Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access
Open Access Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Restricted Access Subscription Access

Strategic Human Resource Management and Firm Performance: Mediating Role of Transformational Leadership


Affiliations
1 Hewitt Associates, New York, United States
2 Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, India
     

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


Relationships between transformational leadership, Strategic Human Resource (HR) practices, and firm performance were studied using a sample of 121 managers from different organizations in India. Transformational leadership was measured by requesting respondents to judge how frequently each of the 20 statements fitted the CEO or the head of the organization. Strategic HR was measured by requesting respondents to indicate their opinions and feelings on the extent to which their organization was characterized by each of the 18 items listed. Firm performance was measured through six parameters-market share growth, sales growth, return on investment, return on assets, return on sales, overall performance-as perceived by the respondent. The score on each performance parameter was recorded in comparison to the major competitors of the organization during the previous year. Results show that strategic HR partially mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and performance.

Keywords

Strategic Human Resource Management, Firm Performance, Transformational Leadership
Subscription Login to verify subscription
User
Notifications
Font Size


  • Bacha, E. (2010). The Relationships among Organizational Performance, Environmental Uncertainty, and Employees’ Perceptions of CEO Charisma. Journal of Management Development, 29(1), pp. 28-37.
  • Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The Moderator- Mediator Variable Distinction in Social Psychological Research: Conceptual, Strategic, and Statistical Considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), pp. 1173-1182.
  • Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership and Performance Beyond Expectations. New York: Free Press.
  • Bass, B. M. (1998). Transformational Leadership: Industrial, Military, and Educational Impact. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
  • Bass, B. M., & Avolio, B. J. (1995). Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire. Redwood City, CA: Mind Garden.
  • Baum, J. R., Locke, E. A., & Kirkpatrick, S. A. (1998). A Longitudinal Study of the Relation of Vision and Vision Communication to Venture Growth in Entrepreneurial Firms. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(1), pp. 43-54.
  • Behling, O., & McFillen, J. M. (1996). A Syncretic Model of Charismatic/Transformational Leadership. Group and Organization Management, 21(2), pp. 163-191.
  • Burns, J. M. (1978). Leadership. New York: Harper and Row.
  • Chauhan, D., & Chauhan, S. P. (2002). Future Directions for Human Resources Development: Aligning the HR Function to Organizational Goals. The Journal of the Institute for Integrated Learning in Management, 6(2), pp. 295-307.
  • Cohen, J., Cohen, P., West, S. G., & Aiken, L. S. (2003). Applied Multiple Resion/Correlation Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences, (3rded.). Hillsdale: Erlbaum.
  • Collins, C. J., & Clark, K. D. (2003). Strategic Human Resource Practices, Top Management Team Social Networks, and Firm Performance: The Role of Human Resource Practices in Creating Organizational Competitive Advantage. Academy of Management Journal, 46(6), pp. 740-751.
  • Conner, J., & Ulrich, D. (1996). Human Resource Roles: Creating Value, Not Rhetoric. Human Resource Planning, 19(3), pp. 38-50.
  • Dubinsky, A. J., Yammarino, F. J., Jolson, M. A., & Spangler, W. D. (1995). Transformational Leadership: An Initial Investigation in Sales. Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, 15(2), pp. 17-31.
  • Fu, P. P., Tsui, A. S., Liu, J., & Li, L. (2010). Pursuit of Whose Happiness? Executive Leaders’ Transformational Behaviors and Personal Values. Administrative Science Quarterly, 55(2), pp. 222-254.
  • Garg G., & Krishnan V. R. (2003). Transformational Leadership and Organizational Structure: The Role of Value- Based Leadership. In S. Bhargava (Ed.), Transformational Leadership: Value-Based Management for Indian Organization (pp. 82-100). New Delhi: Response Books (Sage Publications).
  • Howell, J. M., & Frost, P. J. (1989). A Laboratory Study of Charismatic Leadership. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 43(2), pp. 243-269.
  • Judge, G. G., Griffi ths, W. E., Hill, R. C., Lutkepohl, H., & Lee, T. C. (1985). The Theory and Practice of Econometrics. New York: John Wiley.
  • Jung, D. I., Chow, C., & Wu, A. (2003). The Role of Transformational Leadership in Enhancing Organizational Innovation: Hypotheses and Some Preliminary Findings. Leadership Quarterly, 14(4/5), pp. 525-544.
  • Jung, D. I., & Sosik, J. J. (2002). Transformational Leadership in Work Groups: The Role of Empowerment, Cohesiveness, and Collective-Effi cacy on Perceived Group Performance. Small Group Research, 33(3), pp. 313-336.
  • Kaplan, R., & Norton, D. (2000). The Strategy-Focused Organization. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
  • Kirkpatrick, S. A., & Locke, E. A. (1996). Direct and Indirect Effects of Three Core Charismatic Leadership Components on Performance and Attitudes. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81(1), pp. 36-51.
  • Kuhnert, K. W., & Lewis, P. (1987). Transactional and Transformational Leadership: A Constructive/ Developmental Analysis. Academy of Management Review, 12(4), pp. 648-657.
  • Macaleer, B., & Shannon, J. (2003). Does HR Planning Improve Business Performance? Industrial Management, 45(1), pp. 14-21.
  • MacKenzie, S. B., Podsakoff, P. M., & Rich, G. A. (2001). Transformational and Transactional Leadership and Salesperson Performance. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 29(2), pp. 115-134.
