THEME 1 - BLACK BOX DEBATE
Knowledge clip: black box debate
Central to SHRM: The idea that the adoption by organizations of a more
‘sophisticated’ set of HR practices covering key aspects of the management of
people in the workplace has a positive impact on organizational performance.
Examples: recruitment, training, performance management, and employee
involvement.
Black Box Debate: refers to the lack of clarity about the specific mechanisms
through which HR practices influence organizational performance. The term ‘black
box debate’ suggests an unseen process where HR inputs (training, recruitment)
enter, and improved performance outcomes.
> This search has also been characterized as the search for “The holy grail”.
Because until recently we knew little of what happens at this stage and the content of
these boxes remain somewhat unclear.
Main questions:
“How many boxes should we take into account” or “How many steps are involved in
the link between HRM and performance”
Three main theories:
1. Resource based view: this theory, proposed by Barney, argues that
organizations gain competitive advantage through unique resources. Boxall
extends this to suggest organizations benefit from ‘human capital advantage’
(exceptional talent) & ‘human process advantage’ (collaborative, unique
processes).
> The resource-based view is rooted in strategic management. The main question
is: “Why do some organizations outperform others?
*The resource-based view differs from the traditional strategy viewpoint in that it
examines resources within the organizations.
,Industrial organization view: argues that resources are considered homogeneous and
mobile, which implies that all of the organizations within an industry can develop or
get the resource they need to gain a competitive advantage.
Resource based view: argues that sustained competitive advantage can be achieved
more easily, by exploiting internal rather than external factors as compared to the
industrial organization view. Resources are heterogeneous and immobile, and
therefore they can be a source of competitive advantage.
Boxall (1996) RBV paradigm SHRM
Human resource advantage
1. Human capital advantage relates to organizations having a stock of
exceptional human talent. They have valuable knowledge, skills, abilities
which contain high quality and organization specific human capital.
2. Human process advantage, a functions of difficult to imitate, historically
evolved process within the organization, such as co-operation.
E.g. The Dutch woman soccer team, because the team consists of individual talents
that have exceptional skills that others don’t have, however with individual talents
only you not automatically a team. So the players need to work and practice together,
in such a way that they perform the best they can in order to get this human resource
advantage.
2. AMO framework: according to Appelbaum and colleagues, employees
perform best when they have the 1) ability, 2) motivation, and 3) opportunity to
excel. HR practices influence:
a. Ability through training. (= Human capital theory)
b. Motivation through rewards and career opportunities. (=Social exchange
theory)
c. Opportunity through involving employees in decision making. (=
Empowerment theory)
,Jiang et al., 2012
Skill enhancing HR practices are more positively related to human capital than
motivation- and opportunity- enhancing HR practices
Motivation- and opportunity- enhancing HR practices are more positively
related to motivation than skill enhancing HR practices.
3. HRM Process model: Wright and Nishii’s model highlights that the impact of
HR practices depends on how they are intended, implemented, and perceived.
Misalignment between these stages, such as managers not implementing
practices as intended, can affect performance outcomes.
Two main explanations for a disconnection between ‘actual’ and ‘perceived’
HRM
1. Differences in exposure to HR practices within the same occupational group
(e.g. LMX theory)
> So leaders of managers establish different social exchange relationships with
different workers. So, employees who have a high-quality relationship with their
supervisor might have the advantage, for example, having resources or more
training possibilities
2. Differences in perceptions of HR practices.
> So two employees interpret the same practice differently. Individual differences
may arise, for example, because of their past experiences with HR practices in
, different organizations and differences in people’s pre-employment experiences
influence their expectations about the employment.
PECCEI, R & VAN DE VOORDE, K. (2014)
Het onderzoek in het document richt zich op de relatie tussen HRM en de prestaties
van organisaties. Het benadrukt hoe HRM-praktijken de effectiviteit van een
organisatie kunnen beïnvloeden, afhankelijk van verschillende factoren en de
specifieke strategische doelen van de organisatie.
Conceptuele modellen:
a. Mutual Gains model: HRM heeft een positieve impact op zowel het welzijn van
werknemers als de prestaties van de organisatie
b. Conflicting outcomes Model: HRM kan de prestaties van de organisatie
verbeteren, maar mogelijk ten koste van het welzijn van werknemers.
CHADWICK, C., & FLINCHBAUGH, C. (2021)
Het onderzoek richt zich op strategische human resource management (SHRM) en
de relatie tussen HRM praktijken en de prestaties van bedrijven. De auteurs pleiten
voor een bredere benadering van SHRM, waarbij ze de beperkingen van het huidige
onderzoek naar High-performance work systems (HPWS) erkennen.
HPWS: verwijst naar een pakket van HR-praktijken die zijn ontworpen om de
prestaties van werknemers en organisaties te verbeteren
*het onderzoek pleit voor een bredere benadering die verder gaat dan HPWS
Different types of resources:
Organizational resources: like the structure and planning within the
organization
Physical resources: the plans and equipment within the organization
Human resources: the experience, intelligence, and relationship between
workers
*Potential factors for organizational advantage.
Each of these resources are potential sources for organizational success, and the
resource-based view perspective argues that organizations can build a competitive
advantage based on:
1. Valuable, means that organizations can deliver superior competitive results
2. Rare, means that there is a scarcity of a resource, so not many organizations
have it, because it is difficult to have
Knowledge clip: black box debate
Central to SHRM: The idea that the adoption by organizations of a more
‘sophisticated’ set of HR practices covering key aspects of the management of
people in the workplace has a positive impact on organizational performance.
