Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Strategic HR functions and firm performance: The moderating effects of high-involvement work practices

  • Published:
Asia Pacific Journal of Management Aims and scope Submit manuscript

An Erratum to this article was published on 06 September 2011

Abstract

Although the strategic human resource management literature has emphasized the value of the integration of human resource management into strategic management, the mechanism through which the strategic integration of HR functions contributes to the improvement of firm performance is relatively unknown. Assuming that HR strategies cannot be successfully implemented without employee support for and commitment to these strategies, this research focuses on high-involvement work practices, which allow employees to participate in management decisions as potential moderators of the integration of HR functions in strategic management and firm performance. Using a sample of 203 unionized Korean firms, this research found that the effects of a strategic HR function on firm performance were moderated by high-involvement work practices such as a pay-for-performance program, a career-development program, union participation in company strategy, and temporary worker benefits. The results suggest that a strategic HR function will not be successful without institutional mechanisms that foster employee involvement.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Figure 1
Figure 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. “Management policy toward union” was measured by asking labor representatives about the attitudes of workplace management toward the union (1 = management seeks to weaken and disband the union; 2 = management recognizes the union but seeks to minimize union participation in management; 3 = management respects the union as its partner and seeks active union participation in management).

References

  • Bae, J., & Lawler, J. J. 2000. Organizational and HRM strategies in Korea: Impact on firm performance in emerging economy. Academy of Management Journal, 43: 502–517.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barney, J. 1991. Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17: 99–120.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, B. E., & Huselid, M. A. 2006. Strategic human resources management: Where do we go from here?. Journal of Management, 32: 49–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beugelsdijk, S. 2008. Strategic human resources practices and product innovation. Organizational Studies, 29: 821–847.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bidwell, M. 2009. Do peripheral workers do peripheral work? Comparing the use of highly skilled contractors and regular employees. Industrial and Relations Review, 62: 200–225.

