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Contemporary Perspectives in Human
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Organizational Behavior: Research
Overviews and Gaps to Advance
Interrelated Fields Riann Singh
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Riann Singh
Shalini Ramdeo
Contemporary
Perspectives in Human
Resource Management
and Organizational
Behavior
Research Overviews
and Gaps to Advance
Interrelated Fields
Contemporary Perspectives in Human Resource
Management and Organizational Behavior
Riann Singh · Shalini Ramdeo
Contemporary
Perspectives
in Human Resource
Management
and Organizational
Behavior
Research Overviews and Gaps to Advance
Interrelated Fields
Riann Singh Shalini Ramdeo
The Department of Management The Department of Management
Studies Studies
Faculty of Social Sciences Faculty of Social Sciences
The University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies
Saint Augustine Saint Augustine
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago
ISBN 978-3-031-30224-4 ISBN 978-3-031-30225-1 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-30225-1
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To my loving grandfather, Abraham Stephen, may his soul rest in eternal
peace.
Riann Singh
To my loving parents, Anjanee and Ramchandar, and my dearest sister

Suzette.
Shalini Ramdeo
Preface
Welcome to the First Edition of Contemporary Perspectives in Human

Resource Management and Organizational Behavior, Research Overviews
and Gaps to Advance Interrelated Fields.
This book focuses on the careful selection of the most relevant and
cutting-edge topics that have lasting implications for the fields of Human
Resource Management (HRM) and Organizational Behavior (OB). It
incorporates comprehensive research overviews of relevant contempo-
rary areas in HRM and OB and considers the need of researchers to
delineate research gaps by identifying those gaps for research advance-
ments. This book explores ten (10) contemporary topics in HRM and
OB such as Innovative HRM and OB Responses in Crises, Alternative
Work Arrangements for the Contemporary Workplace, Employee Mental
Health, Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace, Workplace Harass-
ment, HRM in Small and Medium Enterprises, Alternative Perspectives in
Employee Turnover, Organizational Citizenship and Counter-Productive
Work Behaviors, Leading for Work Engagement, and Employee Motiva-
tion in a Changing Environment.
These contemporary topics are covered in the following chapters:
1. Innovative Human Resource Management and Organizational

Behavior Responses in Crises (Chapter 2)
2. Alternative Work Arrangements for the Contemporary Workplace
(Chapter 3)
vii
viii PREFACE
3. Employee Mental Health (Chapter 4)

4. From Diversity to Inclusion in the Workplace (Chapter 5)
5. Workplace Harassment (Chapter 6)
6. Human Resource Management in Small and Medium Enterprises
(Chapter 7)
7. Alternative Perspectives in Employee Turnover (Chapter 8)
8. Organizational Citizenship and Counter-Productive Work Behav-
iors (Chapter 9)
9. Leading for Work Engagement (Chapter 10)
10. Employee Motivation in a Changing Environment (Chapter 11)
These ten (10) areas span novel responses and arrangements required
in today’s workplace in recognition of crises such as COVID-19, newer
advances and perspectives in the fields, and contemporary ideas that have
evolved and developed from traditional topics.
Overall, this book is structured into twelve (12) chapters. The first and
last chapters (Chapters 1 and 12, respectively) provide an introduction
and conclusion on contemporary research perspectives within the fields
of HRM and OB. The remaining ten (10) chapters, (Chapters 2 to 11)
provide research overviews and outline research gaps on the ten (10) core
areas to advance HRM-OB scholarship.
. Chapter 1 more specifically introduces the importance of research

perspectives to advance the field and practice of HRM and OB; iden-
tifies, and briefly outlines the ten (10) research areas covered in the
book; and provides a roadmap for the rest of the book.
. The contemporary business environment characterized by crises such
as the COVID-19 pandemic, uncertainty and change, and the inno-
vative responses and alternative work arrangements (in HRM and
OB) to cope, survive, and thrive amid such challenges, are covered
in Chapters 2 and 3, respectively.
. Chapters 4–6 each examine three key challenges (Employee Mental
Health, Diversity and Inclusion in the Workplace, and Work-
place Harassment) for employees and organizations, which can
potentially disrupt and negatively affect employee attitudes, inten-
tions, behaviors and overall organizational performance, if left
unmanaged. These three emerging developments in relation to
PREFACE ix
employee management and behaviors have costly implications for all

organizations.
. Chapter 7 zooms in on the special case or unique situation of small
and medium enterprises in relation to their HRM practices, which
are fundamentally different from the large-firm context.
. Chapters 8–11 capture developments on traditional HRM and
OB areas including newer perspectives on employee turnover
(Chapter 8), organizational citizenship and counter-productive
work behaviors (Chapter 9), leadership for work engagement
(Chapter 10), and employee motivation and change (Chapter 11).
. Chapter 12 summarizes the core ideas from all the previous chapters,
reinforces the contribution of the book, and synthesizes the future
research opportunities within the contemporary areas.
The book is a research monograph. It is aimed primarily at researchers,

academics, and postgraduates within the management disciplines of HRM
and OB. Not only will scholars within these management disciplines be
exposed to contemporary research areas, but they will be able to delin-
eate research gaps to spur the further development of research in these
and other related areas. Beyond business schools, this book should be of
interest within the fields of personnel and organizational psychology as
well.
Providing researchers with a comprehensive overview of research
advances within selected contemporary areas, this book seeks to spur
critical thinking, spark alternative research perspectives, innovate exten-
sions to existing theories, and provide the foundation from which focused
research can grow and develop within these management fields.
Our hope is that you find the book readable and relatable with its
research overviews and research gaps within the contemporary HRM and
OB disciplines!
Saint Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago Riann Singh

Shalini Ramdeo
Contents
1 Introduction to Contemporary Research Perspectives

in Human Resource Management and Organizational
Behavior 1
2 Innovative Human Resource Management
and Organizational Behavior Responses in Crises 15
3 Alternative Work Arrangements for the Contemporary
Workplace 37
4 Employee Mental Health 55
5 From Diversity to Inclusion in the Workplace 79
6 Workplace Harassment 99
7 Human Resource Management in Small and Medium
Enterprises 121
8 Alternative Perspectives in Employee Turnover 137
9 Organizational Citizenship and Counter-Productive
Work Behaviors 155
10 Leading for Work Engagement 173
11 Employee Motivation in a Changing Environment 191
xi
xii CONTENTS
12 Conclusions and Future Research Directions

in Human Resource Management and Organizational
Behavior 209
Index 221
List of Figures
Fig. 1.1 Ten (10) Contemporary Research Topics in HRM and OB 10

Fig. 2.1 Innovative and emerging HRM and OB responses to crises 23
Fig. 3.1 Alternative working arrangements 42
Fig. 4.1 Research gaps in employee mental health 70
Fig. 5.1 Dimensions of Diversity 85
Fig. 7.1 Research gaps within HRM in small and medium
enterprises 129
Fig. 8.1 Alternative perspectives on employee turnover 141
Fig. 9.1 Alternative perspectives on OCBs and CPWBs 159
Fig. 10.1 Leadership styles and work engagement 179
Fig. 11.1 Work motivation 194
xiii
CHAPTER 1
Introduction to Contemporary Research

Perspectives in Human Resource
Management and Organizational Behavior
Chapter Objectives
In this chapter, contemporary research perspectives in the fields of human
resource management (HRM) and organizational behavior (OB) are
introduced as the basis for the book. The importance of such perspec-
tives to synthesize and advance research in these interrelated fields are
also evaluated, and a roadmap for the book is provided. This chapter,
therefore, aims to achieve the following objectives:
1. To assess the relationship between the fields of HRM and OB and

the strategic alignment to employee and organizational effectiveness.
2. To delineate the relevance of advancing research within the fields of
HRM and OB to address research-practice gaps.
3. To identify the ten (10) contemporary research areas covered in the
book.
4. To provide an overview of the contemporary research perspectives
covered in the book.
5. To present a brief roadmap to readers on the organization of the
rest of the book.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1

Switzerland AG 2023
R. Singh and S. Ramdeo, Contemporary Perspectives in Human
Resource Management and Organizational Behavior,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-30225-1_1
2 R. SINGH AND S. RAMDEO
Research Overview
The Fields of Human Resource Management (HRM)
and Organizational Behavior (OB): Strategic Alignment
to Organizational Strategy, Goals & Objectives
The globalization of businesses and capital markets over the past two
decades has changed the organizational landscape. Many firms have
expanded operations overseas, and even strictly domestic businesses are
facing competition from abroad. To respond to global competition, firms
are using new technologies to provide better, lower-cost solutions for
their customers. However, these technological innovations have led to
the constant movement of customers and competitors. At the same time,
global capital markets are pressuring firms to innovate and reduce costs,
which is not an easy feat. Such trends are pushing companies to manage
their assets as effectively as possible—especially their human assets. In such
a global business context, the fields of HRM and OB, as well as advancing
research in these areas, become important.
Definitions of HRM abound within the managerial literature. Tradi-
tionally, the field has been synonymous with the administrative functions
of personnel management (Kossek, 1987). Since the early 1980s, there is
a substantial body of literature on HRM, and most contemporary perspec-
tives take a strategic approach to the management of employee relation-
ships. For instance, Wang (2020) asserts that HRM involves management
decisions related to policies, practices, systems, and approaches that shape
the employment relationship to support the achievement of organiza-
tional goals, objectives, and strategies. There is also some consensus that
contemporary HRM involves attracting, developing, and maintaining an
effective workforce to drive organizational effectiveness and to achieve
a competitive edge. Within this strategic perspective, HRM functions
such as recruitment and selection, training and development, performance
management, and reward management are used to support organiza-
tional strategies. Employees are viewed as resources. Indeed, the classic
resource-based view (RBV) of the firm notes that within strategic HRM,
employees are assets that can be used to support the achievement of orga-
nizational goals and objectives as well (D’Oria et al., 2022). HRM is
inherently a multi-level field of study. HRM processes and changes within
the organizational environment interact with organizational systems to
affect outcomes at the firm, unit, and employee levels. HRM functions
1 INTRODUCTION TO CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH … 3
and practices operate within complex organizational systems and struc-

