AsiaPacJManag(2013)30:7–29DOI10.1007/s10490-012-9290-z
Employeeperceptionsofmanagementrelationsasinfluencesonjobsatisfactionandquitintentions
StephenFrenkel&KarinSanders&TimBednall
Publishedonline:3April2012
#SpringerScience+BusinessMedia,LLC2012
AbstractInthispaperweusearelationalapproachtoinvestigatehowemployeeperceptionsoftheirrelationshipswiththreetypesofmanagers—senior,line,andhumanresourcemanagers—arerelatedtoemployees’jobsatisfactionandintentiontoquit.Basedonanemployeesurvey(n01,533),andmanagernetworkdata(n0140)intenorganizationsoperatinginAustralia,wefoundthattheextentofagreementbetweenemployees’perceptionsoftheirrelationswithseniorandlinemanagementwaspositivelyrelatedtotheseoutcomevariables.Inaddition,wefoundtheserelationshipswerestrengthenedinorganizationswhereHRandlinemanagersreportedhigh-frequencycommunicationbetweenthetwogroups.Implicationsofourfindingsarebrieflycanvassed.
KeywordsSeniormanagement.Linemanagement.HRmanagement.Jobsatisfaction.Intentiontoquit
Strategichumanresourcemanagement(SHRM)focusesonidentifyingwaystoencourageandharnessemployeecapabilitiestotheorganization’sstrategicgoals.TheorizingtherelationshipbetweenHR(humanresources)andperformancehasled
TheresearchreportedinthisarticlewasfundedbyanAustralianResearchCouncilLinkageGrant(LP0562132)includingsupportfromtheAustralianHumanResourceInstitute.ThankstoPaulGollan,RebekahEast,PaulaSaunders,andSuzanaTrajkovskiwhocontributedtothisprojectandtoYuchengEasonZhangforresearchassistance.
S.Frenkel(*):K.Sanders:T.Bednall
AustralianSchoolofBusiness,UniversityofNewSouthWales,Sydney2052,Australiae-mail:s.frenkel@unsw.edu.auT.Bednall
e-mail:tbednall@gmail.com
K.Sanders
FacultyofBehaviouralScience,TwenteUniversity,P.O.Box217,7500AEEnschede,Netherlandse-mail:k.sanders@unsw.edu.aue-mail:k.sanders@gw.utwente.nl
8S.Frenkeletal.
tothevoluminoussub-fieldknownashighperformanceworksystems(HPWS).AlthoughthereisnoconsensusontheexactmeasuresofHRpracticesthathavebeenfoundtocontributetoorganizationalperformance,numerousstudiesshowapositiverelationshipbetweenHPWSandorganizationalperformance(Becker&Gerhart,1996;Collins&Smith,2006;Combs,Liu,Hall,&Ketchen,2006;Delery&Doty,1996;Huselid,1995;Huselid&Becker,1996;Macky&Boxall,2007).Thekeyargumentisthatthesepracticesencourageemployeestobemoreproductivebyparticipatingindecision-making,improvingskills,and/orstrengtheningworkmoti-vation(Combsetal.,2006;Subramony,2009;Takeuchi,Wakabyashi,&Chen,2003).
MostHPWSresearchreliesonreportsofHRpracticesandperformancebymanage-mentrespondentsdespitetheassumptionthatitisemployeeswhocontributetoim-provedperformance.Acknowledgingthis,recentresearchhasbeguntopayattentiontoemployeeresponses(Kehoe&Wright2011;Li,Frenkel,&Sanders,2011;Nishii,Lepak,&Schneider,2008;Sanders,Dorenbosch,&DeReuver,2008;Takeuchi,Chen,&Lepak,2009),showingthatemployees’perceptionsofmanagementandassociatedattitudesandbehaviorvarieswithinandbetweenorganizationsandiscomplicatedbydifferentlevelsofmanagement(Kehoe&Wright,2011;Takeuchi,Lepak,Heli,&Takeuchi,2007).
TheSHRMparadigmmotivatingmostHPWSresearchhasthreenoteworthylimitations.First,itimplicitlyprivilegesasinglestakeholder—seniormanagement—whoareprimarilyconcernedwithstrategyandorganizationalperformance(VanBuren,Greenwood,&Sheehan,2011).Employeesareseensolelyorprimarilyfromtheperspectiveofmanagersformallyrepresentingshareholderinterests.Second,thereislimitedrecognitionthatmanagementisadifferentiatedcategorywithvaryinginterestsandagendasthatmaytakeprecedenceovertheformalgoalsoftheorgani-zation.Third,becauseHRpoliciesandpracticesareassumedtobecritical,socialrelationshipshavereceivedlimitedattention(Combsetal.,2006),asnotedbelow.ThishasresultedinunderestimatingtheroleofrelationshipsinestablishingandmaintainingeffectiveHRpractices.Inotherwords,thegapbetweenHRpolicyandHRpracticecannotbeclosedexceptthroughrelationshipsbasedoncommonunder-standingsamongmanagersandbetweenmanagementandemployees(Bowen,&Ostroff,2004).
Inthispaperwearguefromaperspectivethatgivesequalstatustoemployeesandseniormanagementascriticalstakeholders.Henceourfocusonjobsatisfaction,andintentiontoquit,outcomesthatareassociatedwithemployeewell-beingandemployeeperformance(Cropanzano,Rupp,&Byrne,2003;Halbesleben&Buckley,2004;Judge,Thoresen,Bono,&Patton,2001).Incontrasttotheresource-based,SHRMperspectivethatconcentratesmainlyonHRpoliciesandpractices,weadoptarelationalapproach,examininghowtheeffectsofrelationshipsbetweendifferenttypesofmanagement—strategic,operational,andHRspecialists—asperceivedbyemployees,influencejobsatisfactionandintentiontoquit.Insodoingweacknowl-edgeboththecontentofHRpracticesandthecommunicationprocessesthatinflu-enceemployees’perceptions.
Ourprimarycontributionistodemonstratethatemployeeperceptionsoftheirrelationshipswithvariousmanagementfunctionariessignificantlyimpactsemployeewell-being,andbyimplication,organizationalperformance,asindicatedbythe
Employeeperceptionsofmanagementrelationsasinfluenceson…9
outcomevariables.Inparticular,weshowthatwhereemployees’extentofagreementconcerningfavorabletreatmentbysenior(strategic)managementandline(opera-tional)management,employeeswillexperiencehigherjobsatisfactionandbelessinclinedtoquit.Inotherwords,thegreatertheextentofcongruenceofemployeeperceptionsthatthesetwoimportantcategoriesofmanagementaretreatingemploy-eesinasimilar,favorableway,themorelikelyemployeesaretoenjoytheirworkandprefertoremainwiththeirpresentemployer.Inaddition,weexpectthattheserelationshipswillbestrongerwhereemployees’perceivethatHRmanagersareprovidingconsiderablesupporttolinemanagementratherthanwheresupportislimitedorabsent.Furthermore,weshowthatmoresocialinteractionbetweenHRandlinemanagersstrengthenstherelationshipbetweenextentofagreementregardingemployeeperceptionsoftheirrelationswithseniorandlinemanagementandtheoutcomes—jobsatisfactionandintentiontoquit.