Human Resource Management and Performance

The relationship between Human Resource Management (HRM) and performance of the firm has been a hot debated topic in the field of HRM/IR for the last decade. Most scientific research on this topic originates from the USA. In our paper we will give an overview of recent USA-based research outcomes as a frame of reference for presenting recent findings from the Netherlands in this respect. These Dutch findings are interesting and contrasting USA-based approaches because they reflect the Western-European model for industrial relations or the so-called Rhineland model. A model in which legislation, institutions andstakeholders like workscouncils and trade unions play an important role in shaping HRM policies and practices. So the very often proclaimed relationship between corporate strategies, aligned HRM policies and their subsequent effect on performance is in a Dutch setting mitigated by institutions and stakeholders inside and outside the organization.human resource management;performance;HRM theory;institutionalism;overview

Human Resource Management and Performance

The relationship between Human Resource Management (HRM) and performance of the firm has been a hot debated topic in the field of HRM/IR for the last decade. Most scientific research on this topic originates from the USA. In our paper we will give an overview of recent USA-based research outcomes as a frame of reference for presenting recent findings from the Netherlands in this respect. These Dutch findings are interesting and contrasting USA-based approaches because they reflect the Western-European model for industrial relations or the so-called Rhineland model. A model in which legislation, institutions and stakeholders like workscouncils and trade unions play an important role in shaping HRM policies and practices. So the very often proclaimed relationship between corporate strategies, aligned HRM policies and their subsequent effect on performance is in a Dutch setting mitigated by institutions and stakeholders inside and outside the organization

How national institutions limit turnaround strategies and human resource management. A comparative study in the airline industry

The influence of national institutions, particularly employee representation, on managers' turnaround strategiesremains largely unexplored in the literature. Therefore, this paper assesses the pressures that affected two Europeanairline companies, British Airways (BA) and Iberia, and their turnaround responses in a context of economic crisisand austerity, particularly from the perspective of strategic human resource management (SHRM). Our case studiesshow that when national institutions grant a number of rights to employee representatives, an innovative HRM strategy enables the recovery strategy required to deal with internal sources of decline. In contrast, when nationalinstitutions provide fewer rights to employee representatives, there is room for company HRM strategy to challengeor resist institutional pressures. Our research focuses particularly on how coercive pressures exerted by employeerepresentation, according to the legal framework governing labor relations, affect turnaround strategies.Management and Marketing Department (University of Pablo de Olavide

Sources of decline, turnaround strategy and HR strategies and practices: The case of Iberia Airlines

This study investigates the coevolution of the sources of decline, the turnaround strategy and the human resource strategy (HRS) at Iberia Airlines, together with the influence of employee responses to these strategies. The analysis of several moments of organisational decline at Iberia, comparing measures adopted in pre- and post-financial crisis periods, shows that, in a sector experiencing a fiercely competitive transformation that negatively affects established companies, the use of downsizing in an organisation with internal deficiencies may create further problems within the company, while an HRS based on flexibility-oriented practices and a fostering approach to strategic negotiations will improve the requisite recovery strategy.Management and Marketing Department (University of Pablo de Olavide

When Art Moves the Eyes: A Behavioral and Eye-Tracking Study

The aim of this study was to investigate, using eye-tracking technique, the influence of bottom-up and top-down processes on visual behavior while subjects, na \u308\u131ve to art criticism, were presented with representational paintings. Forty-two subjects viewed color and black and white paintings (Color) categorized as dynamic or static (Dynamism) (bottom-up processes). Half of the images represented natural environments and half human subjects (Content); all stimuli were displayed under aesthetic and movement judgment conditions (Task) (top-down processes). Results on gazing behavior showed that content-related top-down processes prevailed over low-level visually-driven bottom-up processes when a human subject is represented in the painting. On the contrary, bottom-up processes, mediated by low-level visual features, particularly affected gazing behavior when looking at nature-content images. We discuss our results proposing a reconsideration of the definition of content-related top-down processes in accordance with the concept of embodied simulation in art perception

High-Performance Work Systems and Organizational Performance in Emerging Economies: Evidence from MNEs in Turkey

This study examines the association between the usage of high-performance work systems (HPWS) by subsidiaries of multinational enterprises (MNEs) in Turkey and employee and subsidiary level outcomes. The study is based on a survey of 148 MNE subsidiaries operating in Turkey. The results show that the usage of HPWS has a significant positive impact on employee effectiveness. However, their impact on employee skills and development, and organizational financial performance are far less clear. Our findings highlight the extent to which HWPS need to be adapted to take account of context-specific institutional realities. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg