High-Commitment Work Practices and the Social Responsibility Issue: Interaction and Benefits

Lorenzo Revuelto-Taboada, María Teresa Canet-Giner and Francisco Balbastre-Benavent
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Lorenzo Revuelto-Taboada: Department of Business Management, Faculty of Economy, University of Valencia, 46022 Valencia, Spain
María Teresa Canet-Giner: Department of Business Management, Faculty of Economy, University of Valencia, 46022 Valencia, Spain
Francisco Balbastre-Benavent: Department of Business Management, Faculty of Economy, University of Valencia, 46022 Valencia, Spain

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-25

Abstract: Human Resource Management (HRM) has a potentially vital role to play in addressing the new challenges that companies have to face and in delivering initiatives in the framework of corporate sustainability. Our work attempts to shed light on the strategic role of High-Commitment Work Practices (HCWP) as a Corporate Sustainability (CS) partner and, more specifically, to analyze the implications of their integration on the competitiveness of the firm. With this purpose, we apply a qualitative methodology, using a single case study, to explore and explain why and how the interaction between HCWP and CS takes place. The results show how this interaction encourages the formulation and implementation of new socially responsible organizational initiatives that help the firm to improve its competitive position in the market through the development of employees’ innovative behavior. HCWP integrate with CS initiatives when CS values form part of the mission and strategy of the firm. Also, HCWP support CS deployment, primarily in its internal dimension. In addition, our work reveals that cultural factors such as organizational values and management style, and structural factors like empowerment and teamwork must be jointly considered when adopting a CS strategy aimed at developing innovative behavior and competitive advantage.

Keywords: HCWP; corporate sustainability; social responsibility; innovative behavior (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:2:p:459-:d:475496

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