Correspondence between Research and Practice • 149

HR PROFESSIONALS’ BELIEFS ABOUT EFFECTIVE HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES: CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

Sara L. Rynes, Amy E. Colbert, and Kenneth G. Brown1

Five thousand human resource (HR) professionals were surveyed regarding the extent to which they agreed with various HR research findings. Responses from 959 participants sug- gest that there are large discrepancies between research findings and practitioners’ beliefs in some content areas, especially selection. In particular, practitioners place far less faith in intelligence and personality tests as predictors of employee performance than HR research would recommend. Practitioners are somewhat more likely to agree with research findings when they are at higher organizational levels, have SPHR certification, and read the aca- demic literature. Suggestions are made for more effective dissemination of HR research find- ings. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Accumulating evidence suggests that certain Terpstra and Rozell (1997) found that com- human resource (HR) practices are consis- panies whose HR professionals read the aca- tently related to organizational productivity demic research literature have higher finan- and firm financial performance (e.g., Arthur, cial performance than those that do not. 1994; Becker & Gerhart, 1996; Huselid, 1995; Nevertheless, it is a well-known fact that U.S. Department of Labor, 1993). For ex- organizations often fail to adopt practices that ample, Welbourne and Andrews (1996) found research has shown to be effective (e.g., Johns, that new companies that placed a high value 1993; Rogers, 1995). One potential reason for on HR (as assessed by content of their pro- this may be a lack of practitioner awareness spectuses) and that included high levels of of research findings (Gannon, 1983). For ex- organizationally based pay-for-performance ample, a variety of business and personal fac- had a five-year survival rate of 92% as com- tors (such as increased competition, new pared with 34% for companies that were low legislative requirements, and dual-career fami- on both dimensions. Similarly, Huselid (1995) lies) may leave HR professionals with little found that a one-standard-deviation increase time for reading. In addition, research jour- in scores on a “high-performance HR prac- nals have become so technically complex that tices” scale (which included such practices as they are nearly inaccessible to individuals with- regular attitude surveying, paying for perfor- out a doctorate degree. Moreover, previous mance, formal communication programs, and research suggests that many of the questions use of employment tests) was associated with that academics find interesting are viewed as a 23% increase in accounting profits and an rather unimportant by practitioners 8% increase in economic value. In addition, (Campbell, Daft, & Hulin, 1982). For all these

Human Resource Management, Summer 2002, Vol. 41, No. 2, Pp. 149–174 © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/hrm.10029 150 • HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Summer 2002

reasons, managers may be largely unaware of director, vice president or senior vice presi- recent advances in HR research. dent). Surveys were sent to 2,600 HR manag- An alternative possibility, however, is that ers; 1,200 directors, assistant directors or as- managers and professionals are actually aware sociate directors; and 1,200 vice-presidents or of research findings, but for one reason or associate vice-presidents. This sampling strat- another fail to implement them. For example, egy was designed to ensure that respondents Pfeffer and Sutton (2000) have argued that would be generalists rather than specialists, the research-practice gap is primarily a “know- and that they would have significant respon- ing-doing” gap rather than a “knowing” gap. sibilities for HR policy and implementation. Determining the As with knowledge gaps, failures of implemen- To examine the extent to which the be- extent to which tation may occur for a variety of reasons, such liefs of HR professionals are consistent with gaps between as overwork, risk aversion, political consider- established research findings, a thirty-nine- research and ations, or organizational inertia (Johns, 1993; item questionnaire was constructed. Survey practice are the Rogers, 1995). result of lack of content was based on five of the seven dimen- knowing versus Determining the extent to which gaps be- sions covered by the Human Resource Certi- lack of doing tween research and practice are the result of lack fication Institute’s “Professional in Human requires, as a of knowing versus lack of doing requires, as a first Resources” (PHR) exam. The included dimen- first step, explicit step, explicit investigation of what practitioners sions were: Management Practices (motivation, investigation of do know. Surprisingly, there does not appear to what leadership, performance management, em- practitioners do be much evidence concerning this question. As ployee involvement, and HR roles); General know. such, existing research does not allow us to pin- Employment Practices (legal issues, perfor- point where the biggest gaps currently exist be- mance appraisal and employee attitudes); tween research findings and practitioner beliefs. Staffing (recruitment, selection, and career The present research was conducted to planning); HR Development (training and de- remedy this gap. Specifically, we surveyed a velopment, evaluation of training effective- large sample of HR practitioners with respect ness), and Compensation and Benefits (job to their beliefs regarding various research find- pricing, pay structures, compensation strate- ings. In this way, we were able to identify those gies and effectiveness). The dimensions of practices for which there is the greatest (and Safety and Labor Relations were not included least) consistency between research findings because many HR departments do not have and practitioner beliefs. In addition, we ex- responsibility for these particular functions. amined the various ways in which HR profes- The initial questions were developed by sionals obtain information about HR practices. having each of the authors construct content- The purpose of this latter step was to deter- relevant research items for areas in which he mine how research findings might be more or she had particular research expertise. We effectively disseminated to HR professionals, were able to generate items for most content and whether some sources of information pro- areas on the basis of our own familiarity with vide greater research accuracy than others. these research areas. For the few topics on Taken together, we hope these findings will which we had little expertise, we examined provide a base for future efforts to reduce gaps research-oriented textbooks and research in knowledge and beliefs through improved handbooks for leads to relevant research cita- information dissemination, more useful re- tions. In this way, we created thirty-nine ini- search, or both. tial items, sampled in roughly the same proportions as their coverage on the PHR The Study exam. By linking our item sampling strategy to this well-established prototype of the HR Members of the Society for Human Resource body of knowledge, we attempted to create the Management (SHRM) comprised the sample best possible opportunity for HR practitioners for this study. SHRM’s database manager se- to demonstrate their awareness of the relevant lected a stratified random sample of five thou- research literature. sand members with the titles of HR manager Although the general content categories or above (e.g., director, assistant or associate were modeled around the PHR exam, the ac- Correspondence between Research and Practice • 151 tual nature of the questions was quite differ- comparing methods of information search ent. Specifically, in contrast to the certifica- with practitioners’ knowledge of the research tion exam (which tends to focus heavily on literature, we can assess whether some sources legal, definitional, and procedural issues), the of information appear to be more effective at present survey focused on research findings disseminating research findings than others. regarding the effectiveness of particular prac- tices. Items were constructed to be either true Results: What HR Professionals Believe or false, based on previous research results. Respondents were asked to indicate whether Responses were received from 959 partici- they agreed, disagreed, or were uncertain pants, for a response rate of at least 19.2% about each item, allowing us to determine (we do not know how many surveys were un- content areas where practitioner beliefs di- deliverable). Nearly half the respondents verge most sharply from research findings. (48.5%) were HR managers, while the rest The original questionnaire was pretested were either directors (26.1%), vice presidents on a sample of fifty-nine highly prolific re- (18.0%), or other titles (7.4%). Perhaps not searchers in HR and industrial/organizational surprisingly (given our sampling strategy), the psychology. On the basis of these researchers’ average respondent also had considerable ex- responses and feedback, problematic items perience in HR (13.8 years, SD = 7.9). Test- were either reworded or replaced. retest reliability for the questionnaire was as- In addition, we collected information sessed using an independent sample of forty- about what types of reading HR professionals eight mid-level general and HR managers en- do, where they go to get help with HR prob- rolled in an Executive MBA Organizational lems or issues, and attitudes toward various Behavior class. Over a six-week time span, test- sources of HR information. Lists of common retest reliability was found to be .70. informational sources were provided, and re- Between the time of survey administra- spondents indicated the frequency with which tion and preparation of this article, four of the these sources were used. Both archival (e.g., original thirty-nine items were eliminated from Web sites, journals) and social (e.g., consult- the survey.2 Of the remaining thirty-five items, ants, academics, other HR practitioners) in- the average respondent answered twenty formation sources were assessed. (57%) of the items correctly (Figure 1). How- The purpose of collecting this information ever, there was great variability in the extent was twofold. First, knowing where HR pro- of agreement, with one subject agreeing on fessionals go for information is useful for fu- only nine of the items (26%) and two agree- ture attempts to disseminate research findings ing on thirty items (86%). In addition, there and other types of information. Second, by was enormous variation in the extent to which

