The circular path of social sustainability: An empirical analysis

The sustainable human resource management literature provides arguments linking the social sustainability dimensions of business and society, suggesting a circular or two-way relationship between them. The norm of reciprocity builds social sustainability by increasing trust and cooperation in any group of people and explains this complex relationship. In this study, we test the connection between society––poverty and inequality––and business––human resource investment strategy––using a large longitudinal data set with six time points. Findings showed that past poverty negatively contributes to a later human resource investment strategy and vice versa. This mutual relationship configures a positive feedback loop where environmental social sustainability and organizational social sustainability enhance each other. Results also show that a human resource investment strategy negatively affects income inequality, revealing that corporate decisions on social sustainability can affect social sustainability in society

The Symbiotic Bond of Income Equality and Organizational Equilibrium

The corporate sustainability literature postulates that companies are social entities that constantly interact with the society in which they are located. Although this idea is generally accepted, one persistent research gap in this field relates to testing this connection through quantitative empirical studies. In this study, we shed light on the bidirectional relationship between income inequality and organizational equilibrium (i.e., balance in the employment relationship). From data on 2525 companies covering a nine-year period and using longitudinal structural equation modeling, findings demonstrate that equity in the distribution of resources among people in a society positively influences equity in the distribution of resources between employer and employees, and vice versa. A symbiotic union of mutual benefit between society and business is, therefore, developed over time. Theoretical and practical implications of our findings are presented

Empowerment in the Public Sector: Testing the Influence of Goal Orientation

Empowerment has emerged as an important new issue in the public sector organization setting in the wake of mainstream new public management (NPM). Nevertheless, few studies in this frame have combined structural (managerial) and psychological (individual) approaches in an integrative study of empowerment. There is also a need to examine the moderating variables involved in this relationship, as well as to extend research on work motivation in public management. This study explores the effect of structural empowerment on psychological empowerment, and it also draws on goal orientation (GO) theory to examine the moderating role of employees’ GO in this link. The model is tested on a sample of 521 Spanish local authority employees. The results do not confirm the direct link between structural and psychological empowerment, but show that learning GO has considerable moderating power in this relationship, and its interaction with structural empowerment affects employees’ psychological empowerment levels

El doble rol de la inversión en recursos humanos en la desigualdad social

The role of human resource management in achieving sustainable development is an issue that still remains unrecognized. The purpose of this research is to advance in this business-society link, focusing on the impact of human resource (HR) investment on social inequality. Based on the sustainability theoretical framework, it is proposed that HR investment and organizational equilibrium of companies reduce social inequality. Organizational equilibrium represents equity between the interests of employees and employers, defined by the fit between HR investment and labor productivity. Consequently, HR investment plays a dual role, acting as a component of organizational equilibrium and as a precedent for social inequality. Results from the longitudinal analysis of a large sample of 2,051 Spanish companies over a five-year period (2012-2016) confirm that the greater the organizational equilibrium, the lower the social inequality. This result is verified when the direct effect and the indirect effect, via HR investment, of the organizational equilibrium on social inequality are considered together. An equitable social exchange relationship between employees and employers characterizes corporate sustainability and improves the sustainable development of society by limiting its level of social inequality.Este trabajo ha obtenido el Premio Estudios Financieros 2020 en la modalidad de Recursos Humanos. Una cuestión clave pendiente de resolución es reconocer cuál es el papel de la gestión de los recursos humanos (RR. HH.) en el logro de un desarrollo sostenible. El propósito de esta investigación es avanzar en este vínculo empresa-sociedad, centrando la atención en la repercusión de la inversión en RR. HH. sobre la desigualdad social. Basándose en la literatura sobre sostenibilidad, se propone que la inversión en RR. HH. y el equilibrio organizativo de las empresas reducen la desigualdad social. El equilibrio organizativo representa la equidad entre los intereses de personas empleadas y empresa, definiéndose en función del ajuste entre inversión en RR. HH. y productividad laboral. Por consiguiente, la inversión en RR. HH. presenta un doble papel al actuar como componente del equilibrio organizativo y como antecedente de la desigualdad social. A partir del análisis longitudinal de una amplia muestra de 2.051 empresas españolas durante un periodo de 5 años (2012-2016), los resultados corroboran que cuanto mayor sea el equilibrio organizativo, menor será la desigualdad social. Esta influencia se constata cuando se considera conjuntamente el efecto directo y el efecto indirecto, vía inversión en RR. HH., del equilibrio organizativo sobre la desigualdad social. Una relación de intercambio social equitativa entre personas empleadas y empresa caracteriza la sostenibilidad corporativa y mejora el desarrollo sostenible de la sociedad al limitar su nivel de desigualdad social

