HRM practices in the publicservice: a measurement model

Gisela  Demo; Ana Carolina Rezende  Costa; Karla Veloso  Coura

doi:10.1108/RAUSP-01-2023-0005

Authors

Gisela Demo Graduate Program in Management – PPGA, University of Brasilia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1864-0471
Ana Carolina Rezende Costa Department of Planning, Budget, and Institutional Assessment – DPO, University of Brasilia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2078-3797
Karla Veloso Coura Graduate Program in Management – PPGA, University of Brasilia – UnB https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7302-0403

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1108/RAUSP-01-2023-0005

Keywords:

HRM practices, Measurement mode

Abstract

Purpose

Considering the significant increase in researchers’ interest in human resource management (HRM) in the public sector domain, this study aims to focus on producing a scale of HRM practices customized for the context of public organizations.

Design/methodology/approach

Experts and semantic analysis were performed for the scale development (qualitative stage), and exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis through structural equation modeling was conducted for the scale validation (quantitative stage).

Findings

The public HRM practices scale (public HRMPS) is composed of 19 items, distributed along four factors/dimensions, named training, development and education; relationship; work conditions; and competency and performance appraisal. The scale showed evidence of internal and construct validity (convergent, divergent, criterion-related and discriminant), as well as reliability and content validity.

Research limitations/implications

The public HRMPS can be applied in relational studies to test structural models of prediction, mediation and moderation to evaluate relationships with organizational behavior variables, such as leader-members exchange, engagement at work, life quality at work and well-being at work, among others.

Practical implications

The public HRMPS may also serve as a useful diagnostic tool for the decision-making process made by public managers so they can promote a strategic, evidence-based HRM. Furthermore, the transforming role of strategic HRM can be operationalized by adopting practices gathered in the public HRMPS, advancing toward new HRM strategies to promote healthier and more productive work environments.

Social implications

Healthier and more productive environments translate into real impacts for society, the first beneficiary of public services with more quality, efficiency and accountability.

Originality/value

The public HRMPS is the first attempt to produce an operationally valid and reliable measure to evaluate strategic HRM practices, responding to calls in the literature concerning the need for an integrated, comprehensive and customized HRM practices scale for the public service context.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Ahmed, I., Rehman, W. U., Ali, F., Ali, G., & Anwar, F. (2018). Predicting employee performance through organizational virtuousness: Mediation by affective well-being and work engagement. Journal of Management Development, 37(6), 493–502, doi: 10.1108/jmd-04-2017-0115.

Aktar, A., & Pangil, F. (2018). The mediating role of organizational commitment in the relationship between human resource management practices and employee engagement: Does black box stage exist? International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 38(7-8), 606–636, doi: 10.1108/ijssp-08-2017-0097.

Al Damoe, F. M., Hamid, K., & Sharif, M. (2017). The mediating effect of organizational climate on the relationship between HRM practices and HR outcomes in the libyan public sector. Journal of Management Development, 36(5), 626–643, doi: 10.1108/JMD-04-2015-0055.

Araujo, M. C., Abbad, G. D. S., & Freitas, T. R. D. (2017). Avaliação qualitativa de treinamento. Revista Psicologia: Organizações e Trabalho, 17(3), 171–179, doi: 10.17652/rpot/2017.3.13089.

Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17(1), 99–120, doi: 10.1177/014920639101700108.

Bello-Pintado, A., & Garcés-Galdeano, L. (2019). Bundles of HRM practices in family and non-family firms: The impact on enhancing performance. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 30(21), 2971–2992, doi: 10.1080/09585192.2017.1391311.

Blom, R., Kruyen, P. M., Van der Heijden, B. I., & Van Thiel, S. (2018). One HRM fits all? A meta-analysis of the effects of HRM practices in the public, semipublic, and private sector. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 40(1), 3–35, doi: 10.1177/0734371x18773492.

Boon, C., Den Hartog, D. N., & Lepak, D. P. (2019). A systematic review of human resource management systems and their measurement. Journal of Management, 45(6), 2498–2537, doi: 10.1177/0149206318818718.

