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Special Issue Call for Papers for Work, Aging and Retirement: "Age-related Human Resource Management Policies and Practices"

  • 1.  Special Issue Call for Papers for Work, Aging and Retirement: "Age-related Human Resource Management Policies and Practices"

    Posted 09-13-2018 18:29

    Apologies for cross-posting.

    Special Issue Call for Papers for Work, Aging and Retirement:

    "Age-related Human Resource Management Policies and Practices"

     

    Special Issue Guest Co-Editors

    • Stephan A. Boehm – University of St. Gallen
    • Heike S. Schroder – Queen's University Belfast
    • Matthijs Bal – University of Lincoln

     

    Scope of the Special Issue

     

    The upcoming special issue addresses the growing scholarly interest to investigate more fully the potential need for, design, implementation, and effects of age-related Human Resource Management policies and practices. We have reason to believe that age-focused HR bundles are instrumental in fostering older workers' employability and motivation, and hence influence workers' work-retirement transition decisions (Loretto & White, 2006; Naegele & Walker, 2011; Walker, 2005). In addition, age-specific HR practices have been proposed as being beneficial for the management of an age-diverse workforce (Boehm & Dwertmann, 2015; Boehm, Kunze, & Bruch, 2014).

    However, there is further need for research on how age-related HR practices are designed based on macro-level institutional influences, such as labor market and welfare state regimes, and how these external, institutional forces lead to different types and designs of age-related HRM across industries, institutional fields and national contexts (Schroder, Hofacker, & Muller-Camen, 2009; Schroder, Muller-Camen, & Flynn, 2014; Boehm, Schroder, & Kunze, 2013). This also leads to questions of how internal organizational factors, such as strategy, structure or culture, shape the design of HRM, and whether and how such factors might foster or hinder the implementation of age-related HRM. In addition, more clarity is needed on the potential dimensions of age-related HR practices (Kooij, Jansen, Dikkers, & de Lange, 2010, 2014), and how they compare to other forms of HR bundles such as high-performance work systems (Combs, Liu, Hall, & Ketchen, 2006) or to individualized HRM systems in predicting important outcomes such as employee engagement, productivity or well-being (Bal, Kooij, & de Jong, 2013; Bal, Kooij,, & Rousseau, 2015; Kooij & Boon, 2018).

    We are inviting both conceptual and empirical research using quantitative, qualitative, case study, and mixed methods investigating these topics at the cross-comparative international and national levels, the industry level, the organizational and team levels, and the individual level. We especially welcome multi-disciplinary and multi-level research. Contributions can be based on previous theoretical work (deductive) or inform theorizing (inductive). Suitable manuscripts may focus on conceptual, methodological, critical and empirical issues including but not limited to:

    • Theory development and conceptual papers on age-related HRM.
    • Studies that investigate the link between macro/country-level labor market and welfare regimes (e.g. pension systems, time of retirement) and the conceptualization and implementation of age-related HRM within companies.
    • Studies that illustrate how a need for age-related HRM is developed within firms and which boundary conditions (e.g. labor unions, work councils, organizational structure or culture) influence this process.
    • Studies that investigate which factors might foster or hinder age-related HR policy diffusion processes within organizations.
    • Theoretical or empirical studies that shed light on the concrete design of age-related HRM and investigate which dimensions are most relevant for an aging and more age-diverse workforce.
    • Studies that employ multilevel- and/or longitudinal designs to investigate how different groups of employees (younger and older employees, etc.) react to age-related HRM.
    • Empirical studies examining antecedents (e.g. top management behavior) and consequences of age-related HRM (e.g. retirement decisions, well-being, health, job satisfaction), as well as mediators and moderators of these effects (e.g. organizational climate, leadership behavior, age norms and stereotypes).
    • Studies that explore how older/younger workers perceive age-related HRM and how those perceptions might be influenced by persistent age norms and stereotypes.
    • Empirical studies that transcend organizational boundaries and highlight how age-related HRM might affect and is affected by the private sphere (e.g. work-family-conflict, child/elderly-care obligations).
    • Studies that test if age-related HRM provides value to firms and employees over and above established HR practices such as high performance works systems.
    • Critical studies that argue if age-related HR practices are useful and fair at all, given the fact that they might provide unequal treatment to different groups of employees on the basis of age. What are the effects of such differentiation on outcomes such as perceived fairness, justice, and equity?

