepreneurship; commercialization; scientists; critical sensemaking; formative context; rules; discourse; power.
  
  
• The Influence of Cultural Context in Managerial Decision-making: Legitimacy Views of Finnish and Italian Managers  
  by Johanna Kujala, Valentina Battista, Lorenzo Lucianetti, Anni Paavilainen 
  Abstract: This study examines the influence of cultural context in managerial decision-making by comparing the legitimacy views of Finnish and Italian business managers. In the business context, managers often make decisions based on economic interests only; but for moral decisions, other means of legitimacy are required. Although both Finland and Italy are members of the European Union (EU), they have significant differences in terms of culture and economy. Finland is a North-European country with Protestant religion and low level of corruption, while Italy is a South-European country with the Catholic religion and high level of corruption. The study contributes to previous research on managerial decision-making by showing, with a qualitative approach, that Finnish managers rely more on property and perception view of legitimacy in their decision-making, whereas Italian managers rely more on a process view of legitimacy in their decision-making.
  Keywords: cultural comparison; moral dilemma; legitimacy; decision-making.
  
  
• The effectiveness of leadership development in the military context from a gender viewpoint  
  by Heli Häyrynen, Anna-Maija Lämsä 
  Abstract: In this case study, leadership development is investigated from the viewpoint of women in a military context. In particular, the effectiveness of a leadership development program in a specific context, namely the Finnish Defence Forces, is explored. The program being studied is unique because it is concerned with developing volunteers, not professional soldiers. A longitudinal, interview-based study of the topic was conducted with women who had participated in the program. The data consists of 45 open-ended interviews with 15 women. Each woman was interviewed three times: at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the program. Content analysis was used to analyze the data. The results show that the current leadership model for effective leadership in the Finnish Defence Forces would benefit especially from the addition of an intrapersonal leadership competence dimension, to better take womens needs into consideration. By making the female point of view visible and acknowledging womens views, new resources can be created for military organizations.
  Keywords: case study; effectiveness; gender; leadership development; military leadership; woman.
  
  
• Liminality and Hybridity of Academic Entrepreneurship  
  by Tero Montonen, Päivi Eriksson, Eeva Aromaa 
  Abstract: This article explores identities in-between and the experience of liminal and hybrid identities in academic work. The longitudinal qualitative case study illustrates how liminal identities crossing organizational boundaries can create a space for employee agency, in contrast to those within the organization that are influenced by the employer. Using the concept of third space of hybridity, this article illustrates how employee agency can be exercised when identities that cross organizational boundaries are constructed as meaningful. The study is based on repeated narrative interviews with one university scientist over 2 years, and the experiences of in-between identities were analyzed with narrative analysis. The article offers two contributions. First, it suggests that in-between identities are about liminality and hybridity at the same time. Second, it illustrates how the third space of hybridity provides a new ground for the study of changing academic work.
  Keywords: Human resources; employee; identity; change; narrative; liminality; hybridity; university; business; case study.
  
  
• Workplace Bullying in the Top Management: A Constructivist Grounded Theory Study  
  by Shreya Mishra, Manosi Chaudhuri, Ajoy Kumar Dey 
  Abstract: Workplace bullying is a worldwide phenomenon, and the onus of safeguarding the employees from the same, remains with the top managers of the organisation. While exploring this phenomenon, the authors wondered what if the executives within the top management themselves become the target of bullying? Thus, this paper aims to explore aspects of workplace bullying within the top managers of organisations. A constructivist approach was taken for the study, which adopted a constructivist grounded theory method to capture and analyse thirteen in-depth interviews with top executives from public and private sector organisations in India. It was found that top managers face intensified bullying. The study explored the antecedents, forms, repercussions, and ways of coping with bullying. Findings show that targets primarily face peer bullying and/or mobbing. This study bridges a gap in the literature which lacks empirical studies on bullying at the top level of organisations.
  Keywords: constructivist grounded theory; leadership; mobbing; workplace bullying; qualitative; top executives; top management; upper echelons.
  
  
• Understanding stakeholder influence: Lessons from a controversial megaproject  
  by Lara Gonzalez Porras, Anna Heikkinen, Johanna Kujala 
  Abstract: This study aims to extend the understanding of stakeholder influence in megaprojects by examining a controversial pulp mill project in Uruguay. The theoretical framework is based on stakeholder theory, focusing on stakeholder influences in international megaprojects. The research data comprise 96 newspaper articles from 2005 to 2009, and qualitative content analysis is used in the empirical analysis. The findings present the main events of the megaproject and how the stakeholder-firm and inter-stakeholder influences emerged and evolved during the project. This research contributes to the existing knowledge of stakeholder influence in megaprojects by showing that stakeholder influences are interdependent and non-exclusive and that stakeholder influence evolves over time. Moreover, the study examines inter-stakeholder influence in addition to stakeholder-firm influence and extends the stakeholder-firm classification, contributing to the literature on secondary stakeholder influence. The managerial implications emphasise the importance of understanding how stakeholders can be influenced by or, alternatively, exert influence in megaprojects.
  Keywords: stakeholder; influence; megaprojects; conflict; case study.