Figure 1. Histogram of knowledge scores. 152 • HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Summer 2002

respondents (as a group) agreed with particu- were uncertain (the percentage who disagreed lar items, ranging from a low of 16% for one can be calculated by subtracting the sum of item to a high of 96% for another (Table I). these two numbers from one hundred). The The first column of Table I shows the third column summarizes the nature of the thirty-five retained items. Column 2 indicates research findings that support each item, along whether each item is true or false, the per- with sample research citations. (Additional centage of respondents who agreed with the citation information for each item can be item, and the percentage of respondents who found in the Appendix). Finally, the fourth

TABLE I Items, Responses, and Supporting Evidence

Items Answer–% Correct (% uncertain) Research Evidence Possible Contingencies Management Practices 1. Leadership training is False Field study evidence that leadership ineffective because good 96% behaviors and effectiveness increase leaders are born, not (2%) following training (Barling et al., 1996). made. Evidence that leadership behaviors are only weakly predicted by dispositional characteristics (Judge & Bono, 2000) that are heritable (Loehlin et al., 1998; Reimann et al., 1997). 2. The most important False This kind of personality is, on average, an Although it is unlikely that any requirement for an 82% asset for leadership. A recent meta-analysis future variables will produce effective leader is to (4.5%) estimates a corrected validity coefficient of higher validities than intelli- have an outgoing, .31 between extraversion and leader effective- gence, work on leader enthusiastic personality. ness (Judge et al., in press). However, behaviors (such as vision- intelligence has an even higher correlation setting and communication (.52; Lord et al., 1986). Also, some highly skills) is just beginning, so effective leaders are distinctly introverted little is known about their (Bennis & Nanus, 1997; Collins, 2001). average effect sizes. We do know (e.g., Barling et al., 1996; Baum et al., 1998) that leadership success can be affected by leaders’ behaviors and not just their traits, so future research would be useful. 3. Once employees have False Employees reach higher levels of perfor- mastered a task, they 82% mance when they are given difficult-yet- perform better when (6%) attainable goals rather than told to do their they are told to “do their best. This is one of the most robust best” than when they are findings in all of industrial/organizational given specific, difficult psychology (Locke & Latham, 1990). performance goals. 4. Companies with True Baum et al. (1998) found that growth- vision statements 62% oriented visions and strong vision commu- perform better than (15%) nication produced significantly higher firm those without them. growth rates. Hoch et al. (1999) found that 93% of the most successful software firms had clear and ambitious visions, as compared with 25% of the least successful. The importance of having a product vision for successful product development has also been reviewed by Brown & Eisenhardt (1995).

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TABLE I (continued.)

Items Answer–% Correct (% uncertain) Research Evidence Possible Contingencies 5. Companies with very False Bain & Company (Reichheld, 1996) has This finding might not hold low rates of professional 62% analyzed the economics of professional true in certain types of turnover are less (23%) turnover in several industries. For example, internal labor market contexts profitable than those in brokerage firms, they calculated that an —e.g., organizations with with moderate turnover increase in broker retention rates from 80% strong employment “guaran- rates to 90% results in an increase of 155% in tees” (e.g., government the average net present value of a new employment), or organizations broker. A general model of the “economics with very strong contingency of employee loyalty” is also presented. reward systems or “up-or-out” promotion & partnership systems. More contingency- based research would be useful. 6. If a company feels it True Morris, Cascio, & Young (1999) tracked must downsize employ- 54% changes in employment of the S&P 500 ees, the most profitable (17%) companies over a 12-year period. They way to do it is through found that companies whose downsizing targeted cuts rather than was associated with sale of assets (i.e., attrition. strategic or targeted downsizing) had improved their return on assets by the second year after downsizing. In contrast, pure “employment downsizers” still had lower ROAs two years later than they had before downsizing. See also Cameron et al. (1993). 7. In order to be evalu- True This was found by Ulrich et al. (1995), ated favorably by line 50% based on more than 12,000 peer and managers, the most (12%) supervisory assessments of the performance important competency of nearly 2,000 HR professionals. Ability to for HR managers is the manage change explained 41.2% of the ability to manage change. variance in supervisors’ and peers’ evalua- tions of HR professionals, as compared with 23.3% for HR knowledge and delivery and 18.8% for knowledge of the business. 8. On average, encourag- False Meta-analytic evidence that the effects of ing employees to 18% participation are weaker (< 1%) than the participate in decision (9%) effects of goal setting (20%; Locke et al., making is more effective 1980). These effects also hold at multiple for improving organiza- levels of analysis. Further evidence shows tional performance than that the effects of goal setting are robust setting performance (Locke & Latham, 1990), while the effects goals. of participation are highly variable (e.g., Wagner, 1994). General Employment Practices 9. Most managers give False Appraisal leniency is much more common employees lower 94% than stringency (Jawahar & Williams, performance appraisals (3%) 1997; Longenecker et al., 1987) than they objectively deserve.

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TABLE I (continued.)

Items Answer–% Correct (% uncertain) Research Evidence Possible Contingencies

10. Poor performers are False Primary study evidence that poor perform- generally more realistic 88% ers are less accurate about their relative about their performance (3%) performance than are good performers than good performers (Kruger & Dunning, 1999). are. 11. Teams with members True Multiple studies on cross-functional teams Although product outcomes from different functional 88% have shown positive outcomes for product are generally positive, psycho- areas are likely to reach (5%) and project quality (e.g., Keller, 2001; social outcomes such as better solutions to Lutz, 1994; Northcraft et al., 1995; Pelled member satisfaction or stress complex problems than et al., 1999). At the top management level, are frequently negative. Also, teams from a single area. Hambrick et al. (1996) found that more it is possible that at very high heterogeneous teams (with respect to levels of multiple types of functional area, education, and tenure) diversity, interpersonal conflict made bolder (although slower) competitive might overtake the perfor- moves, causing an overall net positive mance benefits of diversity. effect on firm market share and profits. 12. Despite the popular- False Norman et al. (1990) drug tested more than ity of drug testing, there 57% 4,000 applicants and then followed them is no clear evidence that (21%) through more than 1 year of employment. applicants who score Those who tested positive had a 59% higher positive on drug tests are absenteeism rate and a 47% higher involun- any less reliable or tary turnover rate. Parish (1989) found productive employees significant results for disciplinary actions, and Winkler & Sheridan(1989) for vehicular accidents, absenteeism, and medical costs. See also McDaniel et al. (1988). 13. Most people over- True Meta-analytic and primary study evidence evaluate how well they 54% that self-ratings have higher means than perform on the job. (4%) peer and supervisor ratings (e.g., Brown, 1986; Harris & Schaubroeck, 1988; Mabe & West, 1982; Thornton, 1980). 14. Most errors in False Most performance appraisal errors are performance appraisals 25% extremely resistant to change (Latham & can be eliminated by (5%) Wexley, 1994). In addition, training to providing training that eliminate one kind of error often intro- describes the kinds of duces other types of errors (e.g., Bernardin errors managers tend to & Pence, 1980). Many managers are well make and suggesting aware that they commit errors, but ways to avoid them. continue to do so for personal and social reasons (Longenecker et al., 1987). Training & Employee Development 15. Lecture-based False Meta-analytic evidence that computer- training is generally 96% based instruction is slightly more effective superior to other forms (2%) than traditional instruction (Kulik & Kulik, of training delivery. 1991). Indirect evidence is provided by educational theory suggesting that the medium for instruction is less critical than the events of instruction in determining learning outcomes (e.g., Clark, 1983). In this regard, lecture-based training is a passive technique, while active techniques are typically more effective (Gagne & Medsker, 1996).

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TABLE I (continued.)

Items Answer–% Correct (% uncertain) Research Evidence Possible Contingencies

16. Older adults learn False Meta-analytic evidence that age is nega- more from training than 68% tively associated with learning outcomes younger adults. (18%) (Colquitt et al., 2000). Large sample evidence that age is associated with decreases in cognitive capacities associated with learning (Horn & Cattell, 1967). Primary study evidence of negative relationship with learning in organizational setting (Warr & Bunce, 1995). 17. The most important False Meta-analytic evidence that post-training determinant of how 60% knowledge has a smaller relationship with much training employees (11%) transfer than some individual differences actually use on their jobs and contextual variables (Colquitt et al., is how much they 2000). Primary study evidence that learned during training. transfer of training climate has a stronger relationship with transfer than learning does, in an organizational setting (Tracey et al., 1995). 18. Training for simple False Meta-analytic evidence that training for skills will be more 59% simple skills is more effective when spaced effective if it is presented (11%) over time than massed in one session in one concentrated (Donovan & Radosevich, 1999; Lee & session than if it is Genovese, 1988). presented in several sessions over time.

