The Research-Practice Gap in Human Resource Management: A Cross-Cultural Study

Abstract

In this study, we examine the cross‐cultural differences in human resource (HR) managers’ beliefs in effective HR practices by surveying HR practitioners in Finland (N = 86), South Korea (N = 147), and Spain (N = 196). Similar to previous studies from the United States, the Netherlands, and Australia, there are large discrepancies between HR practitioner beliefs and research findings, particularly in the area of staffing. In addition, we find that interpersonal‐oriented aspects of HR practices tend to be more culturally bound than technical‐oriented aspects of HR practices. We interpret the differences using Hofstede's cultural dimensions (Power Distance, Individualism versus Collectivism, Masculinity versus Femininity, Long‐Term Orientation versus Short‐Term Orientation, and Uncertainty Avoidance). We discuss the overall nature of the science‐practice gap in HR management, and the implications for evidence‐based management. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Research trends in the <i>South African Journal of Human Resource Management<i>

“…The research-practice gap is a worldwide phenomenon (Tenhiälä et al, 2016). DeNisi et al (2014) observed that organisations today face problems that were non-existent a generation ago.…”

Human Capital Factors Affecting Human Resource (HR) Managers' Commitment to HR and the Mediating Role of Perceived Organizational Value on HR

“…We obtained usable responses from 146 HR managers from 146 organizations, yielding a response rate of 17%. Since the survey was distributed via the professional institute's e‐mail list that might include some inactive or invalid e‐mail addresses, we think that the response rate is likely underestimated (Tenhiälä, Giluk, Kepes, Simon, Oh, & Kim, in press). Although it is a low response rate (Baruch & Holtom, ), such a response rate is not unusual when the survey is administered on‐line (between 8.3% and 17% across three countries; Tenhiälä et al, in press).…”

“…Since the survey was distributed via the professional institute's e‐mail list that might include some inactive or invalid e‐mail addresses, we think that the response rate is likely underestimated (Tenhiälä, Giluk, Kepes, Simon, Oh, & Kim, in press). Although it is a low response rate (Baruch & Holtom, ), such a response rate is not unusual when the survey is administered on‐line (between 8.3% and 17% across three countries; Tenhiälä et al, in press). Most respondents were male (82%), held college (64%) or higher degrees (34%), and occupied at least an assistant HR manager position (27% for assistant HR manager and 73% for HR manager or higher)…”

“…Thus, it is possible that females are less committed to (and more likely to leave) their organization as well as occupation (Lee, Allen, Meyer, & Rhee, ). In addition, “in South Korea, HR is considered a masculine profession” (Tenhiälä et al, in press, p. 6). Thus, gender may play a role in developing employees’ occupational commitment.…”

The assessment of individual moral goodness

“…When considering ethically focused assessment, one may conclude that formal methods already address the challenge. In the most recent global surveys of their type, researchers found that firms rarely use integrity tests (Rioux & Bernthal, ; Ryan, McFarland, Baron, & Page, ), and of all the HRM sub‐fields, selection is consistently the field in which practitioners exhibit the least use of evidence‐based knowledge (Rynes, Colbert, & Brown, ; Tenhiälä et al, ). Even when used, there are concerns with the low validity of integrity test scores for job performance and turnover, although the validity is higher for CWB (Van Iddekinge, Roth, Raymark, & Odle‐Dusseau, ).…”