Drivers and Barriers in Socially Responsible Human Resource Management

Abstract

The current recession has caused a large number of companies to reevaluate their valuable resources and ways to preserve and invest those resources. Given the relevance of employees as key stakeholders, developing a socially responsible orientation in human resource management for taking care of workers and their needs must be an essential process for business success. This study, based on stakeholder theory and a social integrative approach, examines the main drivers and barriers in the implementation of socially responsible actions in human resource management. The research uses a quantitative analysis based on questionnaires responded to by 85 human resource managers from large Spanish companies. We conclude that there are two significant drivers of socially responsible actions in human resource management (HRM): access to public subsidies and the improvement of the working environment. The main significant barriers highlighted by human resource managers are conflicts in decisions with boards and/or management teams and the lack of employees' acceptance. The professional implications of the research are discussed at the end of the paper.

Do High-Performance Work Systems Really Satisfy Employees? Evidence from China

“…Furthermore, the results also show that negative affect caused by work intensification may consequently result in more negative work-related attitudes (i.e., job satisfaction) (Hypothesis 4). It reflects the critical views that HPWS-by motivating greater involvement and participation-may lead to added responsibilities and extra workloads to attain organizational financial outcomes at the expense of employee well-being [4,6,14,16,30,33,41]. Originally, the ultimate purpose of HPWS was for good people management to lead to better organizational performance [20].…”

“…Originally, the ultimate purpose of HPWS was for good people management to lead to better organizational performance [20]. In seeking cost-effectiveness, enterprises implementing HPWS may bring extra workload, work intensification, and stress that result in lower job satisfaction and even labor exploitation [8,10,[41][42][43]. Tensions between management and employees due to disappointing relationships and decreasing work-life quality may be detrimental to building harmonious workplaces for longer term development [41].…”

“…HR practitioners may encourage the transparency of systems, by adopting multiple communication mechanisms for feedback, seeking process, and better negotiation. Contemporary Chinese enterprises adopting practices such as job discretion and participatory decision-making may re-examine the application of Western-based HPWS, and their related positive and negative outcomes [13,41]. Management should relinquish power, encourage self-management, and empowerment in decision-making; while employees need to get used to having a voice, to prompting feedback, and to collaborative teamwork [8,44].…”

Effect of Stakeholders-Oriented Behavior on the Performance of Sustainable Business

“…In fact, the literature [18][19][20][21] recommends that organizations are managed to satisfy the demands of a broad group of stakeholders. Indeed, stakeholder theory supports the direct association between integrated corporate social responsibility (CSR) actions and organizational performance [22][23][24].…”

“…Satisfying stakeholder concerns should contribute to achieving traditional organizational goals, namely profitability, stability, and growth [23]. Therefore, the appropriate management of diverse stakeholder expectations is key for successful business [13].…”