Drawing on new institutionalism theory, this study examines the influence of institutional logics, the belief systems that direct decision-makers’ attention to particular sets of issues, on human resource (HR) adaptation to demographic changes. We argue that the prevalence of age-neutral HR management and of age-related HR practices such as age assessment and older worker-targeted practices, are shaped by the strength of the strategic (business case), benchmarking (comparing one’s set of policies with peers’) and compliance (laws and regulations) logics. In a sample of 420 US organizations, a strong strategic logic was associated only with greater prevalence of age-neutral HR management. A strong benchmarking logic was associated with greater prevalence of age-neutral HR management, of age assessment practices, and of older worker-targeted practices. A strong compliance logic was associated with greater prevalence of age-assessment and older worker-targeted practices. This article contributes to research on ageing and extends work on institutional logics by (1) focusing on organizations’ differential enactment of institutional logics, reflecting the contextual embeddedness of HR practices, and (2) showing that the prevalence of age-neutral HR management and of age-related HR practices are associated with competitive as well as institutional isomorphism.
Armstrong-StassenM (2008a) Organisational practices and the post-retirement employment experience of older workers. Human Resource Management Journal18(1): 36–53.
3.
Armstrong-StassenMM (2008b) Human resource practices for mature workers – and why aren’t employers using them?Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources46(3): 334–352.
4.
Armstrong-StassenMSchlosserF (2011) Perceived organisational membership and the retention of older workers. Journal of Organisational Behavior32(2): 319–344.
5.
Armstrong-StassenMMCattaneoJ (2010) The effect of downsizing on organisational practices targeting older workers. Journal of Management Development29(4): 344–363.
6.
DiMaggioPJPowellWW (1983) The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organisational fields. American Sociological Review48(2): 147–160.
7.
DobbinFSuttonJR (1998) The strength of a weak state: The rights revolution and the rise of human resources management divisions. American Journal of Sociology104(2): 441–476.
8.
DuncanCLorettoW (2004) Never the right age? Gender and age-based discrimination in employment. Gender, Work and Organisation11(1): 95–115.
9.
DychtwaldKMorisonREricksonT (2006) Workforce Crisis: How to Beat the Coming Shortage of Skills and Talent. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press Books.
10.
FriedlandRAlfordRR (1991) Bringing society back in: Symbols, practices, and institutional contradictions. In: PowellWWDiMaggioPJ (eds) The New Institutionalism in Organisational Analysis. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 232–266.
11.
FriedmanDEGalinskyE (1992) Work and family issues: A legitimate business concern. In: ZedeckS (ed.) Work, Families, and Organisations. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 168–207.
12.
GoodsteinJD (1994) Institutional pressures and strategic responsiveness: Employer involvement in work-family issues. Academy of Management Journal37(2): 350–383.
13.
HedgeJW (2008) Strategic human resource management and the older worker. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health23(1–2): 109–123.
14.
HenkensKRemeryCSchippersJ (2008) Shortages in an ageing labour market: An analysis of employers’ behavior. International Journal of Human Resource Management19(7): 1314–1329.
15.
HiningsB (2012) Connections between institutional logics and organisational culture. Journal of Management Inquiry21(1): 98–101.
16.
HutchensRGrace-MartinK (2006) Employer willingness to permit phased retirement: Why are some more willing than others?Industrial and Labor Relations Review59(4): 525–546.
17.
IngramPSimonsT (1995) Institutional and resource dependence determinants of responsiveness to work-family issues. Academy of Management Journal38(5): 1466–1483.
18.
KellyEL (2003) The strange history of employer-sponsored child care: Interested actors, uncertainty, and the transformation of law in organizational fields. American Journal of Sociology109(3): 606–649.
19.
KooijDDe LangeAJansenPDikkersJ (2008) Older workers’ motivation to continue to work: Five meanings of age: A conceptual review. Journal of Managerial Psychology23(4): 364–394.
20.
KrellE (2010) Ways to phase retirement, October. HR Magazine55(10): 89.
21.
LambertSJ (2000) Added benefits: The link between work-life benefits and organisational citizenship behavior. Academy of Management Journal43(5): 801–815.
22.
LiJChuCWLLamKCKLiaoS (2011) Age diversity and firm performance in an emerging economy: Implications for cross-cultural human resource management. Human Resource Management50(2): 247–270.
23.
LorettoWWhiteP (2006) Employers’ attitudes, practices and policies towards older workers. Human Resource Management Journal16(3): 313–330.
24.
LounsburyM (2007) A tale of two cities: Competing logics and practice variation in the professionalizing of mutual funds. Academy of Management Journal50(2): 289–307.
25.
LytleT (2012) Benefits for older workers. HR Magazine57(3): 53–58.
26.
McNairSFlynnM (2005) The Age Dimension of Employer Practices: Employer Case Studies, Employment Relations Research Series (No. 42). London: Department of Trade and Industry.
27.
MarquisCLounsburyM (2007) Vive la résistance: Competing logics in the consolidation of community banking. Academy of Management Journal50(4): 799–820.
