Knowledge that Transforms

Work–family programs signal an employer's perspective on gender diversity to employees, and can influence whether the effects of diversity on performance are positive or negative. This article tests the interactive effects of nonmanagement gender diversity and work–family programs on productivity, and management gender diversity and work–family programs on financial performance. The predictions were tested in 198 Australian publicly listed organizations using primary (survey) and secondary (publicly available) data based on a two‐year time lag between diversity and performance. The findings indicate that nonmanagement gender diversity leads to higher productivity in organizations with many work–family programs, and management gender diversity leads to lower financial performance in organizations with few work–family programs. The results suggest different business cases at nonmanagement and management levels for the adoption of work–family programs in gender‐diverse organizations.

In this study, we examine the cross-cultural differences in human resource (HR) managers’ beliefs in effective HR practices by surveying HR practitioners in Finland (N = 86), South Korea (N = 147), and Spain (N = 196). Similar to previous studies from the United States, the Netherlands, and Australia, there are large discrepancies between HR practitioner beliefs and research findings, particularly in the area of staffing. In addition, we find that interpersonal-oriented aspects of HR practices tend to be more culturally bound than technical-oriented aspects of HR practices. We interpret the differences using Hofstede's cultural dimensions (Power Distance, Individualism versus Collectivism, Masculinity versus Femininity, Long-Term Orientation versus Short-Term Orientation, and Uncertainty Avoidance). We discuss the overall nature of the science-practice gap in HR management, and the implications for evidence-based management.

A scenario study was conducted to determine the impact of identity congruence on selection decisions. Participants were provided identical resumes for either Alejandro or Consuela followed by information from reference checks. Hypotheses were developed to test the impact of finding out information that called into question the Latino/a identity of the applicants. Results were strongest for gender and, consistent with the study's hypotheses, participants favored Alejandro prior to the reference check information. The results also demonstrated the importance of conducting reference checks as the evaluations between the applicants were equalized once the additional information was provided.

This study examined the predictive value of multisource ratings of managerial competencies for managerial and organizational effectiveness. Data from 155 subordinates, 59 peers, and 28 supervisors were gathered in order to provide insight into their perceptions on managerial competencies for their managers. With regard to the outcome variable (i.e., effectiveness), both individual‐level (subordinates’, peers’, and supervisors’ ratings of managers) and organizational‐level (Balanced Scorecard) measures were used. As expected, subordinates, peers, and supervisors have distinct perspectives on the managerial competencies that are relevant for effectiveness. Moreover, the specific managerial competencies differ in terms of their predictive validity respectively for managerial and organizational effectiveness. The outcomes of our study suggest that a multisource and multimethod approach is valuable in assessing both managerial competencies and managerial and organizational effectiveness. Several implications for human resource management practices are discussed.

We examine the impact of the cross‐border acquisitions made by firms from emerging markets on employee productivity and employment growth. The literature suggests that cross‐border acquisitions enable emerging market firms to obtain new skills and knowledge‐intensive assets, which, in turn, may increase productivity. However, our empirical analysis suggests that cross‐border acquisitions reduce employee productivity and have a limited impact on employment growth. Moreover, we find that cross‐border acquisitions in less‐developed countries and in culturally distinct countries reduce productivity. Overall, our findings cast doubt on the idea that cross‐border acquisitions enable emerging market firms to improve the productivity of one of their most important resources—namely, their human capital.

Top executives hold positions that convey power, prestige, and competence as predicted by status characteristics theory. Nevertheless, the impressions generated through this status characteristic may be vulnerable when executives also possess characteristics that reflect a devalued social identity, such as obesity. Data from health examinations and multisource evaluation surveys of 757 CEOs, vice presidents, and upper managers suggest that the observable cue of umbilical waist circumference is negatively associated with evaluations of leaders across hierarchical levels, even after controlling for Body Mass Index, physical activity, personality, and demographic characteristics. Thus, hierarchically based status characteristics are insufficient in overcoming the stigma of obesity: even CEOs are subject to the pernicious effects of obesity stigma.

We examine the relationship between agent ( CEO ) risk bearing and the quality of executive risk‐taking outcomes, by examining the contingency effect of CEO perceived firm efficacy. In doing so, we extend the behavioral agency model ( BAM ) beyond predictions of risk magnitude to examining how CEO risk‐taking outcomes differ qualitatively in response to risk bearing. We argue that CEO risk bearing (due to stock options or cash compensation) will positively influence performance outcomes in the presence of higher perceived firm efficacy. However, this positive influence reverses when efficacy is lower. We demonstrate the utility of firm efficacy in exploring the effect of agent risk bearing on performance outcomes and provide the insight that the CEO pay‐performance relationship is influenced by the CEO ’s perception of firm efficacy.

Although staffing decisions are typically conceptualized as motivated by the desire to select the best employees, many managers and human resources practitioners may be more concerned with avoiding bad hires. Regulatory focus theory provides a rich and well-developed framework for understanding how prevention and promotion orientations shape judgments and decisions. This work is the first to examine this theory's implications for understanding staffing, and it illustrates how these fundamental underlying motivations alter the salience of costs and benefits associated with staffing practices, as well as subjective judgments about individual applicants. Regulatory focus is a function of situational factors as well as individual differences, and predominant motivational orientations also vary with business cycles. This model therefore offers broad cross-level explanatory power for understanding dynamic factors influencing staffing, as well as a novel perspective on ways to improve the quality of staffing decision making.

Despite progress in the development of leadership development models over recent years, these models fail to account for the differentiation in leadership training and development ( LTD ) practices found between organizations. We conducted an exploratory, multiple case study of formal leadership training and development in 10 organizations, in different business sectors in the United Kingdom. We show that the strategic focus of LTD was shaped by the business goals pursued by these 10 organizations. We also found the strategic focus of LTD to be a broad contingency factor differentiated by level of impact, which then influenced the pattern of LTD delivery. The findings offer support for a contingency perspective in explaining how leadership training and development is configured in differing organizational contexts.

The phenomenon of emerging‐market organizations appointing foreign executives from distant cultural contexts to headquarters positions has stirred public and academic interest. Emerging giants, aspiring multinationals, and even local organizations that focus entirely on domestic markets have joined the global hunt for management talent. This article reports why foreign executives from significant cultural distance are appointed to local headquarters positions, what they contribute, and why these positions are not filled with local executives. Data are sourced from in‐depth interviews with two sample groups in organizations founded and headquartered in Malaysia (46 foreign executives from 13 countries and 25 host‐country peers from three local ethnocultural groups). Triangulation of dyadic data from these two sample groups reveals a dichotomy between the initial reasons for which foreign executives are appointed and the continued reasons why some of these executives remain in their positions.