Human Resource Development Quarterly最新文献

Cumulative work experience is considered as a critical contributor to one's performance. However, Human Capital Theory and The Experience Trap propose seemingly contradictory perspectives regarding the work experience–performance relationship, and thereby calls for a means for integration. In this study, we investigated the relationship between cumulative experience and work performance using data generated from a comprehensive questionnaire and executive performance appraisals of 376 executives from a large business group in South Korea. By measuring work experience using multiple proxies (organizational tenure, executive tenure, and self-evaluated, cumulative work experience), we found that the association between experience and performance is not simply linear, but rather a curvilinear (inverted-U shaped). The time-lagged study design utilized across two time-points ensured the robustness of this finding. Interestingly, a closer look at the nature of the curvilinear relationship for organizational tenure and self-evaluated experience uncovered opposite trends, providing a multi-faceted understanding of the experience–performance relationship. Our findings challenge the conventional belief in the linear relationship between experience and performance, and call for a critical assessment of current human resources (HR) practices that heavily rely on work experience.

Employee mental health, and in particular, suicide risks, are things that managers often do not feel comfortable in addressing, leading to lack of knowledge, awareness, and support within an organization. The purpose of this research was to investigate the competencies required by managers to enable them to effectively address suicide risks arising with employees. Suicide-related ideations are thought to be characterized by experiences of burdensomeness and thwarted connectedness. Drawing on clinical, managerial, and adaptive performance competencies, we examined competencies related to creating meaningfulness (as a counter to burdensomeness) and addressing employee's need for relatedness (as a counter to thwarted connectedness) in terms of how managers assist employees presenting with suicide-related ideations in the workplace. To investigate this and develop a competency framework, we conducted qualitative interviews with 18 managers, drawing on existing interview protocols of critical incidents and behavioral event interviews for the elicitation of competencies. Competencies in adaptive performance (and particularly crisis management) emerged as important for facilitating managers’ interactions with employees who may present with suicidality. This research provides a first step in developing resources to equip managers with the necessary competencies that are needed to deal with employees experiencing suicide-related ideations (i.e. perceived burdensomeness and thwarted connectedness). The framework is also useful as an initial step to support human resource development (HRD) professionals develop interventions such as training and/or mentoring programs for managers to address this very important issue.

Lowering professional turnover is of paramount importance for professional service firms, as with each professional, crucial proprietary knowledge leaves the firm. Based on the need to retain this crucial knowledge in the firm, this study explores whether factors that drive learning at work also mitigate professionals' turnover behavior. Building on insights from both workplace learning and turnover research, this study follows 96 professional auditors across a period of 5 years to determine how drivers for workplace learning at the organizational, the social interaction, and the individual level relate to turnover behavior. Through survival analysis, we find that those auditors who experience a supportive learning climate at the organizational level were less likely to leave their firm and profession, while those who score high on individual-level reflection were more likely to leave their firm and profession. We also found that professionals scoring high on reflection leave more quickly when they perceive to work in an unsupportive learning climate—when they experience low synergy across workplace learning levels. Especially observable behaviors, such as providing help and feedback, discussing errors, and building trust, made a significant difference. This study adds to extant research in three principal ways: exploring actual turnover behavior, approaching turnover behavior through a lens of workplace learning, and analyzing interactions between individual-, social- and organizational-level learning. The findings of this study lead to specific insights for HRD practice.

Adopting human resource development (HRD) activities can lead to improved organizational outcomes, such as improved performance and innovation. However, while the implementation of HRD strategies is widespread, there are concerns that they have failed to support the learning and skill acquisition required to support both individual learning and improved organizational outcomes. Having established that HRD is a systems level issue, this paper applies Meadows's (2008) system traps to suggest that adopting this lens could explain why extensive HRD interventions have failed to deliver desired system outcomes. Qualitative data is analyzed to consider why HRD interventions fail to result in increased capability development in the Australian public sector. The findings demonstrate four system traps were present in HRD interventions, which help explain the ongoing failure of HRD interventions to support required learning or improve organizational performance: (1) shifting the burden to the intervenor; (2) seeking the wrong goal; (3) policy resistance; and (4) drift to low performance. We argue that the presence of these traps suggest that HRD subsystems will need to be reconceptualized for there to be a real improvement. To this end, we apply Meadows's (2008) suggestions to overcome the traps, identifying potential strategies for HRD practitioners to act as system intervenors. Our paper contributes to knowledge through focusing on a specific aspect of systems thinking to help explain why HRD intervention failure occurs.

