HUMAN RESOURCE STRATEGIES AND PRACTICES IN CRISIS TIMES Mónica Santana-Hernández Supervisors: Prof. Ramón Valle-Cabrera Prof. José Luis Galán-González CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................................... 1 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................ 3 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 5 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 7 1.2 Declining context .......................................................................................................................... 8 1.3 SHRM in crisis times .................................................................................................................... 9 1.4 Research questions and contributions ......................................................................................... 10 1.5 Dissertation outline...................................................................................................................... 13 References ......................................................................................................................................... 14 CHAPTER 2: BRINGING THE STUDY OF ORGANIZATIONAL DECLINE AND TURNAROUND INTO STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT ................................................................................... 17 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 19 2.2 Decline and turnaround strategies ............................................................................................... 21 2.3 Building a contextual model of HR strategies and practices to deal with organizational decline24 2.4 Some concluding comments and implications for SHRM .................................................... 41 References ......................................................................................................................................... 45 Tables ................................................................................................................................................ 59 CHAPTER 3: LINKING SOURCES OF DECLINE, TURNAROUND STRATEGY AND HR STRATEGIES AND PRACTICES: THE ANALYSIS OF IBERIA AIRLINES CASE ........................................................................... 61 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 63 3.2 Theoretical framework .......................................................................................................... 65 3.3 Methods/ data collection ....................................................................................................... 69 3.4 Data analysis and findings ........................................................................................................... 73 3.5 Discussion of findings ................................................................................................................. 91 3.6 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................. 95 References ......................................................................................................................................... 99 Tables .............................................................................................................................................. 108 CHAPTER 4: TURNAROUND STRATEGIES UNDER LIMITING EFFECT OF NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY IN THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY .............................................................................. 117 CONTENTS 4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 119 4.2 Theoretical framework .............................................................................................................. 121 4.2.1 Context and turnaround strategy ....................................................................................... 121 4.2.2 Turnaround strategies, HRM and national institutions ...................................................... 124 4.3 Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 126 4.4 Empirical findings ............................................................................................................... 130 4.4.1 Sources of decline and turnaround strategies in British Airways and Iberia (2000-2015). 130 4.4.2 The influence of employee representation on turnaround strategies and HRM strategies and practices (2000-2015). .......................................................................................................... 135 4.5 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 141 4.6 Conclusions and limitations ................................................................................................ 148 References ....................................................................................................................................... 150 Tables .............................................................................................................................................. 157 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................................. 165 5.1. Summary and conclusions ........................................................................................................ 167 5.2. Contributions ............................................................................................................................ 169 5.3. Limitations ............................................................................................................................... 172 References ....................................................................................................................................... 175 APPENDIX: Example of interview outline ............................................................................................ 179 WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS ............................................................................................................. 183 RESUMEN EN ESPAÑOL ....................................................................................................................... 185 I. Introducción............................................................................................................................. 187 II. El contexto de declive ............................................................................................................. 188 III. La gestión estratégica de los recursos humanos en tiempos de crisis.................................. 190 IV. Cuestiones de investigación y contribuciones ..................................................................... 192 Bibliografía ...................................................................................................................................... 197 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS To my family To Teresa “The opportunity that lies in every crisis…” R.J.J. SJ First of all, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to my two supervisors, whose guidance was absolutely outstanding, and whose patience and experience brought the best out of me. José Luis was my professor at the University of Seville, and when I asked him to supervise my future dissertation he accepted without hesitation, showing his great generosity. Later on, as he knew about my interest in the field of Human Resource Strategy, and that I was working at Pablo de Olavide University as a part-time professor, he contacted Ramón Valle, who also kindly accepted the invitation to supervise my thesis, bringing his well- known passion for research to the project. With these two exceptional researchers supporting me, all I needed to do was work hard to rise to the occasion. I am indebted to them for their invaluable guidance and support. Secondly, I would like to thank Carmen Cabello for her warm reception in the Management and Marketing Department at Pablo de Olavide University; she was the first person I met in the department when I arrived as a new professor. From my first year, I also particularly remember my colleagues Bárbara, Luis, and Joaquín, and I am especially grateful to Susana for her help and advice over the years. In addition, I appreciate the support given to me by my other colleagues in the department: Bea and Leticia (who were also colleagues in the Master's Degree), Antonio, José Manuel, Rocío Aguilar, Álvaro, Fernando, Mirta, Gloria, Pilar, Jaime, Inés, José Luis B., Isabel, Mª Angeles, Juan Carlos, Mª del Mar, Rafa, Elena, María, Ana, Loli, Paloma, Carmelo and Borja. Lastly, I would like to thank Rocío Guevara for her help with the final push. In summary, I truly appreciate the opportunity that Pablo de Olavide University has offered me. Thirdly, I am grateful to the staff of the Postgraduate Studies Centre for offering me the chance