סמינר בהתנהגות ארגונית

Sophie De Winne
KU Leuven

HR differentiation and its consequences for (groups of)
employees, and organizations

The wish of organizations to achieve higher returns on human resource management (HRM) investments as well as the growing demand among employees for a more individualized HRM, have increased the attention – both in academics as well as in practice – for the phenomenon of HR differentiation, i.e. the differential allocation of resources across employees through the use of HRM practices. The rhetoric on HR differentiation is positive, stating that both organizations and (groups of) employees will benefit from it. Yet, to date, little conceptual and empirical work exists on its social-psychological consequences and the net impact for organizations.

Central to the presentation is the phenomenon of HR differentiation and its relationship with inclusion. I will go into the results of a systematic analysis of 164 articles from five different research streams that touched upon the issue of differential allocation of resources via HR practices (i.e., strategic HRM, talent management, i-deals, pay dispersion, and diversity management literatures) (see Marescaux, De Winne & Brebels, 2021). In our paper, we identify four properties of HR differentiation (its basis, formalization, resource, and purpose) and propose a more fine-grained definition of the construct than the ones used until now. Next, drawing from optimal distinctiveness–based inclusion theory and the work of Lynn Shore and her colleagues on inclusion (2011), we develop an integrated multilevel model with propositions that helps explain the social psychological consequences of HR differentiation at three integrated levels of analysis (employee, workgroup, and organization), and that can inspire future research. Throughout the presentation, I will also show some first empirical results based on the research of me and my colleagues.

Marescaux, E., De Winne, S., & Brebels, L. (2021). Putting the pieces together: A review of HR differentiation literature and a multilevel model. Journal of Management, 47(6), 1564-1595.

Shore, L. M., Randel, A. E., Chung, B. G., Dean, M. A., Holcombe Ehrhart, K., & Singh, G. 2011. Inclusion and diversity in work groups: A review and model for future research. Journal of Management, 37: 1262-1289.