Making sense of (mis)matched frames of reference: A dynamic cognitive theory of (in)stability in HR practices

Abstract

By returning to an old insight that frames of reference influence action, we theorize that actors’ frames influence their desired HR practices, and these practices will be stable if managers and employees share similar frames. When actors’ frames are mismatched, however, HR practices can violate employee expectations and trigger a sensemaking process, potentially leading to framing contests and conflict. We hypothesize predicted patterns of conflict and expected outcomes depending on the nature of the mismatched frames. Allowing for mismatched frames uniquely highlights the importance of recognizing managers’ and employees’ frames for understanding HR outcomes and conflicts observed in practice.

Is this workplace bullying? How ideas about conflict shape conflict management strategies

“…In this article, I expand our understanding of workplace bullying and conflict management by illustrating how frames of reference shape actors' understanding of bullying and their relationship with organizational dispute resolution. Extending the work of Budd et al (2022), I show how competing frames of reference about the employment relationship, in this case unitarist, pluralist and critical, shape how unions and management understand and address workplace bullying. In doing so, this article expands our understanding of conflict management and demonstrates how conflict management outcomes are grounded in actors' frames of reference.…”

“…In doing so, this article illustrates that conflict management systems are not only a product of the alignment of techniques or strategic application of these procedures (Lipsky et al, 2020), but that the frames of reference that individuals hold when interacting with these systems can influence how such systems are designed and used. Furthermore, those different understandings of bullying by unions and employers, and their respective responses to bullying, confirm that mismatched frames of reference can lead to the emergence of conflicts and different conflict management responses (Budd et al, 2022) and reinforce the existence of a link between an actor's frame of reference and their behaviours.…”

“…This conflict between CriticalLocalUnion's preferences and banks' internal mechanisms is another instance of mismatched frames of reference. As predicted by Budd et al (2022), employees' critical frame in combination with the employer's unitarist frame can lead employees to perceive companies' policies as union substitution strategies. In this case, banks would be substituting unions in their roles of independently investigating grievances by bank employees.…”

“…While previous research has focused on firms' strategic reasons for adopting different conflict management procedures, such as arbitration or mediation, emerging research suggests that frames of reference -that is how individuals perceive and understand the world -may play an important role in our understanding of workplace conflict. As suggested by Budd et al (2022), mismatched frames of reference, that is the fact that different actors in the employment relationship have different understandings of the employment relationship, can lead to the emergence of conflicts and different conflict management responses.…”

Ideas and power in employment relations studies

“…This form also applies to instances where business leaders and managers successfully frame trade unions as illegitimate actors that interfere with an otherwise consensual employment relationship (cf. Budd et al 2021).…”