Staffing 19. The most valid False Meta-analytic evidence that structured employment interviews 70% interviews (where all candidates receive the are designed around (6%) same questions) have higher validities than each candidate’s unique unstructured ones (Schmidt & Hunter, background. 1998; Wiesner & Cronshaw, 1988). 20. Although people use False There are five basic dimensions of many different terms to 49% personality—the “Big Five” of Conscien- describe personalities, (23%) tiousness, Extraversion, Openness to there are really only four Experience, Agreeableness, and Emotional basic dimensions of Stability/Neuroticism (Digman, 1990). personality, as captured Except for Extraversion, these are not the by the Myers-Briggs traits assessed by MBTI. Type Indicator (MBTI). 21. On average, appli- True Meta-analytic (e.g., Conard & Ashworth, Recent evidence on the effects cants who answer job 49% 1986) and primary study evidence (e.g., of recruitment sources has advertisements are likely (13%) Decker & Cornelius, 1979; see Rynes, been less consistent than to have higher turnover 1991, for a review). earlier evidence. The emer- than those referred by gence of the Web as a major other employees. recruitment source may also change future recruiting source dynamics. 22. Being very intelligent False The validity coefficient for intelligence is is actually a disadvantage 42% always positive. Hunter (1986) and Schmidt for performing well on a (12%) & Hunter (1998) estimate the corrected low-skilled job. validity coefficient for unskilled jobs to be .23. (Comparable figures are .40 for semi-skilled, and .58 for professional-managerial jobs.)

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TABLE I (continued.)

Items Answer–% Correct (% uncertain) Research Evidence Possible Contingencies

23. There is very little False The validity of personality measures as difference among 42% predictors of performance will depend to a personality inventories (30%) large extent on the degree to which they in terms of how well tap important “Big Five” personality they predict an dimensions, particularly Conscientious- applicant’s likely job ness. So, for example, Big Five personality performance. measures are relatively good predictors of performance, while the MBTI doesn't even claim to predict performance (Gardner & Martinko, 1996). 24. Although there are False Even if applicants or employees do distort “integrity tests” that try 32% their answers, validity of these instruments to predict whether (34%) is still substantial. A large meta-analysis someone will steal, be suggested that the overall corrected validity absent, or otherwise coefficient for integrity tests (across all take advantage of an types of performance measures) is .41. employer, they don’t Counterproductive behaviors such as theft work well in practice or absenteeism are somewhat better because so many people predicted (.47) than overall job perfor- lie on them. mance (.34). 25. One problem with False A recent study based on four large-sample using integrity tests is 31% databases showed “trivial” differences (less that they have high (50%) than .15 standard deviations in all cases) degrees of adverse across Caucasians, Asians, Native Ameri- impact on racial cans, and African Americans (Ones & minorities. Viswesvaran, 1998). 26. On average, False There is considerable meta-analytic conscientiousness is a 18% evidence that intelligence is a better better predictor of job (10%) predictor of job performance than consci- performance than is entiousness (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998; intelligence. average validity coefficient for intelligence = .51 vs. .31 for conscientiousness). 27. Companies that False Meta-analytic evidence that intelligence is Overall findings unlikely to screen job applicants 16% the best established predictor of job change. However, additional for values have higher (27%) performance (Schmidt & Hunter, 1998). studies are needed at the performance than those Primary study evidence that the effect of organizational level of analysis. that screen for intelli- values on job performance is dependent on In addition, more “values” gence. many factors (Adkins et al., 1996); values studies are needed that influence perceptual organization and measure performance as an guide decision making, but their link to job outcome (most values research performance is unclear (Ravlin & Meglino, has examined affective 1987). outcomes such as satisfaction, tenure, and commitment). Compensation & Benefits 28. When pay must be False Both laboratory and organizational field reduced or frozen, there 72% research shows that providing procedurally is little a company can (13%) just explanations of pay cuts can dramati- do or say to reduce cally reduce the negative side effects employee dissatisfac- (Greenberg, 1990, 1993). tion and dysfunctional behaviors.

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TABLE I (continued.)

Items Answer–% Correct (% uncertain) Research Evidence Possible Contingencies

29. Most employees True Multiple studies have demonstrated this prefer to be paid on the 81% result (e.g., BNA, 1988; Cable & Judge, basis of individual (8%) 1994). For example, Bretz & Judge (1994) performance rather than found that of seven organizational charac- on team or organizational teristics, the one that best predicted performance. simulated organizational choice was pay for individual (versus team-based) productivity. 30. Merit pay systems False Positive relationships have been shown cause so many problems 66% between merit systems and organization- that companies without (7%) level performance by Kopelman & them tend to have higher Reinharth (1982) and Kopelman, Rovenpor, performance than & Cayer (1991). Heneman (1992) reviewed companies with them. five studies establishing a positive merit system-performance link. Even the major empirical study to raise “cautions” about merit pay (Pearce et al., 1985) found increases in performance after merit pay implementation; the increases simply failed to reach statistical significance (with a very small sample size). 31. There is a positive True Gerhart & Milkovich (1990) found that relationship between the 62% companies with 80% managerial eligibility proportion of managers (23%) for stock options had 25% higher return on receiving organizationally assets than companies where only 20% of based pay incentives and managers were eligible. (See also company profitability. Welbourne & Andrews, 1996). 32. New companies have True New companies that placed a high value a better chance of 59% on their employees (as coded from surviving if all employees (17%) prospectuses) and that included high levels receive incentives based of organizational-performance-based pay on organization-wide had dramatically higher five-year survival performance. rates (92%) than those who were low on both dimensions (34%: Welbourne & Andrews, 1996). 33. Talking about salary False In a field study of nine different sites, Could use more research on issues during perfor- 51% Prince & Lawler (1986) found that salary this, but the limited research mance appraisals tends to (10%) discussions had positive rather than available suggests that neither hurt morale and future negative effects on employee attitudes and morale nor performance performance. subsequent performance improvement. In suffers from linking pay addition, the positive effects were strongest discussions with performance for those with lower initial performance discussions. Even if short-term and where initial perceptions of perfor- morale were to be affected, mance were most discrepant between one could not infer that either supervisors and employees. For similar longer-term morale or results based on employee surveys at performance would be General Electric, see Welch (2001). negatively affected. For example, equity theory predicts the effect can easily go the other way—e.g., people working harder to reduce their dissatisfaction with the previous appraisal.

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TABLE I (continued.)

Items Answer–% Correct (% uncertain) Research Evidence Possible Contingencies

34. Most employees False A national survey showed that 63% of prefer variable pay 40% workers surveyed prefer straight salary, systems (e.g., incentive (12%) followed by individual incentives (22%) and schemes, gain sharing, company-wide incentives (12%; BNA, stock options) to fixed 1988). Cable & Judge (1994) found a pay systems. similar preference for fixed pay among job- seeking college students. Also, theories of risk and agency theory have as a core assumption that employees require a compensating risk differential in order to make variable pay acceptable to them (e.g., Jensen & Meckling, 1976). 35. Surveys that directly False Probably due to social desirability and/or ask employees how 35% lack of self-insight, people tend to say pay important pay is to them (10%) is less important to them than the weights are likely to overesti- they actually place on pay in making choice mate pay’s true impor- decisions (Feldman & Arnold, 1978; Rynes tance in actual deci- et al., 1983). People also think that others sions. who are “just like them” place a higher importance on pay than they themselves do (Jurgensen, 1978)—further evidence of possible lack of self-insight about motiva- tions. These results are also consistent with broader findings from the decision sciences that people tend to underestimate the importance of the most important factors in their decisions (Slovic & Lichtenstein, 1971).