Boselie, P., Van Harten, J., & Veld, M. (2021). A human resource management review on public management and public administration research: Stop right there … before we go any further…. Public Management Review, 23(4), 483–500, doi: 10.1080/14719037.2019.1695880.

Boxall, P., & Purcell, J. (2016). Strategy and human resource management, 4th ed., London: Palgrave Macmillan, doi: 10.1007/978-1-137-40765-8.

P. F. J. P. Boxall, Purcell, Wright. (2007), The oxford handbook of human resource management, Oxford: Oxford Handbooks. (Eds.), doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199547029.001.0001.

Brakus, J. J., Schmitt, B. H., & Zarantonello, L. (2009). Brand experience: What is it? How is it measured? Does it affect loyalty? Journal of Marketing, 73(3), 52–68, doi: 10.1509/jmkg.73.3.52.

Buengeler, C., Leroy, H., & De Stobbeleir, K. (2018). How leaders shape the impact of HR’s diversity practices on employee inclusion. Human Resource Management Review, 28(3), 289–303, doi: 10.1016/j.hrmr.2018.02.005.

Byrne, B. M. (2016). Structural equation modeling with mplus: Basic concepts, applications, and programming, Oxfordshire: Routledge.

Chin, W. W. (1998). The partial least squares approach to structural equation modeling. Modern Methods for Business Research, 295(2), 295–336.

Cohen, J. (2016). A power primer. inA. E. Kazdin, Methodological issues and strategies in clinical research, American Psychological Association. (Ed.), 279–284, doi: 10.1037/14805-018.

Comrey, A. L., & Lee, H. B. (2013). A first course in factor analysis, 2nd ed., Hillsdale, NJ: Psychology Press, doi: 10.4324/9781315827506.

Constitution of Brazil. (1998/2001). “Constitution of Brazil”, 21st ed., São Paulo, Saraiva.

Cooke, F. L., Dickmann, M., & Parry, E. (2020). IJHRM after 30 years: Taking stock in times of COVID-19 and looking towards the future of HR research. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 31(1), 1–23, doi: 10.1080/09585192.2020.1833070.

Cooper, B., Wang, J., Bartram, T., & Cooke, F. L. (2019). Well‐being‐oriented human resource management practices and employee performance in the Chinese banking sector: The role of social climate and resilience. Human Resource Management, 58(1), 85–97, doi: 10.1002/hrm.21934.

Costa, A. C., Demo, G., & Paschoal, T. (2019). Do human resources policies and practices produce resilient public employees? Evidence of the validity of a structural model and measurement models. Review of Business Management, 21(1), 70–85, doi: 10.7819/rbgn.v21i1.3965.

Dello Russo, S., Mascia, D., & Morandi, F. (2018). Individual perceptions of HR practices, HRM strength and appropriateness of care: a meso, multilevel approach. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 29(2), 286–310, doi: 10.1080/09585192.2016.1165276.

Dello Russo, S., Mayrhofer, W., Caetano, A., & Passos, A. (2023). High-commitment HRM practices during the financial crisis in Portugal: Employees’ and HR perspectives. European Management Review, 1–16, doi: 10.1111/emre.12574.

Demo, G., Neiva, E. R., Nunes, I., & Rozzett, K. (2012). Human resources management policies and practices scale (HRMPPS): Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. BAR – Brazilian Administration Review, 9(4), 395–420, doi: 10.1590/s1807-76922012005000006.

Demo, G., Coura, K., Fogaça, N., Costa, A. C., Scussel, F., & Montezano, L. (2022). How are leadership, virtues, HRM practices, and citizenship related in organizations? Testing of mediation models in the light of positive organizational studies. Sustainability, 14(3), 1508, doi: 10.3390/su14031508.

Demo, G., Neiva, E. R., Nunes, I., & Rozzett, K. (2014). Políticas e práticas de recursos humanos. In M.M.M. Siqueira, Novas medidas do comportamento organizacional: Ferramentas de diagnóstico e de gestão. Porto Alegre: Artmed. (Org.), 240–245

Field, A. (2018). Descobrindo a estatística usando o SPSS, Porto Alegre: Artmed.

