The dual role of human resource investment in social inequality
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51302/rtss.2020.960Keywords:
sustainable human resource management, human resource investment, income inequality, social sustainability, sustainable development goals, business and societyAbstract
The role of human resource management in achieving sustainable development is an issue that still remains unrecognized. The purpose of this research is to advance in this business-society link, focusing on the impact of human resource (HR) investment on social inequality. Based on the sustainability theoretical framework, it is proposed that HR investment and organizational equilibrium of companies reduce social inequality. Organizational equilibrium represents equity between the interests of employees and employers, defined by the fit between HR investment and labor productivity. Consequently, HR investment plays a dual role, acting as a component of organizational equilibrium and as a precedent for social inequality. Results from the longitudinal analysis of a large sample of 2,051 Spanish companies over a five-year period (2012-2016) confirm that the greater the organizational equilibrium, the lower the social inequality. This result is verified when the direct effect and the indirect effect, via HR investment, of the organizational equilibrium on social inequality are considered together. An equitable social exchange relationship between employees and employers characterizes corporate sustainability and improves the sustainable development of society by limiting its level of social inequality.
Supporting Agencies
Este trabajo ha sido financiado por el Programa Estatal de Generación de Conocimiento del Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (PGC2018-099040-B-l00 [MCIU/AEI/FEDER, UE]) y por el Plan de Promoción de la Investigación de la Universitat Jaume I (UJI-B2017-21)
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