Citation
Homberg, F. (2017), "Editorial", Evidence-based HRM, Vol. 5 No. 3, pp. 246-247. https://doi.org/10.1108/EBHRM-08-2017-0047
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited
1. Developments in human resource management and organizational behaviour – introduction to the special issue
1.1 Introduction
Generating insights into the various dimensions of “human resource management and organisational behaviour” gains evermore importance, given the challenges firms face these days. Changing workforce dynamics, technological advancements and new business models require managers to think carefully about how to maintain a stable, motivated, engaged and proactive workforce that contributes to the success of the organisation and helps navigate the organisation through turbulent times.
The articles gathered in this special issue on “Developments in human resource management and organizational behaviour” aim to address the aforementioned issues from various vantage points. I thus hope that the EBHRM readership will find them of interest. Most submissions featured in this special issue were sourced from the “Strategic Interest Group (SIG) on Organizational Behaviour” at the European Academy of Management (EURAM) where earlier versions have been presented at EURAM conferences in 2015, 2016 and 2017 and where EBHRM regularly sponsors a SIG Best Paper Award. The works included in this special issue are excellent examples of the wonderful, creative and insightful work conducted on a regular basis by the many contributors to the OB SIG at EURAM and the EBHRM editorial team would welcome further submissions from this community of scholars.
2. Contributions to the special issue
The issue commences with Yalabik, Rayton and Rapti’s study on “Facets of job satisfaction and work engagement” – a timeless topic in the field of HRM and OB. Focussing on bank employees and analysing cross-lagged data, the authors enhance our understanding of the relationship between various domains of job satisfaction and work engagement.
Next, Mostafa studies the role positive affect and psychological empowerment play in their interrelation with job satisfaction and work stress. This work features thought through theoretical arguments and high quality longitudinal data that are thoughtfully analysed using structural equation modelling techniques.
Chandler, Balazs and Kasa then accompany a major Hungarian business school through a long-term, cultural change process. This interesting analysis has wider relevance, not least since changes in the higher education sector take place in many countries.
Turning our attention to the domain of HRM, Galanaki and Papalexandris study demographic changes in Greece. Based on a replication of the Globe Survey in Greece and focussing on ideal leadership behaviours, the authors explore the changing nature of the workforce and try to derive lessons for leadership development.
Peluso, Innocenti and Pilati dive into the effects of different types of rewards and their effects on job satisfaction, innovative behaviour and affective commitment. Using a large data set collected in Italy, they challenge the view of money as the ultimate driver of desired employee attitudes and behaviours.
The article by Costello and Offong focusses on a topic that is likely to gain more relevance in the future: the use of social media for HRM practices. Specifically, the authors study the relation of enterprise social media use on various knowledge sharing behaviours and trust in a sample of Nigerian employees.
The special issue concludes with the work by Palma, Hinna and Mangia who investigate public service motivation and user orientation among Italian public school teachers and their link to teacher performance. The analysis uses PLS structural equation modelling techniques and highlights the competing nature of public service motivation and user orientation with respect to teacher performance.
3. What we like at EBHRM
Next to appearing as a collective in this special issue, the articles described above have another commonality: they are prime examples of the type of innovative and thought provoking works that EBHRM welcomes to publish. Authors considering EBHRM as a potential outlet may wish to carefully read and reflect on the works assembled here.
First, as most editors would, we encourage analyses based on longitudinal or multi-wave data, as featured in Yalabik et al., Mostafa and Chandler et al.’s work. The insights generated from such settings tend to be most influential for both research and practice. Second, we are keen to promote effect size thinking, which moves away from traditional null-hypothesis testing. Galanaki and Papalexandris take a step in this direction. Third, we recognise that an increased number of authors tend to use PLS techniques, as displayed in Palma et al.’s study. Unlike some other outlets, EBHRM does not reject papers because they utilise PLS. Rather, we encourage our authors to acknowledge the concerns that have been raised against this technique and the related debate. In this spirit, prospective authors will need to think carefully about their research questions and settings and decide if they truly lend themselves to the instances in which PLS is an appropriate choice. Some methods may be fashionable, but they are unlikely to succeed if they are difficult to justify. Ultimately, a good story on a contemporary or classical topic combined with a thoughtful and robust analysis will meet our objectives and inform our readers in equal measure. All articles in the special issue score highly in this respect, but particularly noteworthy are the contributions by Costello and Offong (and their insights on social media use and HRM) and Peluso et al. The former zooms in on a relatively new phenomenon; the latter challenges conventional wisdom on the power of monetary incentives.
4. Some final remarks
I thank all authors for their thoughtful contributions to the journal. I am also grateful for the sterling efforts made by our reviewers who dedicated a considerable amount of their time to helping our authors improve their works. Their genuine comments were instrumental to the decision making process for the various submissions received. Finally, I thank the Editor-in-Chief, Professor Thomas Lange, for allowing us to move this special issue from an ambition to a reality.