tures that are further affected by macroeconomic forces and competitive
forces that drive and alter implementation plans. These effects move
through the layers of the organization to affect the performance of the
firm. Simultaneously, these factors combine to affect micro-phenomenon
such as employee job performance, voluntary turnover, job satisfaction,
organizational commitment, creativity, citizenship behaviors, and a host of
other employee attitudes, intentions, and behaviors. In summary, HRM
cuts across strategic and operational levels to affect employee, group, and
organizational outcomes.
OB is a related field of study which examines how employees behave
within organizational work environments. Robbins et al. (2018) describe
OB as a field combining contributions from psychology, social psychology,
sociology, and anthropology to assess employee attitudes, cognition, and
behavior in the specific context of the work environment. It focuses on
investigating the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on
behavior within organizations, with the goal of applying this knowledge
to improve organizational effectiveness and support the achievement of
goals and strategies (Ashkanasy & Dorris, 2017). Notably, organizations
are made of interacting layers such as divisions, departments, teams, and
individuals, and there is often some degree of interdependence that leads
to bottom-up and top-down influence mechanisms. Teams and organiza-
tions are contexts for the development of individual cognitions, attitudes,
and behaviors (top-down effects). Conversely, individual cognitions, atti-
tudes, and behaviors can also influence the functioning and outcomes
of teams and organizations (bottom-up effects). Dependent variables
that include attitudes, cognitions, and behaviors such as productivity,
job satisfaction, job performance, employee perceptions, turnover inten-
tions, withdrawal, motivation, deviance, and other such outcomes are
synonymous with OB areas, in particular, employee motivation, turnover,
leadership, harassment, and other associated aspects within the field.
Therefore, the overarching aim of the field is to understand employees
within the work environment to enhance organizational effectiveness.
The fields of HRM and OB intersect in several ways with both areas
focusing on employees within organizational contexts as the core unit of
analysis. HRM focuses on approaches to manage employee-employer rela-
tionships while OB examines the cognitions, attitudes, and behaviors of
such employees within employment relationships. Effective HRM bolsters
OB by ensuring happy, productive employees. The relationship between
OB and HRM stems from the premise that HRM can serve as a tool for
shaping OB and conversely, OB provides the broad foundation to inform
HRM approaches as well. Both HRM and OB are fields with a strategic
perspective; both areas aim to support the achievement of organizational
goals, objectives, and strategies. Given such interrelationships between the
fields, there is a natural HRM-OB research overlap. The field of HRM
has emerged from the conceptual, empirical, and practical intersection
of several disciplines including OB, as well as psychology, sociology, and
management/organization sciences. HRM as a field of practice, research,
and education draws its underpinning theory heavily from the OB field
since OB theories combine contributions from these other related fields
as well. Traditionally, scholars have attempted to categorize these lines
of research as distinct fields and issues regarding the distinction between
HRM and OB have been debated for several years. Some have attempted
to simplify this distinction between HRM and OB by arguing that OB is
more conceptual and HRM more applied; and that OB may be micro-
focused, while HRM may be more macro-level. Yet, these distinctions
are generally arbitrary since both fields certainly overlap. HRM and OB
are important areas of inquiry within the organizational sciences, and
there is little to be gained by putting up artificial boundaries. In fact,
there is more to be gained by bringing together multiple perspectives to
advance theories and research on employer-employee relationships and
the understanding of behaviors in and of organizations. These areas are
not mutually exclusive, but rather are interdependent.
Relevance of Research in the Field: Addressing Research-Practice

Gaps
From a research perspective, there is little doubt that HRM scholar-
ship and OB scholarship have an impressive track record (Chadwick &
Flinchbaugh, 2020), evidenced by cumulative research insights (Jiang &
Messersmith, 2018) and research progress across the range of HRM prac-
tices, OB antecedents, and outcomes (Wright & Ulrich, 2017). However,
this progress does not automatically equate to quality research (Harney &
Collings, 2021). As Roupmi and Delery (2019) note, when evaluating
research progress, the quality of the research and not the quantity of
relevant research should be evaluated.
Research within the field of HRM has been focused heavily on its
relationship to organizational performance. In fact, the exploration of
the HRM-performance relationship has served as the fundamental and
defining research question within HRM research (Harney & Collings,

2021). Accordingly, research has largely focused on studies and subse-
quent meta-analyses of HRM practices and effects. However, despite the
intuitive appeal of a universal impact of a system of HR practices on
performance, there is a growing sense that this dominant focus may have
hindered rather than helped progress; that a narrow focus along a singular
path has come to the detriment of innovative scholarship and alternative
insights.
It is obvious that the field of HRM is experiencing disruption and
change on an unprecedented scale, leading to the emergence of shifting
landscapes of HRM (Harney & Collings, 2021). However, Jiang and
Messersmith (2018) note that HRM research has been lagging in its
response to contextual changes and mega-trends within the organizational
environment. Therefore, contemporary and innovative HR responses to
crises, alternative work practices and HRM practices outside the typical
large-firm contexts such as within small and medium enterprises, have
received limited attention within existing research. This has resulted in
the failure, or conceptual inability, to incorporate such novel and contem-
porary HR practices within existing research, thereby presenting obvious
research-practice gaps.
The contextual background for a reassessment and review of HRM is
profound. For instance, the global economy is at an inflection point with
significant implications for how researchers conceptualize and understand
HRM. Even prior to COVID-induced transformations, headline state-
ments on the changing nature of work and employment were common-
place. Megatrends including crises within the organizational environment
such as recessionary pressures, technological disruption, political risks,
instability, changing demographics and diversity, and the growth of HRM
within small enterprises just to name a few, have dramatic consequences
for how people are managed (Cascio, 2019; Sheppard & Droog, 2019).
Consequently, several contemporary research gaps have emerged within
this ‘shifting landscape.’ The question is whether the current theoret-
ical and research understanding of HRM is receptive to such changes,
especially those that might challenge core assumptions and entrenched
research streams. Instead of engaging with contemporary developments
and challenges, an area of concern is that a lot of HRM research is stuck
on twentieth-century issues (Harney & Collings, 2021; Wright et al.,
2018), leading to obvious contemporary research-practice gaps.
Notably, even before the dramatic advent of COVID-19, significant

questions were being asked of HRM including the applicability of current
theories and research to the new world of work enabled by technology
(Collings et al., 2021; Connelly et al., 2020), the extent to which schol-
arship reflected the contemporary, emerging challenges confronted by
practitioners (Snell & Morris, 2019), and whether emergent forms of
organizations and alternative perspectives on classical areas may serve as
a catalyst for new theoretical approaches (Baum & Haveman, 2020).
Successfully navigating the shifting landscape mandates challenging the
existing theoretical compass (Cooke, 2018) to provide augmented and
alternative research approaches within the field of HRM.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, which further highlighted lags within
HRM research, questions about the field are reinforced by a misfit or
void in addressing the actual concerns and challenges experienced by HR
practitioners and organizations. For example, the nature of HR responses
to the COVID-19 pandemic, including why and how different organi-
zations responded as they did is an important question. Unfortunately,
insights into such questions are not immediately evident from extant
research. Consequently, there are several opportunities for HRM research
to lead organizations in navigating the future through contemporary and
alternative perspectives.
The interrelated field of OB is also rapidly evolving not only because
of the disruptions due to COVID-19, but also because of the demands of
today’s fast-paced and disruptive work environment. The increasing use of
technology and economic pressures are leading to divergent and alterna-
tive work arrangements, mental pressure and stress for employees, varied
expectations of diverse workforces, and workplace harassment, which are
challenging fundamental principles of employee turnover, various work
behaviors, leadership, and motivation (Kulik, 2022). At this juncture—
perhaps more than ever—organizational scholars need to take account of
the context surrounding the phenomenon we study.
Traditionally, the field of OB has adopted either a micro (individual),
meso (group and teams), or macro (organizational) perspective, and in
more recent decades, these perspectives have been integrated with multi-
level theory and methodology. Recognizing that contemporary research
must also consider how contextual changes can potentially explain the
variability in employee and organizational outcomes is of utmost impor-
tance to further advance the field. Consequently, there is a need for more
research that cuts across the micro and macro dimensions of behavior
within organizations. The world of work is again at an inflexion point,

challenging traditional ways of working and bringing into question the
relevance of models of OB and the evidence bases that underpin them.
Practice in new ways of working is, in some areas, running ahead of
the field’s accumulated research and knowledge (Collins et al., 2021),
resulting in further research gaps. Alternative work arrangements within
the contemporary workplace are driving OB responses as employees
and organizations grapple with environmental crises. Mental health and
employee wellness are emerging as glaring challenges, which are no
longer deemed taboo subjects. Workforce diversity and inclusion in the
workplace, along with an increase in workplace harassment, are practical
realities for OB practitioners. While these practical topics warrant atten-
tion and are lagging in research, existing classical research areas have also
been slow to advance over time. Classical OB areas such as voluntary
turnover, discretionary work behaviors such as organizational citizen-
ship behaviors, leadership, and employee motivation are also lagging in
research, even as alternative perspectives emerge in practice.
As existing research within HRM and OB intersects, scholars must
recognize that advancing literature within these fields is dependent upon
the exploration of novel contemporary, and alternative perspectives within
the dynamic organizational contexts of today.
Contemporary Research Perspectives

in Human Resource Management
and Organizational Behavior
The competitive and unpredictable organizational environment requires
the development and implementation of innovative and alternative HRM
and OB responses to deal with the challenges within such an environ-
ment. Given the unpredictability of organizational crises, evolutionary
research is required to explore innovative responses to a dynamic orga-
nizational environment. The need for innovative responses and research
into such responses can advance the literature on contemporary HRM
and OB practice. Notably, the contemporary workplace of today has
emerged from shifts within work environments, which have led to adjust-
ments in work arrangements. HR practitioners are expected to lead the
challenging effort to support employees within continuously evolving
work environments, which also shape organizational behaviors. With
alternative work arrangements, changes to employees’ routines and the

nature of work generate complex workplace issues. Employees are more
burnt out and stressed than ever before, thereby impacting their mental
health, well-being, and ultimately organizational productivity. In addition,
strains on physical and mental well-being take a toll on company culture,
where workplace diversity within the contemporary workplace also brings
controversial issues of inclusion and equity to the fore. Whether or
not employees are already struggling with poor mental health or stress,
supporting employees is a make-or-break strategy when managing the
realities of a diverse workforce. In the modern work environment, most
employees expect support and fairness when navigating controversial and
sensitive issues such as workplace harassment as well. Indeed, employers
spend millions annually in workplace harassment litigation and liability
costs. Even so, limited research has explored the nuances of managing
employee mental health, workforce diversity, and workplace harassment,
which are all costly challenges within the workplace of today.
There is an abundance of HRM research, however, within the large-
firm context and the relationship between HRM practices and firm
performance. This focus on HRM within the large-firm context appears
paradoxical while small and medium enterprises are driving growth within
developed and developing countries globally. Very limited research has
focused on the unique case of HRM practices within such important
and alternative contexts. This HRM research-practice gap coincides with
OB research-practice gaps within foundational and classical OB areas. For
instance, employee turnover continues to be associated with high direct
and indirect costs even as tight labor markets present limited job alter-
natives. However, varied perspectives have emerged as researchers probe
beyond the question of why employees leave. As employee behaviors
also evolve, research questions emerge on whether classical ideas about
positive citizenship behaviors and negative counter-productive behaviors
require a fundamental re-examination. What more is there to know about
cornerstone topics such as employee motivation and leadership? Indeed,
OB practice within these areas have progressed over the decades, but has
research kept pace? Do employees stay or leave willingly and what are
the organizational implications, are citizenship behaviors always positive
for organizations and are counter-productive behaviors always negative,
and what alternative principles on employee motivation and leadership
are relevant given the current organizational context? Are OB theories
up to the task of dealing with rapidly changing external environments
that impact organizations? Such questions present research gaps worthy

of exploration by organizational researchers.
To answer the call by organizational researchers to address existing
research-practice gaps within the fields of HRM and OB, this book iden-
tifies ten (10) core research areas worthy of further exploration. These
contemporary perspectives are chosen based on a systematic review of
existing scholarship within the fields while considering the changing orga-
nizational contexts within which employees and organizations operate.
Research overviews are provided, and research gaps are identified in
several HRM-OB areas, against the backdrop of dynamic contextual or
environmental shifts. The goal of this approach is to advance scholar-
ship within the fields. In this book, contemporary and alternative research
perspectives are provided in the following areas:
1. Innovative Human Resource Management and Organizational

Behavior Responses in Crises (Chapter 2).
(Chapter 3).
3. Employee Mental Health (Chapter 4).
4. From Diversity to Inclusion in the Workplace (Chapter 5).
5. Workplace Harassment (Chapter 6).
(Chapter 7).
7. Alternative Perspectives in Employee Turnover (Chapter 8).
8. Organizational Citizenship and Counter-Productive Work Behav-
iors (Chapter 9).
9. Leading for Work Engagement (Chapter 10).
10. Employee Motivation in a Changing Environment (Chapter 11).
These ten (10) areas span novel responses and alternative arrangements
required within today’s changing business environment, emerging OB
challenges, one of the most unique HRM challenges within emerging
research, and alternative contemporary perspectives on classical research
ideas (See Fig. 1.1).
Contemporary Responses within a