Examples: recruitment, training, performance management, and employee
involvement.
Black Box Debate: refers to the lack of clarity about the specific mechanisms
through which HR practices influence organizational performance. The term ‘black
box debate’ suggests an unseen process where HR inputs (training, recruitment)
enter, and improved performance outcomes.
> This search has also been characterized as the search for “The holy grail”.
Because until recently we knew little of what happens at this stage and the content of
these boxes remain somewhat unclear.
Main questions:
“How many boxes should we take into account” or “How many steps are involved in
the link between HRM and performance”
Three main theories:
1. Resource based view: this theory, proposed by Barney, argues that
organizations gain competitive advantage through unique resources. Boxall
extends this to suggest organizations benefit from ‘human capital advantage’
(exceptional talent) & ‘human process advantage’ (collaborative, unique
processes).
> The resource-based view is rooted in strategic management. The main question
is: “Why do some organizations outperform others?
*The resource-based view differs from the traditional strategy viewpoint in that it
examines resources within the organizations.
,Industrial organization view: argues that resources are considered homogeneous and
mobile, which implies that all of the organizations within an industry can develop or
get the resource they need to gain a competitive advantage.
Resource based view: argues that sustained competitive advantage can be achieved
more easily, by exploiting internal rather than external factors as compared to the
industrial organization view. Resources are heterogeneous and immobile, and
therefore they can be a source of competitive advantage.
Boxall (1996) RBV paradigm SHRM
Human resource advantage
1. Human capital advantage relates to organizations having a stock of
exceptional human talent. They have valuable knowledge, skills, abilities
which contain high quality and organization specific human capital.
2. Human process advantage, a functions of difficult to imitate, historically
evolved process within the organization, such as co-operation.
E.g. The Dutch woman soccer team, because the team consists of individual talents
that have exceptional skills that others don’t have, however with individual talents
only you not automatically a team. So the players need to work and practice together,
in such a way that they perform the best they can in order to get this human resource
advantage.
2. AMO framework: according to Appelbaum and colleagues, employees
perform best when they have the 1) ability, 2) motivation, and 3) opportunity to
excel. HR practices influence:
a. Ability through training. (= Human capital theory)
b. Motivation through rewards and career opportunities. (=Social exchange
theory)
c. Opportunity through involving employees in decision making. (=
Empowerment theory)
,Jiang et al., 2012
Skill enhancing HR practices are more positively related to human capital than
motivation- and opportunity- enhancing HR practices
Motivation- and opportunity- enhancing HR practices are more positively
related to motivation than skill enhancing HR practices.
3. HRM Process model: Wright and Nishii’s model highlights that the impact of
HR practices depends on how they are intended, implemented, and perceived.
Misalignment between these stages, such as managers not implementing
practices as intended, can affect performance outcomes.
Two main explanations for a disconnection between ‘actual’ and ‘perceived’
HRM
1. Differences in exposure to HR practices within the same occupational group
(e.g. LMX theory)
> So leaders of managers establish different social exchange relationships with
different workers. So, employees who have a high-quality relationship with their
supervisor might have the advantage, for example, having resources or more
training possibilities
2. Differences in perceptions of HR practices.
> So two employees interpret the same practice differently. Individual differences
may arise, for example, because of their past experiences with HR practices in
, different organizations and differences in people’s pre-employment experiences
influence their expectations about the employment.
PECCEI, R & VAN DE VOORDE, K. (2014)
Het onderzoek in het document richt zich op de relatie tussen HRM en de prestaties
van organisaties. Het benadrukt hoe HRM-praktijken de effectiviteit van een
organisatie kunnen beïnvloeden, afhankelijk van verschillende factoren en de
specifieke strategische doelen van de organisatie.
Conceptuele modellen:
a. Mutual Gains model: HRM heeft een positieve impact op zowel het welzijn van
werknemers als de prestaties van de organisatie
b. Conflicting outcomes Model: HRM kan de prestaties van de organisatie
verbeteren, maar mogelijk ten koste van het welzijn van werknemers.
CHADWICK, C., & FLINCHBAUGH, C. (2021)
Het onderzoek richt zich op strategische human resource management (SHRM) en
de relatie tussen HRM praktijken en de prestaties van bedrijven. De auteurs pleiten
voor een bredere benadering van SHRM, waarbij ze de beperkingen van het huidige
onderzoek naar High-performance work systems (HPWS) erkennen.
HPWS: verwijst naar een pakket van HR-praktijken die zijn ontworpen om de
prestaties van werknemers en organisaties te verbeteren
*het onderzoek pleit voor een bredere benadering die verder gaat dan HPWS
Different types of resources:
Organizational resources: like the structure and planning within the
organization
Physical resources: the plans and equipment within the organization
Human resources: the experience, intelligence, and relationship between
workers
*Potential factors for organizational advantage.
Each of these resources are potential sources for organizational success, and the
resource-based view perspective argues that organizations can build a competitive
advantage based on:
1. Valuable, means that organizations can deliver superior competitive results
2. Rare, means that there is a scarcity of a resource, so not many organizations
have it, because it is difficult to have
