Line management attributions for effective HRM implementation

Abstract

Purpose -Many HRM practices are never thoroughly implemented or are implemented ineffectively. To better understand what line managers need to implement HRM practices effectively, we have developed and validated a psychometrically sound measurement instrument dealing with line managers' attributions for effective HRM implementation. Based on the theory of causal attributions, we distinguish between internal and external attributions that determine how line managers implement HRM practices on the work floor.Design/methodology/approach -A multi-dimensional approach has been used and, after collecting data from 471 line managers, thorough scale development guidelines and validation procedures have been applied for instrument development. Findings -The instrument's psychometric qualities have been assessed by calculating the reliability and validity of line managers' internal attributionsincluding its composing dimensions of desire and competences -and their external attributionsincluding the dimensions of support, capacity and policy & procedures. In particular, both convergent and discriminant validity as well as intra-class correlations have been established. The newly developed measures are found to be of good quality. The scales appear to discriminate well between the distinguished groups and show a good variation within groups.Practical implications -The newly developed measurement instrument helps HRM professionals to better understand line managers' attributions to effectively implement HRM practices and to provide them with support and training for effective HRM implementation.Originality/value -Previous research has already identified weaknesses in HRM implementation, but lacked to address the causes of this. We present antecedents for HRM implementation effectiveness, based on the causal attribution theory, and present a psychometrically validated instrument to measure these antecedents.

Gender and job performance: linking the high performance work system with the ability–motivation–opportunity framework

“…Specifically, Heider proposed that sense-making is based around the attributions individuals ascribe to factors that are internal (for example, their ability or motivation) or external (for example, their work environment) to them. Some 60 years later, HRM studies still reference Heider's work in seeking to understand and explain workplace behaviour (for example, Bos-Nehles et al , 2019). This continued interest also reflects Heider's attributional foci mirroring the ability, motivation and opportunity elements commonly referenced in contemporary job performance frameworks (see Hewett et al (2018) for a review of attribution theory and HRM).…”

Line Managers’ Personality Traits Related to Effective Human Resource Management Implementation

“…Therefore, future researchers could examine the facet-level attributes, which may provide more insight into effective HRM implementation beyond the initial examination of this study. The effective HRM implementation measure consists of five domains (Desire, Competencies, Support, Capacity, and Policy and Procedures) (Bos-Nehles et al, 2020). Therefore, research examining correlations between the six HEXACO personality traits and each HRM domain could provide a more in-depth understanding of line managers' HRM implementation practices.…”

“…Bos-Nehles et al ( 2020) developed a psychometrical instrument to measure HRM implementation based upon internal and external line managers' attributions. Bos-Nehles et al (2020) considered the internal attributions of line managers, like desire, and the external attributions, like HR support. Personality traits have been measured for years through various instruments, like the Big Five or FFM (Ashton & Lee, 2007).…”

“…Bos-Nehles et al (2020) developed a psychometric measurement instrument to analyze line managers' attributions for effective HRM implementation. The survey consists of 44 items covering desire (motivation), competencies, support, capacity, and policy and procedures.…”

Victim or master of HRM implementation: the frontline manager conundrum

“…In recent decades, certain areas of the HRM literature have converged on a particular line of inquiry related to the focus of this article, a frontline management debate regarding the specific devolution and consequential enactment of human resource practices and policies at the point of production (Bos-Nehles et al 2020;Purcell and Hutchinson 2007;Vermeeren 2014). Calls for research in this area have come from empirical studies that have investigated the association between HRM and performance and found a chasm in theory and understanding.…”