relating career stage to attitudes towards hr practices and commitment: evidence of interaction...

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Relating career stage toattitudes towards HR practicesand commitment: Evidence ofinteraction effects?Edel Conway aa Dublin City University Business School IrelandPublished online: 18 Aug 2010.

To cite this article: Edel Conway (2004) Relating career stage to attitudes towards HRpractices and commitment: Evidence of interaction effects?, European Journal of Workand Organizational Psychology, 13:4, 417-446, DOI: 10.1080/13594320444000155

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Relating career stage to attitudes towards HR

practices and commitment: Evidence of interaction

effects?

Edel ConwayDublin City University Business School, Ireland

A dominant theme within the human resource management (HRM) literatureconcerns the identification of ‘‘best practices’’ that will enhance bothorganizational performance and employee commitment. Although researchexploring the impact of these practices at the level of the individual isconsiderably limited, it is implied that they may be applied both across andwithin organizations, yielding favourable outcomes such as higher organiza-tional performance and enhanced employee commitment. This is despiteclaims that commitment is multidimensional and that certain organizationaland individual variables are related to different forms of commitment. It ispossible that organizations seeking to promote commitment might need totailor HR practices to suit employees’ needs, thus challenging the best practiceperspective at the employee level. This article extends on the literature byexamining whether the relationship between attitudes towards HR practicesand commitment is moderated by career stage. The empirical research is basedon an employee attitude survey within three financial service organizations inIreland (N=288). Using hierarchical regression analysis, the findings showthat interaction effects are evident regarding attitudes towards HR practicesand affective, continuance, and normative commitment. The implications ofthese findings for the management of commitment are discussed.

HIGH COMMITMENT MANAGEMENT RESEARCH

Research examining ‘‘high commitment management’’ in HRM has its rootsin both the configurational and the universal theoretical frameworks. Theconfigurational approach adopts a ‘‘systems’’ perspective and attempts toidentify patterns or ‘‘bundles’’ of HR practices, which when used inassociation with each other, or with a particular strategy, predict betterperformance (Delery & Doty, 1996; Huselid, 1995). This perspective posits

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Correspondence should be addressed to Edel Conway, Dublin City University Business

School, Dublin 9, Ireland. Email: [email protected]

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF WORK AND ORGANIZATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY, 2004, 13 (4), 417–446

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that the combination of practices comprising the HR system is of greatervalue—both in terms of organizational performance and in fosteringappropriate employee behaviours—than the adoption of particular practicesin isolation. The universal or best practice approach posits that certain HRpractices will lead to higher performance and therefore should be adoptedby all organizations, irrespective of the basis upon which they seek tocompete (Pfeffer, 1994). These HR practices, which are now commonlyreferred to as ‘‘high performance’’, ‘‘high commitment’’, or simply best HRpractices, are broadly based around three key issues: opportunities toparticipate, the development of skills, and performance-based incentives(Appelbaum, Bailey, Berg, & Kalleberg, 2000; Huselid, 1995). Specifically,they include: selective recruitment, extensive socialization, broad andflexible job designs, information sharing, formal and continuous training,merit-based appraisals, incentive pay and extensive benefits, promotionfrom within, and high job security (e.g., Agarwala, 2003). There is mountingevidence linking systems of these practices to outcomes such as turnover,absenteeism, productivity levels, and financial performance (e.g., Batt, 2002;Huselid, 1995; Patterson, West, Lawthom, & Nickell, 1997). With theexception of a small number of studies (e.g., Bartel, 2004; Wright, Gardner,& Moynihan, 2003), research exploring the impact of HR practices onemployee attitudes or commitment is much more limited. Yet, the HRMliterature widely refers to the adoption of what are termed high performanceand, much more loosely, high commitment HR practices.

THE NATURE OF ORGANIZATIONALCOMMITMENT: RECONCILING DIFFERENT

PERSPECTIVES

Since the 1970s, organizational commitment has emerged as a key concept inthe study of work attitudes and behaviour (Swailes, 2002). Yet, there exists aconsiderable degree of diversity and controversy within the literatureregarding how the construct should be defined and subsequently measured.Most definitions concern an individual’s identification with the goals andvalues of an organization (e.g., Buchanan, 1974; Porter, Steers, Mowday, &Boulian, 1974). However, some consider both identification and involve-ment as forming the basis of a moral attachment to the organization (e.g.,Hall & Schneider, 1972; Wiener, 1982). Others identify what can be broadlytermed as cost-based commitment, where an individual assesses theperceived ‘‘gains’’ associated with continued membership of an organiza-tion, and the perceived ‘‘costs’’ associated with leaving (e.g., Becker, 1960;Rusbult & Farrell, 1983).

Due to the lack of consensus regarding how commitment should bedefined, it has been suggested that researchers recognize the complexity of

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the construct and view commitment as multifaceted (Benkhoff, 1997). Meyerand Allen (1991, p. 67) propose one such conceptualization of commitmentcomprising three separable components, each of which reflect a uniqueunderlying psychological state. Affective commitment refers to an employ-ee’s emotional attachment to the organization such that they continueemployment because they want to do so. Continuance commitment refers toan awareness of the costs associated with leaving the organization, whereemployees remain because they need to do so. Finally, normativecommitment is associated with a feeling of obligation, where employeesfeel that they ought to remain with the organization. Meyer and Allensuggest that individuals may display each of these three forms ofcommitment to varying degrees.

Due to its predominately firm-level focus, research investigating highcommitment management in HRM has not adequately recognized thecomplexity of the commitment construct and, in most instances, has failedto measure it. Furthermore, much of the research on the adoption of thesepractices has relied on the reports of HR managers. Yet, the concept ofcommitment depicts an individual attitude and high levels of commitmentcan only really be assumed to exist if the actual commitment levels among aworkforce are assessed. As Grant and Shields (2002) point out, it issomewhat ironic that HRM concerns the effective management of employ-ees and yet remarkably little is known about how employees relate to itspractice. This failure to recognize the reactions of employees to HRM hasbeen raised by a number of other commentators in the literature (e.g., Gibb,2001; Guest, 1999; Legge, 1998). It highlights an important and visible gapin this research that suggests the need to identify the precise employeebehaviours that these practices do foster. For this reason, references to highcommitment practices within the firm-level HRM literature are problematic.

