TRAINING AND COMPANIES’ PERFORMANCE THROUGH THE LENS OF THE HIGH-PERFORMANCE PARADIGM: A CROSS-NATIONAL STUDY OF EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Öz

The high-performance paradigm approach to human resources management argues that the combination of human resources and work organization practices can boost individual and collective performance as well. Among those practices, knowledge is an important dimension in so far it prepares workers to be more participative and more autonomous. Although several studies look at the relation between high-performance systems and companies’ performance, there is still a lack of understanding of the importance and contribution of the training and development practices for companies’ performance, in the context of the high-performance paradigm. This paper’s aim is to contribute to this subject by looking at the differences between companies with and without training and development practices. Are the performance levels really different? To accomplish this goal, we develop a cross-national study of European countries, using data from the last European Company Survey (2009). The main conclusion is that there are differences between companies with and without training and development practices, having the former higher levels of performance than the latter.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• High-performance paradigm,Training and development,Company performance,Europe

Kaynakça

1. Appelbaum, E., & Batt, R. (1994) The new American workplace: transforming work systems in the United States. Ithaca, New York: ILR Press
2. Applebaum, E., Bailey, T., Berg, P., and Kalleberg, A. (2000) Manufacturing Advantage: Why high- performance work systems pay off, Ithaca: ILR Press
3. Beltrán-Martín, I.; Roca-Puig, V.; Escrig-Tena, A.; Bou-Llusar, J.C. (2008) Human Resource Flexibility as a Mediating Variable Between High Performance Work Systems and Performance, Journal of Management, 34(5), 1009-1044
4. Boxall, P., and Macky, K. (2007) High-performance work systems and organisational performance: bridging theory and practice, Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 45(3), 261-270.
5. Boxall, P., and Macky, K. (2009) Research and theory on high-performance work systems: progressing the high involvement stream. Human Resource Management Journal, 19(1), 3-23.
6. Brewster. C. (2007) Comparative HRM: European views and perspectives, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18(5), 769-787
7. Camps, J. & Luna-Arocas, R. (2009) High involvement work practices and firm performance, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20(5), 1056-1077
8. Cappelli, P., and Neumark, D. (2001) Do ‘high-performance’ work practices improve establishment level outcomes?, Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 54, 737–76.

9. Delaney, J.T., & Huselid, M.A. (1996) The impact of human resource management practices on perceptions of organisational performance, Academy of Management Journal, 39(4), 949-969.
10. Guerrero, S. & Barraud-Didier, V. (2004) High-involvement practices and performance of French firms, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 15(8), 1408-1423
11. Godard, J. (2004) A critical assessment of the high-performance paradigm. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 42(2), 349–378.
12. Guthrie, J.P., Spell, C.S., and Nyamori, R.O. (2002) Correlates and consequences of high involvement work practices: the role of competitive strategy, International Journal of Human Resource Management, 13(1), 183–197
13. Harley, B. (2002) Employee responses to High-Performance Work System Practices: an analysis of the AWIR95 data, The Journal of Industrial Relations, 44(3), 418-434
14. Harley, B., Allen, B.C., & Sargent, L.D. (2007) High performance work Systems and Employee Experience of Work in the Service Sector: the case of aged care. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 45(3), 607- 633.
15. Huselid, M. (1995) The impact of human resource management practices on turnover, productivity, and corporate financial performance. Academy of Management Journal, 38(3), 635-672.
16. Ichniowski, C.; Shaw, K.; Prennushi, G. (1997) The effects of human resources management practices on productivity: a study of steel finishing lines. The American Economic Review, 87(3), 291-313.
17. Kalmi, P. & Kauhanen, A. (2008) Workplace Innovations and Employee Outcomes: Evidence from Finland, Industrial Relations, 47(3), 430-459
18. Kintana, M.L.; Alonso, A.U. & Olaverri, C.G. (2006) High-performance work systems and firms' operational performance: the moderating role of technology, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 17(1), 70-85
19. Lawler, E. (1986) High-Involvement Management, New Jersey, Jossey-Bass
20. Lindbeck, A. & Snower, D. J. (2000). Multi-task learning and the reorganization of work: from tayloristic to holistic organization, Journal of Labour Economics, 18(3), 353-376
21. Pfeffer, J. (1998) The Human Equation: Building Profits by Putting People First, Boston: Harvard Business School Press
22. Ramsay, H, Scholarios, D., and Harley, B. (2000) Employees and High-Performance Work Systems: Testing inside the Black Box. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 38(4), 501-531.
23. Scotti, D.J.; Harmon, J. & Behson, S.J. (2007) Links Among High-Performance Work Environment, Service Quality, and Customer Satisfaction: An Extension to the Healthcare Sector, Journal of Healthcare Management, 52(2), 109-124
24. Swanson, R. (1995)Human resource development: performance is the key, Human Resource Development Quarterly, 6(2), 207-213
25. Tapia, I.; Correa, J.A; & Guthrie, J.P. (2009) High performance work systems and export performance, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 20(3), 633-653
26. Tomer, J.F. (2001). Understanding high-performance work systems: The joint contribution of economics and human resource management, Journal of Socio-Economics, 30, 63-73
27. Tsai, C. (2006) High performance work systems and organizational performance: an empirical study of Taiwan's semiconductor design firms, The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 17(9), 1512- 1530
28. Whitener, E.M. (2007) Do “high commitment” human resource practices affect employee commitment? A cross- level analysis using hierarchical linear modelling, Journal of Management, 27, 515-535
29. Yalabik, Chen, Lawler & Kim, (2008) High-Performance Work System and Organizational Turnover in East and Southeast Asian Countries, Industrial Relations, 47(1), 145-152
30. Zacharatos, A.; Barling, J. & Iverson, R.D. (2005) High-Performance Work Systems and Occupational Safety, Journal of Applied Psychology, 90(1), 77–93