Changing Business Environment:
1. Innovative Human Resource Management/Organizational
Behavior Responses in Crises (Chapter 2)
(Chapter 3)
Emerging OB Challenges that can be

Disruptive:
3. Employee Mental Health (Chapter 4)
4.From Diversity to Inclusion in the Workplace (Chapter 5)
5.Workplace Harassment (Chapter 6)
The Unique HRM Challenge within

Emerging Research:
(Chapter 7)
Alternative Contemporary Perspectives

on Classical Research:
7. Alternative Perspectives in Employee Turnover (Chapter 8)
8. Organizational Citizenship and Counter-Productive Work Behaviors
(Chapter 9)
9. Leading for Work Engagement (Chapter 10)
10. Employee Motivation in a Changing Environment (Chapter 11)
Fig. 1.1 Ten (10) Contemporary Research Topics in HRM and OB
Organization of the Book: A Roadmap for Readers

This book comprises twelve (12) chapters. Chapters 1 and 12, respec-
tively, provide an introduction and conclusion on contemporary research
perspectives within the fields of HRM and OB. The remaining ten (10)
chapters (Chapters 2 to 11) provide research overviews and outline

research gaps on ten (10) core areas to advance HRM-OB scholarship.
Chapter 1 introduces the importance of research perspectives to
advance the field and practice of HRM and OB; identifies, and briefly
outlines the ten (10) research areas; and provides a roadmap for the rest
of the book. In this introductory chapter, the background against which
the contemporary research areas emerges is provided.
Chapters 2 to 11 cover the ten (10) contemporary research areas.
More specifically, the contemporary business environment characterized
by crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, uncertainty and change, and
the innovative responses and alternative work arrangements (in HRM
and OB) to cope, survive, and thrive amid such challenges are covered
in Chapters 2 and 3, respectively. In Chapter 2, innovative HRM and
OB responses, such as resilience-building, creative training and devel-
opment approaches, other creative HR practices in hiring, promotion,
and rewards, downsizing and rightsizing, transformational leadership, and
adjustments in the nature of work, are explored. Such responses are
assessed against the background of organizational crises and a dynamic
organizational environment. Alternative work arrangements are explored
in detail in Chapter 2. Arrangements, such as remote work, compressed
work schedules, work and job sharing, flexi-time, and non-regular work,
which have gained momentum with COVID-19 disruptions, are evalu-
ated within the context of the contemporary workplace.
Chapters 4, 5, and 6 each examine three key challenges (Employee
Mental Health, Diversity and Inclusion, and Workplace Harassment) for
employees and organizations that can potentially disrupt and negatively
affect employee attitudes, intentions, behaviors, and overall organizational
performance, if left unmanaged. These three emerging developments in
relation to employee management and behaviors have costly implica-
tions for all organizations. Employee mental health problems and levels
of psychological distress are skyrocketing; workforce diversity issues are
advancing into the realm of belongingness, equality and equity, and
workplace harassment is shifting away from workplace bullying, sexual
harassment, and abusive supervision toward newer research areas such as
cyberbullying and sexual bullying. These research perspectives and gaps
are evaluated in Chapters 4, 5, and 6.
Chapter 7 zooms in on the special case or unique situation of small

and medium enterprises in relation to their HRM practices, which are
fundamentally different from the large-firm context. The need for focused
research on alternative contexts, beyond the large-firm, developing-
country contexts, are evaluated. Research gaps for further research are
also presented.
Chapters 8, 9, 10, and 11 capture alternative developments on classical
HRM and OB areas such as newer perspectives on employee turnover
(Chapter 8), organizational citizenship and counter-productive work
behaviors (Chapter 9), leadership for work engagement (Chapter 10),
and employee motivation and change (Chapter 11). Even such classical
areas within OB practice evolve over time, and hence developments within
traditional areas must also be assessed to drive research development.
Indeed, questions on turnover are shifting toward understanding why
employees stay and recognizing that the staying decision may not always
be associated with positive outcomes. Organizational citizenship behav-
iors may not always be positive and counter-productive behaviors may
not always be associated with negative outcomes. Leadership perspectives
are shifting toward the importance of engagement and the recognition
that even positive leadership approaches can be toxic for engagement.
Motivation approaches are also evolving over time with change and orga-
nizational development perspectives. Such alternative ideas on classical
research topics are important for the advancement of the fields of HRM
and OB.
The final chapter, Chapter 12, summarizes the core ideas from all the
previous chapters, reinforces the contribution of the book, and synthesizes
the future research opportunities within the contemporary areas.
Conclusion
Exploring emerging, contemporary, and alternative perspectives within
the fields of HRM and OB is important for the advancement of research
and scholarship in these areas. This book aims to provide research
overviews and identify research gaps to provide the foundation for the
development of further scholarship in these areas.
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CHAPTER 2
Innovative Human Resource Management

and Organizational Behavior Responses
in Crises
Chapter Objectives
In this chapter, the contemporary business environment characterized by
crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and the uncertainty and insta-
bility associated with organizational environment changes are explored.
The existing research on innovative HRM and OB responses to cope,
survive, and thrive within organizational crises is also covered. This is
the first of two chapters covered in the book, which examines contem-
porary responses within a changing business environment. This chapter,
therefore, aims to achieve the following objectives:
1. To describe crises within the contemporary business environment.

2. To evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on employees and
organizations.
3. To describe organizational crises emanating from changing environ-
mental dimensions.
4. To overview emerging, innovative HRM and OB responses to
survive crises within the contemporary business environment.
5. To identify possible research gaps worthy of exploration within
future research.
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 15

Switzerland AG 2023
R. Singh and S. Ramdeo, Contemporary Perspectives in Human
Resource Management and Organizational Behavior,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-30225-1_2
Research Overview
Crises Within the Contemporary Business Environment
Businesses do not operate within a vacuum; all businesses operate within
an organizational environment. From as early as Hicks and Gullet (1987),
there is the recognition that businesses exist within an environment which
provides resources and constraints. Several definitions of the business envi-
ronment exist within the managerial literature. For instance, one of the
more widely cited classical definitions by Griffin (1996) postulates that
the business environment surrounds organizations and is made up of
general and task dimensions. General environmental dimensions describe
natural, economic, technological, sociocultural, political-legal, and inter-
national forces surrounding an organization, which creates its overall
context. Task environment dimensions refer to specific organizations or
groups that influence the organization such as competitors, suppliers,
customers, and the labor market. Therefore, the business environment
encompasses general and task factors that affect businesses and orga-
nizational functioning indirectly and directly. Indeed, most definitions
reflect the fact that the business environment comprises all forces or
factors external to the organization that are likely to affect its operations
(Meinhardt et al., 2018). Singh and Ramdeo (2020) note, however, that
internal factors within organizations also affect its functioning thereby
constituting its internal environment. Even so, researchers have long
discovered that organizations are open systems that constantly interact
with its environment, and in the process affect and are affected by the
environment.
Contemporary perspectives on the business environment go a step
further than these simplistic conceptualizations to recognize that turbu-
lence, uncertainty, instability, and consequently crises are core aspects
of this environment. An organizational crisis can threaten an organiza-
tion’s goals, stability, performance, and have profound implications for
employees, organizational functioning, and effectiveness (Hazaa et al.,
2021). Hazaa et al. (2021), based on a review of literature spanning the
last twenty (20) years, assert that while there are many definitions, crises
can generally be described as events which are perceived by managers
and stakeholders as highly salient, unexpected, and potentially disruptive.
Even so, organizational crises may share several common elements:
2 INNOVATIVE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT … 17
. Organizational crises are highly ambiguous in nature, causes, and

effects.
. Organizational crises have a low probability of occurring but pose a
major threat to the survival of an organization.
. Organizational crises provide little time to respond.
. Organizational crises present a quandary in strategic decision-making
or judgments that may affect the survival of an organization.
It must be noted that even though organizational crises can have

common characteristics and may appear similar in type, they vary in
magnitude and duration. Crises may be immediate, (occurs without
warning), emerging; or sustained (can persist for weeks, months, or
years). Further, crises can be overwhelmingly intense and relatively brief
or gradual and persistent. They can also be widespread, affecting an orga-
nization and beyond it, or they can be self-contained. Crises may also
differ with respect to the frequency and probability of reoccurrence.
Management research on organizational crises has been highly frag-
mented largely due to a lack of agreement on the definition of the term
crisis, challenges in observing crises real-time and making comparisons
across these unique events (Williams et al., 2017). Despite the fragmen-
tary nature of research on organizational crises, there are two broad
conceptualizations: crisis as an event and crisis as a process (Milinski et al.,
2016). The ‘crisis as an event’ perspective construes organizational crises
as events or episodes with a beginning and an end. However, Schaedler
et al. (2022) note that crises can turn into a chronical state, for instance,
when underlying causes are particularly systemic such that the crisis
unfolds as a series of events. In contrast to the event-centered perspective,
the process perspective focuses on the need to understand crisis-fostering
environments, processes of organizational weakening, crisis evolution, and
how organizations respond to stages of a crisis. Even with these divergent
theoretical conceptualizations, there is consensus that adapting contin-
uously to organizational crises which emerge within a rapidly changing
environment should be a top priority for organizations since the inability
to do so contributes to organizational failure (Straub & Jonkman, 2017).
Being adaptive involves being flexible, responsive, and proactive (Pedersen
et al., 2020).
While organizational research on crises within the business environ-
ment remains at an emergent stage (Hazaa et al., 2021), from a practical
perspective it is evident that organizational crises are inevitable within the
contemporary business environment, now more than ever. For instance,

one of the most recent crises currently experienced across the globe is the
COVID-19 pandemic, with indisputable consequences for all employees
and organizations. Indeed, different crises affect societies, and hence,
the effects on and implications for organizations take different forms
(Pedersen et al., 2020), when turbulence is experienced within the
various dimensions of the organizational environment as well. Examples
of instability within dimensions of the organizational environment include
natural disasters, such as floods and earthquakes, epidemic diseases, polit-
ical and conflict crises, financial crises, technological developments and
innovation, and recessionary pressures. Accordingly, innovative responses
within the fields of HRM and OB are warranted to address the implica-
tions of organizational crises on employees and organizations.
The COVID-19 Crisis and the Impact on Employees

and Organizations
While HRM and OB research on general organizational crises remains
sparse, there has been a plethora of studies on the COVID-19 crisis
that hit the world in March 2020. The COVID-19 crisis represents an
unprecedented, global, sustained occurrence, which was officially declared
a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11,
2020 (WHO, 2020). The current COVID-19 pandemic is also an acute
external cause of widespread organizational crises (Schaedler et al., 2022).
In terms of organizational sustainability, employees and organizations
have faced novel problems related to organizational management and
human resources since the pandemic struck (Chen & Eyoun, 2021; Yan
et al., 2021). Unpredictable changes triggered by the pandemic have
been a popular subject in organizational research, resulting in numerous
studies examining the ongoing challenges and changes from different
perspectives. In fact, Mun et al. (2022) in a systematic research review
of current literature discussions on employees and organizations in rela-
tion to the COVID-19 crisis, note that while the ongoing pandemic has
had destructive effects on every aspect of people’s lives, the implications
for employees and organizations are undeniable as well. Many organiza-
tions have had to cut employees’ salaries and members of its workforce
to survive financially. Others facing a grim economic outlook have closed
due to bankruptcy.
Meta-analytic research studies within the last two years have focused
heavily on the ways in which the work environment and hence organi-
zations have been transformed due to the COVID-19 crisis (Mun et al.,
2022). Work settings within organizations have undergone and continue
to undergo transformations in terms of work methods (e.g., remote,
virtual, and hybrid work arrangements) as new ways of working continue
to emerge. Employee mental health and well-being have also been hit
in undeniable ways by the COVID-19 crisis. Some studies reported
employees’ worsening perceptions of their health, psychological capital,
burnout, emotional exhaustion, and mental workload (Obrad, 2020;
Meseguer de Pedro et al., 2021; Rodríguez-López et al., 2021), which
have adversely affected employee and organizational productivity. Several
other HRM-OB areas have been hit by the COVID crisis with further
implications for employees and organizations. For instance, the emerging
body of pandemic research indicates that employees are increasingly
looking toward their organizations for supportive strategies to enhance
coping abilities (Bojadjiev & Vaneva, 2021). The need for supportive
leadership to enhance work engagement and employee motivation has
emerged as a common theme across several research studies (Dirani et al.,
2020). Employee career behaviors have also been affected by the COVID
crisis with mounting job dissatisfaction, negative work behaviors, reduced
commitment and loyalty and an overall work disengagement, even within
tough job markets (Gregori, 2020; Mun et al., 2022).
Organizational Crises Emanating from Environmental Dimensions

