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AbstractProfessionalization aims at closure, that is, having the monopoly protection of expertise for an occupation on the labour market and in organizations. Role congruity theory suggests that the translation of professionalization into organizational closure and reaching board membership is likely to be moderated by gender at the individual and the occupational level. We test this proposition focusing on Human Resource Management (HRM), an occupation with a long history of professionalization attempts. Using a sample of 3276 organizations embedded in 34 countries with varying professionalization levels between countries, results show that professionalization of HRM at the country level is positively related to closure in organizations. The positive relationship is weaker for female HR directors and high proportions of women in the HRM occupation in a country. Organizational closure, in contrast, is negatively related to board representation but increases the likelihood of board membership in countries with high proportions of women in the HRM occupation.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to clarify the relationship of highly skilled work and (collective) power. It develops an institutional logics perspective and argues that highly skilled workers' propensity to join trade unions varies by institutional order.Design/methodology/approach– Data from two occupational fields in Austria, university professors and management consultants, representing two different institutional orders were collected via questionnaires. Stepwise logistic regression analysis was employed to test the hypotheses.Findings– The results show that over and above organisational level variables, individual's background and employee power variables institutional logics significantly add to explaining trade union membership of highly skilled workers. Prevalence of a professional logic in a field makes collective action more likely than market logic.Originality/value– Highly skilled workers are overall described as identifying themselves more with the goals of their employer or client and with their professional peers than with other corporate employees or organised labour. They are thus expected to develop consent rather than conflict orientationvis-á-vistheir employers and clients. This paper supports a differentiated view and shows that within highly skilled work there are groups engaging in collective action. By developing an institutional logics perspective it provides a useful approach to explain heterogeneity within the world of highly skilled work.

In this paper, we untangle the relationship between the HRM occupation's feminine image and the representation of the HRM function on executive boards. A Monte Carlo simulation analysis of 172 executive boards in Austria, Germany, France, Spain, and Sweden shows that women on boards are disproportionately often responsible for HRM and having a woman on the board corresponds to HRM being represented on the board. Additional exploratory analyses of country contexts indicate that this relationship is not universal. Considering several explanations for these country differences, we propose that institutional pressures promoting women's integration into boards is the main reason for the differences. Organisations yield to this pressure and reduce the anticipated performance risks by appointing women with function‐specific experience to board positions responsible for HRM - a function perceived as matching women's stereotypically assumed talents.

AbstractIn this paper, we untangle the relationship between the HRM occupation's feminine image and the representation of the HRM function on executive boards. A Monte Carlo simulation analysis of 172 executive boards in Austria, Germany, France, Spain, and Sweden shows that women on boards are disproportionately often responsible for HRM and having a woman on the board corresponds to HRM being represented on the board. Additional exploratory analyses of country contexts indicate that this relationship is not universal. Considering several explanations for these country differences, we propose that institutional pressures promoting women's integration into boards is the main reason for the differences. Organisations yield to this pressure and reduce the anticipated performance risks by appointing women with function‐specific experience to board positions responsible for HRM—a function perceived as matching women's stereotypically assumed talents.

"Auch wenn WissensarbeiterInnen nur eine Minderheit unter den Beschäftigten bilden, repräsentieren sie doch einen Prototyp in einer veränderten Arbeitswelt, in der die Neigungen zu kollektivem Handeln und gewerkschaftlichem Engagement abnehmen. Existierende Theorien erklären die geringe Organisationsneigung von Hochqualifizierten in wissensintensiven Feldern mit individualistischen Orientierungen und der Verfügungsmacht über knappes, ökonomisch verwertbares Wissen. Wir schlagen eine differenzierte Perspektive auf verschiedene Formen hochqualifizierter Arbeit und deren dominante Steuerungslogiken (Profession, Markt, Bürokratie) vor, die in ganz unterschiedlicher Weise auf die Bereitschaft zu kollektivem Handeln einwirken. Die Ergebnisse einer quantitativen Befragung in drei Feldern (universitäre Forschung, außeruniversitäre Forschung und Unternehmensberatung) in Österreich verweisen partiell auf die Plausibilität des vorgeschlagenen Modells." (Autorenreferat)

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze how the status and functional responsibilities of female human resource (HR) directors vary cross‐nationally and how gender egalitarian cultural values affect role differences between female and male HR directors.Design/methodology/approachA cross‐country comparison of HR directors involving 22 countries based on the 2004 Cranet survey.FindingsConsistent with the hypotheses, gender egalitarian values reduce sex‐role differences for strategic integration and for traditionally female‐stereotyped HR functions. However, there is no support for the notion that egalitarian values influence sex differences for male‐stereotyped HR functions. Since, the data indicate higher levels of involvement of female HR directors in male‐stereotyped HR functions in 12 out of 22 countries, unequal distribution of functional responsibility is interpreted as an indicator for sex differences in administrative workload.Originality/valueMacro cultural factors matter for sex‐role differences in strategic integration and functional responsibilities of HR directors. The effects of gender egalitarian values have greater impact on reducing vertical differences than horizontal differences.

Mit dem Wandel der Arbeitsgesellschaft ist seit Langem auch eine Veränderung in der strukturellen Zusammensetzung der Belegschaften verbunden: Das klassische Industriearbeiter-Milieu mit traditionell hohem gewerkschaftlichem Organisationsgrad verliert an Boden, andere Erwerbsgruppen, bei denen die Arbeitnehmervertretungen gewöhnlich auf weniger Resonanz und Beitrittsbereitschaft stoßen, gewinnen an Bedeutung. Vor diesem Hintergrund stellt dieses Buch, das nunmehr in 2. Auflage vorliegt, hochqualifizierte Beschäftigte in wissensintensiven Tätigkeitsfeldern ins Zentrum, eine Gruppe, die paradigmatisch für aktuelle Formen der Arbeit und Interessenvertretung steht.