Juani Swart

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• PhD
• Professor at University of Bath

Human resource leaders are experimenting with new approaches to organizing and utilizing workers that are not limited to the traditional boundaries of the firm, but rather expand to an ecosystem of work and organization. This special issue introduction article introduces a set of papers from management scholars discussing the ecosystem of work and...

Work increasingly takes place across organizational boundaries. This has implications for workers’ commitments to a plethora of targets, including the organization and the client, as well as for the conflicting nature of the interrelation between these commitments. In this paper, we draw on commitment system theory (CST), which views commitment as...

This paper explores the effects of reduced load work arrangements (i.e. RLWAs) in a context where employees are seeking to balance their work-personal life while employers are reducing costs and staying competitive. We draw on the job-demands control theory and social information processing (SIP) theory to introduce two novel elements mainly to exa...

Workplace commitment is viewed as an important mechanism connecting HRM practices with organizational outcomes, including performance. For this reason, commitment has emerged as one of the most significant and voluminous areas in HRM studies. Yet some of the key advances in the wider field of commitment have not been incorporate in studies of commi...

br/> We challenge the assumption that independent workers are not relevant to or within the remit of HRM practice and theory. Traditionally, HR focusses on the management of employees within the boundaries of the organisation. Yet, this neglects the wider role that HR can and must have in the management of human work that the organisation needs yet...

In this paper, we highlight the networked context of the professions. In particular, we indicate that neo-classical professionals tend to work across organizational boundaries in project teams, often to meet the needs of clients and the wider society. However, little is known about the resources that professionals draw on to meet immediate, fast pa...

Current debates and definitions of professionalism are primarily grounded in organisations, either as employing bureaucracies or service firms, that control and structure expert labour. This is problematic as it neglects the many neo-professionals that are self-employed. We draw on interviews with 50 independent consultants and find that, outside o...

Resilience is clearly a desirable attribute, but characterising it is challenging, especially as it can be understood either as the response to an incident, or its successful avoidance. Individual- and organizational-level resilience are established fields of study, whereas mid-range, managerial-level, evidence of how ‘localised’ resilience (e.g. i...

How do organizational decision-makers and promotion candidates experience promotions in elite professional careers? Despite literature recognizing that promotions are important career events for organizations and individuals, this question has received little scholarly attention. Drawing on a narrative approach and combining spoken and visual accou...

Major changes have taken place in work organisation, which originate predominantly from working across organisational boundaries. This paper argues for a more sophisticated approach to HRM that includes three types of cross‐boundary working, that is, intraorganisational, interorganisational, and transorganisational. Herein lies the contribution of...

This international Handbook provides a comprehensive overview of key topics, debates and issues within the now well-established field of Knowledge Management (KM). With contributions from a range of highly-skilled authors, diverse and multi-disciplinary approaches towards KM are explored in this fantastic new reference work. Topics covered include...

Management consultancy has received considerable interest as an arena of consultant and client insecurity where the quality of knowledge work is hard to judge. Attempts to address these issues have included investigations of professionalisation in consultancy. Much of this, and indeed most research on consultancy as a whole, has taken place in orga...

This position paper presents the state of the art of the field of workplace commitment. Yet, for workplace commitment to stay relevant, it is necessary to look beyond current practice and to extrapolate trends to envision what will be needed in future research. Therefore, the aim of this paper is twofold, first, to consolidate our current understan...

As the world of work changes, individuals are able to form bonds of commitment to a range of increasingly diverse targets (Meyer, 2009). Committing to multiple targets and the interaction of these targets can be seen as conflicting, synergistic or compensatory (Johnson, Groff, & Taing, 2009). There are questions as to how these interactions arise,...

The relationship between professionals and clients has received considerable interest, more recently through the concept of client capture. However, little is known to date about the mechanisms through which professionals become captured by their clients. Drawing on 50 interviews investigating the promotion of lawyers to partnership in seven UK law...

The current economic crisis has brought to the fore the need for firms to deal with ambiguity and complexity. Hence, firms need a specific balance between exploration and exploitation in order to keep pace with varying and changing environmental conditions. Hitherto, there is limited research that has examined the nexus of HR architectures, ambidex...

In this paper, we explain how ambidexterity, the simultaneous pursuit of exploration and exploitation, is enabled at the individual level of analysis. Research on ambidexterity has been dominated by theoretical approaches focusing on the organisational level; however, we know little about how ambidexterity is enacted by employees. There is also lim...