While the ongoing COVID-19 crisis has radically changed the way people
live and work, organizational crises within the organizational environ-
ment are not new. Organizational crises are especially challenging not only
because of their acute and public nature but also because they are typically
difficult to resolve (Schaedler et al., 2022).
The question is no longer whether an organization will face a crisis or
not, but when they face one, what will be their responses and approaches
toward handling and reducing the effects (Mills et al., 2020). In a world
that is highly characterized by complexity, organizations will continue
to face crises, uncertainty, and instability emanating from both internal
and external sources. Due to internal organizational dynamics, economic,
political, sociocultural, natural, and technological growth of the environ-
ment, the degree at which crises confront organizations are frequent, and
this is expected to continue at a higher intensity, and with a greater
frequency over time. Therefore, the ability of organizations to cope

and be responsive, while being flexible in their strategies are of utmost
importance.
Empirical research within HRM and OB has widely recognized several
notable organizational crises emanating from internal and external factors
within organizational environments over time. For example, from as far
back as the corporate fraud scandals at Enron and Tyco to the more
recent corporate fraud scandal at Wirecard that led to the firm’s insol-
vency (Davies, 2020), the severe quality data falsification at Kobe Steel
that affected the global supply chain (Soble & Boudette, 2017) and
Boeing’s struggles after two crashes of its 737 MAX airplanes (Sucher,
2019) are prominent examples of internally-induced organizational crises.
The external economic environment has also birthed prominent global
financial crises, global recessionary pressures, and countless financial melt-
downs. Most recently, the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war and even as far
back as the 9/11 bombings continue to show us that global, interna-
tional, and political factors can also spur externally induced organiza-
tional crises. Demographic work profiles are also undergoing continuous
changes as workforce diversity becomes an undeniable reality from a
sociocultural perspective. One of the most notable natural environment
crises involved the BP oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico back in 2010;
the largest marine oil spill in history and technological developments on
an ongoing basis continue to revolutionize the ways in which work is
done, and how businesses operate and function. Indeed, such changes
have indisputable effects on managerial/organizational success. From a
practical perspective, there is certainly no dearth of evidence on organi-
zational crises faced within organizational environments (Schaedler et al.,
2022). From a research perspective, however, existing literature in this
area is more fragmented.
Dynamic and ongoing changes within the organizational environ-
mental signify that crisis management must be integrated into managerial
responses as a matter of priority. From a classical research perspective,
Pearson and Claire (1998) describe crisis management as a systematic
process of averting or managing a crisis to sustain or resume normal
business operations and manage stakeholder loss. Crisis management
encompasses an organization’s acts and behaviors which prepare it to
be ready to manage major catastrophic happenings in a safe and effec-
tive manner (Lockwood, 2005). From a contemporary perspective, crisis
management is important to ensure there is ongoing environmental scan-

ning, proactive organizational responses, and to manage organizational
disruptions which emerge from organizational crises. Notably, effective
crisis management involves five key phases of response: (1) signal detec-
tion, (2) preparation/ prevention (planning), (3) containment/damage
control, (4) business recovery, and (5) learning (Williams et al., 2017).
As organizations navigate through environmental uncertainties within its
organizational environment dimensions, existing research has acknowl-
edged that change management, organizational agility/communication,
and scenario planning have been adopted as organizational responses
within crisis management approaches as well.
Change management is nested within the field of organizational devel-
opment. It is described as the planned, systematic efforts by organizations
to cope with environmental changes using behavioral science techniques
(Singh & Ramdeo, 2020). Successful change management can assist
with the effective management of organizational crises (Kuzmanova &
Ivanov, 2019). In fact, crises can initiate change management, are change
processes, and can also result from changes. Change management as a
field is well-established within the existing literature; however, organiza-
tional agility from a strategic perspective is a relatively new management
concept in specialized literature over the past few years (Mills & Keremah,
2020). Agility reflects the capacity of organizations to adapt, be flexible
and creative, and to foresee unexpected shocks inside and outside the
business environment in which it operates. Agility also reflects the ability
of organizations to respond to crises proactively, quickly, and effectively,
such that threats are transformed into opportunities (Tilman & Jacoby,
2019). In fact, strategic agility has emerged as a popular managerial
concept within crisis management approaches in the last few years (Elali,
2021). Scenario planning has also been merged into crisis management
approaches in response to ongoing environmental changes. Seyitoglu
and Costa (2022) in a systematic literature review on scenario planning
studies note that scenario planning is a useful crisis planning activity and
a necessity in today’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous world.
Strategic planners need to be able to imagine future environments even
in the most uncertain conditions to mount effective responses.
Indeed, the existing managerial literature acknowledges that organi-
zations can use crisis management approaches, and the aforementioned
strategies in response to changes within environmental dimensions.
However, there is a role for specific HRM and OB responses to develop
a more comprehensive and strategic approach toward the management

of organizational crises. The HRM function is important to provide and
assess the most effective policies and management practices to successfully
manage employees in times of crisis and to adapt existing employment
relationships and practices accordingly. Managing employee behaviors and
experiences through crises are of utmost importance as well given the
implications for employee and organizational productivity. Several HRM
and OB responses are emerging within the recent literature, albeit in a
fragmented manner.
Innovative HRM and OB Responses to Crises

Within the Contemporary Business Environment
There are various innovative HRM and OB responses within the contem-
porary business environment that have been advanced within the litera-
ture to guide the management of organizational crises. In the sections
that follow, six (6) of the more prominent responses are introduced (See
Fig. 2.1). Five of these responses are discussed in this chapter, while the
sixth is explored comprehensively in Chapter 3:
. Resilience.
. Training and development.
. Creative HR Practices (Hiring/Promotion/Rewards practices).
. Downsizing versus Rightsizing/Reorganizing.
. Transformational leadership.
. Adjustments in the nature/type of work.
Resilience
From the perspective of employees, organizational crises are often concep-
tualized as stressors within the organizational environment that challenge
their coping abilities (Zacher & Rudolph, 2022). Stressors are events that
have the potential to disrupt normal psychological and physical func-
tioning. Stressful events are experiences that trigger negative affect such
as organizational crises. To enhance the coping abilities of employees
when faced with the stressors of organizational crises, building resilience
has emerged as an innovative response. A growing body of literature has
shown that resilient workers within resilient organizations are more likely
Resilience
Creative HR
Practices Training &
(Hiring,
Promotion, Development
Rewards)
INNOVATIVE
HRM/OB
RESPONSES TO
Downsizing CRISES Adjustments in
versus the
Rightsizing/ nature/type of
Reorganizing work
Transformational
Leadership
Fig. 2.1 Innovative and emerging HRM and OB responses to crises
to recover successfully and endure organizational crises when compared

to employees who are less resilient (King et al., 2016). From an orga-
nizational perspective, resilience generally has been used to describe
organizations, systems, or individuals that are able to react to and recover
from duress or disturbances with minimal effects on stability and func-
tioning (Williams et al., 2017). While organizational resilience has been
variously defined, it is generally understood as the ability of organiza-
tions to withstand shocks in the external environment, and to perform
confidently and robustly for the long-term against business threats, while
remaining fit for purpose (Ortiz-Mandojana & Bansal, 2016). Hence,
resilience involves the ability of the organization to withstand significant
adversity and to rebound from the disturbance to perform effectively and
sustainably for the future. It is the firm’s ability to effectively absorb,
develop situation specific responses to, and ultimately engage in trans-

formative activities, to capitalize on disruptive crises that can potentially
threaten organizational survival.
It must be noted that while resilience has been well-developed within
psychology research, it remains in an emergent stage within the manage-
rial field of OB (Williams et al., 2017). An emerging body of managerial
literature has examined the importance of mental resilience in employees
in response to the specific COVID-19 crisis. This research, however,
focuses on employees as the unit of analysis and on their mental resilience.
Indeed, research suggests that crises such as the COVID pandemic
require a high degree of mental resilience and associated coping skills,
which in turn boosts physical functioning as well. Coping skills describe
behaviors, actions, and thoughts that allow employees to manage stressful
situations. From a classical perspective, Lazarus and Folkman (1984)
proposed two main types of coping strategies: problem-focused and
emotion-focused. Problem-focused coping strategies seek to manage
problems or stressors in various ways, for example, by seeking information
or planning responsive actions. Emotion-focused coping strategies seek to
control emotional responses to stressors, for example, by seeking support.
Numerous contemporary studies conducted during the current pandemic
suggest that the primary coping strategies of employees included support
and communication with family, friends, and colleagues, problem-solving,
and positive thinking, which were effective in managing organizational
crises (Chen et al., 2021). However, negative coping strategies, for
example, avoidance, were associated with higher levels stress, overall
psychological distress, and were largely ineffective in managing organi-
zational crises. Perceived organization support, perceived organizational
trust, peer and supervisor support, work-life balance practices, and
employee assistance programs are all OB and people management strate-
gies that may strongly shape the strength of emotion-focused coping and
its impact on building mental resilience for employees. With these strate-
gies, organizations strive to promote positive psychological capital for
employees within organizations as they attempt to cope with this crisis
(Mun et al., 2022). However, notably, mental resilience is only one aspect
of resilience. Further, resilience is explored primarily from the narrow
perspective of employees within existing managerial research.
Training and Development

Training and development are traditionally recognized as popular HRM
practices to develop an effective workforce. As workplaces are strained
and tested, and as organizations and employees are at their wit’s end to
get through and beyond the challenges of stressful organizational crises,
resilience skills training, and development become important.
Emerging research suggests that training and development interven-
tions can offer therapeutic and developmental opportunities to restore
and build capabilities to power through stressful crisis situations. Studies
including resilience training and development programs have been
reported to show positive impacts on the mental health and subjective
well-being of employees. Moreover, some studies have also reported posi-
tive changes in performance or other work-related benefits. A review of
studies regarding resilience training in organizational contexts conducted
by Robertson et al. (2015) and meta-analyses performed by Leppin et al.
(2014) and Vanhove et al. (2016) all provide support for the assump-
tion that training and development could positively affect employees’
resilience as well as their well-being and performance at work. Resilience
training prioritizes mental/cognitive, emotional, spiritual, and physical
components of resilience. Scheuch et al. (2021) note that the contents
of various resilience training initiatives can cover meditation, relaxation,
feedback, goal setting, psychoeducation on resilience, problem-solving,
coaching, reflective and critical thinking, stress management, self-care,
trauma management, and mindfulness. Resilience training in these aspects
can enhance resiliency, the quality of life, and reduce stress and anxiety
by developing skills to view stressful circumstances and challenges as
opportunities. A review of research on resilience training within the work-
place, and meta-analyses suggest that such training can in fact boost
employee resilience, well-being, and their productivity at work (Scheuch
et al., 2021), when faced with organizational crises. In this way, training
and development in this area offer an innovative HRM response to
organizations facing crises.
Creative HR Practices (Hiring/Promotion/Rewards Practices)