LINKING COMMITMENT TO PERFORMANCE

The simultaneous use of the terms high commitment and high performancepractices in the firm-level HRM literature implies that the relationshipbetween commitment and performance is well established. Yet, a closerinspection of the available research on the issue suggests that thisrelationship is somewhat weak (Swailes, 2002). A small number of studiesviewing commitment as a multidimensional construct have reportedrelationships between affective commitment and performance in particular(Angle & Lawson, 1994; Hackett, Bycio, & Hausdorf, 1994; Meyer,Paunonen, Gellatly, Goffin, & Jackson, 1989; Suliman & Iles, 2000). Forexample, Meyer and his colleagues have found that affective commitment isassociated with higher productivity (Meyer et al., 1989), more positive workattitudes (Allen & Meyer, 1996) and organizational citizenship behaviours

CAREER STAGE, HRM, AND COMMITMENT 419

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(Meyer & Allen, 1991). Research also suggests that affective commitment isassociated with lower absenteeism (Hackett et al., 1994; Mathieu & Zajac,1990; Meyer, Allen, & Smith, 1993; Somers, 1995) and higher financialperformance (DeCotiis & Summers, 1987). Fewer investigations havereported links between the normative or continuance dimensions ofcommitment and performance. Those that do exist show either norelationship between continuance commitment and performance, or anegative one (e.g., Angle & Lawson, 1994; Meyer et al., 1989; Somers &Birnbaum, 1998), and no significant relationship regarding normativecommitment (e.g., Hackett et al., 1994).

Numerous researchers refer to the ‘‘black box’’ that might reveal the linksbetween HRM, commitment, and performance (Grant & Shields, 2002;Wright et al., 2003). There is at least some indication that both HR practicesand commitment are related to a number of performance indicators (e.g.,Wright et al., 2003). A recent meta-analysis further suggests that employeeattitudes are linked to a number of business unit outcomes (Harter, Schmidt,& Hayes, 2002). If high commitment is necessary for high performance, thena focus on the linkages between employee attitudes to HRM andcommitment may represent the critical link that has been largely missingfrom research in the field. The research to date seems to suggest thatattitudes towards HR practices that impact on affective commitment arethose with the performance-enhancing effect. This would imply thatorganizations seeking to pursue high commitment strategies should focuson the practices that impact on the affective commitment of employees.Nonetheless, an understanding of the relationships between attitudestowards HR practices and both normative and continuance commitmentwill be useful in determining whether HR practices might have less desirableeffects.

MANAGING EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT: AUNIVERSIAL PERSPECTIVE?

Walton (1985) suggests that commitment strategies can be applieduniversally across organizations, a view that is consistent with perspectivesin the recent best practice literature. A key question, however, concernswhether commitment strategies can be applied across employees and yieldthe same behavioural outcomes. Some commentators reject this notion (e.g.,Baron & Kreps, 1999; Lepak & Snell, 1999). Lepak and Snell argue that itmay be inappropriate and monolithic to suggest that there is a commonbundle of practices for managing all of a firm’s employees. They agree thatalthough a dominant HR strategy or ‘‘architecture’’ may exist (Becker &Gerhart, 1996), at an operational level multiple bundles of practices maydevelop that are unique to particular employee subgroups. They argue that

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‘‘just as there may be no universally best set of HR practices for every firm. . . there may be no one best set of practices for every employee within afirm’’ (1999, p. 45). Morris, Lydka, and Fenton-O’Creevy (1993) alsoquestion whether ‘‘blanket’’ human resource policies can have the desiredinfluence on commitment levels. They suggest that ‘‘what one employeeregards as good career prospects may be regarded as mediocre by anotherand, while some employees may be committed to the organization becauseof the job security it offers, others may be committed because of the natureof the work’’ (pp. 37 – 38). These arguments would imply that the universalapplication of high commitment practices might yield inconsistent employeeoutcomes because employees’ experiences of these practices will vary.Therefore, organizations seeking to enhance the commitment of theirworkforce may need to consider employee attitudes and preferences andidentify appropriate HR practices that match them.

Career stage and attitudes towards HR practices

The career stage models in the literature (e.g., Hall, 1976; Super, 1957) areuseful in helping to define the importance that individuals attach to variouswork experiences. For example, during the earliest career stage it is indicatedthat the emphasis is on learning and exploration and key HR practicesshould be those related to the development of skills through training. It issuggested that during mid-career stage, the focus shifts to one of establishingstability and growth. Here, important HR practices should relate to careerdevelopment and job security. Finally, the later career stage is focused onmaintaining interest in the job, extending one’s work role and seekinggreater opportunities for involvement.

There is some evidence that employee work attitudes differ across thesecareer stages (e.g., Allen & Meyer, 1993; Carlson & Rotondo, 2001; Mehta,Anderson, & Dubinsky, 2000; Sturges, Guest, & Mackenzie-Davey, 2000).Some of these studies focus on the value or importance of particular HRpractices to employees, whereas others examine satisfaction with thesepractices. For example, there is evidence to suggest that aspiration for certainorganizational rewards (e.g., promotion or pay) decrease with age (Meyer,2001). This is supported by research indicating that the stress associated withhow one’s career is advancing is lowest during late-career stage, higher duringmid-career stage, and highest for those in early career stage (Carlson &Rotondo, 2001). Lincoln and Kalleberg (1990) found evidence to suggest thatolder employees experience greater autonomy and intrinsic rewards, often asa result of promotion. Research has also found that during early career stages,employees perceive that they lack job involvement, challenge, promotionopportunities, and discretion in decision making (Cron & Slocum, 1986).There is evidence to suggest that sales managers place greater importance on


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opportunities for promotion during later career stages (Mehta et al., 2000).However, among a graduate sample in the UK, Sturges et al. (2000) foundthat career management is important during early career stages. A distinctivefeature of much of this research is that it has tended to focus on salespeople(Cron & Slocum, 1986; Flaherty & Pappas, 2002; Mehta et al., 2000), withconsiderably less research focusing on other categories of employees.

It can be argued that research on the work experiences of newcomers iswell established (e.g., Meyer, Irving, & Allen, 1998; Wanous, 1992).However, there is the view that a new generation of employees seek greaterindependence, autonomy, and flexibility because priorities are now sharedbetween work, leisure, and family life (Finegold, Mohrman, & Spreitzer,2002). There are also claims that as a result of competitive pressures, thenature of employment has shifted towards a shorter term and lesspredictable state where employers are no longer in a position to offerguarantees of long-term job security or career management for theiremployees (Millward & Brewerton, 2001). Instead it is claimed thatorganizations are offering employability through significant skill develop-ment opportunities and the encouragement of greater self-developmentamong employees (Herriot, Hirsch, & Reilly, 1998). The commitmentmodels within the literature, however, emphasize a long-term perspectivewith extensive promotion opportunities and high levels of job security foremployees. These reported changes therefore highlight the need for a focuson the experiences and commitment of employees during all career stages.

Career stage and organizational commitment

A number of studies suggest that commitment will vary over the course ofpeople’s careers (Allen &Meyer, 1993; Cohen, 1991;Mathieu & Zajac, 1990).Research indicates that age is positively related to organizational commitment(e.g., Mathieu & Zajac, 1990; Meyer & Smith, 2000), even when controllingfor both positional and organizational tenure (e.g., Allen & Meyer, 1993).This would suggest that employee age represents the real career stage effect onaffective commitment and that older employees are more affectivelycommitted than younger employees, perhaps due to more positive workexperiences. Ameta-analysis also indicates that there is a positive relationshipbetween attitudinal or affective commitment and organizational tenure(Mathieu & Zajac, 1990). This may be because employees with longer tenurewill identifymorewith the goals of the organization andwill bemorewilling toexert extra effort in achieving these goals (O’Reilly & Chatman, 1986), or itmay simply be due to the longevity of the employment relationship.

