Emerald | Personnel Review

Talent and Time Together: The Impact of Human Capital and Overlapping Tenure on Unit Performance

Christopher Harris, Gary McMahan, Patrick Wright — 2012-06-01 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - This study directly examines the relationships between various aspects of human capital and relationship stability (overlapping tenure) and team performance. Additionally, this study contributes to strategic human resource management and human capital research by placing an emphasis on human resources (i.e., people) and their influence on performance.Design/methodology/approach - The direct and interaction effects of human capital and overlapping tenure on performance are examined with a sample of 230 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s basketball teams in the 2006-2007 season. A third party measure of basketball players’ human capital is aggregated to the team level to examine its relationship with team performance. Additionally, the human capital of the head coach of each team and its relationship with team performance is examined. Relationship stability is assessed by measuring overlapping tenure which is defined as the amount of time individuals have worked together towards a common performance outcome. Team level overlapping tenure among players and the overlapping tenure between players and their head coach are measured and their relationships with team performance are tested. Finally, the interaction effect of players’ human capital and players’ overlapping tenure on team performance is examined. Hierarchical regression is used to test each hypothesis.Findings - The results find a positive relationship between both players’ and coaches’ human capital and performance. Also, players’ overlapping tenure is positively related to performance. Lastly, the interaction between players’ human capital and players’ overlapping tenure is not significantly related to performance. Originality/value - There has been a growing interest in human resources (i.e., people) as a source of competitive advantage. This study employs a unique sample of NCAA men’s basketball teams to theoretically develop and empirically test relationships among human capital, overlapping tenure, and performance. Different from previous studies, an objective, third party measure of human capital and measurements of overlapping tenure are utilized and their direct and interaction effects on team performance are examined. The results of this study point to the importance of acquiring and retaining high levels of human capital.

Work-based competences and career prospects: A study of Spanish employees

Ainhoa Urtasun, Imanol Nuñez — 2012-06-01 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - This paper aims to identify the work-based competences associated with better career prospects in the Spanish labour market.Design/methodology/approach - The relationship between employee-based competencies and employment prospects is investigated through the lens of the competence-based approach. Partial Least Squares (PLS) methodology has been applied on a sample of over 5,000 Spanish employees.Findings - The analysis establishes that skill, motivation, participation in decision-making and the performance of non-routine and complex tasks are associated with more favourable career prospects. Finally, it has also been found that human capital dimensions valued by firms vary with occupation, as clear differences have been observed between white- and blue-collar occupations. In particular, social skills and motivation appear to be more relevant for blue-collar workers than for white-collar workers.Originality/value - For the first time, this paper analyses employees’ career prospects using work-based competences as predictors. Additionally, the analysis is based within a very uncertain labour market, Spain, where high unemployment and an extensive use of temporary contracts seriously hinder workers' career prospects.

From anxiety to assurance: concerns and outcomes of telework

Takao Maruyama, Susanne Tietze — 2012-06-01 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - This paper compares pre-telework anxieties, expectations and motivators reported by 394 teleworkers with their corresponding actual experiences of telework. Design/methodology/approach - Based on an organizational survey, 394 samples were generated who had been teleworking for less than 12 months at the time of the survey. By using chi-square tests, comparisons were made between pre-telework expectations and post-telework outcomes reported by teleworkers with different characteristics such as gender, job type, the presence of dependent children, and working hours spent at home. Findings - The study found that prior to adopting telework sampled teleworkers tended to underestimate positive and overestimate negative experience of telework. It further demonstrated some statistically significant differences in pre-telework expectations and post-telework outcomes reported by different groups of teleworkers. For example, female teleworkers were more likely to report telework made it easier to cope with caring responsibilities. Sales and marketing teleworkers were more likely to report reduced visibility and career development.Practical implications - Implementing and maintaining successful telework schemes requires managers to take heed of the emotional aspects which accompany the use of such flexible work arrangements. Furthermore, career implications and the development of appropriate support structures for teleworkers need to be taken into account.Originality/value - The contribution of this paper lies in the comparative approach between pre-telework expectations and post-telework outcomes. It compares different social and occupational groups.

