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“It's the work climate that keeps me here”: the interplay between the HRM process and emergent factors in the construction of employee experiences

Maarit Laiho (University of Vaasa, Vaasa, Finland) (Turku University of Applied Sciences, Turku, Finland)
Essi Saru (University of Turku, Turku, Finland)
Hannele Seeck (University of Turku, Turku, Finland) (University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland)

Personnel Review

ISSN: 0048-3486

Article publication date: 13 December 2021

Issue publication date: 29 March 2022

1058

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore the interplay between human resource management (HRM) and emergent factors in constructing a strong HRM climate. Specifically, the paper aims to shed light on how employee perceptions of the HRM process and emergent factors together construct a strong HRM climate, i.e. employees' shared perceptions of HRM.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses qualitative interview data (managers and employees) from two organisations operating in Finland. The data are analysed based on a systematic data analysis and gives an illustration of the interplay between high-performance work system and the emergent factors.

Findings

The findings illustrate the three types of interplay between HPWS and emergent factors – supplementation, substitution and suffocation – that construct employee experience.

Originality/value

The paper extends earlier discussions on the relationship between HRM and employee experience by empirically examining how the HRM process – together with emergent factors – constructs a strong HRM climate. The present study contributes to further theorising and increasing our understanding of the creation of employee experience.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This paper forms part of a special section “Understanding work experience and experiential workers: the interplay between experience-(ing) of work and people management”, guest edited by Nelarine Cornelius, Mustafa Bilgehan Ozturk and Eric Pezet. The authors wish to thank the editor and the two anonymous reviewers for their constructive and valuable feedback, which helped to develop the manuscript. The first author would like to thank the Academy of Finland (decision number 1311130) for the funding that made it possible to write this paper. The third author would like to thank the Foundation for Economic Education, Liikesivistyrahasto (decision number 14-7385) for the funding that made working on this paper possible.

Citation

Laiho, M., Saru, E. and Seeck, H. (2022), "“It's the work climate that keeps me here”: the interplay between the HRM process and emergent factors in the construction of employee experiences", Personnel Review, Vol. 51 No. 2, pp. 444-463. https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-09-2020-0663

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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