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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the Brazilian managers’ attitudes toward older workers, and how those attitudes explain HRM decisions in hypothetical scenarios. Design/methodology/approach Brazilian managers (n=201) reported their attitudes toward older workers and their decisions in scenarios involving an older vs a younger applicant/worker. Findings In spite of expressing positive attitudes toward older workers, a significant number of managers chose a younger one even when the older worker is described as more productive. To build a better understanding of how attitudes predict decisions, it is necessary to identify attitudinal profiles and the interplay between attitudinal dimensions, rather than simply studying each dimension separately. Attitudinal profiling also shows that some managers discriminate against younger workers, a finding, that is, ignored when (only) regressions are taken into account. The managers’ attitudes and behavioral intentions relate with their age. Evidence does not support the double jeopardy effect against older women workers. Research limitations/implications The sample is small. The scenarios cover a reduced number of HRM decisions. The data about attitudes and decisions were collected simultaneously from a single source. The findings may be influenced by idiosyncrasies of the context. Future studies should also consider real situations, not hypothetical ones. Practical implications Efforts must be made (e.g. via training and development) to raise managers’ awareness about the consequences of ageism in organizations. Originality/value Empirical studies about managers’ perceptions/attitudes toward older workers are scarce. Studies in the Brazilian context are even scarcer.

We validate, extend, and empirically and theoretically criticize the cultural dimension of humane orientation of the project GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research Program). Theoretically, humane orientation is not just a one-dimensionally positive concept about being caring, altruistic, and kind to others as discussed by Kabasakal and Bodur (2004), but there is also a certain ambivalence to this concept. We suggest differentiating humane orientation toward in-group members from humane orientation toward out-group members. A multicountry construct validation study used student samples from 25 countries that were either high or low in humane orientation (N = 876) and studied their relation to the traditional GLOBE scale and other cultural-level measures (agreeableness, religiosity, authoritarianism, and welfare state score). Findings revealed a strong correlation between humane orientation and agreeableness, welfare state score, and religiosity. Out-group humane orientation proved to be the more relevant subfacet of the original humane orientation construct, suggesting that future research on humane orientation should make use of this measure instead of the vague original scale. The ambivalent character of out-group humane orientation is displayed in its positive correlation to high authoritarianism. Patriotism was used as a control variable for noncritical acceptance of one’s society but did not change the correlations. Our findings are discussed as an example of how rigid expectations and a lack of tolerance for diversity may help explain the ambivalent nature of humane orientation.

Resumo Este artigo objetiva investigar a inovação gerencial e as práticas de gestão de pessoas voltadas à inovação em 2 universidades federais. Trata-se de uma pesquisa quantitativa, descritiva e de campo. Os principais resultados apontam que as práticas de gestão de pessoas voltadas à inovação com mais destaque foram “delegação” e “treinamento”. Ademais, 55,7% dos respondentes perceberam a inovação gerencial no contexto pesquisado, notadamente na área de gestão de pessoas. Evidenciaram-se contribuições para o conhecimento científico, ao investigar a inovação gerencial e de práticas voltadas à inovação no setor público, tema ainda pouco explorado na literatura; para a gestão de pessoas, ao investigar práticas da área; e para a prática de gestores, ao investigar tais fenômenos em áreas e categorias funcionais distintas.

Purpose -This study aimed to investigate whether managerial innovation and people management practices focused on innovation act as antecedents of organizational commitment profiles.Theoretical framework -For the investigation of organizational commitment, we used the three-component model (TCM) (Meyer & Allen, 1991) and the commitment profiles approach (Meyer, Stanley, & Parfyonova, 2012). For the investigation of managerial innovation and people management practices focused on innovation, we considered the contributions of Laursen and Foss (2011) and Lopes ( 2017), as well as other studies from the national and international literature.Design/methodology/approach -This is quantitative, explanatory field research, using a sociodemographic questionnaire and Likert scales, with a sample of 470 workers. The research field was composed of two federal universities, on 10 campuses, located in the Brazilian northeast. For the data analysis, we used descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis, latent profile analysis, and binary logistic regressions.Findings -We identified four organizational commitment profiles: strongly uncommitted; moderately committed; committed; and uncommitted. Only the delegation and tangible and intangible incentives practices acted as antecedents for certain profiles. Practical & social implications of research -The main theoretical contributions were the outlining of organizational commitment profiles and highlighting of people management practices focused on innovation with predictive power in relation to such profiles, which may suggest, for management, the strengthening of practices focused on innovation that promote workers' commitment at public universities.