An Interpersonal Perspective on HR Attributions: Examining the Role of Line Managers, Coworkers, and Similarity in Work-Related Motivations

Examining missing pieces of the human resource (HR) attributions puzzle: The interplay between line manager beliefs, HR information and context

While previous research acknowledges the importance of line manager interpretations of information coming from the HR department for explaining various employee attitudes and behaviors, less is known about the antecedents of these interpretations, also known as HR attributions. This paper provides a qualitative examination of the interplay between three key antecedents of HR attributions, namely, line manager beliefs about the HR department, information from the HR department and context. Our analysis is based on 30 interviews with HR professionals and line managers in three units of one organization. Our findings suggest that differences in context have a strong impact on line manager beliefs about HR, influencing the way line managers see HR practices, processes and the role of the HR department, and consequently the way they interpret information coming from HR. Our analysis extends our understanding of the variability in line manager interpretations of HR information. Our results contribute to existing research on HRM strength and HR attributions by highlighting the importance of focusing not only on the consistency of the HR system, but also on individual line managers beliefs about HR, and the context in which HR processes take place.

“Expecting the unexpected?” Uncovering role expectation differences in a Dutch hospital

The aim of this study was to empirically investigate differences in role expectations, among the stakeholders involved, about the devolved personnel management role of front-line managers (FLMs). In particular, we researched the role expectation differences between FLMs, their middle managers, and Human Resource (HR) practitioners. In total, nineteen semi-structured interviews have been conducted involving eleven FLMs, eight middle managers, and two HR practitioners working at the same Dutch hospital. Most discovered role expectation differences were related to how FLMs should execute their HR tasks (i.e., process ambiguity). FLMs were often uncertain if their role enactment met those of their middle managers and/or HR practitioners, herewith indicating role stress. Our findings underline the importance of paying attention to role expectations’ differences in aligning components of the HRM-performance relationship. Future research could include the role expectations of other important stakeholders, such as: subordinates and top management. The outcomes of this empirical work are translated into four interventions to diminish FLMs’ role stress.