Note: Full citations for sources not listed in the references section of this article can be found in the Appendix, where they are listed by item number.

column suggests limitations of the current benefits of having a leadership vision (62%), research in some areas, as well as possible the benefits of very low professional turnover contingency variables that might be revealed (62%), and the general superiority of targeted in future research. rather than attrition-based downsizing (54%). With respect to items in the Management Interestingly, only 50% of respondents Practices domain, a clear majority of practi- agreed with Ulrich, Brockbank, Yeung, and tioners tended to agree with research findings Lake’s (1995) finding that the most important that leadership abilities can be improved competency for HR managers (in terms of through training (96%); that having an outgo- supervisory and peer evaluations) is the abil- ing personality is not the most important char- ity to manage change. This would seem to be acteristic of a leader (82%, although it certainly a particularly important finding, in that it sug- helps; see Judge, Bono, Ilies, & Werner, in gests that modern HR managers need to know press), and that performance is generally far more than the “traditional” HR knowledge higher when people are given specific, diffi- covered in HR textbooks and certification ex- cult goals rather than told merely to do their ams. Rather, they also need both cognitive and best (82%). Another group of items garnered practical knowledge regarding how to get only slim majority support: the organizational things done in complex social systems. Finally, Correspondence between Research and Practice • 159 only 18% believed that goal setting was more training for simple skills is more effective when effective than employee participation for im- presented in a single concentrated session. proving organizational performance, although On the other hand, in the Staffing area, this finding has been supported in multiple practitioner beliefs were notably inconsistent studies over the past twenty years. with research findings. In fact, on only one With respect to items falling under the item was there substantial agreement between One particularly domain of General Employment Practices, research findings and practitioner beliefs. Spe- notable there was very high agreement with three of cifically, 70% (accurately) disagreed that the difference the items. Specifically, most respondents most valid employment interviews are de- between practitioners’ (94%) agreed that managers do not give overly signed around each candidate’s unique back- beliefs and stringent performance appraisals, that poor ground. Rather, considerable evidence research findings performers are generally less realistic about suggests that the most valid interviews are not concerned the their performance than higher performers unique, but rather structured to be the same perceived (88%), and that multifunctional teams tend across all candidates. usefulness of intelligence (or to reach better solutions to complex problems On all other selection-related items, fewer general mental than single-function teams (88%). However, than 50% of respondents agreed with prevail- ability, GMA) as there was considerably less awareness that ing research findings. One particularly notable a predictor of drug testing has been empirically shown to difference between practitioners’ beliefs and performance. differentiate applicants in terms of post-hire research findings concerned the perceived Generally speaking, performance (57%), and that most people usefulness of intelligence (or general mental research findings overestimate how well they perform on the ability, GMA) as a predictor of performance. suggest that GMA job (54%). Generally speaking, research findings suggest is a much better Finally, respondents were much more op- that GMA is a much better predictor of sub- predictor of timistic about the possibility of eliminating sequent job performance than most subsequent job errors from the performance appraisal process practitioners believe. In the words of Schmidt performance than most than research findings warrant. Specifically, and Hunter (1998): practitioners only 25% disagreed with the questionnaire believe. item, “Most errors in performance appraisals Research evidence for the validity of GMA can be eliminated by providing training that measures for predicting job performance is describes the kinds of errors managers tend stronger than that for any other to make and suggesting ways to avoid them.” method…literally thousands of studies have In reality, however, a long line of research been conducted over the last nine shows that attaining accuracy in performance decades….Because of its special status, appraisals is extremely difficult, and cannot GMA can be considered the primary per- be achieved by these simple training methods sonnel measure for hiring decisions, and (Latham & Latham, 2000; Latham & Wexley, one can consider the remaining personnel 1980). Moreover, many managers are fully measures as supplements to GMA. (pp. aware that they are committing certain kinds 264, 266) of errors (especially leniency), but they do so anyway for social, political, or motivational In contrast to this strong research-based reasons (Longenecker, Gioia, & Sims, 1987). endorsement of GMA as a selection device, With respect to Training and Employee our respondents revealed considerable skep- Development, nearly all respondents (96%) ticism about the value of intelligence via their recognized that pure lecturing is generally not responses to at least three items. Specifically, the best way to deliver training. In addition, 57% falsely believed that companies that 68% accurately believed that older adults do screen job applicants for values have higher not learn more from training than younger performance than those that screen for intel- adults, while 60% realized that how much is ligence (and 27% were uncertain), while 72% learned during training is not the most impor- falsely believed that conscientiousness is a tant determinant of how much training is ac- better predictor than intelligence (10% uncer- tually used on the job. Finally, 59% tain). In addition, 46% incorrectly believed (accurately) disagreed with the statement that that intelligence is actually a disadvantage for 160 • HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Summer 2002

performing well at low-skilled work (12% were basic dimensions, some of which are much uncertain). more predictive than others (e.g., Barrick & Contrary to practitioners’ beliefs, research Mount, 1991). Third, integrity tests exhibit findings suggest that GMA has an average va- relatively high validity (␳ = .41) as selection lidity coefficient of .51, as compared with .31 devices, even if some applicants do tend to for conscientiousness (Schmidt & Hunter, distort their responses in a favorable direction.3 1998). Similarly, although research connect- Finally, research based on several very large ing applicant or employee values to job per- samples suggests that differences among ra- formance is far less plentiful than research cial or ethnic groups on integrity tests are Our results also on conscientiousness, existing evidence sug- “trivial” and, as such, unlikely to lead to ad- suggest considerable gests that relationships between values and verse impact (Ones & Viswesvaran, 1998). discrepancies performance are in part determined by fit with It should be noted about personality that, between research other employees, and that they can even be in contrast to most other areas of the ques- and practitioner inconsistent in direction (Adkins, Ravlin, & tionnaire, relatively high proportions of re- beliefs with Meglino, 1996; Lauver & Kristof-Brown, in spondents were uncertain about all of the respect to both press). Intelligence, on the other hand, has personality items. For example, 23% were un- the nature and usefulness of been shown to be a positive predictor of per- certain about whether the four dimensions of personality traits formance at all levels of job skill, although the the MBTI represent the basic dimensions of as a basis for size of the relationship is smaller for lower- personality; 30% were uncertain about selection. level jobs than for jobs of greater complexity whether there are sizable differences in the (e.g., ␳ = .23 for unskilled; ␳ = .40 for semi- validity of different personality inventories; skilled, and ␳ = .58 for managerial and pro- 34% were uncertain about whether integrity fessional jobs; see Schmidt & Hunter, 1998, tests have selection validity; and a very con- p. 264). siderable 50% were uncertain about whether Our results also suggest considerable dis- integrity tests have adverse impact against crepancies between research and practitioner minorities. To some extent, the large degree beliefs with respect to both the nature and of uncertainty regarding personality tests is usefulness of personality traits as a basis for understandable, given that supportive results selection. These discrepancies are evident in have emerged only in the past decade after four items. Specifically, only 49% of respon- several decades of discouraging (pre-meta- dents (correctly) disagreed with the statement analytic and pre-Big Five) results. Although that the four dimensions represented by the evidence concerning the usefulness of several Myers–Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) repre- of the Big Five personality traits has begun to sent the basic dimensions of personality; only be translated to practitioner audiences, most 42% correctly disagreed with the statement such translations are still quite recent (e.g., that there is very little difference among per- Barrick & Mount, 2000; Behling, 1998). sonality inventories with respect to how well Although discrepancies between research they predict job performance; only 32% (cor- and practitioner beliefs are quite large in se- rectly) disagreed with the statement that in- lection, they appear to be somewhat smaller tegrity tests are not useful for selection, and with respect to compensation and benefits. In only 31% correctly disagreed with the state- general, respondents tended to agree with re- ment that integrity tests result in high degrees search findings: that there is indeed something of adverse impact against minorities. managers can do to soften the blow of pay cuts In contrast to the typical HR manager’s (72% agreement); that most people wish to be beliefs, research suggests that there are five paid on the basis of individual rather than (rather than four) basic dimensions of person- group or team performance (81% agreement); ality, and that they are not the ones assessed that merit pay systems are not detrimental to by the MBTI (see Table I). In addition, differ- organizational performance (66% agreement); ent personality measures can be expected to and that having higher proportions of manag- have very different levels of usefulness for pre- ers on organizationally based pay incentives dicting performance because different mea- is associated with higher organizational per- sures contain varying proportions of the five formance (62% agreement). In addition, a slim Correspondence between Research and Practice • 161 majority (59%) agreed that new companies less significant ones (Slovic & Lichtenstein, have a better chance of surviving if all em- 1971). Failure to recognize these general bi- ployees receive incentives based on organiza- ases in employees’ response patterns might tion-wide performance, and that talking about well cause employers to underestimate the salary issues during performance appraisals extent to which they need to attend to com- does not destroy employee morale and perfor- pensation issues. mance (51%). On the other hand, in contrast with exist- Where HR Professionals Get Their ing research (Cable & Judge, 1994), only 40% Information of respondents disagreed with the (false) state- ment that most employees prefer variable pay In addition to asking about respondents’ be- systems (e.g., incentives, gain sharing, stock liefs, we also inquired as to where respondents options) over fixed pay systems. This result get their information, as well as their attitudes may have been obtained because this survey toward different informational sources. Table was conducted just before the stock market II shows the extent to which our respondents crash in the spring of 2000. As such, respon- read various types of periodicals that might dents may have still been reading popular press yield information about the effectiveness of articles about how top-tier business students HR practices. were eschewing “corporate” jobs (or even com- As the table indicates, the only periodical pleting their MBAs) in favor of cashing in on that respondents read more than “sometimes” the dot.com and IPO bonanzas. is HR Magazine, which the typical respondent Finally, only 35% agreed with the find- “usually” reads. Three periodicals were also ing that people are likely to report that pay is read somewhere between “rarely” and “some- less important to them than it really is. This times”: The Wall Street Journal, HR Focus, and appears to occur for one of two reasons: it is HR Executive. Consistent with other research somewhat “socially undesirable” to admit to (e.g., Offermann & Spiros, 2001), very few strong preferences for pay (e.g., Feldman & respondents (fewer than 1%) reported that Arnold, 1978; Rynes, Schwab, & Aldag, they “usually” read the three most research- 1983), and the more general tendency to un- oriented journals on the list—Journal of Ap- derreport the importance of the most signifi- plied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, and cant decision variables, while overreporting Academy of Management Journal.

