Flexing to outperform: workforce differentiation, HR flexibility and firm performance
Abstract
Purpose
Resource orchestration theory proposes that firms need resources, capabilities, and horizontal and vertical alignment to achieve high performance. Thus, we investigate which combinations of horizontal fit of resources (commitment-based HR systems for managers and nonmanagers) and capabilities (HR flexibility) together with vertical fit with business strategy (innovation versus cost leadership strategies) relate to superior performance.
Design/methodology/approach
Our study is based on a sample of 113 Spanish firms from which we collected data on commitment-based HR systems for managers and nonmanagers, HR flexibility, business strategy and performance. We employ a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to analyze which configurations lead to firm performance.
Findings
The empirical analysis shows that both HR practices and policies (commitment-based HR systems) and HR capabilities (HR flexibility) need to be aligned for high performance. The path for performance is comprised of a combination of commitment-based HR systems for staff and HR flexibility and by the absence of an innovation strategy or commitment-based HR systems for managers, HR flexibility, and a cost leadership strategy. We also find four paths where performance relies on efficiently combining an innovation and cost leadership business strategy.
Originality/value
Our findings make three key contributions to the literature. First, we help elucidate multicausal relationships inside the black box of the “HR–performance” relationship for firm performance. Second, we study the vertical fit with business strategy by considering innovation and cost leadership strategies. Third, we analyze multicausal pathways, thus uncovering different combinations of resources and capabilities for performance.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the feedback from participants at the Academy of Management Conference, the International HRM Workshop and the EIASM Workshop on Strategic HR Management. We thank the editors and reviewers for their constructive feedback and the International IESE Foundation, IESE's Chair in Family Owned Business and Meta4-Cegid for their support. The third author acknowledges the support of the Spanish Ministry of Universities for funding her stay at IESE Business School (EST21/003304). This support was granted within the contract for University Teacher Training (FPU2019/00426).
Citation
Apascaritei, P., Elvira, M.M. and Rodríguez-García, M. (2024), "Flexing to outperform: workforce differentiation, HR flexibility and firm performance", International Journal of Manpower, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJM-02-2024-0146
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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