There is further evidence to suggest that age and tenure are antecedents tothe development of continuance commitment (e.g., Allen & Meyer, 1993;Hackett et al., 1994; Meyer & Smith, 2000). This indicates that perceptions of

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the investments accumulated within an organization (and therefore the costsassociated with leaving) will increase with employee age and tenure. Studiesby Allen and Meyer (1993) and Taormina (1999) have found that age is asignificant predictor of normative commitment. Hackett et al. (1994) reportedthat organizational tenure was positively associated with normative commit-ment among a sample of nurses. They suggest that ‘‘research concerning thepossible differential antecedents of [affective, continuance and normativecommitment] should continue’’ (p. 21). One might argue that, in light of thereported ‘‘new deals’’ arising from the employment relationship, a re-examination of the commitment construct across career stages is necessary.

Career stage, experiences of HRM and commitment

While the research suggests that age and tenure are positively associated withthe development of both affective and continuance commitment withinorganizations, it is possible that affective commitment during early careerstages will be optimized if experiences and opportunities that are suited toparticular career stages can be identified. It has been suggested that moreresearch is needed to identify conditions that might moderate the relation-ships between antecedent variables and commitment (Meyer, 2001). Byinvestigating such relationships, an otherwise unnoticed connection betweentwo variables may be found. For example, Allen andMeyer (1993) found thatemployees were more affectively responsive to particular experiences duringtheir early careers, such as well-defined and challenging jobs. More recently,Finegold et al. (2002) found that satisfaction with job security among olderworkers was linked to commitment, whereas satisfaction with opportunitiesto develop skills had a stronger negative relationship with intention to leaveamong individuals less than 30 years old. This latter finding would suggestthat the provision of training opportunities during early career stages mightbe much less associated with a perceived ‘‘need’’ to remain in an organizationand thus associated with lower levels of continuance commitment.

There is some evidence to suggest that the relationship between careerstage and attitudes is curvilinear (e.g., Allen & Meyer, 1993). The findingsfrom the literature would lend some degree of support to this view withrespect to the need for interesting and challenging jobs among those in earlyand later career stages. Linked to this issue are reports that employees arenow more likely to move between several organizations during the course oftheir careers (Cappelli, 2000). This would suggest the need to recognize thatthose with shorter tenure may have moved from another organization insearch of new and better employment experiences. Thus, it might beexpected that the HR practices associated with commitment during earlycareer stage when defined by employee age might vary to those associatedwith commitment when defined by organizational tenure.


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HIGH COMMITMENT MANAGEMENT: ANINDIVIDUAL PERSPECTIVE

The existing research evidence suggests that it is possible that heterogeneityamong employees will result in different attitudes towards HR practices,even if these practices are applied consistently. Furthermore, it suggests thatattitudes towards certain HR practices will be more important at particularstages of a career than others, which may in turn lead to varying levels ofcommitment. Career stage, therefore, challenges the universal applicabilityof HR practices to all employees within an organization and presents thepossibility that a series of individualized contracts for employees at variouscareer stages is required.

The view that commitment represents a multidimensional constructpresents further challenges to the development of commitment within anorganization. It is possible that attitudes towards HR practices might to agreater or lesser degree impact on other forms of commitment. For example,skill enhancement or career development opportunities may give rise tofeelings of attachment and reciprocation, but they may also promote thedevelopment of firm-specific skills that will make it difficult for employees toleave. In a similar way, positive attitudes towards reward practices, perhapsexperienced to a greater degree among those in later career stages, mightgive rise to high levels of continuance commitment because the perceivedcost of leaving will be greater. This multidimensional perspective thus servesto heighten the complexity of managing commitment within a firm.

While it is unlikely that the importance of certain HR practices will berigorously confined to those in any particular career stage, it is reasonable toassume that certain needs will be more pronounced during particular careerstages. For example, the need for skill development might be morepronounced during early career stages if it is assumed that in later stagesthese skills will have accumulated to a greater degree. The need for job securitymight bemore important to individuals duringmiddle career stages dependingon whether perceptions of employability outside the organization arediminishing or depending on whether aspects associated with the ‘‘old deal’’remain important to individuals. Employees in later career stages will perhapsseek greater opportunities for involvement and more interesting jobs and willperhaps expect more favourable rewards in return for their contribution.

Hypotheses

This research sets out to examine whether the relationship between attitudestoward HR practices and commitment is moderated by career stage.Building upon the ‘‘bundles’’ perspective that has gained prominence in thefirm-level HRM literature, it will explore whether a similar perspective can

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be advanced at the employee level. It will test whether there might existunique bundles of HR practices, which, when used in combination with eachother during certain career stages, will optimize the commitment ofemployees. In particular, the research will examine whether bundles ofthese practices can be used to optimize affective commitment, which hasbeen most associated with performance. The specific hypotheses of the studyare the following:

Hypothesis 1. Attitudes towards training will have a stronger positive relationshipwith (a) affective and (b) normative commitment, and a stronger negativerelationship with (c) continuance commitment for individuals in early career stagesthan for those in middle or later career stages.

Hypothesis 2. Attitudes towards job security will have a stronger positiverelationship with (a) affective, (b) normative commitment, and (c) continuancecommitment for individuals in mid-career stages, than for those in early or latercareer stages.

Hypothesis 3. Attitudes towards career development will have a stronger positiverelationship with (a) affective and (b) normative commitment for individuals inearly and mid-career stages, than for those in later career stages.

Hypothesis 4. Attitudes towards HR practices associated with involvement, jobdesign, and reward will have a stronger positive relationship with (a) affective, (b)normative, and (c) continuance commitment for individuals in later stages, than forthose in early or mid-career stages.

These hypotheses, if supported, will highlight the need for organizations tooffer choices that support different employee preferences across careerstages. They will also provide a good assessment of the best practiceperspective at the employee level because they will identify attitudes towardsHR practices that are universally applicable to all employees, regardless ofcareer stage.

METHOD

The study context

The research was conducted in 1999 during a period of unprecedentedeconomic growth in Ireland. The booming economy led to recordemployment levels, where the supply of labour was falling short of thedemand. At this time, the Irish financial services industry had alsoexperienced exponential growth. This growth, coupled with the boomingdomestic economy, led to a tightening of the industry’s labour market. Therecruitment and retention of staff was a key priority in the sector, making itideal for a study on employee commitment. Having identified financial


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service employees as the target population for the research, contact wasmade with organizations operating within the financial services district inDublin. Three of these organizations agreed to participate in the research.

