In Search of Key HR Practices for Improvement of Productivity of Employees in the KIBS Sector

Abstract

The objective of this article is to present research devoted to the relationships between HR practices and productivity (understood as behavior and results) of employees in the KIBS sector (knowledgeintensive business services sector). The operations of companies in this sector are based on the application of expert knowledge to create services satisfying the needs of personalized clients. Because companies from the KIBS sector are immensely important to the development of the economy (mainly in the context of their high potential for innovation), identification of the key factors that allow them to give fine performance is a significant theoretical and practical issue. A major role in this respect is played by the human resources management system -chiefly because KIBS companies gain competitive advantage though employees' knowledge. As part of research with a quantitative approach (serving to test hypotheses) and a qualitative approach (allowing exploration), the human resources management system has been described as the key -from the point of view of desired behaviors and results -HR practice identified. Based on the study that has been conducted, which examined employees who had expert knowledge and created personalized services for clients, it has been concluded that the HR practices that most fully account for the productivity of employees are work design and job characteristics and empowerment, participation, and autonomy. Within the framework of qualitative research carried out in participation with HR managers of knowledge-intensive service firms, the character of individual high performance HR practices and the prominent role of managers and HR experts in supporting performance on individual and organizational levels has been indicated. IntroductionThe increasing economic pressure on knowledge and innovation has stirred the emergence and development of companies offering business services based on expert knowledge (i.e., KIBS -knowledge-intensive business services sector). The criterion for distinguishing such companies from others on the market is the fact that their services are based on expert knowledge that is employed for the purpose of satisfying the needs of personalized clients (Bettencourt, Ostrom, Brown, & Roundtree, 2002

HPWSs and employee performance in KIBS companies: a mediating–moderating analysis

“…job design and job properties, as well as empowerment) are more important than others (e.g. training and development) for the sake of improving job outcomes (Wojtczuk-Turek, 2017). However, it would be worth to verify this more precisely in future studies via comparing the KIBS sector companies to companies representing other sectors of economy.…”

W jaki sposób równoważyć wymagania i zasoby w pracy oraz ustanawiać jej granice? – o potrzebie personalizacji (w) pracy menedżerów

“…Jako przykład można podać specyfikę pracy w firmach sektora usług wiedzochłonnych (knowledge-intensive business services sector -KIBS). Badania dotyczące związku praktyk HR z produktywnością pracowników wiedzy tworzących usługi spersonalizowane na klientów ukazały, że najsilniej łączy się ona z projektowaniem i właściwościami pracy oraz partycypacją i autonomią (Wojtczuk-Turek, 2017). Można zatem powiedzieć, że w kontekście specyfiki pracy opartej na wiedzy w firmach KIBS działania związane z kreowaniem różnorodnych zadań i wzbogacaniem pracy, wysokim wymogiem kreatywności oraz koniecznością wykorzystywania różnorodnych umiejętności przy jednoczesnym zapewnieniu swobody działania i realizacji idei podmiotowego traktowania pracowników, sprzyjają zarówno ekspresji pożądanych zachowań organizacyjnych (innowacyjnych, proaktywnych i prospołecznych), jak i osiąganiu rezultatów.…”

Enhancing Sustainable Employment Relationships: An Empirical Investigation of the Influence of Trust in Employer and Subjective Value in Employment Contract Negotiations

“…Some examples may be found across several areas pointing out that incidents in working relations emphasize the importance of trust in terms of organisational productivity [15], competitive advantage [24], effective working relationships (e.g. [25,26]) or negotiations [23,[27][28][29].…”

“…According to Huggins [14], the human resource, and the knowledge it embeds, are the key drivers of growth for KIBS companies operating in highly competitive environments. There have been identified human resource (HR) practices that influence the productivity of employees in KIBS [15], and HR practices moderated by HR capabilities influence the performance of knowledge-intensive service firms [16]. As the previously mentioned studies report, if HRM practices fail to create sustainable employment relationships, companies may lose the competitive advantage of people, and their profit could be at stake.…”