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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to study the human resource management (HRM)–performance linkage by exploring alternative relationships between different HRM practices, categorised as either calculative or collaborative, and employee turnover and organisational and financial outcomes, in Uruguayan multinational companies (MNCs) and domestic companies, to better understand the implications of the Latin American context in this relationship.Design/methodology/approachThe study is performed at the firm level, using data from a representative sample of 274 firms, including both multinationals and locally owned firms in Uruguay, collected through the Cranet 2009 survey. The authors tested the hypotheses of the proposed model using structural equation modelling (SEM) and hierarchical multiple regression analysis.FindingsEmpirical results show that collaborative HRM practices are significantly related to lower employee turnover rates, whereas calculative HRM practices are significantly associated with higher organisational and financial outcomes. These findings show the importance of the Latin American context in the relationships between HRM practices and firms’ outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsThe use of survey data with single respondents might produce reliability problems. Additionally, the data used are cross-sectional, making it difficult to determine causality.Practical implicationsManagers in MNCs and local firms in the context of developing economies and Latin American cultures must be aware that different types of HRM practices will influence different outputs and impacts on overall outcomes.Originality/valueThe paper examines the extent to which HRM practices have a significant relationship with firm performance. In addition, it identifies the differential effects of calculative and collaborative HRM practices on performance, using data from a Latin American contextual setting rarely examined, in order to determine similarities and differences from results obtained in US and European contexts.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore varieties of capitalism (VoC) as a moderator of the effect of: the strategic HR function role; and the level of union presence on the adoption of different human resource management (HRM) practices categorized as either person-centered or performance-centered.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use data on both multinationals and locally owned firms from 14 OECD countries, collected through the Cranet 2009 survey. The hypotheses of the proposed model were tested using hierarchical multiple regression analysis.FindingsEvidence shows that the strategic HR function is positively related to the adoption of both types of HRM practices, whereas higher levels of union presence inhibit the adoption of performance-centered practices and promote the adoption of person-centered practices. In addition, although VoC does not show any significant direct effects on HR practices, there is a moderating effect of VoC on the HR function role – HRM practices and union presence – HRM practices relationships.Research limitations/implicationsThe use of survey data with single respondents might produce reliability problems. Additionally, the data used are cross-sectional, which means that causality cannot be determined.Practical implicationsManagers in multinationals corporations and local firms must be aware of the distinct effects of the strategic HR function and trade union presence in different market economies. In particular, special attention must be paid when a firm expands globally, “outside the reach” of the national market economy or type of capitalism, and operates in different VoC.Originality/valueThe present paper contributes to better understanding the influence of VoC, not only on HRM practices, as in previous research, but also on the relationships between the HR function role and the level of union presence and the types of practices promoted.

Purpose– In the context of service exchanges, the purpose of this paper is to examine the form of the link from under-benefitting (customers receive less than they invest) vs over-benefitting (customers receive more than they invest) perceptions to customer service evaluations. The authors assess three competing hypotheses: maximization, fairness, and the asymmetric hypotheses.Design/methodology/approach– Linear and nonlinear relationships between under-over benefitting perceptions and service evaluations are examined following a test-retest approach. These relationships are investigated in four samples from two survey studies: hotels (Time 1,n=591; Time 2,n=512) and restaurants (Time 1,n=536; Time 2,n=473).Findings– Results confirmed the existence of asymmetrical curvilinear relationships. Service evaluations improve sharply when perceptions move from under-benefitting perceptions to balanced situations. However, service evaluations do not improve in high over-benefitting situations.Practical implications– The design of employee tasks and services should avoid both under-benefitting perceptions and a disproportionate maximization of customer benefits.Originality/value– Previous research studies have investigated these types of relationships by computing linear relationships or comparing different groups of customers. The current research tests the link from under-over benefitting perceptions to customer service evaluations by also considering nonlinear relationships. This approach supports an asymmetrical curvilinear relationship that captures the complexity of service exchanges.