TABLE II Frequency with Which Periodicals Are Read

Periodical Mean Standard Deviation Rating

Human Resource Magazine 4.28 .86 Wall Street Journal 2.72 1.19 HR Focus 2.69 1.38 Human Resource Executive 2.62 1.48 Human Resource Management Journal 2.23 1.34 Workforce 2.00 1.31 Business Week 1.94 1.00 Fortune 1.92 1.00 Forbes 1.77 .93 Harvard Business Review 1.77 1.02 Human Resource Planning Journal 1.51 .93 Inc. 1.49 .80 Fast Company 1.46 .95 Personnel Psychology 1.22 .60 Journal of Applied Psychology 1.19 .55 Academy of Management Executive 1.11 .42 Academy of Management Journal 1.11 .39

Note. 1–5 scale, where 1 = “never,” 2 = “rarely,” 3 = “sometimes,” 4 = “usually,” and 5 = “always.” 162 • HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Summer 2002

TABLE III Sources of Help for Solving HR Problems

Mean Standard Resource Rating Deviation Other HR professionals in my organization 3.15 1.38 SHRM Web site 2.98 1.04 Other Web sites 2.74 1.10 HR research literature 2.62 1.10 HR professionals in other organizations 2.48 .92 Consultants 1.98 .89 Academics 1.42 .73

Note. 1–5 scale, where 1 = “rarely or never,” 2 = “a few times per year,” 3 = “about once a month,” 4 = “several times per month,” and 5 = “almost daily.”

Table III provides additional information under the category of “research literature” about how practitioners seek or receive infor- than we did in our survey. mation about HR issues. This table shows that Finally, Table IV shows respondents’ atti- the most common sources to which practitio- tudes toward academics and academic re- ners turn when faced with HR problems are search. This table suggests that practitioners other HR professionals in the same organiza- are close to neutral on questions about the tion, the SHRM Web site, and other Internet usefulness or applicability of research findings, sites. Interestingly, despite the very low rates but that they nevertheless wish they had more of academic journal reading reported in Table time to read about them (3.9 on a five-point II, practitioners still report going to the re- scale). This was particularly true of those with search literature more often than to consult- less experience in HR; there was a negative ants, academics, or HR professionals in other correlation of –.21 (p < .001) between experi- organizations. Although we cannot be sure of ence and desire to learn about academic re- the reason for this apparent inconsistency, one search. possibility is that social desirability consider- ations cause people to inflate their answers to What Characteristics Are Associated with general questions about how much they read Research Knowledge? the research literature, as opposed to more specific questions about how often they read As indicated earlier, there was very high vari- particular journals. Another possibility is that ability in the extent to which respondents’ practitioners include a wider range of sources beliefs were consistent with research findings.

TABLE IV Practitioner Attitudes toward Academics and HR Research Attitude Mean Rating Standard Deviation I wish I had more time to read about 3.91 1.03 academic HR research findings. Most research findings make sense in 3.04 .84 theory, but don’t work well in practice. I would like to spend more time 2.86 1.09 talking with academics about HR problems I generally don’t find academic HR 2.78 .91 research to be very useful. I often wish I could call an academic 2.65 1.07 to help me solve HR problems

Note. 1–5 scale, where 1 = “rarely or never,” 2 = “a few times a year,” 3 = “about once a month,” 4 = “several times per month,” and 5 = “almost daily.” Correspondence between Research and Practice • 163

This raises the question of whether differ- fication (b = .81; t = 2.56, p = .01), and aca- ences in research knowledge are reliably as- demic reading (b = .60, t = 1.94, p = .05). sociated with differences in individual char- However, the overall predictability of the acteristics (e.g., education) or information- model was quite modest (R = .20). seeking strategies (e.g., academic reading). To assess this question, we constructed Discussion a correlation matrix of major demographic characteristics, information-seeking strate- In a book called The Knowing-Doing Gap, two gies, and number of correct responses (Table prominent academics recently argued that the V). As Table V indicates, two individual dif- major differences in organizational competitive- ference characteristics—job level (r = .14, ness were no longer created by differences in p < .01) and SPHR certification (r = .10, knowledge, but rather by differences in the p < .01)—were associated with higher lev- ability to implement what is known (Pfeffer & els of agreement with research findings. Two Sutton, 2000). Their basic assertion is that in- information-seeking strategies were also sig- formation dissemination has become so effi- nificantly correlated with research knowl- cient that everyone is likely to know about best edge: academic reading (r = .08, p < .05)4 practices; thus, best practices are no longer and use of consultants to seek information likely to be sources of competitive advantage: (r = .09, p < .05). Finally, we conducted a regression analy- We now live in a world where knowledge sis of all the independent variables from Table transfer and information exchange are tre- V to determine the extent to which bivariate mendously efficient, and where there are nu- results held up after controlling for the ef- merous organizations in the business of col- fects of all other variables. This analysis lecting and transferring best practices. So, showed that three of the variables remained there are fewer and smaller differences in significant in this multivariate analysis: job what firms know than in their ability to act level (b = .50, t = 3.14, p < .01), SPHR certi- on that knowledge. (p. 243)

TABLE V Correlations among Major Study Variables

Notes: N = 827. * p < .05 (two-tailed test). ** p < .01 (two-tailed test). Job level is coded 1 = Other, 2 = HR Manager, 3 = Director, 4 = VP; Tenure = number of years in HR; Education is coded 1 = H.S., 2 = Bachelors, 3 = Masters, 4 = Ph.D.; HR major = 1, else = 0; PHR certification = 1, else = 0; SHPR certification = 1, else = 0. Knowledge = # correct of 35 possible. All other variables on 5-point scales. Reliability for Knowledge is test-retest; other reliabilities are coefficient alphas. 164 • HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Summer 2002

