The Good, the Not So Bad, and the Ugly of Competitive Human Resource Practices: A Multidisciplinary Conceptual Framework. (October 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sapegina, Anastasia; Weibel, Antoinette
• Other Names: Gilson Lucy L. guest-editor.; Davis Walter D. guest-editor.
• Is Part Of: Group & organization management. Volume 42:Number 5(2017:Oct.)
• Page Start: 707
• Page End: 747
• Publication Date: 2017-10
• Subjects: human resource practices -- employee competition -- upward social comparison -- envy -- inspiration; Group relations training -- Periodicals; 658.4
• DOI: 10.1177/1059601117730238
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1059-6011

Abstract

Human resource (HR) practices used to inject internal competition into the workplace are the subject of heated debates in business practice; this is however not the case in the field of human resource management (HRM) research. In this article, we first augment previous research in the field to offer an initial conceptualization of competitive HR practices. We then develop a conceptual framework that explains the processes and conditions that drive and determine the impact of competitive HR practices on employees at work. Blending insights from social comparison theory and uncertainty research, we theorize a set of conditions that specify when competitive HR practices unfold their "dark" side, and when the "not so bad" or even "a good side" of competitive HR practices might emerge.