This study contributes to our understanding of the link between the multiple foci of commitment (i.e. organization, profession, team, and/or client) and the intention to quit in a knowledge-intensive organizational context. This link is important to understand given that KIOs are reliant upon the commitment of their employees in order to survive. D...

The importance of knowledge, skills and experience (i.e. human capital) in the process of innovation, is well-recognized (Kimberly & Evanisko, 1981). However, we know less about the influence of external stakeholders, such as clients, on the ability of a firm to innovate. This is surprising, given that employees in contemporary organisations work c...

The literature on ambidexterity is dominated by theoretical development and does not fully explain how ambidexterity is enacted. There is limited focus on the managerial actions in day-to-day operations that enable this important phenomenon. We posit that projects offer an ideal context to investigate the actions that enable ambidexterity, since th...

Our study explores the relationship between employee engagement and foci-commitment of employees in professional service firms (PSFs). PSFs compete on the basis of their ability to encourage their employees to generate exceptional knowledge-based services and products, acting within and beyond the organizational boundaries. In order to achieve thes...

Success in human resource management (HRM) depends on the question of whether applied practices of HRM meet specific contingency factors and are appropriately configured. Using this argument, the present article examines HRM in professional service firms (PSFs) in pursuit of three objectives. First, we introduce a conceptual framework that illustra...

This study develops existing theoretical and empirical understanding of the relationship between professionals and their clients situated in professional service firms (PSFs). It does so drawing on a career lens and regarding careers as contested and triadic in nature. In particular, it examines how the influence of clients is constructed during th...

In this symposium, senior scholars and executives who have been actively engaged in studying the dynamics of management and organization practices especially strategizing and project managing join forces to account for fresh ways in which such dynamism can be captured through empirical research that reveals processes like practising, idea work and...

Capable measurement of the size and shape of components is a prerequisite for precision manufacturers. However, the design community may not fully consider measurement issues that could arise when components are manufactured, and the manufacturing community may not wholly appreciate the value that measurement data can bring to design. This paper in...

The freedom to try new things plays a vital role for employees engaging in creative endeavors. This freedom can be influenced by one's relationship with her supervisor, relationship with her team, and various work pressures. One of the first steps to reaching creative output is to have a playful attitude toward work where there is encouragement and...

Knowledge‐intensive firms need to leverage their individual knowledge assets via knowledge sharing to create collective knowledge resources. This process is, however, in the control of the knowledge worker. We explore this personal and emotive quality of knowledge sharing by asking: ‘How does employee commitment impact on knowledge sharing?’ We stu...

We identify the desirability of simultaneously using knowledge assets both to exploit and explore (ambidexterity) and highlight the significance of this for the project context. We use an intellectual capital perspective and theorise that managing projects draws upon human, social and organisational capital. We examine how this is used by managers,...

In the twenty-first century, work activities tend to span organizational boundaries and take place in projects or networks. This cross-boundary working has major implications for current HRM models that are more suited to an industrial economy, which assumes a single employer and where work is carried out within a set of clearly defined boundaries....

This article contributes to the organizational learning literature by providing empirical evidence of how coaching enables the translation from individual learning into collective learning, i.e. enacting behaviours, enacting a coaching approach and embedding collective learning processes. It draws on interview data gathered in two law firms wherein...

Ambidexterity is of central importance to the competitive advantage of the firm, yet to date there is limited understanding of how it is managed. The theorization of ambidexterity is inadequate for complex, practical realities and, in turn, this hinders the way in which it can aid the management of ambidexterity in practice. This paper asks: What a...

The purpose of this article is to illustrate empirically how HR practices are configured to manage multidimensional knowledge assets. It contributes directly to the configurational approaches to HRM by identifying HRM systems that are used to manage various types of knowledge assets. First, we develop a framework from theory to categorise knowledge...

Building on the findings of the previous three streams, we also draw on an analysis of survey results to develop five innovation profiles which characterise the main approaches to innovation that organisations adopt. We outline the drivers of each of these profiles and identify the most prominent leadership and talent dimensions and effective learn...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of a doctoral thesis aimed at identifying how project managers orchestrate ambidexterity (the achievement of both exploitation of existing knowledge and exploration of new knowledge) at the level of the project. Design/methodology/approach – The research reported on here initially inv...

To date OR has no means of modelling, and therefore predicting the behaviour of knowledge in a system. Such knowledge bearing systems are ubiquitous, and include social networking structures (of increasing importance in politics and in marketing) and more conventional organisational structures (such as communities of practice). Taking into account...

