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AbstractIn this article, I reflect on the role of human resource management (HRM [I acknowledge that HRM scholarship encompasses a wide range of researchers employing varying analytical and methodological lenses and that publish in an eclectic mix of journals within and outside the human resource management domain. However, although I draw from other journals and academies for illustrative purposes, this article focuses on the two journals that are most widely respected in the field (Human Resource Management Journal and Human Resource Management)] in the treatment of race and racism in organisations. I argue that the combined negative impacts of the brutal murder of George Floyd before a social media watching world and the strong evidence of negative racially disproportionate impacts of the coronavirus pandemic contributed to a collective moral outrage and provided an unprecedented catalyst and opportunity to tackle institutional racism. I provide a review of research interests to argue that HRM scholars and the business practitioners they commonly inform have not grasped this opportunity fully, in that the treatment of race remains inadequate and informed by an erroneous view of race as neutral and irrelevant in influencing organisational outcomes. I contend that this presents a danger that racism will continue to thrive. I argue that grasping this opportunity fully requires a rethinking of the approaches commonly adopted by HRM scholars and practitioners to acknowledge and embrace fully the significance of race (and anti‐racism) in influencing organisational outcomes. I call for a reconsideration of key constructs, especially those that are implicated in racism (such as organisational culture and culture change) so that anti‐racism is at the centre of HRM conceptualisations and organisational processes.

This article presents the results of an investigation into the participation and outcome rates of ethnic minorities on Employment Training (ET). It demonstrates that ethnic minorities are joining schemes in representative proportions, yet are not enjoying the positive outcomes experienced by their white counterparts. It presents qualitative data which uncovers the experiences of ethnic minority trainees and confirms that, whilst government training is perceived as worthwhile, discrimination and prejudice distort the process to such an extent that inequality of opportunity occurs.

Recent contributions on the discrimination of black and minority ethnic (BME) groups in organizations have suggested that overt forms of discrimination are now 'old-fashioned' and researchers are urged to focus on identifying different, 'modern' forms of discrimination. These are, however, set against studies that continue to report evidence of overt racism in organizations. This article argues that it may be premature and potentially counterproductive to celebrate the demise of overt discrimination in that such binary classification ('old-fashioned' and 'modern') may discourage efforts to investigate the full gamut of experiences of BME groups. The article contends that additional insights will be gained by concurrently studying not only the victims and the perpetrators of discrimination but also the organizational context in which discrimination occurs. Through the theoretical lens of gatekeeping, the article presents evidence of shopfloor discrimination against BME groups that is neither fully overt nor entirely covert.

PurposeThe aim of this article is to supply grounded empirical insights into the forms of negative word‐of‐mouth by front‐line, customer contact employees.Design/methodology/approachThe article adopts a qualitative approach through interviews with 54 front‐line employees in three retail organizations: food, clothing and electronic goods.FindingsThe paper finds four different forms of negative word‐of‐mouth behaviours which are labelled customer‐oriented, anti‐management/firm, employee‐oriented and anti‐competitor word‐of‐mouth. The paper shows how each of these behaviours varied in terms of the target audience (the intended listeners), the focus of attention (the focal point of comments), the motivation (the perceived rationale for the behaviour) and the extent to which employees perceived their own comments to be truthful.Research limitations/implicationsThe article calls for an expansion of research horizon to incorporate a fuller understanding of the dynamics of employee (mis)behaviour in the workplace in relation to resistance, subjectivity, instrumentality and clandestine control of certain aspects of workplace dynamics.Practical implicationsThe findings suggest that managers should be concerned with front‐line employee negative word‐of‐mouth especially because some of the examples which were uncovered are potentially damaging to both financial and non financial performance measures.Originality/valueThe article contributes insights into the neglected area of employee negative word‐of‐mouth. The article argues that the identification of the forms of employee negative word‐of‐mouth is an important step towards developing a theory of employee negative word‐of‐mouth that is especially pertinent to front‐line service work. The article develops a series of propositions which future researchers may find useful in advancing research in this area.

Researchers have argued that consumers frequently view marketing efforts as intrusive and that they fail to exhibit either trust or commitment. However, studies have found that some customers develop strong emotional relationships with firms, often independently of firm-driven relationship-building efforts. These confusing findings indicate that there is a need for additional research to explore the dynamics underlying service firm—customer relationships. The aim of this study is to elucidate customers' conception and manifestation of their relationships with service firms. Therefore, the objectives are to uncover the extent to which various types of customers exhibit relational links with service firms and to generate insights into the manner in which such identification is manifested. After a review of recent studies into relationship marketing, the authors present and explain the research design and method. Then, the authors present the findings that emerged during the focus groups and in-depth interviews with soccer supporters.

The extensive criticism of the integrative `shared values' view of culture has prompted many researchers to argue that one way of advancing culture research is by examining the ways different subcultures interact in organizational settings. However, existing studies in this area generally explore the nature of subcultures and the differences between them. The findings from a study of two large healthcare organizations suggest that greater insights can be generated into organizational subcultures by studying doctors, nurses and non-clinical managers through multiple analytical lenses. Such analyses help to uncover the wide variation in subcultural values, norms and assumptions, revealing those that are shared, those that differ and those that are characterized by ambiguity both within and across subcultures. It is argued that this approach reveals interesting insights into the dynamics of subcultures and the ways in which different subcultures interpret and respond to management initiated changes designed to transform organizational practices .

This article explores and analyses the dynamics of workplace relationships in an organization characterized by a highly ethnically diverse workforce. The specific objectives are: 1) to understand the factors that are contributing to high levels of ethnic diversity; 2) to uncover the ways in which such diversity is manifested in an organizational setting; and 3) to explore the ramifications that this diversity and its manifestations may have for individuals and groups of employees on the one hand and for relations between management and groups of employees on the other. The article concludes by discussing the implications that such ethnic diversity may have for extant research and conceptualization of ethnic minorities in the workplace.

Until the early 1980s relatively little research interest was devoted to the concept of emotional labour in organizational settings. Although it is now acknowledged that emotional labour is present at different hierarchical levels and among many occupational groups, no study has explored the issue of emotional labour in the context of work intensi.cation among professional groups. This article presents evidence derived from interviews with university lecturers to assess (1) the frequency and propensity of emotional labour and the extent to which emotional labour is increasingly becoming part of the work of university lecturers, (2) the extent to which such emotional labour is derived from the intensifying changes to the work environment of university lecturers, and (3) the positive and negative consequences of such emotional labour and work intensi.cation. The article .nds evidence of emotional labouring among university lecturers. It is argued that the increase in such emotional labouring is largely a result of the heightened intensi.cation of the academic labour process, which is exacerbated by the multiple and sometimes con.icting demands of various stakeholders. The effects of such emotional labour included both positive and negative consequences. These .ndings lead to a discussion of a series of implications and conclusions.

The attitudes and behaviors of frontline, customer-contact service providers are a significant factor in customers' perceptions and interpretations of service encounters. To date, research into service quality and customer satisfaction has overlooked evidence that suggests that such employees intentionally act in a variety of deviant, counterproductive ways. The aims of this study are first to explore, describe, and classify such behaviors and second to model the antecedents and consequences of such actions. Existing studies and field interviews are used to forward the notion of "service sabotage", denoting organizational member behaviors that are intentionally designed negatively to affect service. Data reveal that more than 90% of all informants accept that service sabotage is an everyday occurrence in their organization. A typology of service sabotage behaviors is forwarded and a range of antecedents and consequences proposed. The article concludes with a series of implications.