¿Obtienen mejores resultados las empresas en una sociedad empobrecida? Evidencia empírica en España

From the position of the strategic human resource management, this study argues and empirically demonstrates that the degree of human poverty in a region has a negative impact on the employment productivity of the firms located within it. This harmful effect is seen both directly and indirectly through firms’ lower commitment to their employees. These are the findings from a longitudinal analysis undertaken during a six-year period (2006-2011), based on data from 2,192 industrial companies located in all 17 Spanish autonomous communities. At the same time, the study explores how the two components of human poverty (economic poverty and poverty of human capital) respectively influence each one of the three components (remuneration, job security and training) of the organization's commitment to its employees, and their subsequent effect on firm performance. Results show that poverty of human capital is notably the attribute with the greatest influence on labour productivity. The results of this study will help managers, social agents and public institutions to rigorously evaluate the impact that poverty in a society has on business competitiveness.Este trabajo ha obtenido un Accésit del Premio Estudios Financieros 2016 en la modalidad de Recursos Humanos. Desde la dirección estratégica de los recursos humanos, esta investigación argumenta y demuestra empíricamente que el grado de pobreza humana existente en una región impacta de forma negativa en la productividad laboral de las empresas localizadas en ese territorio. Este efecto pernicioso aparece tanto de forma directa como indirecta, vía un menor compromiso de las empresas con los empleados. Estos resultados se derivan de un análisis longitudinal realizado durante un periodo de seis años (2006-2011), usando los datos de 2.192 empresas industriales distribuidas entre las 17 comunidades autónomas españolas. Complementariamente, se examina cómo los dos componentes que configuran la pobreza humana (pobreza económica y pobreza de capital humano) influyen respectivamente sobre cada uno de los tres componentes (remuneración, seguridad laboral y formación) que conforman el compromiso organizativo con los empleados, así como su posterior efecto sobre los resultados empresariales. A este respecto, la pobreza de capital humano sobresale como el atributo con una mayor influencia en la productividad laboral. Los resultados de este estudio ayudan a directivos, agentes sociales e instituciones públicas a valorar de forma rigurosa el alcance de la pobreza de una sociedad en la competitividad empresarial

Sostenibilidad humana de la sociedad y de la empresa: ¿vasos comunicantes?

Sustainable human resource management is a new research line that is currently growing at a rapid pace. One of the key premises of this literature is the interdependence of society and firms, with a bidirectional causal relationship between their levels of sustainability. Paradoxically, there is a lack of empirical studies to support this connection. The objective of the present study is to bridge this gap, by analyzing whether poverty and income inequality in a society influence the human resource management strategy of its firms, and vice versa. Results from a longitudinal analysis of a large sample of 1,850 Spanish industrial firms during the period 2010-2014 confirm the presence of a negative bidirectional relationship between poverty and human resource management strategy grounded on organizational commitment with employees. The study also provides evidence of a negative unidirectional causal relationship between this business strategy and income inequality. These results support the active and significant role of firms in achieving sustainable development in society, showing that the more sustainable firms’ human resource management, the more sustainable society will be.Este trabajo ha obtenido el Premio Estudios Financieros 2018 en la modalidad de Recursos Humanos. El jurado ha estado compuesto por: don Juan Pablo Borregón Baños, doña Gloria Castaño Collado, doña Celia Gutiérrez Valero, doña Gloria Iglesias Jiménez y don Alfonso Jiménez. La gestión sostenible de los recursos humanos es una línea de investigación novel que se está desarrollando intensamente en la actualidad. Una de las proposiciones clave de la literatura que versa sobre esta cuestión es la interdependencia entre sociedad y empresa, apareciendo una relación causal bidireccional entre el grado de sostenibilidad de ambas entidades. Paradójicamente, faltan estudios empíricos que avalen esta conexión. El objetivo de esta investigación es enmendar esta carencia, analizando si la pobreza y la desigualdad económica de la sociedad influyen en la estrategia de gestión de los recursos humanos de las empresas y viceversa. A partir del análisis longitudinal de una amplia muestra de 1.850 empresas industriales españolas durante el periodo 2010-2014, se corrobora la presencia de una relación bidireccional negativa entre la pobreza y la estrategia basada en el compromiso organizativo con los empleados. Por otra parte, se evidencia una relación causal unidireccional negativa entre esta estrategia de gestión de los recursos humanos y la desigualdad económica. Estos resultados respaldan el papel activo y significativo de las empresas en la consecución de un desarrollo sostenible de la sociedad, de tal forma que cuanto más sostenible sea la gestión de los recursos humanos de las empresas, más sostenible será la sociedad