    Google Scholar 

  • Block, R. N., & Berg, P. 2009. Joint responsilbity unionism: A multi-plant model of collective bargaining under employment security. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 63: 60–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boxall, P., & Macky, K. 2009. Research and theory on high-performance work systems: Progressing the high-involvement stream. Human Resource Management Journal, 19: 49–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Budhwar, P., & Debrah, Y. A. 2009. Future research on human resource management systems in Asia. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 26(2): 197–218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J., Cohen, P., West, S. G., & Aiken, L. S. 2006. Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, C. J., & Smith, K. G. 2006. Knowledge exchange and combination: The role of human resource practices in the performance of high-technology firms. Academy of Management Journal, 49: 544–560.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cutcher-Gershenfeld, J., & Kochan, T. 2004. Takig stock: Collective bargaining at the turn of the century. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 58: 3–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Datta, D., Guthrie, J. P., & Wright, P. M. 2005. Human resource management and labor productivity: Does industry matter?. Academy of Management Journal, 48: 135–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deery, S. J., & Iverson, R. D. 2005. Labor-management cooperation: Antecedents and impact on organizational performance. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 58: 588–609.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dyne, L., & Ang, S. 1998. Organizational citizenship behavior of contingent workers in Singapore. Academy of Management Journal, 41: 692–703.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eun, S. 2006. Non-standard employment transformation of labor relations in Korea. Seoul: Korea Labor Institute Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Felstead, A., & Gallie, D. 2004. For better or worse? Non-standard jobs and high involvment work systems. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 15: 1293–1316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foote, D. A. 2004. Temporary workers: Managing the problem of unschedules turnover. Management Decision, 42: 963–973.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerhart, B., Wright, P. M., McMahan, G. C., & Snell, S. A. 2000. Measurement error in research on the human resources and firm performance relationship: Further evidence and analysis. Personnel Psychology, 53: 855–872.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grant, R. M. 1996. Toward a knowledge-based theory of the firm. Strategic Management Journal, 17: 109–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Guthrie, J. P. 2001. High-involvement work practices, turnover, and productivity: Evidence from New Zealand. Academy of Management Journal, 44: 480–190.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hailey, V. H., Farndale, E., & Truss, C. 2005. The HR department’s role in organizational performance. Human Resource Management Journal, 15: 49–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heneman, R. L., Ledford, Jr., G. E., & Gresham, M. T. 2000. The changing nature of work and its effects on compensation design and delivery. In R. L. Rynes & B. Gerhart (Eds.). Compensation in organizations: 195–240. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publication.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hmieleski, K. M., & Baron, R. A. 2009. Entrepreneurs’ optimism and new venture performance: A social cognitive perspective. Academy of Management Journal, 52: 473–488.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kato, T., Lee, J. H., Lee, K.-S., & Lee, J.-S. 2005. Employee participation and involvement in Korea: Evidence from a new survey and field research. International Economic Journal, 19: 251–281.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keizer, A. B. 2011. Flexibility in Japanese internal labor markets. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 28(3): 573–594.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, D.-O., & Bae, J. 2005. Workplace innovation, employment relations, and HRM: Two electronics companies in South Korea. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16: 1277–1302.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kwon, S. 2004. The effects of contingent employment on organizational performance: Empirical analysis of exchange theory perspective. The Korean Journal of Management, 33: 79–109.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lawler, III., E. E. 1992. The ultimate advantage: Creating the high involvement organization. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lepak, D. P., & Snell, S. A. 2002. Examining the human resource architecture: The relationships among human capital, employment, and human resource configurations. Journal of Management, 28: 517–543.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lepak, D. P., Takeuchi, R., & Snell, S. A. 2003. Employment flexibility and firm performance: Examining the interaction effects of employment mode, environmental dynamism, and technological intensity. Journal of Management, 29: 681–703.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lepak, D. P., Taylor, S., Tekleb, A., Marrone, J. A., & Cohen, D. J. 2007. An examination of the use of high-investment human resource systems for core and support employees. Human Resource Management, 46: 223–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martell, K., & Carroll, S. 1995. How strategic is HRM?. Human Resource Management, 34: 253–267.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDuffie, J. P. 1995. Human resource bundles and manufacturing performance: Organizational logic and flexible production systems in the world auto industry. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 48: 197–221.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riordan, C. M., Vandenberg, R. J., & Richardson, H. A. 2005. Employee involvement climate and organizational effectiveness. Human Resource Management, 44: 471–488.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, J. D., Gupta, N., & Delery, J. E. 2002. Pay dispersion and workforce performance: Moderating effects of incentives and interdependence. Strategic Management Journal, 2e: 491–512.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun, L.-Y., Aryee, S., & Law, K. S. 2007. High-performance human resource practices, citizenship behavior, and organizational performance: A relational perspective. Academy of Management Journal, 50: 558–577.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Takeuchi, N., Wakabayashi, M., & Chen, Z. 2003. The strategic HRM configuration for competitive advantage: Evidence from Japanese firms in China and Taiwan. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 20(4): 447–480.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Truss, C. 2001. Complexities and controversies in linking HRM with organizational outcomes. Journal of Management Studies, 38: 1121–1149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Truss, C., Gratton, L., Hope-Hailey, V., Stiles, P., & Zaleska, J. 2002. Paying the piper: Choice and constraint in changing HR functional roles. Human Resource Management Journal, 12: 39–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ulrich, D. 1997. Human resource champions: The next agenda for adding value and delivering results. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verma, A. 2005. What do unions do to the workplace ? Union effets on management and HRM policies. Journal of Labor Research, 26: 415–449.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Welbourne, T. M., & Cyr, L. A. 1999. The human resource executive effect in initial public offering firms. Academy of Management Journal, 42: 616–629.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, P. M., McMahan, G. C., McCormick, B., & Sherman, W. S. 1998. Strategy core competence and HR involvement as determinants of HR effectiveness and refinery performance. Human Resource Management, 37: 17–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wright, P. M., & Nishii, L. H. 2005. Strategic HRM and organizational behavior: Integrating multiple levels of analysis. Working paper no. 07–03, Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies (CAHRS), Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.

  • Wright, P. M., & Snell, S. A. 1998. Toward a unifying framework for exploring fit and flexibility in strategic human resource management. Academy of Management Journal, 23: 756–772.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zacharatos, A., Barling, J., & Iverson, R. D. 2005. High-performance work systems and occupational safety. Journal of Applied Psychology, 90: 77–94.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zatzick, C. D., & Iverson, R. D. 2006. High-involvement management and workforce reduction: Competitive advantage or disadvantage. Academy of Management Journal, 49: 999–1015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Management, Dongguk University, 3-26 Pil-Dong, Chung-gu, Seoul, 100-715, South Korea

    Hyondong Kim

  2. SK 613, Graduate School of Business, Seoul National University, San 56-1, Shillim-Dong, Kwanak-Ku, Seoul, South Korea

    Kang Sung-Choon

Authors
  1. Hyondong Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kang Sung-Choon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hyondong Kim.

Additional information

Both authors contributed equally to this article.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Kim, H., Sung-Choon, K. Strategic HR functions and firm performance: The moderating effects of high-involvement work practices. Asia Pac J Manag 30, 91–113 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-011-9264-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10490-011-9264-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation