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This article challenges the conventional wisdom that high commitment human resource practices cannot yield a competitive advantage when applied to a workforce comprised of contract workers. We situate this study in an emerging form of non-standard work, the online gig economy. Drawing on the multi-sided markets literature and theory in strategic human resource management, this article explores how platform companies' economic model enables novel ways that high commitment HR practices can lead to valuable worker behaviors. Specifically, we focus on one important behavior: workers' simultaneous use of a rival platform, a practice known as multi-homing. Drawing on original qualitative and quantitative data from the ride-hail industry, we examine whether the introduction of high commitment HR practices reduces gig workers' tendency to multi-home. The article concludes by discussing the possibility of a "high road" gig economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We address the meeting's Theme of "Putting the Worker Front and Center" by reporting on and discussing research of the "Worker Empowerment Research Network". We focus on surveys of employees in five industries and explore how the upsurge in worker organizing and activism in the US is evolving and whether it will be just a temporary "flash in the pan" or a transformational moment for restoring worker voice, power, and representation. We will suggest directions for future research and invite AOM members to take up these issues and participate in this new research network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on organizational theory, agency theory, and research in strategic human resource management, this study explores how chain affiliation and ownership incentives influence human resource investments and organizational outcomes. Specifically, we posit that chain-affiliated units will make greater investments than non-affiliated units in those areas of the human resource system where chains establish superior organizational routines. In contrast, we argue that in the absence of chain routines, ownership incentives and the desire to maximize profits will lead chain-affiliated units to focus more on cost reduction by underinvesting in human resource practices compared to non-affiliated units. We also explore the relationship between different human resource investments and a range of organizational outcomes. We test and find evidence for our hypotheses using unique establishment-level survey data from franchisee-owned and independently-owned restaurants and matched customer satisfaction data from Yelp.com. Our results highlight the types of human resource practices that are important for service work and suggest that the provision of organizational routines can have important implications for the long-run success of chains and their units. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growth and significance of franchising in today's economy, we know very little about how human resource systems are managed in franchised operations, especially compared to similar company-owned and managed operations in franchise businesses. This study examines the management practices of franchise businesses in one of the most highly franchised industries in the U.S., the hotel industry, exploring the ways in which human resource systems are managed across ownership forms and paying particular attention to the level of corporate (franchisor) involvement in the management of these systems. The results of a matched-pair case study comparison of a franchisee-owned hotel and a company-managed hotel operating under the same parent company reveal significant differences in the management of human resource systems across ownership forms. While corporate provides franchisees with methods of operation and ongoing support, this does not extend to matters of employment. With the exception of training, human resource practices are decentralized to, and at the discretion of, the franchisee. In contrast, corporate has a high level of involvement in all aspects of the company-managed hotel's human resource system. Three potential explanations, and their implications, for the observed differences in the management of human resource systems across franchised and company operations are outlined: 1) franchisor fears over potential liability for the actions of its franchisees; 2) the classification of employment decisions as "tactical" rather than "strategic" in nature; and 3) the entrepreneurial nature of franchised operations. The study concludes with suggestions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]