Organizational crises, regardless of its nature, can strain organizational
resources. As resources are depleted, organizations must adapt to survive,
grow, and develop through the uncertainty and instability. While such an
environmental context is typically synonymous with organizational chal-

lenges, crises can also offer opportunities for the development of creative
HRM practices in several areas (Nguyen et al., 2022).
The main goal of any organization faced with environmental crises is
to maintain its survival, welfare, and effective management of human
resources. Therefore, effective and intelligent management of human
resources is very important (Nguyen et al., 2022) in such a context.
Creative methods of talent management, such as hiring in the face of
adversity with the reengineering of work and business processes and
motivating and promoting insecure staff with open communication and
intrinsic rewards when extrinsic rewards may be limited, have emerged
as innovative HRM responses that can potentially build HR reliability
even in stressful crisis situations (Bienkowska et al., 2021). The emerging
concept of HR reliability refers to the ability to anticipate and detect
potential risks and problems, prevent disruptions in the performance
of systems, maintain adequate performance, solve problems to promote
effective performance, and learn through experiences—all important
requirements to manage organizational crises (Nangia & Mohsin, 2020;
Nguyen et al., 2022). However, this area of research remains in an infancy
stage and much remains unknown on how HR practices such as creative
hiring, promotion, and rewards can in fact boost HR reliability.
Downsizing Versus Rightsizing/Reorganizing

Organizations have and continue to shut down, merge, downsize, or
reorganize to minimize costs due to organizational crises, which typically
emanate from economic instability (Ozili & Arun, 2020; Nguyen et al.,
2022). While other environmental factors such as technological changes
have prompted organizational changes in the form of downsizing, insta-
bility and uncertainty within the economic environment remain the most
popular cause of downsizing responses (Santana et al., 2017). When faced
with organizational crises, the first and typical response is the dismissal
of people, even before considering the sources of the decline. While
this HRM response is now viewed as typical when faced with economic
crisis, rightsizing and reorganizing may be viewed as innovative when
they are evaluated as turnaround strategies rather than layoffs strategies
(Lancefield, 2021).
Indeed, a considerable body of literature indicates that workforce

reductions synonymous with downsizing often lead to negative finan-
cial and operational outcomes for the downsizing firm as well as negative
psychological outcomes for victims and survivors (Gandolfi & Hansson,
2015). However, it must be recognized that downsizing should not be
practiced only as a workforce reduction strategy. Downsizing may in fact
be a turnaround HRM response to ensure a better fit between members
of the workforce and organizational survival/growth strategies (Santana
et al., 2017). Rightsizing and reorganizing in response to organizational
crises can provide the impetus to initiate turnarounds. Rightsizing can
involve downsizing, which must be strategically managed, while ensuring
strategic fit between workforce and organizational strategies. Emerging
research suggests that rightsizing and reorganizing business processes
for continuity amid organizational crises are often intended as a long-
term HRM strategy. This strategy enables organizations to function with
the right level of talent in each department, position, and function
(Oriloye et al., 2020) and can have potentially positive organizational and
employee consequences. When a company rightsizes and reorganizes its
business processes, many other aspects of the organization must change
too. These include management processes, information technology (IT)
systems, the culture, incentives and rewards, and leadership styles. This
must happen quickly, if not simultaneously—especially in fast-moving
markets facing environmental crises.
Transformational Leadership
Several significant crises within the last three (3) decades have signifi-
cantly affected the attitudes and behaviors of employees within organi-
zations (Budhwar & Cumming, 2020; Malik & Sanders, 2021). During
organizational crises, transformational leadership plays a crucial role in
helping organizations overcome difficulties and challenges. From a clas-
sical perspective, transformational leadership is defined as a leadership
approach in which a leader transforms his followers, inspires them, builds
trust, encourages them, admires their innovative ideas, and develops
them (Bass, 1985). From a contemporary perspective, emerging research
suggests that through transformational leadership, employees can be
encouraged, inspired, and motivated to innovate, accept changes, take
more challenges, and contribute to the organization’s development when
faced with organizational crises (Schaedler et al., 2022). In this way,
transformational leadership provides an OB response to environmental

uncertainty and organizational crises.
Given the crucial importance of transformational leaders in managing
organizational crises, it is not surprising that their impact in crisis situ-
ations has garnered research attention. For instance, emerging research
has examined the personality of transformational leaders and its impact on
the effectiveness of crisis management (König et al., 2020). Scholars have
also examined crisis communication activities and suggest that leaders
rely on disclosure to manage organizational crises rather than impres-
sion management strategies (Nguyen et al., 2022). However, research
on the role of transformational leaders in crisis situations is characterized
by a high degree of fragmentation, widely spread across various disci-
plines, thereby hindering the development of parsimonious theory. In
fact, influential studies on this topic come from a wide array of business-
related fields such as management (Andreou et al., 2017), finance (Ho
et al., 2016), accounting (Beasley, 1996), marketing (Kashmiri & Brower,
2016), and business ethics (Seeger & Ulmer, 2001). In addition, schol-
arly interest in the role of leaders within organizational crises extends
to non-business research, including—but not limited to—communica-
tion science (Turk et al., 2012) and psychology (Gomulya et al., 2017).
From an OB perspective, Schaedler et al. (2022) in a systematic review
of existing literature on strategic leadership perspectives in crises note
that increased attention has been focused on transformational leadership
by linking it to positive employees’ responses within crisis contexts. For
example, employee engagement, productivity, and even resilience can be
positively reinforced through transformational leadership approaches and
strategies, therefore providing positive OB responses in organizational
crises.
Adjustments in the Nature/Type of Work

It is indisputable that one of the most popular HRM responses to organi-
zational crises situations includes innovative and alternative work arrange-
ments. The contemporary work environment within which organizations
operate today requires innovative and flexible adjustments in the nature
and type of work to ensure business continuity, survival, and develop-
ment over time. Given the scope and magnitude of this specific response,
it is addressed comprehensively in the subsequent chapter, Chapter 4
(Alternative Work Arrangements for the Contemporary Workplace).
Research Gaps
The research overview on innovative HRM and OB responses to organi-
zational crises in this chapter covers the core areas where management
research has indeed been conducted, areas which are still developing.
From a practical perspective, organizational crises are an undeniable
feature of the organizational environment within which organizations
operate today. From a research perspective, however, the managerial liter-
ature has lagged in providing coherent HRM and OB perspectives to
assist with theoretical development in this area. In this regard, several
research gaps emerge, which are worthy of future exploration. Future
research can:
. Combine internal and external perspectives on organizational crises.

Indeed, organizational research has long been interested in crises.
However, research in this space remains fragmented, making it diffi-
cult for scholars to understand the literature’s core conclusions,
recognize unsolved problems, and navigate paths forward. Existing
research on crises continues to exist in silos, focusing on either an
internal or an external perspective (Bundy et al., 2017). However,
most of the research has been concentrated on the external envi-
ronment and the associated perspectives. Therefore, several oppor-
tunities remain for future research to integrate internal and external
perspectives. For instance, research can potentially examine whether
external, crisis response strategies improve internal leadership efforts,
and vice versa. This and other such integrative research areas remain
largely untouched.
. Integrate fragmented research across disciplines to define organiza-
tional crises.
Several definitions and streams of research have emerged to describe
organizational crises. However, there is a need for integration across
disciplines to develop universally accepted features of organizational
crises within the managerial perspectives of HRM and OB. This need
presents a gap, which must be addressed to develop comprehensive
theoretical frameworks in this area.
. Evaluate best practices in crisis management.
Best practices in crisis management are under-researched since
current scholars focus primarily on crisis management failures,
regardless of which perspective they employ. Researchers can advance
crisis management research by examining organizations that have

proactively averted and effectively managed crises. In this way, best
practices can potentially be delineated to advance crisis management
research beyond the typical negative perspective.
. Utilize longitudinal research designs to track how organizations
manage crises over time.
Most existing research studies on organizational crises utilize case
study designs. Future research can also consider empirical opportu-
nities beyond case study designs. Longitudinal studies may be useful
to shed light on the organizational and relational characteristics that
help prevent crises, while also being sensitive to endogeneity issues.
. Explore the multiple aspects of resilience when developing innovative
OB responses to organizational crises beyond mental resilience and
employee perspectives.
Both academics and practitioners view resilience as a core topic of
interest. Resilience is widely viewed as a potential solution to the
challenges posed by crises and disasters. The promise of resilience
is an organization or society that absorbs shocks and rebounds
after a disturbance. Notably, while the idea of resilience is increas-
ingly popular, empirical research on resilient organizations is quite
rare, thereby offering the opportunity for future research as well.
Existing organizational research has focused primarily on building
the mental resilience of employees in response to organizational
crises. However, mental resilience is only one aspect of resilience
that may be useful in enhancing organizational responses to crises.
Other aspects of resilience and organizational perspectives also
warrant attention to further develop innovative responses in a more
systematic way.
. Evaluate the relationship between resource availability and the devel-
opment of resilience.
The availability of resources is considered a key enabler of employee
and organizational resilience. When resources are available and used
strategically, employees and organizations can overcome disruptions
and crises. The theoretical logic of the Conservation of Resources
theory (Hobfoll, 1989, 2001) may be useful to evaluate the rela-
tionship between resources and resilience.
. Evaluate the relationship between leadership and resilience.

Limited research has explored the relationship between different
leadership approaches and resilience in the management of organiza-
tional crises. Linking leadership and resilience research can enhance
the development of these OB areas to further build upon the crisis
management literature.
. Evaluate how HR practices can boost organizational and hence HR
reliability.
Organizational reliability is described as an organization’s ability
to maintain organizational performance (Bienkowska et al., 2021).
Ensuring reliability is an important issue in the extreme conditions
of the organization’s functioning, which cause crisis in those orga-
nizations. Such conditions can disturb organizational sustainability
and thus, threaten organizational survival by triggering a spiral of
escalation of negative phenomena. Ensuring reliability is becoming
a necessary condition for organizations to overcome crises and to
restore sustainability and balance. The recent organizational relia-
bility model (Bienkowska et al., 2021) incorporates HR reliability as
a core dimension, which is worthy of exploration in assessing HRM
responses to contemporary organizational crises. Further research
on the processes through which HR practices can boost HR reli-
ability is warranted. While emerging research suggests that practices
such as creative hiring, promotion, and reward systems can impact
HR reliability, further investigations are needed to understand the
mechanisms through which such practices can enhance reliability to
positively impact employee and organizational outcomes.
. Evaluate lessons from multiple pandemic periods to assess the effective-
ness of HRM and OB responses and to develop further strategies for
managing such organizational crises.
Conclusion
Organizational crises within the dynamic organizational environment are
a feature of the undeniable reality that all businesses face today. Accord-
ingly, within managerial research, studies are ongoing to explore the
innovative responses that can be used to manage and understand such
crises. This fact opens the doors to several research opportunities to