Each chapter in Human Resource Development provides the reader with commentary, activities and review sections in an integrated approach. The action-oriented approach is vital for practicing managers but increasingly for postgraduate and final year undergraduates who have work experience. It is this aspect of the book that fills a gap that currentl...

The current study intends to uncover the strategic contribution of human resource management by introducing a unique construct of options-based (vis-à-vis project-based) HRM and examining its links to intellectual capital and exploratory and exploitative learning in the context of law firms' practice groups. Empirical results show that options-base...

The ability to provide an organisational context for the creation, sharing, and integration of knowledge, called the knowledge-centric capability, is a key strategic resource of an organisation and an enabler of innovation. This view is informed by dynamic capabilities, which focus on the ability of an organisation to modify and renew its resource...

Purpose In an interconnected world, projects span boundaries bringing together multiple organizations that enable cross‐boundary teams to contribute their collective knowledge assets. Herein lies the theoretical and managerial challenge; to date no‐one has identified the “knowledge boundaries” of projects. This means knowledge resources may be dupl...

The focus of this Special Issue addresses cross-boundary issues by taking a closer look at how learning connects various different spaces. This develops our understanding of `how learning takes place across boundaries’ and is highly relevant to organizations operate in highly distributed networks, encompassing dispersed geographical regions, partne...

This article develops our understanding of how knowing creates value.It contributes to the interactionist perspectives on knowledge in three particular ways: first, it recognizes that knowledge is only valuable when it is enacted, i.e. know-how-in-action (KHiA). Second, it develops a typology of value creating options, i.e. clones, talent rich, res...

This paper examines the impact of contemporary cross-boundary working on employee commitment. It contributes directly to the literature on employee commitment and in particular it advocates a multiplicity approach to commitment. We identify three foci of commitment which co-exist and illustrate their dynamic interaction. Importantly, our unit of an...

This article focuses on the alignment between human capital (HC) and organizational needs. It focuses on the question of how alignment between HC and organizational strategy influences individual and organizational performance. The starting point for this article is the human-resource architecture proposed by Lepak and Snell (1999), which suggests...

The management of an enduring relationship between provider and supplier has at its heart an implicit interaction between the valuation systems of the counterparts. We take the view that this interaction is conveniently understood through the lens of knowledge management. Knowledge management informs our treatment of business to business relationsh...

This paper identifies the interrelationship between the nature of knowledge assets (inputs), HR practices and types of organisational learning (outputs) in Professional Service Firms (PSFs). First, we draw on a theoretical framework which includes both exploitive and explorative learning and is appreciative of the time-dimensions within which PSFs...

Existing network literature focuses at the network rather than knowledge networks, exhibiting an inability to speak of knowledge as a scalable phenomenon. In order to advance understanding of knowledge and learning in networks we present a theoretical framework which addresses how knowledge itself behaves at the network level. First, we discuss a s...

Web-based approaches are increasingly being used for carrying out surveys, for example in research or to obtain user feedback in product and systems development. However, the drawbacks of web surveying are often overlooked. Errors in web surveys can be related to sampling, coverage, measurement, and non-response issues. Low response rates and non-r...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to show the role of social networks in mobilizing how actors both impact and are impacted on by their colleagues. It seeks to compare the human resource management (HRM) academic community with two other comparable communities, and to identify those groups that are seen to work closely together. Design/methodol...

This article develops a definition of the knowledge worker and discusses the characteristics of knowledge workers and their work. It then shifts to the organizational level and takes a closer look at the characteristics of knowledge-based organizations and the management of knowledge work. Several managerial and theoretical challenges arise when we...

This paper addresses the important and somewhat contentious matter of how knowledge accrues in a system. The matter has at its heart the establishment of a scaling function for knowledge (as distinct from the scaling used for information) which is related to the density of the knowledge structure at any point in the system. We commence with a discu...

Do human resource management practices actually work? This timely and engaging volume examines the links between people management practices and organizational performance. Focusing on the implementation and impact of HR strategies, the book puts forward a model, which draws attention to: The importance of the culture and values of the organization...

Organisations are increasingly turning their attention to the creation and use of knowledge as a strategic resource. Too often however, knowledge management initiatives fail to deliver the competitive advantage expected from a strategic resource. The knowledge management literature is characterised by frameworks for knowledge management implementat...

