’The Changing Contours of Fairness: Using Multiple Lenses to Focus the HRM Research Agenda

Purpose: Organizational justice research has become the main paradigm of research in the field of HRM. The paper outlines a number of underlying challenges to which this paradigm is illsuited. It broadens the traditional understanding of what is meant by fairness within the HRM literature to help explain how justice judgements are formed and may be used to influence societal level fairness processes. It develops a framework to aid our understanding of the fairness of decisions that individuals or organizations make. Design/methodology/approach: The paper presents a conceptual review of the main paradigms used in fairness research. It draws upon the organizational justice literature as the dominant paradigm in HRM research, and conducts a cross-disciplinary review that introduces a range of theories less frequently used by HRM researchers – specifically capability theory, game theory, tournament theory, equity sensitivity theory, theories of intergenerational equity and burden sharing. It demonstrates the relevance of these theories to a number of areas of organizational effectiveness. Findings: The paper shows that researchers are now augmenting the organizational justice research paradigm under two important pressures – (1) awareness of hidden structures that preclude the option for real fairness; and (2) new variables that are being added to the consideration of organizational justice. Research limitations/implications: The fairness theories are used to identify a number of important and future research agendas in the field of HRM. Many of the judgements made by employee suggested by the theories now need measurement at the individual level. It remains to be seen whether these judgements are highly situational and context-dependent or may be used to identify important individual characteristics. It is also likely that fairness judgements act as an important of a range of HRM-related outcomes such as trust and engagement. practical implications HR functions have invested significant resources in employee engagement or insight units, but if their policies trigger significant inequality of outcomes, perceived problems of justice, a lack of burden sharing, no sense proportionality, organizations may not be able to achieve other important HR strategies such as sustaining and deepening employee engagement, developing organizational advocacy, building an employer brand, or being seen to have authenticity in its values. The framework suggests a broadened educational base for HR practitioners around fairness. It also suggests that there may be complex employees segments concerning perceptions of fairness. Originality/value: The cross-disciplinary perspective taken on fairness helps deconstruct the judgements that employees likely make, enabling organizations and individuals alike to ask more critical questions about their respective behaviour

Employees’ Perception of Diversity Management Practices: Scale Development and Validation

Scholars and practitioners are paying increasing attention to diversity management (DM). Despite this increase and an expanding literature, there exists a lack of psychometrically sound scales to measure DM practices and none that capture employees’ perception of DM practices (EPDMP). This dearth in literature has thus hindered DM research. To fill the gap, in the present paper, using a qualitative study and 3 quantitative studies in a sample of 590 employees across various sectors in the UK, a 9-item uni-dimensional EPDMP scale is developed and validated. Results from content adequacy, reliability, convergent, discriminant, nomological and incremental predictive validity assessments provide support for the measures use in diagnostic and theory testing efforts. This paper concludes with a discussion of the implications for theory, management practice and future research

Harnessing Demographic Differences in Organizations: What Moderates the Effects of Workplace Diversity?

To account for the double-edged nature of demographic workplace diversity (i.e. relational demography, work group diversity, and organizational diversity) effects on social integration, performance and well-being related variables, research has moved away from simple main effect approaches and started examining variables that moderate these effects. While there is no shortage of primary studies of the conditions under which diversity leads to positive or negative outcomes, it remains unclear which contingency factors make it work. Using the Categorization-Elaboration Model (van Knippenberg, DeDreu, & Homan 2004) as our theoretical lens we review variables moderating the effects of workplace diversity on social integration, performance and well-being outcomes, focusing on factors that organizations and managers have control over (i.e. strategy, unit design, HR, leadership, climate/culture, and individual differences). We point out avenues for future research and conclude with practical implications

The paradox of employee psychological well-being practices: An integrative literature review and new directions for research

It is well established that many HR practices for employees’ psychological wellbeing (PWB) and organisational performance conflict and even contradict one another. We address this long-standing issue by undertaking an innovative integrative literature review using the paradox metatheory as a lens. Unlike the contingency approach, a paradox perspective reflects real-world tensions as normal, which can be harnessed and be beneficial. We make three contributions; firstly, we identify contradictory employee PWB and organisational performance HR practices; secondly, we offer a solution in addressing the inherent tension between PWB and performance by developing a new sensemaking conceptual framework; and for our third contribution we offer a more nuanced perspective by distinguishing endogenous factors that organisations can influence to enhance the synergies between employee PWB and organisational performance HR practices. The intended impact of this paper is to instigate a paradigm shift and shape a new trajectory of thinking about how employee PWB and organisational performance practices can exist side-by-side

A Multi-Level Model Examining the Relationships between Workplace Spirituality, Ethical Climate and Outcomes: A Social Cognitive Theory Perspective

The role and influence of workplace spirituality on individual and organisational outcomes continue to draw attention among management scholars. Despite this increased attention, extant literature has yielded limited insights particularly into the impact and influence processes of workplace spirituality on performance outcomes at both the individual and unit levels of analysis. Addressing this gap in research, we proposed and tested a multilevel model, underpinned by social cognitive theory, that examines the processes linking perceptions of workplace spirituality and performance outcomes at the individual and organisational level of analysis. Data were obtained from 51 branches of a retail organisation in the United Kingdom. Results from structural equation modelling analysis revealed three salient findings. First, workplace spirituality was positively related to ethical climate, prosocial motivation, and moral judgment. Second, ethical climate partially mediated the relationship between workplace spirituality and prosocial motivation and moral judgment, respectively. Third, aggregated ethical climate significantly relates to branch-level helping behaviour and service performance

Impact of high-performance work systems on individual-and branch-level performance: Test of a multilevel model of intermediate linkages

We proposed and tested a multilevel model, underpinned by empowerment theory, that examines the processes linking high-performance work systems (HPWS) and performance outcomes at the individual and organizational levels of analyses. Data were obtained from 37 branches of 2 banking institutions in Ghana. Results of hierarchical regression analysis revealed that branch-level HPWS relates to empowerment climate. Additionally, results of hierarchical linear modeling that examined the hypothesized cross-level relationships revealed 3 salient findings. First, experienced HPWS and empowerment climate partially mediate the influence of branch-level HPWS on psychological empowerment. Second, psychological empowerment partially mediates the influence of empowerment climate and experienced HPWS on service performance. Third, service orientation moderates the psychological empowerment–service performance relationship such that the relationship is stronger for those high rather than low in service orientation. Last, ordinary least squares regression results revealed that branch-level HPWS influences branch-level market performance through cross-level and individual-level influences on service performance that emerges at the branch level as aggregated service performanc

Developing and leveraging human capital resource to promote service quality: Testing a theory of performance

Grounded in Vroom’s motivational framework of performance, we examine the interactive influence of collective human capital (ability) and aggregated service orientation (motivation) on the cross-level relationship between high-performance work systems (HPWS) and individual-level service quality. Results of hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) revealed that HPWS related to collective human capital and aggregated service orientation, which in turn related to individual-level service quality. Furthermore, both HLM and ordinary least squares regression analyses revealed a cross-level interaction effect of collective human capital and aggregated service orientation such that high levels of collective human capital and aggregated service orientation influence individual-level service quality