Human resource practices, supply chain performance, and wellbeing

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The purpose of the paper is to identify management and human resource (HR) practices that lead to satisfaction with the performance of an organization's supply chain as well as employee wellbeing, and to develop recommendations for practicing managers. Design/methodology/approach -Adopting an empirical approach, a Delphi expert panel study was first carried out to identify the possible impact of supply chain integration, particularly with regard to human resource management (HRM) policies and practices. Then, using a survey of 228 supply chain professionals, hypotheses linking satisfaction with supply chain performance to non-traditional HR practices, training, and team organization were tested. Findings -The Delphi study identified specific HR practices, such as flexible job descriptions and teamwork training that would need to accompany successful supply chain integration. Regression results indicate that flexible job descriptions, team organization, teamwork training, and the use of performance metrics to determine rewards, are significantly related to satisfaction with supply chain performance.Research limitations/implications -The Delphi results are subjective by nature and the cross-sectional survey design limits inferences of causality. Practical implications -This paper identifies management and HR practices that lead to satisfaction with supply chain performance, which is particularly relevant to modern industrial organizations where the trend is toward inter-organizational networks in the form of integrated supply chains. Implications for employee wellbeing are also discussed. Originality/value -This paper adopts an interdisciplinary approach and links HRM practice with supply chain management; two separate fields with their own research traditions.

Impact of human resources on supply chain management and performance

“…Organisations that have effective SCs are largely those that provide continuous training for employees (Smith-Doerflein, et al 2011). Menon (2012) also states that a commitment to learning and knowledge management can help improve SCM processes.…”

An analysis of the direct and mediated effects of employee commitment and supply chain integration on organisational performance

“…Theory suggests that trust-based relationships, common goals, and system-based rewards are necessary conditions for successful firms in the SC (Menon, 2012). Appropriate workforce practices and a high degree of EC that help these objectives to be accomplished could be responsible for developing specialised forms of human capital that can be difficult to imitate and enable a sustained competitive advantage to be achieved.…”

“…Secondly, as already indicated, there are many prior studies that state that having INTI is a prerequisite for attaining adequate EI (Eng, 2006;Menon, 2012;Kim, 2013;Baihaqi & Sohal, 2013). For this reason we propose to analyse INTI empirically as an antecedent of EI, examining the mediating effect of EI (analysed through the block formed of the SI/CI/EIO constructs) in the INTI-performance relationship, with the following hypothesis:…”

“…Firms need to view organisations as part of a collaborative network (Menon, 2012) and to strategically collaborate with their SC partners to achieve effective SCI (Flynn et al, 2010). Partners should work together to jointly achieve greater success (efficiencies, flexibility, and sustainable competitive advantage) than can be attained in isolation .…”

“…Coordination between functions is a key factor for achieving intra-organisational integration, (Fawcett & Magnan, 2002). INTI is a prerequisite for EI with supplier and customer (Vickery et al, 2003;Menon, 2012) and must be well-established before companies integrate with external parties (Handfield & Nichols, 2002). Successful SCM presumes INTI and EI to be in place, but neither is sufficient in itself for having a successful SC (Min, 2001).…”