Understanding the Contribution of HRM Bundles for Employee Outcomes Across the Life-Span

Klaske N Veth; Hubert P L M Korzilius; Beatrice I J M Van der Heijden; Ben J M Emans; Annet H De Lange

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02518

Understanding the Contribution of HRM Bundles for Employee Outcomes Across the Life-Span

Front Psychol. 2019 Nov 15:10:2518. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02518. eCollection 2019.

Authors

Klaske N Veth^{1

2}, Hubert P L M Korzilius², Beatrice I J M Van der Heijden^{2

3

4

5

6}, Ben J M Emans⁷, Annet H De Lange^{3

8}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Business Management, HRM, Hanze University of Applied Sciences, Groningen, Netherlands.
² Institute for Management Research, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands.
³ Faculty of Management, Science & Technology, Open University of the Netherlands, Heerlen, Netherlands.
⁴ Faculty of Economics & Business Administration, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
⁵ School of Management, Hubei University, Wuhan, China.
⁶ School of Management, Kingston University, Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom.
⁷ Faculty of Economics & Business, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.
⁸ Institute of HRM, HAN University of Applied Sciences, Nijmegen, Netherlands.

Abstract

Using the Job Demands-Resources model literature and the life-span theory as scholarly frameworks, we examined the effects of job demands and job resources as mediators in the relationship between bundles of used HRM practices and employee outcomes. In addition, we tested for age differences in our research model. Findings confirmed the hypothesized original 2-factor structure representing maintenance and development HRM practices. Structural Equation Modeling analyses showed that the maintenance HRM bundle related directly and negatively to employee outcomes, without moderating effects of age. However, job resources appeared to mediate this relationship in a positive way as it also did for the development HRM bundle. Whereas this study showed the 'driving power' of the actual use of HRM bundles through job resources, regardless of the employee's age, this study also suggests a 'dark side' of HRM. In particular, we found that development HRM bundles may also increase job demands, which, in turn, may result in lower levels of beneficial employee outcomes. These empirical outcomes demonstrate the strength of the driving power eliciting from job resources preceded by any HRM bundle. Moreover, this effect appears to apply to employees of all ages. Our moderated-mediation model appeared robust for several control variables. Overall, this study provides an extension of the well-known Job Demands-Resources model by including maintenance and development bundles of HRM practices used by employees that have a differential effect on job demands and job resources which in turn have an impact on employee outcomes.

Keywords: HRM bundles; Human Resource Management (HRM); employee outcomes; job demands; job resources.