REGULATORY CHANGE AND WORK-LIFE INTEGRATION IN FRANCE AND THE UK

Pierre-Yves SANSEAU, Mark Jonathan SMITH — 2012-06-01 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - In this paper we consider the impact of regulatory changes on work-life integration outcomes. Using the case of France and the UK we explore changes in objective and subjective measures of work-family conflict.Design/methodology/approach - We use data from the European Foundation’s European Working Conditions Survey (EWCS) to analyse trends in employees’ working time and work-life integration outcomes. Findings - We observe an increase in reported satisfaction with work-life integration in the UK in contrast to a slight fall in France. We also find a reinforcement of the working time norms in France and something of a tentative re-emergence in the UK. However, against these trends we also find evidence of an enhanced flexibility in the scheduling of hours in both countries with French employees more at risk of changeable schedules.Research limitations/implications - Originality/value - The paper makes a contribution to the analysis of work-life integration outcomes by examining both objective and subjective measures using comparable data. We underline the need to contextualise the regulation and experiences of work-life integration in different societal settings.

Social networks and power in organizations: A research on the roles and positions of the junior level secretaries in an organizational network

Cenk Hulusi Sozen — 2012-06-01 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - Social network theory can help management scholars to understand how the pattern of social ties between employees can lead to unpredictable consequences. Sometimes people occupying lower positions in organizations like junior level secretaries can be quite powerful and effective. I suggest that such a consequence is relevant to their status in the social network. The aim of this paper is to determine the relationship between network status and power of the junior level office secretaries.Design/methodology/approach - Two different methodological approaches were used to test the basic claims of this study. Social network analysis was applied to the network data gathered from 80 employees working in six academic departments and four administrative units, and qualitative research techniques were used to bring an explanation to the findings of the study. Interviews were made with 35 academicians. Findings - The findings suggest that the secretaries have strong positions in terms of brokerage and network centrality. The results of interviews show that they use their social connections between academic and administrative departments to create various kinds of dependencies.Practical implications - This research shows that secretaries may have high power potential in organizations and the ones who are aware of their strong positions in a social network can use this for their self-interests. Originality/value - Social network theory and methodology have never been used to determine and to explain the critical role of the secretaries in organizations in the management literature. This study may give management scholars ideas to explain how some organizational positions can provide advantage to the focal actors to construct social ties in the organizations.

The Role of Strategic Groups in understanding Strategic Human Resource Management

Judith M Gannon, Liz Doherty, Angela Roper — 2012-06-01 00:00:00.0

Abstract

Purpose - This article explores how understanding the challenges faced by companies’ attempts to create competitive advantage through their human resources and HRM practices can be enhanced by insights into the concept of strategic groups within industries. Based within the international hotel industry this study identifies how strategic groups emerge in the analysis of HRM practices and approaches. It sheds light on the value of strategic groups as a way of readdressing the focus on firm and industry level analyses.Design/methodology/approach - Senior human resource executives and their teams across eight international hotel companies (IHCs) were interviewed in corporate and regional headquarters, with observations and the collection of company documentation complementing the interviews.Findings - The findings demonstrate that strategic groups emerge from analysis of the HRM practices and strategies used to develop hotel general managers (HGMs) as strategic human resources in the international hotel industry. The value of understanding industry structures, dynamics and intermediary levels of analysis are apparent where specific industries place occupational constraints on their managerial resources and limit the range of strategies and expansion modes companies can adopt. Research limitations/implications - This study indicates that further research on strategic groups will enhance the theoretical understanding of strategic human resource management (SHRM) and specifically the forces that act to constrain the achievement of competitive advantage through human resources. A limitation of this study is the dependence on the human resource divisions’ perspectives of realising international expansion ambitions in the hotel industry.Practical implications - This study has implications for companies’ engagement with their executives’ perceptions of opportunities and threats, and suggests companies will struggle to achieve competitive advantage where such perceptions are consistent with their competitors.Originality/value - Developments in strategic human resource management have relied upon the conceptual and theoretical developments in strategic management, however, an understanding of the impact of strategic groups and their shaping of SHRM has not been previously explored.