HRM Practices of an International Retailer in Malaysia: Comparing the Perceptions of Subordinates and Supervisors at Six Retail Outlets

Abstract

Past empirical studies on retail businesses have focused on the
marketing and consumer behaviour perspectives rather than on the
importance of their human capital. This article highlights the extent
to which 292 subordinates and 106 of their immediate supervisors
perceive that high involvement human resource management
practices are implemented at six outlets of a large international
retailer in Malaysia. The survey revealed that supervisors mostly
rated higher than their subordinates on employees’ ability to
participate in decision‐making and training programmes, as well as
on the presence of relevant resources, information, and fair rewards
across the six outlets. In addition, there were differences in opinions
between how employees from the different outlets perceived the
extent to which the four components of HRM practices were present
in their respective organisations.
Keywords: Employee self‐reports, HRM practices, Retailing, Supervisor
evaluation