28.
MarsdenPVHaueisenRL (2001) Organizational and informant differences in the reliability of survey reports on organization size and age. Paper presented at the American Sociological Association meetings. Los Angeles, CA.
29.
MillikenFJDuttonJEBeyerJM (1990) Understanding organisational adaptation to change: The case of work-family issues. Human Resource Planning13(2): 91–107.
30.
MullenBDovidioJFJohnsonCCopperC (1992) In-group–out-group differences in social projection. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology28: 422–440.
31.
Muller-CamenMCroucherRFlynnMSchröderH (2011) National institutions and employers’ age management practices in Britain and Germany: ‘Path dependence’ and option exploration. Human Relations64(4): 507–530.
32.
NakaiYChangBSnellAFFluckingerCD (2011). Profiles of mature job seekers: Connecting needs and desires to work characteristics. Journal of Organisational Behavior32(2): 155–172.
33.
OcasioW (1997) Towards an attention-based view of the firm. Strategic Management Journal18: 187–206.
Ollier-MalaterreA (2010) Contributions of work-life and resilience initiatives to the individual/organisation relationship. Human Relations63(1): 41–62.
36.
PaauweJ (2004) HRM and Prformance: Unique Approaches for Achieving Longterm Viability. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
37.
PaauweJBoselieP (2003) Challenging ‘Strategic HRM’ and the relevance of the institutional setting. Human Resource Management Journal13(3): 56–70.
38.
Pitt-CatsouphesMSmyerMAMatz-CostaCKaneK (2007) The National Study of Business Strategy and Workforce Development: Summary Report. Chestnut Hill, MA: Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College. Available at: http://agingandwork.bc.edu/documents/RH04_NationalStudy_03–07_002.pdf.
39.
PurcellJ (1999) Best practice and best fit: Chimera or cul-de-sac?Human Resource Management Journal9(3): 26–41.
40.
QuinnRERohrbaughJ (1983) A spatial model of effectiveness criteria: Towards a competing values approach to organisational analysis, Management Science29(3): 363–377.
41.
ReayTHiningsCR (2009) Managing the rivalry of competing institutional logics. Organisation Studies30(6): 629–652.
42.
RiachK (2007) ‘Othering’ older worker identity in recruitment. Human Relations60(11): 1701–1726.
43.
RoystonP (2004) Multiple imputation of missing values. Stata Journal4(3): 227–241.
44.
RubinDB (1987) Multiple Imputation for Nonresponse in Surveys. New York: J. Wiley and Sons.
45.
SchalkRVan VeldhovenMDe LangeAHDe WitteHKrausKStamov-RossnagelCKooijD (2010) Moving European research on work and ageing forward: Overview and agenda. European Journal of Work and Organisational Psychology19(1): 76–101.
46.
ScottWRRuefMMendelPCaronnaC (2000) Institutional Change and Healthcare Organisations: From Professional Dominance to Managed Care. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
47.
SoaresMMJacobsKWeggeJJungmannFLiebermannSShemlaMRiesBCDiestelSSchmidtKH (2012) What makes age diverse teams effective? Results from a six-year research program. Work41: 5145–5151.
48.
StrackRBaierJFahlanderA (2008) Managing demographic risk. Harvard Business Review86(2): 119–134.
49.
StrebCKVoelpelSCLeiboldM (2008) Managing the aging workforce: Status quo and implications for the advancement of theory and practice. European Management Journal26(1): 1–10.
50.
SuddabyRGreenwoodR (2005) Rhetorical strategies of legitimacy. Administrative Science Quarterly50(1): 35–67.
51.
TaylorP (2002) New Policies for Older Workers. Bristol: The Policy Press.
52.
TaylorPWalkerA (1998) Policies and practices towards older workers: A framework for comparative research. Human Resource Management Journal8(3): 61–76.
53.
ThorntonPH (2002) The rise of the corporation in a craft industry: Conflict and conformity in institutional logics. Academy of Management Journal45(1): 81–101.
54.
ThorntonPHOcasioW (2008) Institutional logics. In: Sahlin-AnderssonKGreenwoodKOliverOSuddabyR (eds) The Sage Handbook of Organisational Institutionalism. London: SAGE, 99–129.
55.
ToossiM (2009) Labor force projections to 2018: Older workers stay active despite their age. Monthly Labor Review39: 30–51.
56.
United Nations (2007) World Economic and Social Survey 2007: Development in an Aging World. New York: United Nations.
57.
VoelpelSCStrebCK (2010) A balanced scorecard for managing the aging workforce. Organisational Dynamics39(1): 84–90.
58.
WhiteIRRoystonPWoodAM (2011) Multiple imputation using chained equations: Issues and guidance for practice. Statistics in Medicine30(4): 377–399.
59.
ZappalàSDepoloMFraccaroliFGuglielmiDSarchielliG (2008) Postponing job retirement? Psychosocial influences on the preference for early or late retirement. Career Development International13(2): 150–167.
