HRM systems, internal marketing and performance in Indian call centres:non-technical summary (Research summary) ESRC end of award report, RES-000-22-1876. Swindon: ESRC

Considering the rapid growth of call centres (CCs) in India, its implications for businesses in the UK and a scarcity of research on human resource management (HRM) related issues in Indian CCs, this research has two main aims. First, to highlight the nature of HRM systems relevant to Indian call centres. Second, to understand the significance of internal marketing (IM) in influencing the frontline employees’ job-related attitudes and performance. Rewards being an important component of IM, the relationships between different types of rewards as part of an IM strategy, attitudes and performance of employees in Indian CCs will also be examined. Further, the research will investigate which type of commitment mediates the link between rewards and performance and why. The data collection will be via two phases. The first phase would involve a series of in-depth interviews with both the managers and employees to understand the functioning of CCs, and development of suitable HRM systems for the Indian context. The second phase would involve data collection through questionnaires distributed to the frontline employees and supervisors to examine the relationships among IM, employee attitudes and performance. Such an investigation is expected to contribute to development of better theory and practice.

Universalistic or contingency model? Contribution of HRM towards firms’ performance in Greece

This paper investigates the impact of HRM systems on organisational performance in a sample of 178 Greek manufacturing organisations. The results show strong support for the ‘universalistic’ model, highlighting that both resource-development and reward-relations systems are positively related with organisational performance. The results also show weak and partial support for the ‘contingency model’, i.e., resourcedevelopment and reward-relations systems are contingent on the business strategies of quality, innovation, and cost in determining organisational efficiency. The study concludes that the universalistic and contingency perspectives are not necessarily mutually exclusive but on the contrary are in some cases complementary.

Developing critical understanding in HRM students:using innovative teaching methods to encourage deep approaches to study

Purpose – This paper aims to focus on developing critical understanding in human resource management (HRM) students in Aston Business School, UK. The paper reveals that innovative teaching methods encourage deep approaches to study, an indicator of students reaching their own understanding of material and ideas. This improves student employability and satisfies employer need. Design/methodology/approach – Student response to two second year business modules, matched for high student approval rating, was collected through focus group discussion. One module was taught using EBL and the story method, whilst the other used traditional teaching methods. Transcripts were analysed and compared using the structure of the ASSIST measure. Findings – Critical understanding and transformative learning can be developed through the innovative teaching methods of enquiry-based learning (EBL) and the story method. Research limitations/implications – The limitation is that this is a single case study comparing and contrasting two business modules. The implication is that the study should be replicated and developed in different learning settings, so that there are multiple data sets to confirm the research finding. Practical implications – Future curriculum development, especially in terms of HE, still needs to encourage students and lecturers to understand more about the nature of knowledge and how to learn. The application of EBL and the story method is described in a module case study – “Strategy for Future Leaders”. Originality/value – This is a systematic and comparative study to improve understanding of how students and lecturers learn and of the context in which the learning takes place.

Current issues in international HRM:alternative forms of assignments, careers and talent management in a global context

This special issue is dedicated to examining some current issues in international HRM; it contributes mainly to the field of HRM in the multinational enterprise. However, it clearly also draws on knowledge from cross-cultural IHRM. The guest editors have identified three topics that have gained tremendous importance due to the increasing globalisation of the world economy and the war for internationally qualified talent. This not only applies to multinational enterprises, but also to small and medium-sized enterprises, as senior managers are challenged to attract, retain, and motivate global talent: global assignments, global careers and global talent management. While all fields are not new and have partly been subject to prominent publications (e.g., Scullion & Collings, 2011; Cascio, 2013) new and highly relevant research questions continue to emerge and there is still a lack of empirical research in these areas.

E-HR and international HRM:a critical perspective on the discursive framing of e-HR

In the current global economic climate, international HRM is facing unprecedented pressure to become more innovative, effective and efficient. New discourses are emerging around the application of information technology, with 'e-HR' (electronic-enablement of Human Resources), self-service portals and promises of improved services couched as various HR 'value propositions'. This study explores these issues through our engagement with the emergent stream of 'critical' HRM, the broader study of organizational discourse and ethical management theories. We have found that while there is growing research into the take-up of e-HR applications, there is a dearth of investigation into the impact of e-HR on the people involved; in particular, the (re)structuring of social relations between HR functions and line managers in the move away from face-to-face HR support services, to more technology-mediated 'self-service' relationships. We undertake a close reading of personal narratives from a multinational organization, deploying a critical discourse lens to examine different dimensions of e-HR and raise questions about the strong technocratic framing of the international language of people management, shaping line manager enactment of e-HR duties. We argue for a more reflexive stance in the conceptualization e-HR, and conclude with a discussion about the theoretical and practical implications of our study, limitations and suggestions for future research. © 2014 © 2014 Taylor & Francis.