Purpose The purpose of the paper is twofold: first, it develops a knowledge‐based view of the development of networks in new venture settings and second, it provides a dynamic view of knowledge networks. That is, it aims to pay attention to the development and destruction of networks. Design/methodology/approach The paper follows a grounded theory...

The dynamic internal and external environments faced by many professional service firms mean that the simultaneous exploiting of existing knowledge assets as well as exploring new knowledge capabilities become critical. These two modes of learning (March, 1991) can take place in two distinct time frames: the planned, longer-term and the accelerated...

Current approaches that position human capital as central to value generation in knowledge-based industries obscure the importance of the relational nature of knowledge production. That is, separable and embodied forms of capital are interdependent in value creation and capture processes. We identify a relational form of capital, "embedded" capital...

This article examines the links between employees' satisfaction with HR practices and their commitment to the organisation. It draws on recently collected data to examine these links for three groups of employees: professionals, line managers and workers. Satisfaction with some HR practices appears to be linked to the commitment of all employees, w...

HR systems play a critical role in growing knowledge-intensive firms (KIFs) by facilitating the conversion of human capital into intellectual capital, which has market value. However, the choice of HR system is constrained by the relatively small number of clients they have in business-to-business relationships. This article seeks to understand how...

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to review current literature on intellectual capital and its second‐tier sub‐components with a view to developing an improved research framework and a foundation for measures. Design/methodology/approach – Refereed journal articles were selected from social sciences citations index (SSCI) and business sourc...

Knowledge Management (KM) is an issue of great and increasing importance in most if not all areas of managerial endeavour. In this paper, we are concerned with the particular practical difficulty within KM of mapping knowledge in a managed system. This is an important practical issue because without a view of the terrain of explicit and tacit knowl...

Research into the links between HR and performance has assumed that managers have a high degree of strategic choice in this area. We argue this choice is constrained by members of the network within which the firm operates. Two contrasting firms are examined to discuss how and why strategic choice varies by reference to the resource dependency theo...

Purpose – This paper presents a system-based approach to action-directed knowledge management. This approach, known as system-based knowledge management (SBKM), allows one to respond to the observations made by previous writers that knowledge management should be cognisant of the complexity of knowledge in organisations and of the limitations of co...

It is often assumed that firms have freedom of choice over their HR policies and practices, however, the networks within which they operate suggest that the HR practices themselves may be influenced by clients, suppliers, partners and other collaborators. This paper aims to examine the development of HR policies and practices as a consequence of th...

Each chapter in Human Resource Development provides the reader with commentary, activities and review sections in an integrated approach. The action-oriented approach is vital for practicing managers but increasingly for postgraduate and final year undergraduates who have work experience. It is this aspect of the book that fills a gap that currentl...

Knowledge-intensive firms need to share knowledge held by employees if they are to gain the most from their intellectual capital and compete effectively in the marketplace. Sharing and integrating knowledge within the organisation depends partly on building social capital. However, there are obstacles to this integration because knowledge is often...

The ability of individuals to interpret change is considered to be a criterion for successful organisational change. Accordingly the influence of a specific infra-individual variable, i.e. cognitive style (field dependence and independence) on the sensitivity to identify change needs, was assessed. For this purpose the Organisational Change Interpr...

The conjecture that an age-dependent population model, involving a survival function dependent only on the population and a fertility function dependent on population and exponentially on age, could not entail Hopf bifurcation into stable orbits is shown to be incorrect.

The linear first‐order boundary conditions that will lead to a stable (well‐posed) problem for the telegraph equation in quarter space are established.

The dynamics of a continuously fed chemical reactor, in which a biological organism promotes the chemical reaction, is considered. An analytic procedure is used to determine the parameter ranges which lead to limit cycle oscillations for the population of the organism.

Much of the literature on knowledge-based performance develops the theory of knowledge performance rather than that of the nature and behaviour of knowledge upon which the performance is based. Indeed, several HRM-knowledge-performance studies use organisational outcomes in knowledge-intensive environments as a proxy for knowledge-based performance...

This working paper is produced for discussion purposes only. The papers are expected to be published in due course, in revised form and should not be quoted without the author's permission.

This working paper is produced for discussion purposes only. The papers are expected to be published in due course, in revised form and should not be quoted without the author's permission.

Abstract Growing,knowledge ,intensive firms ,(GKIFs) have ,a number ,of distinctive characteristics including innovative organisational forms which ,are seen as quite different from traditional structures (Mintzberg, 1983; Ghoshal and Bartlett, 1995; Quinn, 1992). However, some of these firms have a feature which has received relatively little atte...