     

    Timeline and Submission Process

     

    December 31, 2018             Initial manuscript proposals due

    February 28, 2019               Proposals evaluated; invitations for full manuscript

                                                    submission sent to authors

    October 31, 2019                 Full manuscript submission deadline


     

    Proposal Process

     

    Manuscript Proposals

    Interested authors should submit a short proposal (1,000 words maximum, excluding references) that describes the paper they intend to write (including an outline). Proposals are due by December 31, 2018. Proposals will be reviewed by the co-editors and evaluated using the following criteria: (a) responsiveness to the call, (b) degree of potential to enhance our understanding of age-related HRM, (c) scientific merit, (d) likelihood of successful completion within timeline, (e) fit with other submissions, and (f) applicability to journal mission.

     

    Please submit manuscript proposals directly at the following link:

    https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/workar

     

    In the cover letter, please indicate that it is a proposal submitted to the special issue on Age-related HRM.

     

    Full Manuscripts

    Full manuscripts will be limited to 60 standard manuscript pages (including all figures, tables, and references; authors can ask for editorial approval of a longer paper if commensurate to its contribution) and will be due by October 31, 2019. Manuscripts will undergo a regular double-blind peer-review process.

     

    All full-manuscript submissions should be prepared in accordance with Work, Aging and Retirement's author guidelines and be submitted through the journal's submission portal. Contributors should indicate in their cover letter that they would like to have the paper considered for the Special Issue on Age-related HRM.

     

    Illustrative References

     

    Bal, P. M., Kooij, T. A. M. & de Jong, S. B. 2013. How do developmental and accommodative HRM enhance employee engagement and commitment?: The role of psychological contract and SOC-strategies. Journal of Management Studies, 50(4), 545-572.

    Bal, P. M., Kooij, T. A. M., & Rousseau, D. M. (Eds.) 2015. Aging workers and the employee-employer relationship. New York: Springer.

    Boehm, S. A., & Dwertmann, D. J. G. 2015. Forging a single-edged sword: Facilitators of positive age and disability diversity effects in the workplace. Work, Aging, and Retirement, 1(1), 41-63.

    Boehm, S. A., Kunze, F., & Bruch, H. 2014. Spotlight on age-diversity climate: The impact of age-inclusive HR-practices on firm level outcomes. Personnel Psychology, 67(3), 667-704.

    Boehm, S. A., Schroder, H., & Kunze, F. 2013. Comparative age management: Theoretical perspectives and practical implications. In J. Field, R. Burke, & C. Cooper (Eds.), Sage Handbook of Aging, Work and Society (pp. 211-237). London: Sage.

    Combs, J. G., Liu, Y., Hall, A., & Ketchen, D. 2006. How much do high-performance work practices matter? A meta-analysis of their effects on organizational performance. Personnel Psychology, 59, 501-528.

    Kooij, D. T. A. M., & Boon, C. 2018. Perceptions of HR practices, person–organization fit, and affective commitment: The moderating role of career stage. Human Resource Management Journal, 28(1), 61-75.

    Kooij, D. T. A. M., Jansen, P. G. W., Dikkers, J. S. E., & de Lange, A. H. 2010. The influence of age on the associations between HR practices and both affective commitment and job satisfaction: A meta-analysis. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31(8), 1111-1136.

    Kooij, D. T. A. M., Jansen, P. G. W., Dikkers, J. S. E. & de Lange, A. H. 2014. Managing aging workers: A mixed methods study on bundles of HR practices for aging workers. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25(15), 2192-2212.

    Loretto, W., & White, P. 2006. Employers' attitudes, practices and policies towards older workers. Human Resource Management Journal, 16(3), 313-330.

    Naegele, G., & Walker, A. 2011. Age management in organisations in the European Union, in M. Malloch, L. Cairns, K. Evans and B. N. O'Connor (eds.), The Sage Handbook of Workplace Learning (pp. 251-267). London: Sage.

    Schroder, H. S., Hofacker, D., & Muller-Camen, M. 2009. HRM and the employment of older workers: Germany and Britain compared. International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management, 9(2), 162-179.

    Schroder, H. S., Muller-Camen, M., & Flynn, M. 2014. The management of an ageing workforce: Organisational policies in Germany and Britain. Human Resource Management Journal, 24(4), 394-409.

    Walker, A. 2005. The emergence of age management in Europe. International Journal of Organisational Behaviour, 10(1), 685-697.



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    Donald M. Truxillo
    Professor
    Kemmy Business School
    University of Limerick
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