PurposeThe present study aims to analyze the role of the appraisal of stressors as harmful and threatening (distress) and/or as opportunities and challenges (eustress) in inducing negative (burnout) and positive (engagement) effects. It compares appraisal of occupational stressors in Poland and Spain and looks for differences between these countries in the associations between different types of appraisals and their positive and negative outcomes.Design/methodology/approachThe study analyzes the equivalence of relations across cultures by constraining structural equation models to be equivalent across the Spanish (n=603) and Polish (n=147) data sets of social care services employees. Multigroup analysis was used to test the invariance of the model for the two samples.FindingsThe results showed that the constrained model is robust, stable and invariant across the Spanish and Polish samples, which means that the structural properties of the model do not differ between the two countries. Also, Spanish and Polish workers obtain similar average results on the levels of the appraisals of distress and eustress. Polish social workers have a significantly higher level of burnout and a significantly lower level of work engagement than Spanish employees.Practical implicationsThe confirmation that in both countries eustress has beneficial outcomes on psychological health in the form of work engagement suggests that employees should be taught to perceive work in a more positive way to increase work engagement. The roles that leadership and cultural factors play in this process need to be taken into consideration. Cross‐cultural comparisons of stress are especially relevant for expatriates and for managers in charge of multicultural teams.Originality/valueThe study goes beyond a mere comparison of general stress levels across countries or the relationship between the appraisal of distress and burnout, and it takes into account both negative and positive appraisals of stressors, as well as the strength of their relationships with their outcomes.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between both job insecurity and fairness and employees' attitudes (job satisfaction, organisational commitment and turnover intention). Moreover, of even greater interest, it aims to test whether fairness mitigates the negative correlates associated with job insecurity.Design/methodology/approachThe aproach takes the form of a cross‐sectional study based on self‐reported data. The sample was composed of 697 employees from a Spanish public organisation.FindingsThe findings showed that job insecurity is detrimental to employees' attitudes, whereas fairness is beneficial. Moreover, the results showed the negative correlates of job insecurity to be less strong in the presence of fairness.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, this is a cross‐sectional study, and therefore no causal relationships can be assumed. Second, the study is based on self‐reported data, which could lead to common variance source and method problems.Practical implicationsJob insecurity is a widespread concern in contemporary societies. Thus, research on how to palliate its negative correlates is valued. This study suggests fairness judgements might buffer the negative correlates associated with job insecurity.Originality/valuePrevious research has shown job insecurity to be detrimental to both individuals and organisations (e.g. job satisfaction, organisational commitment and turnover intention). Nonetheless, differences observed across studies in the strength of these relationships suggest the presence of moderating factors. The study provides evidence on the moderating role of fairness judgements.

PurposeThis introductory paper aims to provide a contextualization of recent research and applications on work team effectiveness in organizational contexts carried out in Spain and Portugal and to describe connections between this research and the main trends in the international scene.Design/methodology/approachSince the 1990s, new occupational and organizational realities have deepened scientific interest in work teams in both Spain and Portugal. A range of recently published (1992‐2004) works in this area are reviewed. The selected sources are papers published in Spanish, Portuguese and international journals.FindingsReviewing this work, four major trends are identified that synthesize the key concerns of researches in both countries: work teams and new information/communication technologies; intra‐ and inter‐group conflicts in organizational contexts; definition, dimensions and measurement criteria for work team effectiveness; and teams in innovation and change processes.Originality/valueThis paper fulfils a panoramic vision of this research area in both Spain and Portugal, and provides an overview of the papers included in this special issue and an outlook for the future.

PurposeTo analyze the direct and combined effects of the communication media and time pressure in group work on the affective responses of team members while performing intellective tasksDesign/methodology/approachA laboratory experiment was carried out with 124 subjects working in 31 groups. The task performed by the groups was an intellective one. A 2 × 3 factorial design with three media (face‐to‐face, video‐conference, and e‐mail) and time pressure (with and without time pressure) was used to determine the direct and combined effects of these two variables on group members' satisfaction with the process and with the results, and on members' commitment with the decision.FindingsResults show a direct effect of communication media on satisfaction with the process, which confirms the prediction of the media‐task fit model, and a negative effect of time pressure on satisfaction with group results and commitment to those results. Most interestingly, the interaction effects for the three dependent variables are significant and show that the most deleterious effects of time pressure are produced in groups working face‐to‐face, while groups mediated by video‐conference improve their affective responses under time pressure.Research limitations/implicationsSome limitations are the use of a student sample, so generalizability of the findings is limited, and the use of only one task type.Practical implicationsIt can help one to know how to design work to improve satisfaction and implication of workers.Originality/valueThis paper shows some innovations as the combined effects of media and time pressure, controlling for the task type on group members' affective responses to their work and achievements.

The literature shows a paradox in the understanding of the relationship between structural complexity (defined as the diversity of services offered by an organization) and customer satisfaction. Structural complexity tends to be a popular strategy designed to satisfy different customer needs. However, a negative relationship between structural complexity and customer satisfaction has also been argued. Based on the research on the public versus private distinction, this paper proposes that type of ownership is associated with the paradox mentioned, moderating the relationship between structural complexity and customer satisfaction. The authors tested this hypothesis using a sample of 60 managers and 897 customers of service organizations. The results indicated that as structural complexity increases, public organizations are less able to maintain customer satisfaction than private organizations. Ownership appeared to be an important contingency factor in understanding the paradoxical relationship between service structural complexity and customer satisfaction.

Most studies of conflict handling styles in organizations analyze these styles separately. These studies assume that individuals are oriented towards the use of one of the styles of conflict management. As a result, different styles are compared one by one as if they were independent. In contrast, from a more all‐embracing perspective people are seen as adopting configurations of styles. The interest in this alternative perspective lies in exploring the relations between these styles, how they combine and form patterns of conflict styles. This article presents an exploratory study that seeks to identify empirically the specific combinations of conflict handling styles that result in differentiated patterns within groups of managers. By using hierarchical and non‐hierarchical cluster analyses of a sample of managers, different patterns of conflict management were identified. The effectiveness of each of the resulting patterns was analyzed in terms of its influence on the parties' joint substantive outcomes and their mutual relationship. Results show that patterns using multiple conflict handling styles were more effective than patterns based on a single style.