In clear contrast to this assertion, our re- low-skilled jobs (42%). Even more specifically, sults suggest that there are in fact very large three of the most problematic items revealed differences across companies in what their lack of awareness of the usefulness of intel- HR leaders know about best practices in HR ligence as a predictor of performance in al- and, furthermore, that the average level of most every type of job. knowledge does not appear to be very impres- Despite the extensive research base un- sive. Moreover, it is quite likely that our re- derlying these selection findings, our results sults represent a “best case” scenario, given suggest that HR managers are generally un- that we sampled the highest-level HR practi- aware of this entire body of literature. A num- tioners and that those who knew even less ber of factors may account for this. First, … our results were probably disproportionately likely to be selection research is more technical than re- suggest that there nonrespondents. In addition, the weakest search in many other areas of HR, frequently are in fact very knowledge areas were not limited to obscure, involving such complex procedures as meta- large differences unimportant, or little-researched issues. analysis, corrections for measurement error, across companies in what their HR Rather, the biggest gaps between research and utility analysis. Thus, unless this research leaders know findings and practitioner beliefs concern is translated for nonacademic audiences, it has about best some of the most central issues in HR: first, little chance of being read and understood by practices in HR how to choose the best employees and, sec- most practicing managers. and, ond, how to effectively motivate them Second, the frame of reference with respect furthermore, that the average level through appropriate goal-setting and effec- to selection appears to be different for academ- of knowledge tive performance management. ics than it is for practitioners. For example, se- does not appear Research at multiple levels of analysis in- lection researchers focus on gathering to be very creasingly suggests that differences in knowl- knowledge about rather abstract characteristics impressive. edge and/or application of these practices can of people (such as “intelligence” or “conscien- have large impacts on a firm’s bottom line (e.g., tiousness”), whereas most recruitment and se- Huselid, 1995). Moreover, results from Ulrich lection activities are designed around the job. et al.’s (1995) study of how HR practitioners Thus, for example, interviewers are trained to are evaluated by others suggests that lack of develop questions that focus on applicants’ abili- HR knowledge can also be a serious detriment ties to perform specific job tasks or to handle to the career reputations of individual HR particular job-related situations, rather than to practitioners. Given the apparent importance attempt to infer someone’s personality or intel- of knowledge to both individual and organiza- ligence from interview responses. The practice tional outcomes, a central issue for future re- of structuring job descriptions and interview searchers, practitioners, and professional questions around job analysis is consistent with organizations such as SHRM concerns how earlier recommendations (following passage of to disseminate research findings more accu- Title VII of the Civil Rights Act) designed to im- rately and effectively. prove selection validity and to reduce the likeli- A second finding from our research is that hood of unintentional bias or discrimination. In practitioners’ beliefs diverge from research fact, these recommendations (to standardize findings much more widely in some content interview content around job-related questions) areas than in others. Clearly, the area in have been notably successful in improving the which the largest gaps were uncovered in this validity of the employment interview (McDaniel study was selection. Specifically, five of the et al., 1994; Schmidt & Hunter, 1998). How- largest discrepancies involved selection-re- ever, they may not be very helpful in revealing lated issues: the relative validity of selecting the linkages between the interview behaviors for intelligence versus values (only 16% agree- exhibited by applicants and the underlying traits ment), the relative validity of intelligence (such as intelligence or conscientiousness) that versus conscientiousness as predictors of cause some applicants to produce more effec- performance (18% agreement), the validity tive answers than others. of integrity tests (31%), the absence of ad- A third reason for the failure of selection verse impact for integrity tests (32%), and the research to take root in practice probably re- usefulness of intelligence for performing even sides in the negative coverage that intelligence Correspondence between Research and Practice • 165 and ability testing continue to receive in the level (raw difference = 2.20; d = .60, p < .01). popular press (e.g., Goleman, 1998). Despite Similarly, those who had received SPHR cer- overwhelming evidence of the usefulness of tification scored 20.84 versus 19.99 for those ability tests for predicting performance (see with no certification or only PHR certifica- Hunter, 1986), the persistence of negative tion (raw difference = .85; d = .23, p < .01). press coverage has almost certainly convinced Finally, our findings suggest that knowl- some practitioners that intelligence is an over- edge of research findings could be improved rated construct, and/or that it cannot be use- if practitioners were to read academic jour- … lack of awareness of fully assessed via paper-and-pencil tests. nals. For example, we found that practitio- broad selection Furthermore, the fact that ability tests pro- ners who “usually” read HR research principles can be duce adverse impact against certain groups has journals scored an average of 3.15 points very costly to brought testing squarely into the political higher than all other respondents—a 15% organizations, arena, where facts are often selectively cho- advantage (d = .86; p < .05). However, our since the characteristics of sen or distorted to support desired ends. In results also revealed a fatal flaw with this po- selected turn, political and legal uncertainties about tential “solution”: the vast majority of practi- employees place testing may have caused some practitioners tioners simply do not read the academic inevitable limits to lose interest in research about intelligence, literature. In our study, only six of our 959 on the extent to feeling that attempts to assess it are too risky.5 respondents (fewer than 1%) typically read which other management Whatever the reasons, lack of awareness these sources. In stark contrast, fully 75% of practices (such of broad selection principles can be very respondents reported that they never read any as training and costly to organizations, since the character- of the three top academic journals. The mes- performance istics of selected employees place inevitable sage seems clear: alternative means of dissemi- management) limits on the extent to which other manage- nation must be found if practitioners are to will be effective. ment practices (such as training and perfor- acquire greater research knowledge. mance management) will be effective. Based on a meta-analysis of twenty-five years’ worth Looking to the Future of data, researchers at Gallup came to the same conclusion: “People don’t change that Because practitioners do not read academic much….great managers know there is a limit journals, the most promising solution is to put to how much remolding they can do to some- more research content into practitioner jour- one” (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999, pp. 56– nals and other formats commonly used by HR 57). Because of this, it is crucial to know how practitioners (e.g., the SHRM Web site). At to select the right people in the first place. present, nearly all the content in practitioner As further evidence of this proposition, journals is provided by consultants and prac- Terpstra and Rozell (1993) showed that the ticing HR professionals. Although these can use of research-validated staffing practices be useful sources of information, it is impor- (such as use of general mental ability tests, tant to have researcher input as well, since structured interviews, and weighted applica- (as we have seen) research findings can some- tion blanks) was significantly associated with times vary considerably from practitioner be- both annual profit (r = .20) and profit growth liefs and consultant recommendations. (r = .14) across industries, with relationships As an illustration of these points, we offer being particularly strong in the service and an example taken from the most widely read financial sectors. practitioner journal, HR Magazine, discuss- A third contribution of our research was ing the most commonly misunderstood HR re- to uncover some clues about the characteris- search area (selection). In 1999, the Magazine tics of HR managers that seem to be associ- published an article entitled “Reading Employ- ated with higher knowledge. First, managers ees,” a pro-and-con discussion of handwrit- at higher job levels appear to have somewhat ing analysis (graphology) as a selection tool better knowledge of HR practices. For ex- (Leonard, 1999). The article began by stating ample, respondents at the highest job level that a growing number of U.S. companies are (HR vice president) scored 20.86 on average, using graphology to screen and place job ap- as opposed to 18.66 for those at the lowest plicants. It then quoted the president of a 166 • HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Summer 2002