advance literature and theoretical development on this topic within HRM
and OB.
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Another random document with
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„Goed, en dan gaan we meteen thuis het pakje aanhalen.”
„Maar wacht es,” zegt Ambro. „Hoe laat komen we terug?”
„Om half vier ongeveer.”
„Waar moeten we dan brood eten?”
„Da’s al lang in orde. Moeder heeft voor alles gezorgd. Voor ieder een stapel
kadetjes met ham en kaas.”
„Gommenikkie, da’s fijn!”
„En we mogen in een kattekroeg wat gaan drinken.”
„Dat wordt een reuzen-dag!” zegt Ambro verheugd.
Dan gaan de beide jongens op stap. Ambro koopt een pond goudreinetten.
„Wat een kanjers,” zegt Paul. „Me broekzakken puilen er van uit.”
„Nou, ik zal er niet lang last van hebben,” lacht Ambro.
Intusschen hebben ze Paul’s huis bereikt, waar [162]ze het pakje afhalen.
Boven aan de trap roept mevrouw: „Ambro, zul je goed op Paul passen?”
„Ja mevrouw,” is het antwoord. „U krijgt hem heelhuids terug.”
En nu begeven de jongens zich naar het bootje.
„We gaan eerste klas, hoor!” zegt Paul. „Dan zitten we fijn vooraan. En anders
krijg je al de rook in je facie.”
„Chique!” zegt Ambro. „Kijk het bankje bij de bel is vrij, laten we daar gaan
zitten, dan mogen we bellen als ie vertrekt.”
Ze zijn echter veel te vroeg en er is nog geen sprake van vertrekken.
„Ik ga een appel schillen,” zegt Ambro en hij haalt zijn mes te voorschijn; het
mes, dat alle jongens hem benijden, want het is groot, en gevuld met alle
soorten van mesjes en priempjes en het is overal voor te gebruiken.
De machinist van de boot, die vlak bij de jongens z’n pijpje staat te rooken,
kijkt er met welgevallen naar.
„Dat messie mag er wezen, jongeheer.”
Ambro, zeer gevleid, geeft hem het mes om ’t van dichtbij te laten bekijken.
„’n Effetief messie, best staal, zal nog heel wat gekost hebben.”
„Niks heeft ’t me gekost. Zoo maar voor noppes weggehaald.”
„’t Zal niet waar zijn,” zegt de machinist.
„Nee, niet weggekaapt! Eerlijk verdiend, hoor!”
„En je zeit weggehaald!” [163]
„Op de zomer-kermis, boven in een mast, die met groene zeep was
ingesmeerd. Ik had een heele sjouw voor ik er was en toen ik eenmaal boven
was, wist ik niet wat ik pakken zon, een ham of het mes.
„Maar ik koos toch ’t mes en nou ben ik er maar blij om, want ’t heeft me al
heel wat diensten bewezen.”
„Dat heb je ’m kranig gelapt,” zegt de machinist goedkeurend. „Die paaltjes

valle anders nog niks niet mee, ik ben tenminste es halleverwege blijve steke.”
„Mot je een stukkie,” vraagt Ambro, hem de helft van zijn appel voorhoudend.
„As ik je niet ontrijf. Maar, ’t is zoo’n groot brok, je houdt temet zelf niks over.”
„O, we hebben plenty, man.”
„Nou, dan op je santé.”
Vóór de machinist vertrekt, heeft ook Paul hem zijn aandeel geofferd.
Nu nadert de schipper, om met de bel het sein tot vertrek te geven.
„Mogen wij het doen?” vraagt Ambro.
„Ga je gang, jongeheer. Ik doe ’t elken dag.”

En Ambro belt alsof zijn leven er van af hangt. De bewoners van de Schie
hadden nog nooit zoo luid en lang het vertrek van het bootje hooren
aankondigen.
„Nou is ’t genoeg,” roept lachend de schipper. „Anders komen we nog zonder

bel in Delft aan.”
En Paul, die op zijn beurt gehoopt had de bel [164]te mogen luiden, werd
beloofd bij de aankomst aan de eerste aanlegplaats zijn schade te mogen
inhalen.
Juist zou de loopplank naar binnen gehaald worden, als van de kade hevig
met een parapluie wuivend, een oude juffrouw aan komt loopen, zoo hard, als
haar onderdanen het toelieten.
„Wacht even, schipper, die juffrouw moet nog mee,” roept Ambro.
„Ja, ik zie ’t” zegt de schipper en terwijl hij de juffrouw, die intusschen de
loopplank bereikt heeft, ridderlijk de hand toesteekt, zegt hij goedig: „Kalm an
maar, moeder, me hebbe de tijd.”
De juffrouw wordt hijgend en puffend naar binnen gehaald en de jongens

krijgen nu een mede-passagier.
De juffrouw is nog niet in staat een woord uit te brengen en zit amechtig naar
lucht happend op een bank, terwijl ze het bezweete welgedane gezicht met
een netjes opgevouwen, hagelwitten zakdoek afveegt.
„Hè, hè … hè, hè … is dat loope!… mense, mense,… hè, hè!”
„Blij dat u zit, juffrouw,” toetert Ambro haar in de ooren, zoo hard, alsof ’t
vanzelf sprak dat de juffrouw doof was, hetgeen ze wederom beantwoordde
met de noodige „hè hè’s” en „mense mense”.
„Dat scheelde maar een haartje,” schreeuwt Ambro, nòg harder dan den
vorigen keer, in de meening, dat zijn eerste gebrul niet verstaan was door de
juffrouw. [165]
Dit blijkt tè kras voor haar trommelvlies en ze keert zich verwoed naar Ambro
om, terwijl ze nijdig zegt:
„Ik bin niet doof! je hoef niet zoo te schreeuwe!”
Na dezen uitval kijkt Ambro haar even beteuterd aan en wijdt dan weer zijn
volle aandacht aan een worm, dien hij in een van zijn mooie goudreinetten
ontdekte.
„Ik bin anders altoos op tijd,” opent de juffrouw eensklaps het gesprek. „Me
klokkie gong sekers na.”
„Wat zegt u, juffrouw?” zegt Ambro, z’n oor vlak bij haar gezicht houdend.
Als ze hem verbaasd aankijkt, zegt de deugniet, terwijl hij veiligheidshalve een
eindje van haar af gaat zitten:
„Ik ben ook niet doof!”
En onmiddellijk laat hij er op volgen: „Moet u een stukkie?” en houdt haar een
stuk appel voor.
Dit verteedert de juffrouw en met een vriendelijk: „Dank Uwes wel, jongeheer,”
neemt ze het partje aan, dat ze luid smakkend verorbert.
„Is dat uw zoontje?” vraagt eensklaps Ambro, op Paul wijzend.
Paul, die zich al dien tijd stil hield en zich kostelijk vermaakte met het gesprek
tusschen het tweetal, proest het op eenmaal uit.
„Wou je ’n oud mensch nemen?” zegt de juffrouw lachend tegen Ambro. „Me
jongste soontje is al vijf en dertig. En die heit er krek zoo eentje als deuze.”
„Nou, dan kon ’t uw kleinzoontje zijn. Paul, daar zit je opoe. Lach es tegen d’r.”
[166]
„Je bent me d’r eentje,” zegt de juffrouw, maar ze heeft toch schik in hem.
„Moet u ook naar Delft?” vraagt Paul.
„Nee, ikke gaan na de Zwet, na me dochter, die heit daar ’n cefé.”
„Met een schommel?” vraagt Ambro vol belangstelling.

„Ja, achter ’t beffet,” lacht de juffrouw.
De schipper komt de kaartjes ophalen.
„Opoe betaalt voor ons,” zegt Ambro.
„’t Is toch … wat e rakker, hè? Sal me ’n lekker dier thuis sijn …! Soo twalef!!”
Dan licht ze zorgvuldig haar japonrok op en haalt uit een grooten witten zak,
een knipbeurs van enormen omvang en grut er met beverige vingers het geld
voor een „karetje” uit.
„Tot de Zwet,” zegt ze.
„De gewone reis, moeder,” zegt de schipper die haar reeds van lange jaren
kent. [167]
„Wij moeten naar Delft,” zegt Paul.
„Verkoopt u retourtjes?”
„Nee, jongeheer, alleenig enkelde reissie’s.”

„Dan twee stuks,” zegt Paul waardig.
„Ja, ja,” lacht Ambro. „Ik mag vandaag met oome uit.”
„Gane jullie soo same na Delleft?” informeert de juffrouw.
„Ja, juffrouw,” zegt Ambro. „Opkomen voor ons nummer, we zijn d’r allebei
ingeloot.”
„Hoor nou zoo’n broekeman,” zegt de schipper onder het weggaan.
„Dat zal nog wel een paar jaartjes anhouwe.”
„Sou je graag soldaat sijn?” vraagt de juffrouw aan Ambro.
„Nee,” zegt Ambro. „Ik hou van commandeeren en niet van gecommandeerd
te worden.”
„Toe maar, toe maar, wat een baassie!” lacht de juffrouw.
„Maar hij,” zegt Ambro, op Paul wijzend. „Hij is er gek op. Hij kan een heelen
dag met een houten geweertje en een kurk spelen.”
„Nee, hoor juffrouw,” valt Paul hem vlug in de rede. „Hij jokt maar wat, ik moet
er ook niets van hebben, me broer zegt ook dat ’t een nare zooi is en zonde
van je goeie tijd.”
„O, is uwes broer in dienst?” zegt de juffrouw, bij voorbaat ja knikkend met ’t
hoofd.
„Al zeven maanden zit ie d’r in,” zegt Paul. „En nou heeft ie straf; daarom gaan
we naar Delft om ’m wat lekkers te brengen.” [168]
„Heit ie straf?” zegt meewarig de juffrouw. „En mag ie nou niet naar huis?”
„Hij heeft veertien dagen, hoe heet ’t ook weer, o ja, kwartier-arrest.”
„Sa-je gebeure,” zegt de juffrouw, ofschoon ze volstrekt niet weet wat kwartier-
arrest wil zeggen.
„Sit ie nou in ’n hok?” informeert ze op fluisterenden toon.

„Ja,” lacht Ambro. „Aan een ketting.”
„O, daar hei je die pejas ook weer. Van jou geloof ik toch nooit niks meer.”
„Nee juffrouw,” licht Paul haar beleefd in. „Dat is het cachot wat u bedoelt, dat
is voor erge feiten, zegt me broer.”
„Wat heit ie dan wel gedaan, zonder nieuwsgierig te zijn,” zegt de juffrouw.
„Hij heeft aan den luitenant z’n sik getrokken,” zegt Ambro. „’t Was een
aangeplakte, want hij hield ’m in zijn hand.”
„Och malle,” lacht Paul. „Niks van aan, hoor juffrouw. Hij was niet geschoren
op een inspectie en toen heeft een sergeant hem er bij gelapt.”
„Wat een stuk sjagrijn! Ja, se kenne die jonges soo koejeneere,” zegt de
juffrouw vol medegevoel.
„Ja,” zegt Ambro. „Ik wist dat ’t iets met den baard te maken had.”
„Jongeheer, belle!” onderbreekt de schipper hun gekeuvel en Paul vliegt op de

bel af en haalt z’n schade van straks terdege in.
„Nou, ik bin d’r,” zegt de juffrouw, terwijl ze haar parapluie en mandje ter hand
neemt. [169]
„Goeie reis verdere, jongeheere.”
„Dag juffrouw,” zeggen de jongens beleefd.
Het bootje zet zijn reis voort.
Onderweg moeten zij onder twee bruggen doorvaren. De pijp wordt omlaag
gehaald en ook de ijzeren hekken van het bovendek moeten plat liggen opdat
de boot zonder stooten onder de brug door kan.
De schipper, die rustig zijn pijpje zat te rooken, verlaat nu ook het dek, want de
brug is in aantocht.
Maar Ambro heeft schik in het geval en stelt Paul voor boven op het dek te
klimmen.
„Je zal heusch je kop niet stooten! kom Paul, we gaan plat op onzen buik
liggen, net als de stoompijp.”
Meteen is Ambro al naar boven en Paul, hoewel een beetje angstig voor zijn
hoofd, volgt hem.
„Wat een rare knullen,” zegt de schipper lachend. „Als een verstandig mensch
voor zijn gemak naar beneje gaat, motte hullie juist naar bove.”
„’t Kan immers geen kwaad?” informeert Paul.
„Nee hoor,” stelt de schipper hem gerust. „Als je maar plat blijft liggen en niet
je neus in den wind steekt.”
Intusschen is de boot bij de brug gekomen en glijdt op eigen vaart er onder