Company 1. This US multinational has been established in Ireland in thecapital markets sector for 35 years, with businesses in corporate banking,securitie, and e-business. The organization underwent a major expansion inIreland in 1997, and its workforce increased from 250 to 1250 permanent stafflocated at two main sites. There is no union presence in the bank.

Company 2. This Irish organization has been in existence for 65 yearsand operates both in Ireland and worldwide. It offers a variety of financialservices through its corporate, retail, investment management, and otherassociated businesses. The organization employs approximately 1500 staff inbusinesses that mainly provide life assurance, investment, and mortgageservices. The company is the only unionized site in the study.

Company 3. This is a Dutch multinational, which has been establishedin Ireland for 37 years operating within the capital markets sector. Itemploys a workforce of 170 and specializes in corporate finance and privatebanking, operating around eight key business units. The bank’s mainactivities are corporate finance and treasury, private banking, and globalservices. There is no union presence but there is a European Staff Councilthat negotiates with management on staffing and broader strategic issues.

Sample and procedure

The employee survey was administered between February and June of 1999.The senior HR representatives within each of the three organizationsdistributed questionnaires to employees, which were completed and returneddirectly to the researcher. Participation in the study was entirely voluntaryand respondents remained anonymous. Within companies 1 and 2, clustersampling was employed, where all individuals within particular groups weresurveyed. This was considered as the most appropriate method due to thesize and complexity of the two organizations concerned. In theseorganizations, the samples chosen were employees from the entire corporatebanking section in company 1 (n=100) and a random sample of the 800staff employed in the corporate and retail businesses in company 2(n=165). In company 3, a random sample of all employees was undertaken(n=170). A total of 435 questionnaires were distributed within the threeorganizations, 288 of which were completed and returned, yielding anoverall response rate of 68%. The response rate from companies 1, 2, and 3was 79%, 63%, and 62%, respectively.

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The sample comprises representatives from a variety of positionsincluding managerial/supervisory, clerical, and administrative staff. A highproportion of the sample is aged 30 years or younger (58%). Over one third(36%) of respondents have been employed by their organization for 2 yearsor less, while the highest proportion (39%) have been employed for between2 and 10 years. One quarter of the sample has been employed for more than10 years.

Measures

Organizational commitment. Allen and Meyer’s (1990) measure ofcommitment was employed. This measure consists of three subscalesmeasuring affective, continuance, and normative commitment. Using a5-point Likert-type format, responses ranged from ‘‘strongly disagree’’ ( – 2)to ‘‘strongly agree’’ (+2), with higher scores indicating higher levels of eachform of commitment. Reliabilities for the affective, continuance, andnormative subscales were .81, .76, .71, respectively.

Attitudes towards HR practices. A 52-item instrument was developed toelicit employee attitudes towards a variety of HR practices, based on thosepractices identified within the literature on high commitment management.Responses were based on a 5-point Likert-type scale, with scores ranging from‘‘strongly disagree’’ ( – 2) to ‘‘strongly agree’’ (+2). To evaluate the overallvalidity of this measure all items were entered in a factor analysis. A total of 39items from the original instrument, which loaded on 10 factors, were retained.A description of the items included in each scale is provided in Table 1.

Career stage. Career stage was defined by two variables: employee ageand organizational tenure. Employee age was categorized into threegroupings: 30 years or under, 31 – 40 years, and 41 years or over. Tomeasure tenure, employees were asked to state the length of time (years andmonths) in their current employment. This variable was subsequentlydefined by three categories: less than 2 years, between 2 and 10 years, andmore than 10 years. These categories are consistent with those used in othersimilar research on employee commitment (Allen & Meyer, 1993; Morrow &McElroy, 1987),

Other demographic variables. These variables included job status,education, and position occupied within the organization (all coded 1 – 5),where higher scores indicate higher job status, higher education, and moresenior position occupied. A variable relating to gender was also included(1=male and 2= female).


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Statistical analysis

The approach used to test the hypotheses was similar to that used toinvestigate moderated relationships in other research (e.g., Finegold et al.,2002). Dummy variables were created for each of the career stage (age andtenure) categories. When using this approach, it is suggested that centringthese variables at the mean for each category is not necessary (Aiken &West,1991). The dummy variable for the earliest career stage groups was excludedin each of the analyses. However, a separate analysis was conducted whichexcluded the mid-career categories, thus enabling comparisons between thesecategories and those of the early and later career stages. A dummy variablewas also created to control for possible difference across companies. For each

TABLE 1Description of scales used to measure attitudes towards HR practices

Attitudes to

HR practices

Scale

definition

Number

of items

Cronbach’s

alpha

Employee involvement Information is communicated to

employees and their suggestions are

considered

6 .84

Resourcing and integration The organization selects the right

people for jobs and provides

socialization activities when they first

join

5 .74

Training Extensive training opportunities are

provided based on the development of

broad skills

4 .77

Performance management There is regular feedback on

performance and guidance on how

performance can be improved

5 .80

Career development Opportunities for promotion are

favourable and are based on

performance

4 .72

Rewards Rewards are fair and adequately reflect

contribution

5 .82

Job security Job security is high 1 —

Employability Employable skills are developed

through training, which will help in

securing employment elsewhere

2 .72

Job design Jobs are clearly defined and are

designed to make full use of people’s

skills

5 .76

Teamwork There is an emphasis on teamwork in

the organization

2 .591

1 In view of the relatively poor reliability of the teamwork measure, it was decided to exclude

this variable from the predictor models in the research.

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analysis, one company (company 1) was excluded. Level of education wasalso controlled for because other studies have found that it is negativelyrelated to commitment (Iverson & Buttigieg, 1999; Somers, 1993). Predictorsof commitment were entered as follows: the control variables entered as ablock; the particular HR practice variable and career stage dummy variables;the interaction between the HR practice variable and organizational tenure;and finally the interaction between the HR practice variable and employeeage. As each variable was added, the predictive power of the model wasassessed by examining the incremental change in the F-value.

RESULTS

To examine whether the mean scores for attitudes towards HR practices weresignificantly different across career stage categories, analysis of variance(ANOVA) was used. The means for each variable by age are presented inTable 2. This analysis indicated that significant differences were apparentregarding job design, F(2, 277)=7.97, p5 .001, and employee involvement,F(2, 279)=5.38, p5 .01. The means show that respondents aged 30 years oryounger rated employee involvement more positively and job design lesspositively than those in the older age categories. The extent to which attitudestowards job security were significantly different across age categories wasexamined using the Kruskal-Wallis procedure. This analysis indicated thatsignificant differences were evident. The mean scores suggest that employeesaged 30 years or younger (mean rank=161.07) perceived that employmentsecurity was higher than did those in the middle (mean rank=120.65) andolder (mean rank=101.49) age categories (w2=25.80, p5 .001).