handwriting consulting firm who said, “I defi- ger muscles and their coordination are prob- nitely believe that this will be the career guid- ably due mostly to random genetic variations ance tool of the future. With handwriting among individuals…which do not appear to analysis, you get right to the truth about a be linked to personality. (p. 270) person. It can reveal weaknesses as well as strengths and hidden talents.” It also quoted Thus, a simple phone call to Frank a Senior VP of HR who said that her com- Schmidt or Jack Hunter would likely have Although pany “lives and dies by handwriting analysis.” shifted the theme of the article from a “pro- practitioner Although the article does contain warnings con” debate to a “beware of this invalid prac- journals from two lawyers about possible legal prob- tice” theme. Moreover, the article would then currently do not lems with handwriting analysis due to weak have had little reason to debate legality, since offer much in the validity evidence, these warnings are subse- the absence of validity is a much more fun- way of research findings, we quently countered by a graphologist who says, damental reason for not spending money on believe that now “The data clearly support the claims that gra- a potential selection practice than is uncer- may be a phology works and can be an accurate assess- tain legality. particularly good ment tool.” Finally, the article concluded with Although practitioner journals currently time to increase a quote by another VP with SPHR status: do not offer much in the way of research find- research coverage. “We’ve used it for nine years and haven’t had ings, we believe that now may be a particularly one complaint. You can be overly cautious and good time to increase research coverage. First, choose not to do anything, but then you end our results suggest that most practitioners, up being just too afraid to move. I feel that particularly the less experienced ones, would when you have an excellent and accurate as- like to know more about research findings sessment tool at your disposal, then you should (Table IV). Second, two relatively recent pat- use it.” terns have emerged in HR research that we In other words, although the article raises believe have increased the potential useful- some possible cautions about handwriting ness of research findings to practitioners. analysis (particularly with respect to its legal One of these developments concerns the status), both the introduction and conclusion increased use of meta-analysis to summarize to the article are very positive about graphol- findings from multiple studies of the same is- ogy. However, not a single academic researcher sue. By empirically combining data from mul- was consulted for the article; a notable exclu- tiple studies and giving greater weight to those sion, since the presence of a credible academic studies with larger samples, researchers are opinion would likely have produced an alto- now able to provide much more reliable esti- gether different conclusion. This is because mates of effect sizes and to give an indication cumulative research on “content-free” hand- of the extent to which findings appear to be writing analysis (i.e., analysis of handwriting universal, as opposed to dependent on particu- only, as opposed to handwriting-plus-content lar circumstances. By using meta-analysis, analysis of essays assessing personality or researchers have been able to obtain much work-related characteristics) has shown that more reliable estimates of important relation- graphology has absolutely no validity as a se- ships such as the ones between personality lection tool. According to Schmidt and and job performance (Barrick & Mount, 1991; Hunter’s (1998) summary of previous graphol- Ones, Viswesvaran, & Schmidt, 1993) or be- ogy research, tween employee satisfaction and job perfor- mance (Judge, Thoresen, Bono, & Patton, Whatever limited information about person- 2001). These are truly “big questions” with ality or job performance there is in the hand- clear implications for practitioners. writing samples comes from the content and The other positive development is the ex- not the characteristics of the tent to which HR researchers have shifted handwriting…actually, most of the variation from a nearly exclusive concern with individual in handwriting is due to differences among behavior to a broader concern with organiza- individuals in fine motor coordination of the tional activities and outcomes. For example, finger muscles. And these differences in fin- the past decade has seen the emergence of Correspondence between Research and Practice • 167 important research concerning how organiza- eyes. Given this reality, even considerably bet- tional performance is related to compensation ter knowledge of the HR literature might not practices (Gerhart & Milkovich, 1990), selec- be sufficient for the HR function (and indi- tion practices (Terpstra & Rozell, 1993), and vidual HR practitioners) to improve their cred- different configurations of overall HR systems ibility with others in the organization. (e.g., Arthur, 1994; Delery & Doty, 1996; A final recommendation would be for re- Huselid, 1995). The result is that, in an in- searchers to take a closer look at some of the creasing number of areas, we no longer need issues revealed by our survey to exhibit wide to “infer up” from the individual to the orga- gaps between research findings and practi- Researchers may be reluctant to nizational level of analysis. tioner beliefs. One such issue would be the have their work At the same time that we urge practitioner enormous gap between researcher and prac- published in journals to increase their coverage of research titioner beliefs about intelligence. More de- journals where findings, we also caution that this may not be tailed analysis of practitioner beliefs scientifically sufficient to entice researchers to present their concerning intelligence may help to disen- rigorous, peer- reviewed findings work in such journals. Issues of academic tangle the extent to which the discrepancy is are published incentive structures (e.g., promotion and due to each of the following potential expla- alongside articles tenure) aside, researchers may be reluctant nations: (a) lack of knowledge about research that flatly to have their work published in journals where findings (as suggested by this research), (b) contradict scientifically rigorous, peer-reviewed findings exposure to conflicting findings by others who research findings. Thus, are published alongside articles (such as the also position themselves as “research experts” the editors of one on handwriting analysis) that flatly (e.g., Goleman, 1998), (c) concerns about practitioner contradict research findings. Thus, the editors legality, (d) direct disagreement with the find- outlets will not of practitioner outlets will not only have to ings (despite knowledge), or (e) agreement only have to have have a stronger commitment to publishing with the findings, but disagreement with the a stronger research findings, but also to validating the practical implications of the findings (e.g., commitment to publishing information contained in non-research-based that adverse impact might be created against research articles. The mechanisms to ensure that this minorities), and hence, potential misrepre- findings, but also will occur are not entirely clear at present, sentation of beliefs.6 to validating the although one suggestion might be for The fruits of such a (more detailed) re- information professional associations such as SHRM, The search approach may be considerable. contained in non-research- Society for Industrial & Organizational Previous research has shown that some of the based articles. Psychology (SIOP), and the Academy of most important advances in HR science and Management to maintain a clearinghouse to practice have emerged from attempts to re- link research experts to reporters. solve differences in beliefs across researcher Because such changes will take time, the and practitioner perspectives (Cooper & addition of special research sections to prac- Locke, 2000). As just one example, for decades titioner outlets might also be accompanied by practitioners persisted in using the employ- “handbooks” or edited volumes that call on ment interview as a selection device despite respected researchers to translate their work scathing reviews of their validity by academ- (and its implications) for practicing manag- ics (e.g., Dunnette & Bass, 1963). However, ers. Two notable attempts in this regard have this continued use by practitioners spurred re- recently been undertaken by Cooper and searchers to find ways to improve the validity Locke (2000) and Locke (2000). of the interview through such techniques as Another recommendation is that journals job analysis, structured interviewing, note-tak- that traditionally cover only “HR” knowledge ing, and formalized scoring. Eventually, begin to expand to cover research and imple- meta-analytic techniques were developed that mentation issues related to change manage- not only demonstrated the superiority of the ment and, to a lesser extent, general business newer interviewing methods (McDaniel et al., issues. As mentioned earlier, Ulrich et al. 1994), but also showed that even unstructured (1995) found that the Change Management interviews have validity, as asserted by practi- competency, more than any other, determined tioners all along (see also Kluger & how HR practitioners were viewed in others’ Tikochinsky, 2001). Thus, many decades of 168 • HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Summer 2002

research ultimately revealed that the re- ers: Strategies for taking charge. New York: searcher and practitioner perspectives each Harper Business. Collins, J. (2001). Good to had some validity, with the end result being great. New York: Harper-Collins. improved research and improved practice 3. Locke, E.A., & Latham, G.P. (1990). A theory of (Rynes, Barber, & Varma, 2000). goal-setting and task performance. Upper Saddle Thus, researchers may find rich rewards River, NJ:. Locke, E.A., Schweiger, D.M., & from attempting to probe more directly into Latham, G.P. (1986). Participation in decision the discrepancies revealed by the present making: When should it be used? Organizational survey, such as the differing views of practi- Dynamics, 14, 65–79. Wagner, J.A., III. (1994). tioners and academics with respect to the Participation’s effect on performance and satis- roles of intelligence, values, personality, and faction: A reconsideration of the research evi- employee participation in predicting indi- dence. Academy of Management Review, 19, vidual and organizational performance. By 312–330. getting closer to the root sources of these 4. Baum, J.R., Locke, E.A., & Kirkpatrick, S.A. discrepancies, research as well as practice (1998). A longitudinal study of the relation of is likely to benefit. vision and vision communication to venture growth in entrepreneurial firms. Journal of Ap- APPENDIX: SOURCES OF plied Psychology, 83, 43–54. Hoch, D.J., Roeding, ADDITIONAL C., Purkert, G., & Lindner, S.K. (1999). Secrets INFORMATION ABOUT THE of software success: Management insights from QUESTIONNAIRE ITEMS 100 software firms around the world. Boston: HBR IN TABLE I Press. Brown, S., & Eisenhardt, K. (1995). Acad- emy of Management Review. 1. Barling, J.E., Weber, T., & Kelloway, E.K. (1996). 5. Reichheld, F.F. (1996). The loyalty effect. Bos- Effects of transformational leadership training ton: Harvard Business School Press. on attitudinal and financial outcomes: A field 6. Morris, J.R., Cascio, W.F., & Young, C.E. (1999). experiment. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, Downsizing after all these years: Questions and 827–833. Loehlin, J.C., McCrae, R.R., Costa, answers about who did it, how many did it, and P.T., & John, O.P. (1998). Heritabilities of com- who benefited from it. Organizational Dynam- mon and measure-specific components of the Big ics, 27 (3), 78–87. Cameron, K.S., Freeman, S.J., Five personality factors. Journal of Research in & Mishra, A.K. (1993). Downsizing and redesign- Personality, 32, 431–453. Judge, T.A., & Bono, ing organizations. In G.P. Huber & W.H. Glick J.E. (2000). Five-factor model of personality and (Eds.), Organizational change and redesign (pp. transformational leadership. Journal of Applied 19–65). New York: Oxford University Press. Psychology, 85, 751–765. Riemann, R., 7. Ulrich, D., Brockbank, W., Yeung, A.K., & Lake, Angleitner, A., & Strelau, J. (1997). Genetic and D.G. (1995). Human resource competencies: An environmental influences on personality: A study empirical assessment. Human Resource Manage- of twins reared together using the self- and peer- ment, 34, 473–495. report NEO-FFI scales. Journal of Personality, 8. Locke, E.A., Feren, D.B., McCaleb, V.M., Shaw, 65, 449–475. K.N., & Denny, A.T. (1980). The relative effec- 2. Bass, B.M. (1990). From transactional to trans- tiveness of four methods of motivating employee formational leadership: Learning to share the vi- performance. In K.D. Duncan, M.M. Gruneberg, sion. Organizational Dynamics, 18 (3), 19–31. & D. Wallis (Eds.), Changes in working life (pp. Judge, T.A., Bono, J.E., Ilies, R., & Werner, M. 363–388). London: Wiley. Locke & Latham, (in press). Personality and leadership: A qualita- 1990, op. cit., note 3. Locke, E.A., Schweiger, tive and quantitative review. Journal of Applied D.M., & Latham, G.P. (1986). Participation in Psychology. Lord, R.G., Devader, C.L., & Alliger, decision making: When should it be used? Orga- G.M. (1986). A meta-analysis of the relationship nizational Dynamics, 14, 65–79. Wagner, J.A., between personality traits and leadership percep- III. (1994). Participation’s effect on performance tions—An application of validity generalization and satisfaction: A reconsideration of the research procedures. Journal of Applied Psychology, 71, evidence. Academy of Management Review, 19, 402–410. Bennis, W., & Nanus, B. (1997). Lead- 312–330. Correspondence between Research and Practice • 169