door.
„Hè fijn,” juicht Ambro. „Hij schuift net langs mijn pet.”
„Tòch gevaarlijk,” zegt Paul. „Hij moet maar eens ’n beetje hooger liggen, de
brug zal heusch [170]niet uit den weg gaan en dan zouden we toch netjes
gekraakt worden.”
„Bê-je nou!” is de verontwaardigde uitroep van Ambro. „De pijp ligt immers nog
hooger dan wij.”
Maar ze zijn er al veilig onder door en Paul herademt. Hij vond het een
benauwde bedoening.
„Straks nog een brug,” zegt Ambro. „Jammer, dat er geen twintig onderweg
zijn. Ik vind het wàt emmes, ’t is weer eens wat anders.”
[Inhoud]
AMBRO REDT EEN SECTIE SOLDATEN.
Delft nadert.—Het weêr is heerlijk, het lijkt wel een zomersche dag. De
jongens zitten weer in de laagte bij den voorsteven van het bootje.
„Kijk es, Paul,” roept Ambro triomfantelijk. „Ben ik niet handig?… ik pak
me daar zoo maar een visch uit het water,” en hij houdt Paul een klein
witvischje onder den neus.
„Kijk-t-ie spartelen,” zegt Paul in bewondering voor Ambro’s vlugheid.
„Maar niet heusch,” zegt deze. „Hij is zoo dood als een pier. Kijk, er
dobberen er nog veel meer. Tsjonge,… kijk es wat een zooi! En allemaal
dood.”
De schipper, die hun gesprek gevolgd had, geeft hun uitleg.
„Da’s van de fabrieke … die vergiftige hier het water met d’rlui
uitwaseminge en dan mot, al wat leeft, sterreve.”
„Kan je ze nog eten?” vraagt Ambro vol belangstelling. [171]
„Nee jonge, da’s niet goed voor je maag, maar de poes, die zou d’r an
smulle.”
Voor de laatste maal luidt Ambro nu de bel—de boot is aan.
Ze nemen afscheid van den schipper en roepen hem een tot-straks toe,
want over vier uur gaan ze weer terug naar Rotterdam.
„Heb je je pakkie, Paul?” vraagt Ambro met een dood-onschuldig gezicht

als ze al een heel eind op weg naar de kazerne zijn.
„Allemachies!” Paul verbleekt. „Nee, gauw terug!” En hij wil terughollen

naar de boot.
„Ik heb het,” roept Ambro en houdt het bewuste voorwerp omhoog.
„Hè, is dàt schrikken,” hijgt Paul.
„Hij is alwéér reusachtig!” lacht Ambro. „Zeg, weet jij den weg?” vraagt hij
dan.
„Ik wel,” zegt Paul. „We moeten naar de paardenmarkt.”
„Mag je d’r in, ik bedoel in de kazerne?”
„Dat zal niet gaan, ze laten geen burgers toe.”
„Laat naar je kijken, ben jij een burger!” schatert Ambro.
„Ja zeker zijn wij burgers, we dragen toch geen uniform.”
„Goed, burger Paul, alweer gelijk. Ik had anders wàt graag eens een
kijkie genomen in zoo’n soldatenhuis. Ik vraag het ijskoud aan den
generaal.”
„Jôh! de generaal! Die is er niet altijd, een hoogst enkele keer,” zegt Dirk,
„en dan moeten ze poetsen tot ze groen zien en een pluimpje [172]krijgen
ze nooit, alleen straf als er wat aan mankeert.”
„Nou, ik wil en zal de kazerne in,” zegt Ambro. „Wedde, dat we d’r in
komme?”
„Hier heen,” roept Paul. „Dit straatje in, dan zijn we er.”
„Ja, ik zie al een vlakte, dat is zeker de paardenmarkt.”
Om den hoek gekomen zien ze een menigte soldaten in werkcostuum.
„Wat zien ze d’r raar uit,” roept Ambro. „Dat is zeker hun daagsche
pakkie, ’t lijken wel clowns met die malle mutsie’s.”
„Dat zijn kwartiermutsen,” verklaart Paul, die nu alle geleerdheid

betreffende den dienst, opgedaan bij Dirk, Ambro opdischt.
„Je moet ’t maar weten! Hoort die kerel een muil opzetten! Die denkt
zeker, dat ze allemaal doof zijn! Begrijp jij, wat ie van ze wil?”
„Ja zeker,” zegt Paul. „Aan den schouder, geweer!” schreeuwt ie. Hoor,
nou roept ie weer „zet af.”
„En ze doen niks,” lacht Ambro.
„Wacht maar even,” zegt Paul.
Meteen klinkt weer een harde schreeuw, dat „geweer” moet verbeelden,
waarop alle geweren netjes, tegelijk weer op den grond worden geplaatst.
„Wat een poppenkast,” roept Ambro. „Dan vind ik gedresseerde honden

nog aardiger.”
„Kom mee,” dringt Paul aan. „Laten we nou niet aldoor hier blijven kijken.”
[173]
„Nou, misschien is Dirk er wel bij,” zegt Ambro, die pret heeft in al dat
gedoe. Hij had nog nooit zooiets gezien. Eenmaal in Den Haag, maar dat
was parade, toen waren ze allemaal netjes aangekleed en moesten
wachten op den generaal, die op een paard kwam aanhollen en al de
mannetjes monsterde.
„Kom je nou, of niet,” zegt Paul ongeduldig. „Anders zal ik wel alleen
gaan.”
„Hier ben ik al, burger, houd je kalm,” plaagt Ambro.
Ze stappen op de poort van de kazerne af en passeeren een paar

soldaten, die lui uitgestrekt in het zonnetje liggen te braden.
„Tabak, jongens?” vraagt er een. „Geef maar hier. Of is ’t misschien een

hammetje? Dat blieven we ook wel.”
„Fopspeentjes,” roept Ambro terug. „Vóór jullie naar bed gaan krijg je ze.”
Vóór de poort zit een sergeant op een kapotten stoel een krantje te lezen.
Hij kijkt bij het naderen van het tweetal van zijn lectuur op.
„Zoo, jong vee, wat motte jullie gedaan weze?”
Paul is zoowaar geschrokken van den harden toon waarop hij wordt
toegesproken, maar al gauw merkt hij, dat het niet zoo kwaad gemeend
is.
Ambro doet nu maar het woord.
„Meneer, we zouden graag dit pakje aan Dirk brengen. Dat is zijn broer,
ziet u. Mag dat?”
„Dirk kenne we hier niet,” luidt het antwoord. [174]
„D’r zijn hier misschien wel honderd Dirken. Maar waar leit ie? Welke
compie, welke sectie, welke kamer?”
„Dirk Vermeeren, 3de compagnie, 2de sectie, kamer 17,” antwoordt Paul
vlug.
Hij heeft nu weer allen moed teruggekregen nu hij merkte dat de bullebak
geen „kwaje” was.
„Dan gaan jullie ’t zellef maar brenge, hij zal d’r wel zijn, alles is
vanmorrege thuis. Hier de gang in, één trap op en dan de eerste deur
rechts. Ingerukt, marsch!”
Weg zijn de jongens.
„Zie je nou wel,” zegt Ambro zegevierend. „Ik wist het wel, dat we naar
binnen mochten, die kerel was immers veel te lui om dat pakkie zelf te
brengen. Hier Paul, kamer 17.”
„Moet je kloppen?” vraagt Paul een beetje bevreesd in dat nare, donkere,
groote gebouw.
„Bê-je wel wijs?” zegt Ambro. „Van nette manieren weten ze hier niks,” en
meteen doet hij de deur open.
„In orde, staat!” klinkt het op luiden toon en de beide jongens zien
plotseling overal kerels opduiken, die op stroozakken lagen te rooken, te
lezen en te luibakken.
Ieder staat nu als een standbeeld voor zijn bed.
De jongens begrijpen er niets van, tot de kerels in de gaten krijgen, dat ze

voor den mal zijn gehouden en loom hun bed weer opzoeken.
„Hallo,” roept Dirk, die hun die poets gebakken heeft. „Daar zijn de twee
hooge oome’s, heeren, [175]mag ik u voorstellen, mijn geachte broeder,
kolonel Paul en Overste Ambro, het grootste beest van Rotterdam en
omstreken.”
Paul, blij, dat hij eindelijk een bekend gezicht ziet en een bekende stem
hoort, komt met Ambro op Dirk af en reikt hem het pakje over.
„Dat moet ik je van moeder brengen en verder veel groeten van

allemaal.”
„Nou, maar jullie zijn beste kereltjes, hoor!” zegt Dirk die het pakje begint
te openen. „Hoe vinden jullie ’t hier? Gezellig, hè? Ambro, is dat geen
lekker bedje, je komt maar es logeeren, plaats en eten genoeg.”
De jongens kijken hun oogen uit; zoo’n rare boel hebben ze nog nooit
gezien.
IJzeren kribben met een stroozak en de wollen dekens op een hoopje

aan het eind en daar weer boven een kastje met een rommel waar je niet
meer uit wijs kan worden.
„Ha!” roept Dirk blij. „Sigaartjes en Kwatta’s! da’s toch maar alles. Ambro,
moet je een stukje?”
Ambro kijkt met glundere blikken naar het verleidelijke stukje chocolade,
maar hij weigert het en vindt, dat je een gevangene zijn lekkernij niet
moet ontnemen.
Dirk heeft, zooals we reeds zeiden, veertien dagen kwartier-arrest, omdat

hij bij een inspectie niet schoon geschoren was.
„Heb je nou heusch straf omdat je niet geschoren was,” vraagt Ambro
ongeloovig. „En als je nu je baard laat staan; hij kan toch niet in één nacht
lang zijn?” [176]
„Daar houden ze hier geen rekening mee,” antwoordt Dirk. „Of een glad
gezicht òf een flinke baard.”
Ambro voelt eens over zijn wang en kan slechts constateeren, dat er nog
geen spoor van haar te bespeuren is. „Bij mij is gelukkig alles in orde,”
zegt hij. „Laat de hooge-oome maar komen, hij mag me over mijn koonen
aaien.”
„Wat een lefschoppertje,” roept hem een landweerman toe, die evenals
alle anderen, lui op zijn krib ligt uitgestrekt.
„Had ik maar een beetje rook in mijn mond!” Deze verzuchting was voor
Dirk bedoeld en deze gooit hem een van zijn pas ontvangen sigaren toe.
„Hier, ouwe dief, jij ook wat,” lacht Dirk, en dan tot de jongens: „Dat is nou
onze Manus, de grootste lijntrekker van de heele compie.”
„Lijntrekken?” vraagt Paul.
En Dirk legt uit: „Lijntrekken is net doen of je druk aan ’t werk bent en een
heeleboel te doen hebt, maar in werkelijkheid voer je niks-niemendal uit
en als ze mannetjes zoeken om het een of andere karweitje op te
knappen … kamers zwabberen, stroozakken vullen of zoo iets lekkers,
dan ben je in geen hoeken of gaten te vinden.”
De jongens snappen het wel, maar zien niet in, dat kamers-zwabberen en
stroozakken vullen zulke nare bezigheden zijn.
„Ja,” zegt Manus. „Eventjes is aardig, vooral voor zulke jonge snuiters als
jullie, maar een heelen middag zou zoo’n grappie je gauw de keel uit
hangen.” [177]
„Zijn jullie nou allemaal lijntrekkers?” vraagt Ambro. „En kan niemand je
vinden?” en meteen wijst hij naar buiten, waar, op de binnenplaats een
sectie recruten een looppasje in ’t rond maakt.
„Kijk die es hollen in de warmte,… hun tongen hangen op hun vessie,…