Ghauri, E. (2018). Performance evaluation of sales employees: a comparative investigation in the pharmaceutical industry. International Journal of Business Performance Management, 19(3), 253–279, doi: 10.1504/ijbpm.2018.092756.

Gomide, S., Jr, Vieira, L. E., & Oliveira, D. F. (2016). Percepção de virtudes morais organizacionais: evidências de validade de um instrumento de medida Para o contexto brasileiro. Revista Psicologia, Organizações e Trabalho, 16(3), 298–307, doi: 10.17652/rpot/2016.3.10417.

Gould-Williams, J. (2003). The importance of HR practices and workplace trust in achieving superior performance: a study of public-sector organizations. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 14(1), 28–54, doi: 10.1080/09585190210158501.

Guest, D. (1987). Human resource management and industrial relations. Journal of Management Studies, 24(5), 503–521, doi: 10.1111/j.1467-6486.1987.tb00460.x.

Guest, D. E. (2017). Human resource management and employee well-being: Towards a new analytic framework. Human Resource Management Journal, 27(1), 22–38, doi: 10.1111/1748-8583.12139.

Hair, J. F., Babin, B. J., Anderson, R. E., & Black, W. C. (2018). Multivariate data analysis, 8th ed., Boston: Cengage.

Hair, J., Hult, T., Ringle, C., & Sarstedt, M. (2014). A primer on partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Hayton, J. C., Allen, D. G., & Scarpello, V. (2004). Factor retention decisions in exploratory factor analysis: A tutorial on parallel analysis. Organizational Research Methods, 7(2), 191–205, doi: 10.1177/1094428104263675.

Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations, 2a ed., Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Huselid, M. A. (1995). The impact of human resource management practices on turnover, productivity, and corporate financial performance. Academy of Management Journal, 38(3), 635–672, doi: 10.5465/256741.

Iqbal, N., Ahmad, M., Raziq, M. M., & Borini, F. M. (2019). Linking e-HRM practices and organizational outcomes: Empirical analysis of line manager’s perception. Review of Business Management, 21(1), 48–69, doi: 10.7819/rbgn.v21i1.3964.

Kehoe, R. R., & Wright, P. M. (2013). The impact of high-performance human resource practices on employees’ attitudes and behaviors. Journal of Management, 39(2), 366–391, doi: 10.1177/0149206310365901.

Kerlinger, F. N., & Lee, H. B. (2008). Foundations of behavioral research, 5th ed., New York, NY: Holt Rinehart & Winston.

Kline, R. B. (2023). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling, 5th ed., New York, NY: Guilford Publications.

Knies, E., Leisink, P., & van de Schoot, R. (2020). People management: developing and testing a measurement scale. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 31(6), 705–737, doi: 10.1080/09585192.2017.1375963.

Lepak, D. P., Liao, H., Chung, Y., & Harden, E. E. (2006). A conceptual review of human resource management systems in strategic human resource management research. Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, 25(1), 217–271, doi: 10.1016/s0742-7301(06)25006-0.

Luo, X., & Chen, W. (2010). The concept and realization of organizational virtuousness. Proceedings of International Conference on Management Science and Engineering, Melbourne, Australia.

Martín-Alcázar, F., Romero-Fernández, P. M., & Sánchez-Gardey, G. (2005). Strategic human resource management: integrating the universalistic, contingent, configurational, and contextual perspectives. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16(5), 633–659, doi: 10.1080/09585190500082519.

Nunnally, J. C., & Bernstein, I. H. (1994). Psychometric theory (McGraw-Hill series in psychology, 3rd ed., New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Oikonomidou, M., & Konstantinidis, I. (2020). The effect of administrative actions on satisfaction of primary and secondary public-school principals. Journal of Contemporary Education, Theory & Research, 4(1), 21–27.

Oliveira, J. M., Estivalete, V. F. B., Andrade, T., & Costa, V. F. (2017). Gestão de pessoas e sustentabilidade: construindo caminhos por meio das práticas de capacitação. Revista de Administração da UFSM, 10(Ed. Especial), 108–126, doi: 10.5902/1983465924801.

