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The principal aim of this research has been to discover what perception Spanish managers have of the organizational contexts in which they work and, in particular, in what way they consider that these conform with the characteristics of a continuously learning organization.

Data were collected in accordance with the questionnaire of Pedler. The questionnaire was completed anonymously.

Organizational environments in what used to be state monopolies do not yet conform with the conditions that define a continuously learning organization. The greatest number of individual differences with respect to the perception of whether the organization is a learning organization are concentrated in individual variables such as age and professional level.

The main intention has been to learn more about a specific real situation, in order to gain the capacity to understand what is occurring. It has been considered that in the future this line of research could be continued by repeating the analysis in organizational contexts that are different from the one analyzed here.

Although the organizational environment does not have the characteristics of a “continuously learning organization”, the managers consider that they wish to end their working life in it.

In the future, it will be possible to evaluate the impact that certain strategic plans may have on workers and vice versa, since issues related to human factors may have an influence on the strategic actions of companies.

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the role of emotional and social intelligence in family business leaders and how it can lead to a shared vision and dramatic increase in success of a family business.

Single organization case study interpreted through Intentional Change Theory.

Using emotional and social intelligence, two fifth‐generation family business members inspired others by building resonant relationships with them. They created a shared vision among the various stakeholders in the family, the organization and the community. They got others excited about the vision using positive, emotional contagion. The contagion and resonance spread to others in the family, organization, and region.

Although a case study, the implications for future research are to focus on the shared vision or lack thereof in family businesses, focus on resonant leadership, and multi‐level leadership.

Visionary leadership, with emotional intelligence (EI) and resonance can inspire renewal in organizations, families and regions.

Research on the power of vision and EI to transform businesses is emerging, but none of it has focused on family businesses, and in particular, multi‐generational ones. This paper shows how such leadership can transform a family, its business, and a region.

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to show that HRM is not the sole responsibility of HR departments, but also of other agents inside and outside the organisation, such as top and line managers, and external HRM service providers. This paper seeks to examine how organisations distribute HRM activities and responsibilities among these agents. The study attempts to classify organisations according to agent distribution and to explore whether a number of internal and external context characteristics affect this distribution. Design/methodology/approach – The survey in the paper shows the methodology chosen in order to collect and analyse factual data about the participation of different agents in HRM activities and the characteristics of the organisations and their context. The questionnaire obtained a valid sample of 231 Spanish companies. A multiple correspondence analysis approach was taken in order to cluster the organisations. Findings – The analysis of the data in this paper clearly produced seven groups, each involving organisations that allocated responsibilities to the various agents in a similar fashion. However, no common contextual characteristics were found among the companies in each of the seven categories. Research limitations/implications – The main limitations in the paper are related to the length of the questionnaire, the adequacy of the respondents related to the unit of observation; and the relative newness of the techniques used. Originality/value – The main contribution of the paper consists of the incorporation of existing partial areas of study in the field of HRM (roles of the HR department, devolution to line management, and outsourcing of the HR function) into an integrated study.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to introduce the special issue, which brings together five papers exploring the changing anatomy of HRM at organisational level. Design/methodology/approach – This overarching paper briefly contextualises the theme and introduces the five selected empirical papers. Findings – The findings in this paper vary according to the core theme of each of the five contributions. The first paper highlights whether the mix of distributed HR activities between the HR department and internal/external agents may be understood to be less a product of contextual influences and more a matter of corporate choice. The second paper establishes that role dissonance is a very real issue for middle managers with HR responsibilities. The third paper unearths the complexities and challenges involved in changing existing HRM procedures and practices in a post‐merger scenario. The fourth paper provides an understanding of the management of human resource supply chains and outlines five, empirically derived, generic models of HR outsourcing. The final paper finds that human resource IT diffusion and take‐up is primarily fuelled by interpersonal communication and network interactions among potential adopters. Originality/value – Combined, the papers offer insights on the changing anatomy of the HRM function against the backdrop of a dynamic contemporary organisational landscape and showcase cross‐national research on the theme.

Describes an ongoing research project investigating how human resource strategies are conceived, designed and implemented in organizations as perceived by the managers involved. Data has been gathered using questionnaires completed by 723 managers studying the Open University MBA, over a five‐year period. The evidence shows most HR changes are organization wide and are intended to enhance organizational performance and support the achievement of primary business objectives. Whereas there is clear board level involvement at the initiation and planning stages, the responsibility for implementation is unclear. This absence of clarity, together with the citing of poor communications as the main reason for the failure of change initiatives, raises a number of questions about leadership, vision and direction, which are considered. The evaluation of the initiative is shown to be a difficult area, often involving inappropriate criteria and is perceived as having few links with the business strategy. From the perspective of their managers, it appears that organizations are still not effective in managing HR change and continue to make the same mistakes, despite the theories and prescription available in the literature.