Antecedents and outcomes of enabling HR practices: The paradox of consistency and flexibility

Article


Pak, J., Heidarian Ghaleh, H., Ma, Z. and Akhtar, M. N. 2024. Antecedents and outcomes of enabling HR practices: The paradox of consistency and flexibility. Human Resource Management Journal. In Press. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12571
AuthorsPak, J., Heidarian Ghaleh, H., Ma, Z. and Akhtar, M. N.
Abstract

Reconciling competing demands for consistent HR implementation and providing individualized supervisor support to employees has always been a challenge in strategic human resource management. Given that there is burgeoning evidence that frontline managers (FLMs) are at the center of HR implementation, we examine how the organization helps FLMs reconcile demands for consistent HR implementation and deliver individualized support to those under their supervision. With the data from 181 FLMs and 311 employees reported to these FLMs, we find that FLMs' perceived enabling HR practices mediate the relationship between high-performance work systems and FLMs' willingness to be flexible (WTBF). Furthermore, WTBF mediates the relationship between FLMs' perceived enabling HR practices and consistent HR implementation and between FLMs' perceived enabling HR practices and employees' individualized support. Our study offers new insights by highlighting that an effective HR system is not merely improving FLMs' HR competency and knowledge but capturing FLMs' WTBF in carrying on a broad range of HR tasks. Furthermore, our study provides an expanded and novel understanding that FLMs will likely face two opposite HR tasks that coexist and should be dealt with simultaneously as a pair. We then discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings and suggest future research directions.

KeywordsAMO (ability, motivation and opportunity); FLMs (frontline managers); HPWS (high-performance work systems); SHRM (strategic human resource management); WTBF (willingness to be flexible)
JournalHuman Resource Management Journal
Journal citationIn Press
ISSN0954-5395
Year2024
PublisherJohn Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Accepted author manuscript
License
File Access Level
Repository staff only
Publisher's version
License
File Access Level
Anyone
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12571
Publication dates
Print23 Aug 2024
Publication process dates
Accepted08 Aug 2024
Deposited27 Aug 2024
FunderShenzhen City
Odette School of Business, University of Windsor
Copyright holder© 2024, The Author(s)
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