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ences and job search decisions: A person–orga- mance appraisal? Organizational Behavior and nization fit perspective. Personnel Psychology, 47, Human Decision Processes, 37, 357–375. Welch, 317–348. Bretz, R.D., Ash, R.A., & Dreher, G.F. J. Jack: Straight from the gut. New York: Warner (1989). Do people make the place? An examina- Books. tion of the attraction-selection-attrition hypoth- 34. Bureau of National Affairs. (1988). Changing esis. Personnel Psychology, 42, 561–580. pay practices: New developments in employee 30. Kopelman, R.E., & Reinharth, L. (1982). Research compensation. Washington, DC: Author. results: The effect of merit-pay practices on white Cable, D.M., & Judge, T.A. (1994), op. cit., collar performance. Compensation Review, 14 (4), note 29. Brown, K.A., & Huber, V.L. (1992). 30–40. Heneman, R.L. (1992). Merit pay: Link- Lowering floors and raising ceilings: A longi- ing pay increases to performance ratings. Read- tudinal assessment of the effects of an earn- ing, MA: Addison-Wesley. Kopelman, R.E., ings-at-risk plan on pay. Jensen, M.C., & Rovenpor, J.L., & Cayer, M. (1991). Merit pay and Meckling, W.H. (1976). Theory of the firm: organizational performance: Is there an effect on Managerial behavior, agency costs, and own- the bottom line? National Productivity Review, ership structure. Journal of Financial Econom- 299–307. Pearce, J.L., Stevenson, W.B., & Perry, ics, 3, 305–360. J.L. (1985). Managerial compensation based on 35. Feldman, D.C., & Arnold, H.J. (1978). Position organizational performance: A time series analy- choice: Comparing the importance of organiza- sis of the effects of merit pay. Academy of Man- tional and job factors. Journal of Applied Psy- agement Journal, 28, 261–278. chology, 63, 706–710. Jurgensen, C.E. (1978). 31. Gerhart, B., & Milkovich, G.T. (1990). Organi- Job preferences: What makes a job good or bad? zational differences in managerial compensation Journal of Applied Psychology, 63, 267–276. and firm performance. Academy of Management Rynes, S.L., Schwab, D.P., & Heneman, H.G., Journal, 33, 663–691. Welbourne, T.M., & III. (1983). The role of pay and market pay vari- Andrews, A.O. (1996). Predicting the perfor- ability in job application decisions. Organizational mance of initial public offerings: Should human Behavior and Human Performance, 31, 353–364. resource management be in the equation? Acad- Slovic, P., & Lichtenstein, S. (1971). Compari- emy of Management Journal, 39, 891–919. son of Bayesian and regression approaches to the 32. Welbourne & Andrews (1996), op. cit., note 31. study of information processing in judgment. Or- 33. Prince, J.B., & Lawler, E.E., III. (1986). Does ganizational Behavior and Human Performance, salary discussion hurt the developmental perfor- 6, 649–744. 172 • HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Summer 2002

Sara L. Rynes is the John F. Murray Professor and Chair of the Department of Man- agement and Organizations at the University of Iowa. Rynes is currently an Associate Editor for the Academy of Management Journal and previously served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, and Quality Man- agement Journal. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Her research interests include recruitment and job choice, compensation, and knowledge transfer between academ- ics and practitioners. She holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Relations from the University of Wisconsin and was previously on the faculties of the University of Minnesota and Cornell University.

Amy E. Colbert is a doctoral candidate and University of Iowa Fellow in the Depart- ment of Management and Organizations. Her research interests are in the areas of leadership, personality, and innovation. Prior to joining the doctoral program at Iowa, Ms. Colbert received an M.A. in Decision Sciences from St. Louis University and a B.S. in Accounting and Math from Culver-Stockton College. She is a former internal auditor and winner of The Wall Street Journal Award for Accounting Excellence.

Kenneth G. Brown is an Assistant Professor of Management & Organizations at the University of Iowa. His research focuses on training, individual and organizational learn- ing, computer technology and human performance, group influences in organizations, motivation and self-regulation, and knowledge transfer. He has published articles in Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Hu- man Decision Processes, and Human Resource Planning. He received his B.S. in Psy- chology from the University of Maryland and his Ph.D. in Industrial & Organizational Psychology from Michigan State University.

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man resource information and the link to orga- treme restriction of range on this variable, which nizational profitability. Journal of Applied Behav- almost certainly reduced its observed correlation ioral Science, 33, 66–83. with overall knowledge. Ulrich, D., Brockbank, W., Yeung, A.K., & Lake, D.G. 5. We transmitted our findings with respect to the (1995). Human resource competencies: Am em- research–practice gap concerning intelligence to pirical assessment. Human Resource Manage- a number of HR practitioners, and asked for an ment, 34, 473–495. explanation. The most common response was that U.S. Department of Labor. (1993). High performance many HR practitioners think ability testing is work practices. Washington, DC: Author. likely to lead to legal difficulties. As such, it is Welbourne, T.M., & Andrews, A.O. (1996). Predict- important to emphasize that we did not ask re- ing the performance of initial public offerings: spondents what they believed about the legality Should human resource management be in the of ability testing. Rather, we asked (in a variety equation? Academy of Management Journal, 39, of ways) whether they thought that ability was a 891–919. better, or weaker, predictor of performance than other less-predictive characteristics (e.g., values ENDNOTES or conscientiousness). Clearly, practitioners’ negative beliefs about intelligence go far beyond 1. The authors gratefully acknowledge funding and concerns about legal defensibility. administrative support from the SHRM Founda- 6. It is possible that these last two reasons—dis- tion, as well as helpful comments from Debra agreement with a known research finding or Cohen, Herb Heneman, Ken Pearlman, Lise disagreement with its practical implications— Saari, Tom Stone, Ray Weinberg, and Gale may account for some of the gap uncovered Varma. However, the interpretations, conclu- in this study. Specifically, because we asked sions, and recommendations are those of the about practitioners about their beliefs, it is author(s) and do not necessarily represent those possible that some practitioners stated nega- of the Foundation. tive beliefs about intelligence despite know- 2. Two items were eliminated due to ambiguous ing about intelligence-related research wording, one due to the discovery of new cri- findings. However, we believe the numbers of tiques of existing research, and one to the dis- such respondents are probably very small, for covery of new findings. two reasons: first, fewer than 1% reported 3. There are two kinds of integrity tests: some overtly reading HR research journals and, second, ask about attitudes and behaviors related to theft, only one respondent noted in the margins of absenteeism, violence, and the like; others are the survey that he or she “knew” the research “disguised-purpose” personality tests that tap finding, but disagreed with it. Given more three of the “Big Five” personality dimensions than 37,000 opportunities for this to occur (Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and Emotional (959 subjects ϫ 39 items), we suspect that Stability). the proportion of the gap explained by dis- 4. As indicated earlier (see Table II), there was ex- agreement with known findings is negligible.