TABLE 2Attitudes towards HR practices and employee age: Analysis of means

Mean (SD)

5 30 years 31 – 40 years 41+ years

(=165) (n=82) (n=37) F

Employee involvement 0.03 (.88) 7 0.28 (.84) 7 0.37 (.85) 5.38**

Resourcing and integration 0.09 (.73) 7 0.09 (.70) 7 0.04 (.71) 1.88

Training 7 0.07 (.92) 7 0.22 (.75) 7 0.11 (.87) 0.79

Career development 7 0.43 (.86) 7 0.47 (.73) 7 0.27 (.65) 0.77

Performance management 0.29 (.80) 0.15 (.84) 0.23 (.66) 0.80

Employability 1.13 (.69) 1.00 (.71) 1.03 (.59) 1.08

Reward 7 0.18 (.87) 0.07 (.81) 0.07 (.87) 2.88

Job design 0.25 (.92) 0.67 (.84) 0.68 (.80) 7.97***

Teams 0.22 (.94) 7 0.02 (.99) 0.00 (.89) 2.06

**p5 .01; ***p5 .001.


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The mean scores for HR practices according to the three organizationaltenure categories are presented in Table 3. The ANOVA revealed significantdifferences with respect to employee involvement, F(2, 275)=8.36,p5 .001, resourcing and integration, F(2, 274)=13.12, p5 .001, andemployee reward, F(2, 266)=11.42, p5 .001. A closer examination of themean scores shows that respondents in the longest tenure category (i.e., 10years or more) displayed more negative attitudes towards involvement andresourcing and integration, when compared to those in the other tenurecategories. However, these respondents displayed more positive attitudestowards reward, particularly when compared to those in the mid-tenurecategory (i.e., 2 – 10 years). The mean scores regarding perceptions of jobsecurity across the three tenure categories were also assessed. However, nosignificant differences were found.

This analysis of means was useful because it demonstrated that, in somecases, the relationships between career stage and certain HR practicevariables were not linear. For example, the means for training, careerdevelopment, performance management, and employability were loweramong the middle age categories than the younger or older ones. This wouldserve to heighten the possibility that interaction effects might be detected.

The correlations presented in Table 4 show the magnitude of therelationships between the main variables of interest to the study. As mightbe expected, the table shows that employee age and organizational tenurewere highly correlated (r=.62). In order to isolate the relative influence ofeach career stage indicator on these variables, partial correlations werecarried out. This analysis found that the relationship between employee ageand affective commitment was no longer significant when controlling for

TABLE 3Attitudes towards HR practices and organizational tenure: Analysis of means

Mean (SD)

5 2 years 2 – 10 years 10 years

(n=110) (n=110) (n=69) F

Employee involvement 0.17 (.85) 7 0.25 (.84) 7 0.28 (.85) 8.36***

Resourcing and integration 0.30 (.60) 7 0.11 (.75) 7 0.17 (.70) 13.12***

Training 7 0.02 (.98) 7 0.17 (.78) 7 0.20 (.83) 1.14

Career development 7 0.35 (.83) 7 0.47 (.78) 7 0.49 (.71) 0.75

Performance management 0.22 (.78) 0.21 (.81) 0.30 (.79) 0.26

Employability 0.99 (.80) 1.15 (.58) 1.08 (.66) 1.27

Reward 7 0.17 (.80) 7 0.29 (.85) 0.30 (.80) 11.42***

Job design 0.31 (.90) 0.46 (.87) 0.50 (.92) 1.06

Teams 0.25 (.95) 0.01 (.94) 0.17 (.94) 1.74

***p5 .001.

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TABLE 4Correlations and reliabilities for measures

Variables M SD 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

1. Affective 70.19 0.72 (.81)

2. Continuance 70.40 0.69 .28 (.76)

3. Normative 70.45 0.62 .40 .14 (.73)

4. Involvement 70.11 0.87 .41 .08 .15 (.84)

5. Resourcing 0.02 0.72 .33 .08 .18 .40 (.74)

6. Training 70.12 0.87 .36 .09 .09 .49 .43 (.77)

7. Career development 70.42 0.79 .44 .01 .20 .41 .44 .52 (.72)

8. Performance management 0.23 0.80 .38 .13 .17 .43 .28 .40 .45 (.80)

9. Job security 0.25 1.1 .17 .11 7.02 .19 .07 .15 .07 .14 —

10. Employability 1.1 0.68 .26 7.12 .01 .28 .28 .33 .34 .36 .14 (.72)

11. Reward 70.08 0.86 .37 .25 .16 .16 .28 .20 .36 .27 .10 .20 (.82)

12. Job design 0.43 0.90 .46 7.06 .16 .28 .23 .36 .57 .40 .05 .35 .27 (.76)

13. Teamwork 0.12 0.96 .30 .18 .11 .50 .25 .39 .27 .48 .17 .23 .08 .11 (.59)

14. Employee age 2.5 0.85 .12 .08 .01 7.22 7.13 7.06 .04 7.04 7.23 7.06 .14 .21 7.15 —

15. Tenure (years) 6.6 1.4 .24 .29 .02 7.16 7.20 7.02 7.00 .04 7.06 .02 .24 .11 7.04 .62 —

16. Position 2.3 1.4 .16 7.23 7.12 7.10 .09 .08 .27 .04 7.20 .18 .10 .38 7.11 .43 .31 —

17. Education 4.3 1.1 7.04 7.27 7.26 .05 .07 .12 .19 .05 7.01 .23 7.00 .19 7.02 7.01 7.20 .32 —

18. Gender 1.5 0.50 7.06 7.09 .04 .01 .03 7.03 7.05 7.05 .17 7.07 7.03 7.11 .00 7.19 7.12 7.28 7.16

N =288. Coefficients greater than or equal to .12 are significant at p5 .05, and above .16 are significant at p5 .01. Scale reliabilities for relevant

measures are reported in parentheses in the upper diagonal for each variable.

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organizational tenure. However, the relationship between organizationaltenure and affective commitment remained significant, albeit weaker, whencontrolling for employee age (r=.21, p5 .01). In addition, the relationshipbetween organizational tenure and continuance commitment remainedsignificant (r= .31, p5 .01). This suggests that organizational tenure mightrepresent the ‘‘real’’ career stage influence on both affective and continuancecommitment.

Partial correlations found that the relationships between age andinvolvement (r= – .15, p5 .05), teamwork (r= – .16, p5 .05), and jobsecurity (r= – .19, p5 .01) were still significant when controlling fororganizational tenure. When partialling out employee age, the relationshipsbetween tenure, reward (r=.24, p5 .01) and resourcing and integration(r= – .16, p5 .01) were also significant. These findings therefore suggestthat the real career stage influence on attitudes towards employeeinvolvement, job security, and teamwork is employee age, but that the realcareer stage effects on attitudes towards resourcing and integration andemployee reward is organizational tenure.

