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1 – 10 of 36Marco Maatman and Jeroen Meijerink
HR shared service centers (SSCs) have been claimed to innovate human resource management service delivery by centralizing resources and decentralizing control and, in doing so…
Abstract
Purpose
HR shared service centers (SSCs) have been claimed to innovate human resource management service delivery by centralizing resources and decentralizing control and, in doing so, create value for other business units. In response, to explain the value of HR shared services for the business units served, the purpose of this paper is to test hypotheses on the joint influence of HR SSC operational and dynamic capabilities and of control mechanism usage by the business units.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey methodology was applied to collect data among business unit representatives from 91 business units in 19 Dutch organizations. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling in AMOS.
Findings
This study found that the use of formal control mechanisms (e.g. contracts, service-level agreements) relates negatively with HR shared service value, but that this relationship becomes positive once mediated by informal control mechanisms (e.g. trust and shared language) and operational HR capabilities. Furthermore, it shows that the dynamic capabilities of HR SSCs relate positively to HR shared service value for the business units, but only because of their effect on operational capabilities.
Originality/value
Whereas previous studies into HR SSCs have examined the two antecedents independently, this study shows how organizational control and capabilities interrelate in explaining the value of HR shared services.
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Maarten Renkema, Anna Bos-Nehles and Jeroen Meijerink
Organisations increasingly implement self-managing teams (SMTs) to empower their employees. By drawing from the HRM process model and multilevel thinking, this paper explores how…
Abstract
Purpose
Organisations increasingly implement self-managing teams (SMTs) to empower their employees. By drawing from the HRM process model and multilevel thinking, this paper explores how the HRM function changes in terms of actors and activities when introducing SMTs.
Design/methodology/approach
An in-depth, multilevel case study was conducted at a large healthcare organisation in The Netherlands, making use of 70 interviews, document analysis and observations.
Findings
The findings show that SMTs transform the HRM function by changing the responsibilities of teams, HRM professionals and line managers in the implementation of HRM activities. The analysis shows that many HRM responsibilities are devolved to SMTs, which are supported by the HRM department.
Research limitations/implications
These changes in the HRM function influence the HRM implementation process and provide all actors with new roles and activities. Based on these findings, this paper presents an inductive model of HRM implementation.
Practical implications
The findings help HRM practitioners to transform the HRM function when deciding to introduce SMTs.
Originality/value
This article is one of the first that empirically explores how the HRM function changes as a consequence of introducing SMTs. This is important because more and more organisations are adopting SMTs, while knowledge about the role of HRM is lacking.
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Jeroen Meijerink and Martijn Arets
The purpose of this paper is to compare online labor platforms (OLPs) such as Upwork, Fiverr, YoungOnes and Temper with traditional temp agencies. At a first glance, OLPs and temp…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to compare online labor platforms (OLPs) such as Upwork, Fiverr, YoungOnes and Temper with traditional temp agencies. At a first glance, OLPs and temp agencies strongly resemble each other while they aim to meet the need for short-term labor of organizations. The authors ask the question how these labor market intermediaries differ on issues such as information technology usage, ways how labor supply and demand are matched and working conditions (e.g. status, pay and social security of workers).
Design/methodology/approach
Next to a review of the academic literature, the authors conducted interviews with representatives of six OLPs and temp agencies in the Netherlands as well as a legal specialist in Dutch labor law.
Findings
The authors found that OLPs and temp agencies differ on several issues. First, although OLPs rely on online marketplaces for matching labor supply and demand, temp agencies generally rely on human matchmakers. Second, although OLPs enable workers and client organizations to initiate transactions themselves, temp agencies employ representatives that do the matching for workers and clients. Third, and as a result, OLPs afford client organizations to almost instantly hire workers on-demand, whereas the flexibility and speed that temp agencies can offer depend on availability and processing capacity of human matchmakers.
Originality/value
According to the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to compare OLPs and temp agencies and, in doing so, offers academics and practitioners an analytical framework to compare different types of labor market intermediaries.
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Jeroen Meijerink and Emma Schoenmakers
This study aims to explain why online reviews in Airbnb are skewed toward positive ratings. The authors examine customer perceptions of the service quality of an Airbnb stay as a…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explain why online reviews in Airbnb are skewed toward positive ratings. The authors examine customer perceptions of the service quality of an Airbnb stay as a relevant antecedent of whether customers leave an online review of that Airbnb stay. To this end, the authors test the hypothesis that the relationship between service quality and leaving an online review is linear and positive.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the hypothesis, the authors rely on primary survey data from 177 Airbnb customers combined with secondary data coming from their personal online Airbnb accounts. The authors conducted a binary logistic regression analysis to test the hypothesis.
Findings
The results show that customers’ service quality perceptions are positively and linearly related to leaving an online review of an Airbnb stay. In other words, satisfied customers are more likely to leave a review after an Airbnb stay than those who are dissatisfied.
Originality/value
The study is original in two respects. First, it reconsiders the role of customer experiences in explaining online customer reviews. In doing so, it empirically shows that the conventional wisdom of a U-shaped relationship between customer experiences and online reviewing does not hold in the context of the sharing economy. Second, by relying on primary survey data, the authors reveal the risk of dissatisfied customers creating an underreporting bias in online reviews, which ultimately make online reviews of Airbnb skewed toward positive ratings.
