Human Resource Management and Performance: From Practices Towards Sustainable Competitive Advantage

Abstract

Virtually all authors have implicitly or explicitly treated the "black box" as a linear causal process consisting of one or more smaller boxes, however the number of boxes in the "black box" and the content of each box differ in each model. Due to various approaches the mechanism by which HRM practices are translated into competitive success is complicated and not well understood till now, however some general trends could be highlighted.Purpose -Theoretically to discuss the causal pathway by identifying mediating variables in HRM and performance link.Paper object is the content of the "black box".Research method. The paper is built on the analysis and synthesis of scientific literature on HRM and performance link. HRM and performance linkAcknowledging the relevance of all types of resources to contribute to excellent performance, researchers emphasize that in the context of globalization human resources are vital to achieve success in the most effective and efficient ways [28]. It is generally accepted that "people are the key assets in the new world market and that all other assets are nothing more than commodities that can be purchased at market prices, because only the human asset has potential to learn, grow, and contribute" [29]. However, there is a continual debate as to what in particular provides value to the organization -human resources or their management [30]: 1) some authors maintain that sustained competitive advantage lies in the human resources and not in HRM practices per se, as the latter are well known; 2) other authors, though, highlight that competitive advantage is created through HRM practises and not human resources, as it does not suffice to hire best people in order to gain the competition; 3) third group of authors suggests a unifying approach to the critical role of both human resources and HRM in the enhancement of sustaining of competitive advantage.

How does work engagement mediate the association between human resources management and organizational performance?

“…Specifically, our first result indicates clear support for the assumption that employee-manager perceptual differences regarding HR policies are related to managers' perception of performance (i.e., path c), which is consistent with most of the literature (Huselid, 1995;MacDuffie, 1995;Guest, 1997;Wright & Nishii, 2006;Savaneviciene & Stankeviciute, 2012a;Hutchinson, 2013;Sanders, Shipton, & Gomes, 2014). Additionally, the study revealed an optimistic and significant relationship between employees' and managers' perceptual differences regarding HR policies and employees' work engagement (i.e., path a), which is the same for employees' work engagement and managers' perception of performance (i.e., path b), thus, supporting part of the condition of mediation suggested by Barron and Kenny (1986).…”

“…To understand this unresolved mystery (Gerhart, 2005), research needs to: i) elaborate on more precise mechanisms; ii) theorize deeply about HR policies; and iii) explore linkages with outcomes (Guest, 1997;Savaneviciene & Stankeviciute, 2012a).…”

“…As a result of rapid changes and new trends in the business environment, the business world has been facing challenges and demands at a fast pace. Traditional sources of competitive advantage are necessary but are not sufficient (Savaneviciene & Stankeviciute, 2012a). As a result, research needs to explore new approaches to management and new social dynamics and ways to manage people, as well as to understand how these factors contribute to building and maintaining competitiveness (Gonçalves & Neves, 2012).…”

Human resource practices, employee attitudes and small firm performance

“…Nevertheless, three perspectives now dominate SHRM theorising: the universalistic, contingency and configurational perspectives (Delery and Doty, 1996). The central proposition of the universalistic perspective is that a particular set of HRM policies and practices is positively linked to organisational performance irrespective of context (Savaneviciene and Stankeviciute, 2012). This position is normally associated with the influential works of scholars including Huselid (1995) and Pfeffer (1998).…”

“…As IR and pluralist/critical HRM scholars have long argued, employees are not simply passive recipients of HR practices or management interventions despite the unitarist assumptions of much HRM writing (Legge, 2004). For HRM, this highlights the importance of understanding mediating mechanisms, such as employee attitudes and behaviours, and it is organisational commitment and job satisfaction which have attracted the greatest interest (Savaneviciene and Stankeviciute, 2012). Mowday et al (1979Mowday et al ( , 1982 define organisational commitment as 'the relative strength of an individual's identification with and involvement in a particular organisation'.…”