Table 5 shows the hierarchical regression for affective commitmentregressed on the control variables, the HR practice areas, and career stagevariables and their interactions. The analysis shows that the control variableswere not significant predictors of affective commitment (step 1). Significantmain effects were found for attitudes towards employee involvement and jobdesign in the prediction of affective commitment (step 2). When theinteraction terms for tenure were entered (step 3), two significant interactionswere found. The first shows that attitudes towards job security were morepositively linked to the development of affective commitment for those in themid-tenure category (b=.230, p5 .05), when compared to those withshorter tenure. In a separate analysis where the mid-tenure category wasomitted, a similar significant difference was observed between the middle andlongest tenure category (b= – .222, p5 .05). This provides support forhypothesis 2a. Attitudes towards rewards were also found to be morestrongly associated with affective commitment among those in the longesttenure category compared to those in the shortest one (b=.278, p5 .05). Inthe separate analysis comparing the middle category with the longest one, nosignificant differences were found. This provides support for hypothesis 4a.1

Though not expected, the interaction terms concerning age (step 4) showthat attitudes towards employability were more positively linked to affectivecommitment for employees aged 41 years or over (b=.342, p5 .05),compared to those aged 30 years or under. Again, a separate analysis wascarried out to compare the middle and the oldest age categories, but nosignificant differences were found.

1These analyses are not presented in tables here but are available from the author.

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TABLE 5Regression analysis for early career stage as compared tomiddle and later career stages

in predicting affective commitment

Predictor variables Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4

Controls

Company 2 7.049 7.013 7.031 7.049

Company 3 7.114 7.093 7.090 7.100

Education 7.035 7.075 7.087 7.095

Main effects

Employee involvement .227** .150 .172

Resourcing and integration .102 .163 .180

Training .038 .106 .131

Career development .100 .193 .152

Performance management .012 .047 .055

Job security .068 7.046 7.100

Employability .021 7.028 7.072

Employee reward .115 .031 .072

Job design .246** .238* .266*

Tenure (2 – 10 years) .106 .004 .011

Tenure (10+ years) .155 7.018 .042

Age (31 – 40 years) .080 .108 7.009

Age (41+ years) .094 .058 7.223

Interaction effects with tenure

Employee involvement 6 (2 – 10 years) .072 .055

Employee involvement 6 (11+ years) .025 .081

Resourcing and integration 6 (2 – 10 years) 7.027 7.020

Resourcing and integration 6 (11+ years) 7.061 7.030

Training 6 (2 – 10 years) 7.079 7.062

Training 6 (11+ years) .005 .116

Career development 6 (2 – 10 years) 7.096 7.118

Career development 6 (11+ years) 7.083 7.191

Performance management 6 (2 – 10 years) 7.066 7.093

Performance management 6 (11+ years) .029 7.030

Job security 6 (2 – 10 years) .195* .230*

Job security 6 (11+ years) 7.046 7.103

Employability 6 (2 – 10 years) .028 7.010

Employability 6 (11+ years) .140 .020

Employee reward 6 (2 – 10 years) .044 .044

Employee reward 6 (11+ years) .112 .278*

Job design 6 (2 – 10 years) .056 .045

Job design 6 (11+ years) .013 .012

Interaction effects with age

Employee involvement 6 (31 – 40 years) 7.053

Employee involvement 6 (41+ years) 7.112

Resourcing and integration 6 (31 – 40 years) 7.113

Resourcing and integration 6 (41+ years) .056

Training 6 (31 – 40 years) 7.034

Training 6 (41+ years) 7.187

(continued overleaf )


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Table 6 reports the hierarchical regression for both career stage variablesand HR practice areas in the prediction of normative commitment. Thisanalysis shows that employees in company 3 displayed higher levels ofnormative commitment when compared to those in company 1. It alsoshows that level of education was negatively associated with normativecommitment. Significant main effects were found regarding attitudestowards reward and normative commitment. When the interaction variablesfor tenure were entered, a number of significant relationships were found.Attitudes towards employee involvement were more strongly related tonormative commitment for those in the shortest tenure category whencompared to those in the mid-tenure category (b= – .348, p5 .01). Asimilar relationship was found when comparing the middle and the longesttenure categories (b=.261, p5 .01). This provides support for hypothesis4b. The analysis also shows that attitudes towards job security were morestrongly linked to normative commitment for those in the mid-tenurecategory when compared to those in the shorter (b=.250, p5 .05) andlonger (b= – .335, p5 .01) tenure categories. This supports hypothesis 2b.Attitudes towards career development were also more strongly related tonormative commitment among those in the shorter tenure categorycompared to those in the middle (b= – .307, p5 .05) and longer (b= –.323, p5 .05) tenure categories. This provides some support to hypothesis3b. Finally, attitudes towards rewards were significantly linked to normativecommitment for those in the middle (b=.289, p5 .05) and later (b=.232,

TABLE 5(continued )


Career development 6 (31 – 40 years) .152

Career development 6 (41+ years) .055

Performance management 6 (31 – 40 years) .021

Performance management 6 (41+ years) .079

Job security 6 (31 – 40 years) .084

Job security 6 (41+ years) .105

Employability 6 (31 – 40 years) .159

Employability 6 (41+ years) .342*

Employee reward 6 (31 – 40 years) 7.142

Employee reward 6 (41+ years) 7.122

Job design 6 (31 – 40 years) .010

Job design 6 (41+ years) 7.069

F 0.85*** 9.98*** 5.06*** 3.56***

Change R2 n/a .407*** .039 .042

Total R2 .001 .417 .456 .498

*p5 .05; **p5 .01; ***p5 .001.

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in predicting normative commitment


Controls

Company 2 7.021 .064 .043 .105

Company 3 .188* .235** .223** .232**

Education 7.291*** 7.333*** 7.305*** 7.294***

Main effects

Employee involvement .073 .326* .300*

Resourcing and integration .032 7.170 7.128

Training 7.032 7.198 7.275*

Career development .164 .442** .438**


Job security 7.060 7.140 7.187

Employability 7.024 7.008 .037

Employee reward .159* 7.156 7.111

Job design .052 .266* .319*

Tenure (2710 years) 7.005 .026 .272

Tenure (10+ years) 7.025 7.023 7.101

Age (31740 years) 7.006 7.067 7.066

Age (41+ years) 7.111 7.213 7.276


Employee involvement 6 (2710 years) 7.348** 7.331**

Employee involvement 6 (11+ years) 7.030 7.172

Resourcing and integration 6 (2710 years) .170 .191

Resourcing and integration 6 (11+ years) .111 .188

Training 6 (2710 years) .167 .182

Training 6 (11+ years) .102 7.125

Career development 6 (2710 years) 7.307* 7.271*

Career development 6 (11+ years) 7.323* 7.199

Performance management 6 (2710 years) 7.027 7.055

Performance management 6 (11+ years) 7.033 .018

Job security 6 (2710 years) .250* .215*

Job security 6 (11+ years) 7.108 7.151

Employability 6 (2710 years) 7.091 7.069

Employability 6 (11+ years) .085 .119

Employee reward 6 (2710 years) .289*

Employee reward 6 (11+ years) .232* .277*

Job design 6 (2710 years) 7.094 7.110

Job design 6 (11+ years) 7.204 7.135


Employee involvement 6 (31740 years) .007

Employee involvement 6 (41+ years) .142

Resourcing and integration 6 (31740 years) 7.164

Resourcing and integration 6 (41+ years) 7.011

Training 6 (31740 years) .125

Training 6 (41+ years) .272



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p5 .05) tenure categories, when compared to those in shorter agecategories. This lends some support to hypothesis 4b.