This study presents a different perspective on multiplex developmental relationships encompassing both career and psychosocial functions by highlighting the unique contradictions and coping mechanisms underlying these relationships. The in-depth qualitative comparative case study analyses of 73 developmental relationships of 20 nascent technology entrepreneurs yielded four tensions: disclosure-privacy, dependence-independence, criticism-confirmation and formality-informality. Entrepreneurs and their developers addressed these tensions through four coping strategies: selection, moderation, reframing and separation. The exploratory analysis suggests that tensions are inherent features of developmental relationships. Co-existence of nurturing and enriching aspects together with the dilemmas posed by the tensions seems to provide the impetus for developers and developees to mutually calibrate ways to cope with these tensions and enhance their developmental relationships. The implications of these nuanced findings are discussed for understanding developmental relationships constituting both career and psychosocial support functions needed for career advancement.

This study examines the impact of a specific training intervention on both individual- and unit-level outcomes. We sought to examine the extent to which a training intervention incorporating key elements of error management training: (1) positively impacted sales specific self-efficacy beliefs of trainees; and (2) positively impacted unit-level sales growth over time. Results of an 11-week longitudinal field experiment across 19 stores in a national bakery chain indicated that the sales self-efficacy of trainees significantly increased between the levels they had 2 weeks before the intervention started and 4 weeks after it was initiated. Results based on a repeated measures ANOVA also indicated significantly higher sales performance in the intervention group compared with a non-intervention control group. We also sought to address the extent to which individual-level effects may be linked to the organizational level. We also provide evidence with respect to the extent to which changes in individual self-efficacy were associated with unit-level sales performance. Results confirmed this multi-level effect as evidenced by a moderate significant correlation between the average self-efficacy of the staff of each store and its sales performance across the weeks the intervention was in effect. The study contributes to the existing literature by providing direct evidence of the impact of an HRD intervention at multiple organizational levels.

Drawing from social exchange theory and conservation of resources theory, the present study examines the effects of empowering leadership on followers' innovative work behavior (IWB) and organizational deviance through two underlying psychological mechanisms: (a) by developing followers' trust in leader and (b) by lowering followers' emotional exhaustion. The model was tested using a sample of 343 full-time Indian managerial employees who completed surveys at two time points separated by an approximate 2-week interval. Results from structural equation modeling supported the hypothesized model, suggesting that empowering leadership elicited greater trust in the leader and lowered emotional exhaustion, both of which made followers engaged in more IWB and less organizational deviance. Together, these findings highlight the importance of both social exchange-based and resource-based underlying mechanisms explaining why empowering leadership promotes desirable and reduces undesirable work behaviors of followers. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

This research examines the social side of learning among professionals in the fast evolving and knowledge intense field of consultancy. Its first aim is to unravel social informal learning by proposing a new, integrated framework of workplace learning. Its second aim is to explore the role of learning climate for social informal learning behavior among consultants. Our qualitative inquiry using interviews based on the critical incident technique illustrates that consultants engaged in deliberative and reactive learning, thereby indicating a clear intention to learn. The source of learning was often the direct colleagues and direct supervisor, which highlights the relevance of close proximity of other individuals. The consultants mainly learned from others in a passive manner, followed by proactive and collaborative learning. Finally, this study shows that granting professionals responsibility and autonomy in their learning process as well as having a leader who facilitates learning are important elements of a learning climate that enhances social informal learning. We conclude with recommendations for organizations and directions for future research.

Should leaders pay more attention to values? The present study aims to examine and explain the associations of engaging leadership (EL) with employees' perceptions of the organization's values, need fulfillment, and employee engagement. EL is a recent leadership concept drawing on self-determination theory, specifically on the fulfillment of the basic psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. We expected EL to associate with employees perceiving the values of their organization as more intrinsic (e.g., care for others, contributing to making the world a better place, stimulating personal growth), which would satisfy employees' basic psychological needs and fuel work engagement, rather than as extrinsic (financial success, power, status). Study 1 detailed the model using a cross-sectional study design (N = 436), and, as expected, structural equation modeling identified a positive path from leadership to work engagement via perceived intrinsic organizational values and subsequent satisfaction of the need for autonomy. EL associated negatively with extrinsic organizational values. Study 2 corroborated outcomes of study 1 through a longitudinal study across three time-points (N = 69) in a cross-lagged panel model and found specific directionality from leadership to perceived intrinsic values. Implications for leadership and motivation are discussed.

This study examines the influence of supportive work and nonwork environment on employee self-development. We further propose that career self-efficacy and career motivation play mediating roles during the process. Cross-sectional survey data were provided by 418 employees working in a variety of organizations. Confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling analysis and bootstrap analyses were performed to investigate the hypothesized relationships. Results show that work support and nonwork support for development made unique contributions to employee self-development. The relationship between nonwork support for development and employee self-development is mediated by career self-efficacy and career motivation. The relationship between work support for development and employee self-development is mediated by career motivation. This research expands the support for development from work environment to a broader social environment and clarifies how both work and nonwork supportive environment are positively related to employee self-development. Finally, we discuss the practical implications for personnel selection and career development.