dan is die daar, met die lange sabel verstandiger, die blijft tenminste
rustig op zijn plaats en laat de anderen rennen.”
„Oh, dat is de ooievaar,” lacht Dirk. „Ik hoor het aan zijn commando, hij
kraait net als een oude juffrouw, zie je wel, jongens, wat een lange nek
die kerel heeft, dat is „de ooievaar”.”
„Mogen jullie hier nou zoo niks doen en luieren?” vraagt Paul, die bang is,
dat er wel eens ’n hooge oome kon binnen komen.
Maar Dirk stelt hem gerust.
„Ja, hoor Paul, dat màg, we hebben nachtdienst gehad in de duinen bij
Den Haag en daarom hebben we nu rust, ja, ze zijn wàt bezorgd voor
ons, als het regent mogen we ook thuis blijven, kijk maar …” en hij wijst
op een broek, die stijf is van natte modder.
„Dat is mijn feestbroek, die deelt met me in lief en leed.”
„Ik heb de jicht in m’n rug van dat nachtelijke tochie,” klaagt Manus. „En
de volgende keer vertik ik ’t, dan piep ik ’m en kruip onder de wol … ze
lijken wel gek,… als een fesoenlijk mensch maft, gaan hullie met beeste-
weer door de duine renne.”
„Ik het toch moar twie kenijntjes te groaze hàad,” [178]klinkt van de
overzijde de stem van een boerenzoon.
„Zundàag zaamme smulle,” lacht hij en de jongens zien een glimmend

gezicht met glunderende oogen die bij het grinniken geheel verdwijnen,
terwijl een breeden spleet te zien komt, zijn mond met gele tanden.
„Hei ’j nog tebàak?” roept hij tot Dirk, maar deze, wel goed, doch niet gek,
antwoordt hem: „Een ander keertje, broer, anders hou ik zelf niks en ik
moet nog negen dagen brommen.”
De jongens zijn bij elkaar op de leege krib naast Dirk gaan liggen en
voelen zich langzamerhand thuis in de vreemde omgeving.
„Ik vind ’t toch wel aardig hier,” zegt Ambro. „Alleen een beetje saai op
den duur.”
„Saai!” roept Manus. „Hoe kan je ’t zeggen, we vervelen ons nooit, we

worden altijd bezig gehouden, een eerste klas hotel is er niks bij.”
Plotseling worden zware stappen gehoord en vliegt de deur open.
„In orde, staat!” wordt er geroepen en ditmaal is het geen grap.
„Toe, maak geen spas, hou op met die flauwe kul, leelijke kevers!”
schreeuwt Manus, die den kapitein niet in de gaten krijgt
Maar nu hij de anderen doodstil voor de bedden ziet staan kijkt hij op en
ontdekt dat inderdaad ditmaal de kapitein op de kamer is.
„Kop dicht,” roept de sergeant die hem begeleidt en Manus glijdt van zijn
krib en neemt „de houding” aan. [179]
De jongens hebben van schrik hetzelfde gedaan, en begrijpen weer niets

van die rij standbeelden die onbewegelijk blijven staan.
De grinnekende kop van den boerenzoon is veranderd in een dom

gezicht met vragend verwonderde oogen.
„Wat moet dat hier? Niks te doen? Dan maar aantreden in veldtenue; een
looppasje maken. Dat niks doen werkt verkeerd op jullie; binnen vijf
minuten op de binnenplaats, veldtenue met rol.”
„Kap’tein,” vraagt Manus.
„Kop dicht,” is ’t antwoord en Manus kijkt bedremmeld naar den grond,

terwijl hij zijn pruim van zijn rechter- naar z’n linkerwang laat gaan.
„Kap’tein,” roept een heldere jongensstem.
De kapitein kijkt op en ontdekt aan ’t eind van de kamer de twee jongens,

die half verscholen waren achter den dikken buik van een anderen
landweerman.
„Wat moet dat,” vraagt de kapitein verbaasd. „Wat doen jullie hier? er
mogen geen burgers in de kazerne.”
„Zie je wel,” fluistert Paul in doodsangst. „We zijn burgers, ik heb je wel
gewaarschuwd.”
Bij deze woorden moet de kapitein even glimlachen.
„Hoe komen jullie hier?” vraagt hij, terwijl hij naar de jongens toe gaat
Paul weet geen antwoord te vinden, hij is bang geworden door die
doodelijke stilte in een kamer waar een dertigtal mannen als beelden
staan te staren. [180]
„Net het panopticum,” denkt hij.
„Hij moest een pakje voor z’n broer brengen en we mochten van dien
mijnheer beneden aan de deur het zelf gaan brengen,” antwoordt Ambro
op helderen toon.
„Zoo—en waarom riep jij daar straks „kaptein”, had je me wat te zeggen?”
„Ja kaptein,” luidt het antwoord van Ambro. „Nu Manus,” en hij wijst op
den landweerman naast Dirk, „nu Manus z’n kop moest houden, wou ik u
maar even vertellen, dat ze allemaal vannacht gerend hebben in de
duinen met dat beestenweêr en dat ze daarom, zooals u zei, niks doen
en luieren.”
Hij zucht, nu eindelijk er uit is wat hij op ’t hart heeft.
„Zoo, nou maar dat is wat anders,” zegt de kapitein op zachten toon. „Dus
jullie hebt nachtdienst gehad,… nou, blijf dan maar hier … je kunt je gang
gaan.” [181]
Meteen ligt alles weer op de geliefkoosde krib, als werden ze door een
electrischen schok getroffen, en de kapitein, die de jongens toeknikte,
verlaat even dreunend de kamer als hij binnengekomen was.
„Mooi gedaan,” klinkt ’t hartelijk van Dirk.
„Je hebt ’t ’m kranig gezeid,” zegt Manus.
„Heere, Heere, kan dàat jong proate,” is de lof van den boerenzoon en
Ambro, die hen allemaal redde van den gevreesden looppas in de zon,
stond als held van het oogenblik midden in de kamer, blij, dat alles goed
afgeloopen was, want Paul had gelijk gehad, ze waren tòch burgers.
„Ja,” zegt Manus. „Had ik de burgerpet op gehad, dàn had-ie naar mijn
ook wel geluisterd, maar as-t-ie je in je werkpakkie ziet, wordt-ie
dienstklopper en dan is ’t „kophouwen en doen”!”
Paul heeft er genoeg van, en vindt, dat ze nu maar eens moeten

opstappen. Ze nemen hartelijk afscheid van Dirk en al de anderen en
begroet met arm-gezwaai van alle kribben verlaten ze de kamer.
„’t Was tòch fijn,” zegt Ambro, als ze weer op straat staan.
„Ik vind ’t een nare boel, ik zou niet graag zoo behandeld worden,” is
Paul’s antwoord.
„Hoorde je niet hoe ze allemaal het land er aan hebben? Dirk kan
gelukkig weer op zijn kantoor terug komen na den dienst, maar er zijn er
veel die hun plaats bezet vinden.”
„Ja,” zegt Ambro. „Van dien kant bekeken heb je gelijk, maar zoo’n
nachtelijke tocht door de duinen zou ik toch wàt graag meemaken.” [182]
„Nou, dat kan best eens gebeuren. Karel z’n vader gaat van den zomer
kampeeren, je zult zien, dat we dan mee mogen.”
„’t Zou tijd worden,” zucht Ambro. „Onze nachtelijke tocht is toen mooi in
de war geloopen. Maar, over wat anders gesproken, me maag jeukt.”
„Ik weet een kattekroeg,” zegt Paul. „Ga maar mee.”
De jongens stevenen nu direct op het doel af, om als ze hun twaalf-uurtje

hebben gebruikt, de terugreis te aanvaarden.
Het was een fijn dagje geweest en met voldoening kon Ambro terugzien
op zijn heldendaad in de kazerne, waar hij het waagde een „hooge oome”
te trotseeren en de soldaten te redden van den gehaten „looppas in de
zon”.

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Contemporary Perspectives in Human

Resource Management and

ISBN 978-3-031-30224-4 ISBN 978-3-031-30225-1 (eBook)

To my loving parents, Anjanee and Ramchandar, and my dearest sister

Welcome to the First Edition of Contemporary Perspectives in Human

1. Innovative Human Resource Management and Organizational

3. Employee Mental Health (Chapter 4)

. Chapter 1 more specifically introduces the importance of research

employee management and behaviors have costly implications for all

The book is a research monograph. It is aimed primarily at researchers,

Saint Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago Riann Singh

1 Introduction to Contemporary Research Perspectives

12 Conclusions and Future Research Directions

Fig. 1.1 Ten (10) Contemporary Research Topics in HRM and OB 10

Introduction to Contemporary Research

1. To assess the relationship between the fields of HRM and OB and

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 1

and practices operate within complex organizational systems and struc-

Relevance of Research in the Field: Addressing Research-Practice

defining research question within HRM research (Harney & Collings,

Notably, even before the dramatic advent of COVID-19, significant

within organizations. The world of work is again at an inflexion point,

Contemporary Research Perspectives

alternative work arrangements, changes to employees’ routines and the

that impact organizations? Such questions present research gaps worthy

1. Innovative Human Resource Management and Organizational

Contemporary Responses within a

Emerging OB Challenges that can be

The Unique HRM Challenge within

Alternative Contemporary Perspectives

Fig. 1.1 Ten (10) Contemporary Research Topics in HRM and OB

Organization of the Book: A Roadmap for Readers

chapters (Chapters 2 to 11) provide research overviews and outline

Chapter 7 zooms in on the special case or unique situation of small

Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2018). Organizational behavior. 18th Edition.

Innovative Human Resource Management

1. To describe crises within the contemporary business environment.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature 15

. Organizational crises are highly ambiguous in nature, causes, and

It must be noted that even though organizational crises can have

contemporary business environment, now more than ever. For instance,

The COVID-19 Crisis and the Impact on Employees

Organizational Crises Emanating from Environmental Dimensions

frequency over time. Therefore, the ability of organizations to cope

management is important to ensure there is ongoing environmental scan-

a more comprehensive and strategic approach toward the management

Innovative HRM and OB Responses to Crises

Fig. 2.1 Innovative and emerging HRM and OB responses to crises

to recover successfully and endure organizational crises when compared

develop situation specific responses to, and ultimately engage in trans-

Training and Development

Creative HR Practices (Hiring/Promotion/Rewards Practices)

environmental context is typically synonymous with organizational chal-

Downsizing Versus Rightsizing/Reorganizing

Indeed, a considerable body of literature indicates that workforce

transformational leadership provides an OB response to environmental

Adjustments in the Nature/Type of Work

. Combine internal and external perspectives on organizational crises.

crisis management research by examining organizations that have

. Evaluate the relationship between leadership and resilience.

crises. This fact opens the doors to several research opportunities to

Elali, W. (2021). The importance of Strategic Agility to business survival

Leppin, A. L., Bora, P. R., Tilburt, J. C., Gionfriddo, M. R., Zeballos-Palacios,