Table 7 reports the regression analysis for each of the key variables in thestudy and continuance commitment. The analysis shows that employees incompany 3 were significantly less likely to display continuance commitment,when compared to those in company 1. It also shows that level of educationimpacted negatively on continuance commitment. The test for the maineffects of attitudes and career stage variables found that attitudes towardsresourcing and integration and rewards, and organizational tenure (4 10years), had a positive impact on continuance commitment, while attitudestowards employability had a negative impact. The tests for interactioneffects show that attitudes towards training had a positive impact oncontinuance commitment for the middle age category, when compared tothose in the youngest age category (b=.291, p5 .05). No such differencewas observed when comparing the oldest and the middle age categories. Thisprovides some support for hypothesis 1c.

DISCUSSION

The best practice perspective within HRM posits that within a variety oforganizational settings, certain HR practices can be adopted that will yieldfavourable performance outcomes. This research set out to test whether therelationship between attitudes towards HR practices and commitment was

TABLE 6(continued )


Career development 6 (31740 years) .057

Career development 6 (41+ years) 7.226

Performance management 6 (31740 years) 7.004

Performance management 6 (41+ years) .077

Job security 6 (31740 years) .100

Job security 6 (41+ years) .082

Employability 6 (31740 years) 7.227

Employability 6 (41+ years) .101

Employee reward 6 (31740 years) 7.172

Employee reward 6 (41+ years) 7.039

Job design 6 (31740 years) 7.073

Job design 6 (41+ years) 7.120

F 7.58*** 3.13*** 3.28*** 2.69***

Change R2 n/a .099* .173*** .078

Total R2 .091 .191 .364 .442

*p5 .05; **p5 .01; ***p5 .001.

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in predicting continuance commitment


Controls

Company 2 .154 .235** .175 .154

Company 3 – .204** – .128 – .137 7 .145

Education – .165* – .053 – .054 – .037

Main effects

Employee involvement – .037 – .093 – .046

Resourcing and integration .154* .104 .090

Training .037 .023 – .027

Career development 7 .023 .151 .123


Job security .086 7 .036 – .048

Employability – .174** – .177 – .170

Employee reward .153* .035 .045

Job design – .020 – .025 .025

Tenure (2 – 10 years) .005 .016 .271

Tenure (10+ years) .121* .122 .137

Age (31 – 40 years) .010 – .038 7 .104

Age (41+ years) .224 .145 .049


Employee involvement 6 (2 – 10 years) .045 .078

Employee involvement 6 (11+ years) .009 .108

Resourcing and integration 6 (2 – 10 years) 7 .007 – .013

Resourcing and integration 6 (11+ years) .045 .064

Training 6 (2 – 10 years) .063 .014

Training 6 (11+ years) .020 – .095

Career development 6 (2 – 10 years) – .181 – .175

Career development 6 (11+ years) – .147 – .192

Performance management 6 (2 – 10 years) – .106 – .037

Performance management 6 (11+ years) – .144 – .057

Job security 6 (2 – 10 years) .145 .178

Job security 6 (11+ years) .076 .026

Employability 6 (2 – 10 years) – .013 .010

Employability 6 (11+ years) – .011 .041

Employee reward 6 (2 – 10 years) .083 .089

Employee reward 6 (11+ years) .149 .206

Job design 6 (2 – 10 years) – .030 – .092

Job design 6 (11+ years) .053 .047


Employee involvement 6 (31 – 40 years) – .153

Employee involvement 6 (41+ years) – .032

Resourcing and integration 6 (31 – 40 years) .021

Resourcing and integration 6(41+ years) – .032

Training 6 (31 – 40 years) .291*

Training 6 (41+ years) .015



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moderated by career stage. If this relationship could be established, it wouldindicate the need to configure HR practices according to career stage, thusleading to a rejection of the best practice perspective at the employee level.The research has unpacked and then repacked the relationships betweencareer stage, attitudes towards HR practices, and commitment in order toexamine whether this perspective can be promulgated at the employee level.In a general sense, it seems that a best practice perspective does indeed holdpromise. However, a number of moderated relationships were detected withrespect to all three forms of commitment. These interactions are summarizedin Figure 1.

The significant interactions that emerged provide important cluesregarding how affective commitment can be optimally managed acrosscareer stages. There are strong indications that, for example, job security isan important issue in predicting affective commitment for employees withbetween 2 and 10 years’ service (hypothesis 2a). This suggests that, jobsecurity, which is often regarded as typifying the ‘‘old deal’’ (Millward &Brewerton, 2001), is important in securing the commitment of mid-tenureemployees. The findings also indicate that attitudes towards rewards arerelated to affective commitment for those with more than 10 years’ service(hypothesis 4a). Thus, the view that aspirations for rewards diminish duringlater career stages is not supported here. Though not predicted, perceptionsof employability impacted significantly on the affective commitment ofemployees aged 41 years or over. This suggests that, indirectly at least, skill

TABLE 7(continued )


Career development 6 (31 – 40 years) .120

Career development 6 (41+ years) – .095

Performance management 6 (31 – 40 years) – .173

Performance management 6 (41+ years) – .026

Job security 6 (31 – 40 years) .030

Job security 6 (41+ years) 7 .035

Employability 6 (31 – 40 years) – .133

Employability 6 (41+ years) – .140

Employee reward 6 (31 – 40 years) 7 .116

Employee reward 6 (41+ years) .055

Job design 6 (31 – 40 years) – .009

Job design 6 (41+ years) .088

F 15.75*** 6..151*** 3.31*** 2.72***

Change R2 n/a 47*** .038 .077

Total R2 .167 .318 .356 .433

* p5 .05; **p5 .01; ***p5 .001.

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development is equally, if not more important, to older employees comparedto their younger counterparts. This was, in many respects, opposite to whatwas predicted (hypothesis 1a), and yet it signals the importance ofmaintaining employable skills throughout one’s career. These interactions,however small, provide indications to organizations about the ways in whichaffective commitment can be optimized among employees.