Examining nonlinear relationships between quality management and financial performance

Purpose A thorough analysis of nonlinear relationships between quality management (QM) and organizational outcomes has largely been ignored in the current empirical QM literature, which can have profound theoretical and managerial implications. The existence of nonlinear relationships implies taking a contingent view in that QM practices are more effective depending on their level of implementation in an organization. The purpose of this paper is to focus on this possibility and undertake an in-depth study of the sparse nonlinear relationship suggested by the literature. Design/methodology/approach The authors introduce an empirical study carried out on a sample of 168 service firms belonging to sectors experienced in QM and, through polynomial regression analysis, identify the nature of the relationship between QM and financial performance (return on assets). Findings The results, by showing an S-shaped curve, support a nonlinear association between these two variables. The presence of this functional form provides a satisfactory solution to the growing debate among researchers who, from a linear perspective, defend the positive effects of QM on organizational outcomes, those who find no significant effect, and still others who claim that QM has a negative effect. Originality/value The results show that in organizations with a low level of QM implementation, managers should increase investment in QM, even though this increase will not be correspondingly beneficial in the same proportion. In contrast, in organizations with a high level of QM implementation, managers are advised to reflect on undertaking projects that represent an additional investment in QM, with the aim of finding their optimal level

Combined effect of human capital, temporary employment and organizational size on firm performance

Purpose – This study aims to examine how temporary employment and organizational size moderate the effect of human capital on firm performance. The authors also analyze the overall effect of human capital, temporary contracts and organizational size on firm performance. This enables them to identify which combination of these three variables leads to the highest levels of profitability. Design/methodology/approach – From a sample of 1,403 Spanish firms, the authors carry out a comparative analysis of the impact of human capital on labor productivity and return on sales among small and large companies with high and low use of temporary employment. Findings – The positive effect of human capital on return of sales is greater in large firms with low temporary employment than in small firms with high temporary employment. In addition, this positive effect is not universal because in some scenarios it is not significant. The most beneficial context is that of large companies with a high level of human capital and a low use of temporary employment. Research limitations/implications – The results should be interpreted within the Spanish manufacturing sector. Practical implications – Decisions about investment in human capital and the use of temporary workers should be taken jointly by personnel managers, in accordance with the size of the firm. If this holistic view is ignored, a full understanding of the impact of human capital on firm performance will be obscured. On the other hand, a common feature that large and small firms share is an incompatibility between human capital and temporary employment. Originality/value – Growing interest has been shown in the degree to which investment in human capital contributes to firm performance; yet limited research attention has been paid to the contextual conditions that moderate this relationship. Investment in human capital can be more beneficial in some scenarios than in others

Commitment to employees, labor intensity, and labor productivity in small firms

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to analyze the potential existence of a concave downward curve between organizational commitment to employees (OCE) and labor productivity in small firms. It also aims to examine the moderating effects of labor intensity on this curvilinear relationship. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses a sample of 819 manufacturing small firms from the Spanish Ministry of Industry and Energy's Survey on Business Strategies, and applies hierarchical regression analysis to test its hypotheses. Findings – The results support a non-linear association between OCE investments and labor productivity: the higher the level of OCE, the lower its positive impact on organizational outcomes will be. The results also support the contingent view of strategic human resource management, so that an investment in OCE is more effective in some contexts than in others. Practical implications – The paper concludes that managers and investors should be aware of the fact that investments in OCE are not always correspondingly beneficial. In the small firm setting, not all firms with large profits apply OCE. A high level of OCE investment may be counterproductive. Originality/value – The strategic human resource management literature usually assumes a linear relationship between OCE and organizational outcomes; very few empirical studies have considered a nonlinear approach

Incorporating poverty in society into strategic human resource management

In developed societies, the cultural value of social trust and cooperative behavior decreases when levels of poverty increase. Based on the contextual social exchange perspective, we argue that these societal traits can be transmitted to companies located within such societies, resulting in a reduction of human resource (HR) investment and a decrease in the effect of these HR investments on workforce performance. Therefore, poverty in society has a dual role in its connection with HR investment, acting both as an antecedent and as a moderator. The employment relationship is dependent on the deprivation and poor quality of life of people in the region. We arrive at this conclusion from a study conducted on a sample of 2192 companies during a period of six years and applying longitudinal structural equation modeling. Findings indicate the importance of placing HR practices within their socioeconomic environment, specifically living conditions, to understand their implementation and return over time