Otoo, F. N. K. (2020). Measuring the impact of human resource management (HRM) practices on pharmaceutical industry’s effectiveness: the mediating role of employee competencies. Employee Relations: The International Journal, 42(6), doi: 10.1108/er-03-2019-0142.

Pfeffer, J. (2005). Producing sustainable competitive advantage through effective management of people. Academy of Management Perspectives, 19(4), 95–106, doi: 10.5465/ame.2005.19417910.

Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J.-Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: a critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903, doi: 10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879.

Prysmakova, P., Tantardini, M., & Potkański, T. (2019). The role of financial performance in motivating polish municipal employees. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 39(1), 75–105, doi: 10.1177/0734371x16685600.

Rainey, H. G., & Jung, C. S. (2010). Extending goal ambiguity research in government: from organizational goal ambiguity to programme goal ambiguity. In R. M. Walker, G. A. Boyne, G. A. Brewer, Public management and performance: Research directions.. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press. (Eds.), 34–59, doi: 10.1017/cbo9780511760587.002

Resende, S., & Neiva, E. R. (2021). Associations between people management practices and behavior in support of organizational change: a longitudinal study. Revista Psicologia Organizações e Trabalho, 21(4), 1792–1800, doi: 10.5935/rpot/2021.4.22119.

Salman, M., Saleem, I., & Ganie, S. A. (2023). Human resource management practices as antecedents of employee competencies: Empirical evidence from the banking industry. Management and Labour Studies, 48(3), 381–398, doi: 10.1177/0258042X221138362.

Sheehan, M. (2013). Human resource management and performance: Evidence from small and medium-sized firms. International Small Business Journal: Researching Entrepreneurship, 32(5), 545–570, doi: 10.1177/0266242612465454.

Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2019). Using multivariate statistics, 7th ed., San Francisco, CA: Allyn and Bacon.

Telles, C. R. (2023). Work sharing as a metric and productivity indicator for administrative workflows. International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management,)12(1/2), 6–28, doi: 10.1504/ijpspm.2023.132238.

Tiecher, B., & Diehl, L. (2017). Qualidade de vida no trabalho na percepção de bancários. Pensamento & Realidade, 32(1), 41–60.

Tinti, J. A., Venelli-Costa, L., Vieira, A. M., & Cappellozza, A. (2017). The impact of human resources policies and practices on organizational citizenship behaviors. Brazilian Business Review, 14(6), 636–653, doi: 10.15728/bbr.2017.14.6.6.

Van Esch, E., Wei, L. Q., & Chiang, F. F. T. (2016). High-performance human resource practices and firm performance: the mediating role of employees’ competencies and the moderating role of climate for creativity. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 29(10), 1–26, doi: 10.1080/09585192.2016.1206031.

Vermeeren, B. (2014). Variability in HRM implementation among line managers and its effect on performance: a 2-1-2 mediational multilevel approach. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25(22), 3039–30359, doi: 10.1080/09585192.2014.934891.

Winter, L. E., & Alf, A. M. (2019). A profissão do policial militar: vivências de prazer e sofrimento no trabalho. Revista Psicologia: Organizações e Trabalho, 19(3), 671–678, doi: 10.17652/rpot/2019.3.13214.

Wright, P. M., & Haggerty, J. J. (2005). Missing variables in theories of strategic human resource management: Time, cause, and individuals. Management Revu, 16(2), 164–173, doi: 10.5771/0935-9915-2005-2-164.

Wright, P. M., & Nishii, L. H. (2007). Strategic HRM and organizational behavior: Integrating multiple levels of analysis. CAHRS Working Paper Series. Paper 468.

Wu, W. L., & Lee, Y. C. (2017). Empowering group leaders encourages knowledge sharing: Integrating the social exchange theory and positive organizational behavior perspective. Journal of Knowledge Management, 21(2), 474–491, doi: 10.1108/jkm-08-2016-0318.

HRM practices in the publicservice: a measurement model

Authors

DOI:

Keywords:

Abstract

Downloads

References

Downloads

Published

Issue

Section

License

Language