The research established that in particular, the relationship betweenattitudes towards HR practices and normative commitment was moderatedby career stage. It was found that the link between attitudes towards careerdevelopment and normative commitment was strongest among thoseemployed in an organization for 2 years or less (supporting hypothesis3b), though not for those in mid-career stage as was also expected. It hasbeen suggested that normative commitment can be influenced by invest-ments that seem difficult for employees to reciprocate (Meyer, 2001). Ittherefore seems that when employees perceive that they are fortunate toenjoy promotion opportunities during the early stages in their tenure, theyare more likely to experience feelings of obligation or indebtedness to theemployer. Perhaps in the case of mid-career stage employees, such career

Figure 1. Relating attitudes towards HR practice and commitment across career stage.


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opportunities are expected and are attributed to the efforts of the individualand so no such feelings of indebtedness are apparent.

The analysis found further evidence for interaction effects between tenureand attitudes towards employee involvement in the prediction of normativecommitment. Specifically, positive attitudes towards employee involvementpractices were more strongly linked to normative commitment among thosein the longest (hypothesis 4b) and shortest tenure categories. Since employeeinvolvement initiatives demonstrate a concern for employee interests, itseems that they will result in reciprocal feelings of concern and obligation onthe part of at least these categories of employees. Further moderatedrelationships were evident regarding attitudes towards job security andnormative commitment among those in the mid-tenure category. Thisprovides support for hypothesis 2b. It also provides indications of anoverlap between the interactions concerning the mid-career stages that werefound to predict the affective and normative dimensions of commitment. Itsuggests that positive attitudes towards job security will lead to anemotional attachment to the organization, coupled with feelings of anobligation to remain.

The analysis found that, in most cases, attitudes towards HR practicesdid not interact with career stage to influence continuance commitment.Interaction effects were, however, evident with respect to employee age andattitudes towards training and this commitment dimension. This indicatesthat positive attitudes towards training are more strongly associated with aperceived need to stay among those aged between 31 and 40 years, whencompared to those aged 30 years or under. This lends some support tohypothesis 1c because it implies that younger employees are less likely toperceive that they need to stay in an organization when training practices areviewed positively. A key issue concerns the possibility that trainingopportunities represent the accumulation of a ‘‘side bet’’, which willperhaps safeguard the future employability of middle-age employees, eitherinside the organization or elsewhere. In this respect, it might be argued thatemployees in this age category perceive a need for training in order toprotect their employability (and resulting job security) in later years.

Somewhat consistent with career stage theories, the findings indicate that,depending on career stage, certain HR practices associated with commit-ment strategies are more or less appropriate in predicting commitment.However, the interaction effects are quite small, particularly with respect tothe affective and continuance dimensions of commitment. In the case ofboth of these forms of commitment, and in particular affective commitment,the test of the main effects relating to attitudes towards HR practicesexplained a higher proportion of the increase in the level of the variance incommitment, than did the tests for interaction effects. Overall, the findingssuggest that organizations seeking to enhance levels of affective commitment

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will benefit little from configuring HR practices to ‘‘fit’’ with employees’career stages. Because a higher proportion of the variance in affectivecommitment was explained by attitudes towards HR practices, it wouldseem that all other practices can be applied across all career stage categoriesand be expected to yield high affective commitment. Thus, it is perhaps bestto conclude from the findings that the best practice and bundles perspectivesdo not necessarily conflict with each other at the employee level. Instead, itseems that bundles of these best practices might be emphasized at particularcareer stages in order to optimize the affective commitment of employees.

Practical implications

The findings suggest that, in seeking to foster high commitment, themanagement of employee experiences across career stages might be usefullyconsidered by organizations. Since it seems that employees in early careerstages are less likely to display high affective commitment, the findingssuggest that emphasizing certain practices early in the employmentrelationship can impact on the attitudes and normative commitment ofemployees. In particular, emphasis on practices relating to career develop-ment and employee involvement will be beneficial because these areasimpacted most on the normative commitment of employees during earlycareer stages. This point suggests that while affective commitment may notbe achievable in the shorter term, possible routes to affective commitmentcan be provided through the development of normative commitment amongthose most vulnerable to leaving during early career stages.

It does appear that the significant main and interaction effects identifiedin the research are firmly rooted in the relational contract that emphasizesthe long-term relationship between the employer and employee. In thisrespect, the goal of high commitment will be suited only to firms that areable or willing to operate primarily within internal labour marketscharacterized by career development opportunities and high levels of jobsecurity. Whether high commitment is therefore a realizable, or indeed aviable strategy, for organizations operating in increasingly volatile environ-ments seems doubtful. In view of claims that transactional contractsbetween individuals and organizations are more prevalent, the implicationsof these findings for organizations seeking high commitment are farreaching.

Limitations

Although the findings presented raise a number of important considerationsregarding the development of commitment, a number of limitations to theresearch should be noted. One such limitation is that all variables were


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primarily examined using self-report measures. This raises the possibilitythat relationships found among the variables investigated reflect sharedresponse bias or are exposed to common method variance. While the samplesize in the present study is good and respondents were represented in everycareer stage category, the numbers in some career stages categories werequite small. This is in many respects a consequence of the relatively youngage profile of the sample, since over half of the sample was aged 30 years orless. Thus, a larger sample may more accurately reflect some of the careerstage categories that were underrepresented here. It was also not possible toinclude other individual variables as potential moderators in the researchmodel due to the sample size and the complexities involved. The career stagevariable was included for quite good reason; research suggests that careerstage represents a potentially important influence on both attitudes towardsHR practices and commitment. The present study has highlighted itsimportance. The generalizability of the results is also limited because theresearch was carried out on a small number of organizations within aspecific industry in Ireland. The research was conducted during a time ofhigh economic growth in Ireland, a factor that in many respects limits thefindings. It would therefore be beneficial to see these findings replicated inless favourable economic conditions, in other industries and in otherinternational contexts.

CONCLUSION

The lack of focus on employee experiences of HR practices has represented anotable weakness in the literature because it conflicts with much of therhetoric underlying theory in HRM. This focus on how career stage impactson employees’ attitudes towards HR practices, and how they subsequentlyview their attachment to the organization, has provided a better under-standing of the complex HR commitment relationship. While not wishing tounderstate the findings that emerged, it seems that a best practice perspectiveat the employee level can be supported. Overall, the findings suggest thatemployees respond to HR practices in a similar way, thus suggesting at ageneral level, that a configurational approach is not needed at the employeelevel. However, organizations purposefully pursuing a strategy of commit-ment might consider the moderated relationships that did emerge to ensurethat specific needs of employees across career stages are being met. Thestudy provides a better insight into the means by which employees becomecommitted to an organization, and yet it highlights the complexities thatorganizations seeking to ‘‘manage’’ commitment are presented with. In sum,the findings have implications for the management of HR practices,commitment, and, indirectly at least, for the management of performancewithin organizations.

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relating career stage to attitudes towards hr practices and commitment: evidence of interaction...

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