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Jeroen Meijerink and Anne Keegan
Although it is transforming the meaning of employment for many people, little is known about the implications of the gig economy for human resource management (HRM) theory and…
Abstract
Purpose
Although it is transforming the meaning of employment for many people, little is known about the implications of the gig economy for human resource management (HRM) theory and practice. The purpose of this paper is to conceptually explore the notion of HRM in the gig economy, where intermediary platform firms design and implement HRM activities while simultaneously trying to avoid the establishment of employment relationships with gig workers.
Design/methodology/approach
To conceptualize HRM in the gig economy, the authors offer a novel ecosystem perspective to develop propositions on the role and implementation of HRM activities in the gig economy.
Findings
The authors show that HRM activities in the gig economy are designed to govern platform ecosystems by aligning the multilateral exchanges of three key gig economy actors: gig workers, requesters and intermediary platform firms, for ensuring value co-creation. The authors argue that the implementation of HRM activities in the gig economy is contingent on the involvement and activities of these gig economy actors. This means that they are not mere recipients of HRM but also actively engaged in, and needed for, the execution of HRM activities.
Originality/value
The study contributes to research by proposing a theoretical framework for studying the design of HRM activities, and their implementation, in the gig economy. From this framework, the authors derive directions for future research on HRM in the gig economy.
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Kristine M. Kuhn, Jeroen Meijerink and Anne Keegan
This work examines the intersection between traditional human resource management and the novel employment arrangements of the expanding gig economy. While there is a substantial…
Abstract
This work examines the intersection between traditional human resource management and the novel employment arrangements of the expanding gig economy. While there is a substantial multidisciplinary literature on the digital platform labor phenomenon, it has been largely centered on the experiences of gig workers. As digital labor platforms continue to grow and specialize, more managers, executives, and human resource practitioners will need to make decisions about whether and how to utilize gig workers. Here the authors explore and interrogate the unique features of human resource management (HRM) activities in the context of digital labor platforms. The authors discuss challenges and opportunities regarding (1) HRM in organizations that outsource labor needs to external labor platforms, (2) HRM functions within digital labor platform firms, and (3) HRM policies and practices for organizations that develop their own spin-off digital labor platform. To foster a more nuanced understanding of work in the gig economy, the authors identify common themes across these contexts, highlight knowledge gaps, offer recommendations for future research, and outline pathways for collecting empirical data on HRM in the gig economy.
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Jeroen Meijerink, Joost ten Kattelaar and Michel Ehrenhard
The purpose of this study is to explore the use of shared services by end-users and why this may conflict with the use as intended by the shared service center (SSC) management.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore the use of shared services by end-users and why this may conflict with the use as intended by the shared service center (SSC) management.
Methodology/approach
By applying structuration theory, this empirical study draws on qualitative data obtained from semi-structured interviews with managers and end-users of an SSC. This SSC is part of a Dutch subsidiary of a multinational corporation that produces professional electronics for the defense and security market.
Findings
We find two main types of shared services usage by end-users which were not intended by the SSC management: avoidance and window-dressing. These forms of unintended usage were the result of contradictions in social structures related to the centralization and decentralization models as appropriated by end-users and management.
Implications
Our findings show that the benefits of shared services depends on how well contradictions in managers’ and end-users’ interpretive schemes, resources, and norms associated with centralization and decentralization models are resolved.
Originality/value
A popular argument in existing studies is that the benefit of shared services follows from the design of the SSC’s organizational structure. These studies overlook the fact that shared services are not always used as their designers intended and, therefore, that success depends on how the SSC’s organizational structure is appropriated by end-users. As such, the originality of this study is our focus on the way shared services are used by their end-users in order to explain why SSCs succeed or fail in reaping their promised benefits.
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The purpose of this conceptual study is to explain the way in which employees influence social innovation in the employee–organization relationship, such as job crafting, i-deals…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this conceptual study is to explain the way in which employees influence social innovation in the employee–organization relationship, such as job crafting, i-deals, New World of Work, talent management, or high performance work practices.
Methodology/Approach
This study applies a practice perspective in order to explain how employees affect their employee–organization relationship and thus influence the outcomes of social innovation.
Implications
The theoretical exploration suggest that employees can engage in the enactment of the employee–organization relationship in three ways: enacting employment relationships, enacting employment practices, and enacting employment practices’ outcomes. In doing so, they can draw on interpretive schemes, resources, and norms for realizing the benefits of social innovation for themselves and/or their employer.
Originality/Value
Although organizations have started social innovation initiatives that allow employees to actively shape the employee–organization relationship, existing studies still treat employees as inactive recipients in the relationship with their employer. As a result, it remains unclear how social innovation in employee–organization relationships is implemented in practice and thus, how social innovation provides benefits to the employee and the organization. The originality of this study is its focus on how employees, as (pro-)active constituents, shape the employee–organization relationship, for finding better explanations of the outcomes of social innovation initiatives.
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