  • Masterson, S., & Stamper, C. L. (2003). Perceived Organizational Membership: An Aggregate Framework Representing the Employee-Organization Relationship. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24(5), pp. 473-488.
  • McDowell, C. (1996). Aligning Work Force Capabilities with Business Strategies. The Human Resource Professional, 9(5), pp. 3-6.
  • Nandal, V., & Krishnan, V. R. (2000). Charismatic Leadership and Self-Effi cacy: Importance of Role Clarity. Management and Labour Studies, 25(4), pp. 231-243.
  • Ochieng W. F., & Lawler, J. J. (2003). Building Effective Organizations: Transformational Leadership, Collectivist Orientation, Work-Related Attitudes and Withdrawal Behaviours in Three Emerging Economies. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 14(7), pp. 1083-1102.
  • Paul, A. K., & Anantharaman, R. N. (2003). Impact of Management Practices on Organizational Performance: Analysis of a Causal Model. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 14(7), pp. 1246-1266.
  • Pawar, B. S., & Eastman, K. K. (1997). The Nature and Implications of Contextual Infl uences on Transformational Leadership: A Conceptual Examination. Academy of Management Review, 22(1), pp. 80-109.
  • Pillai, R., Schriesheim, C., & Williams, E. (1999). Fairness Perceptions and Trust as Mediators for Transformational and Transactional Leadership: A Two-Sample Study. Journal of Management, 25(6), pp. 897-933.
  • Ramlall, S. J. (2003). Measuring Human Resource Management’s Effectiveness in Improving Performance. Human Resource Planning, 26(1), pp. 51-63.
  • Rodriguez , J. M., & Ventura, J. (2003). Human Resource Management Systems and Organizational Performance: An Analysis of the Spanish Manufacturing Industry. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 14(7), pp. 1206-1223.
  • Rowold, J., & Laukamp, L. (2009). Charismatic Leadership and Objective Performance Indicators. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 58(4), pp. 602-621.
  • MacKenzie, S. B., Podsakoff, P. M., & Rich, G. A. (2001). Transformational and Transactional Leadership and Salesperson Performance. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 29(2), pp. 115-134.
  • Sarros, J. C., Cooper, B. K., & Santora, J. C. (2008). Building a Climate for Innovation through Transformational Leadership and Organizational Culture. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 15(2), pp. 145-158.
  • Seltzer, J., & Bass, B. M. (1990). Transformational Leadership: Beyond Initiation and Consideration. Journal of Management, 16(4), pp. 693-703.
  • Shamir, B., & Howell, J. M. (1999). Organizational and Contextual Infl uences on the Emergence and Effectiveness of Charismatic Leadership. Leadership Quarterly, 10(2), pp. 257-283.
  • Singh, K. (2003). Strategic HR Orientation and Firm Performance in India. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 14(4), pp. 530-543.
  • Steven, P. K., Anthony, J. R., Mark, A. H., & Brian, E. B. (1999). Strategic Human Resource Management at Sears. Human Resource Management, 38(4), pp. 329-338.
  • Stewart, G. L. (2006). A Meta-Analytic Review of Relationships between Team Design Features and Team Performance. Journal of Management, 32(1), pp. 29-55.
  • Tsui, A. S., Pearce, J. I., Porter, I. W., & Tripoli, A. M. (1997). Alternative Approaches to The Employee-Organization Relationship: Does Investment in Employees Pay Off? Academy of Management Journal, 40(5), pp. 1089-1102.
  • Waldman, D. A., Ramirez, G. G., House, R. J., & Puranam, P. (2001). Does Leadership Matter? CEO Leadership Attributes and Profi tability under Conditions of Perceived Environmental Uncertainty. Academy of Management Journal, 44(1), pp. 134-143.
  • Walston, S. L., & Chadwick, C. (2003). Perceptions and Misperceptions of Major Organizational Changes in Hospitals: Do Change Efforts Fail Because of Inconsistent Organizational Perceptions of Restructuring and Re- Engineering? International Journal of Public Administration, 26(14), pp. 1581-1606.
  • Wolfe, R. A. (1995). Human Resource Management Innovations: Determinants of their Adoption and Implementation. Human Resource Management, 34(2), pp. 313-327.
  • Yperen, N. W. V. (2003). The Perceived Profi le of Goal Orientation Within Firms: Differences between Employees Working for Successful and Unsuccessful Firms Employing Either Performance-Based Pay or Job-Based Pay. European Journal of Work & Organizational Psychology, 12(3), pp. 229-244.
  • Zhu, W., Chew, I. K. H., & Spangler, W. D. (2005). CEO Transformational Leadership and Organizational Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Human-Capital-Enhancing Human Resource Management. Leadership Quarterly, 16(1), pp. 39-52.

Abstract Views: 461

PDF Views: 0




  • Strategic Human Resource Management and Firm Performance: Mediating Role of Transformational Leadership

Abstract Views: 461  |  PDF Views: 0

Authors

Surabhi Loshali
Hewitt Associates, New York, United States
Venkat R Krishnan
Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai, India

Abstract


Relationships between transformational leadership, Strategic Human Resource (HR) practices, and firm performance were studied using a sample of 121 managers from different organizations in India. Transformational leadership was measured by requesting respondents to judge how frequently each of the 20 statements fitted the CEO or the head of the organization. Strategic HR was measured by requesting respondents to indicate their opinions and feelings on the extent to which their organization was characterized by each of the 18 items listed. Firm performance was measured through six parameters-market share growth, sales growth, return on investment, return on assets, return on sales, overall performance-as perceived by the respondent. The score on each performance parameter was recorded in comparison to the major competitors of the organization during the previous year. Results show that strategic HR partially mediates the relationship between transformational leadership and performance.

Keywords


Strategic Human Resource Management, Firm Performance, Transformational Leadership

References