Does Training Policy Help to Attract, Retain, and Develop Valuable Human Resources? Analysis from the Mondragon Case

The aim of this chapter is to ascertain the degree to which a training policy developed through corporate training centers is recognized as a source of competitive advantage for attracting, developing, and retaining valuable staff. The fieldwork is based on a survey of Human Resource (HR) managers from 66 cooperatives of the Spanish Mondragon cooperative group. The empirical test carried out confirms that Mondragon's training policy, backed up by its corporate training centers, is perceived by HR managers as a tool that provides advantages to attract, develop, and retain valuable human resources. The results also suggest that those advantages are more moderate than has been cited in classic literature on Mondragon. The results of this study can be helpful for the growing number of companies choosing to create and reinforce corporate training centers. The link between training policy and the perceived ability to attract and retain valuable employees showed in this case can also be helpful for other companies that, as Mondragon, face limitations in wage policy. This chapter contributes to the literature on the educational fabric of Mondragon adding updated empirical evidence and incorporating the point of view of HR managers of the group's cooperatives. With respect to the contribution of this chapter to the literature on training policy, the chapter's findings, in particular those regarding the effect of training on worker attraction and retention, add empirical evidence to the few studies on the subject.

[1]  J. Hiltrop.  The quest for the best: human resource practices to attract and retain talent , 1999 .

[2]  Peter Cappelli,et al.  Talent management for the twenty-first century. , 2008, Harvard business review.

[3]  Neil Conway,et al.  Human Resource Management and Corporate Performance in the UK , 2003 .

[4]  J. M. Geringer,et al.  Measuring Performance of International Joint Ventures , 1991 .

[5]  Stephen C. Smith.  Blooming Together or Wilting Alone? : Network Externalities and Mondragón and La Lega Co-Operative Networks , 2001 .

[6]  A. Pavlovskaya,et al.  The effect of human resource management practices on firm performance in Russia , 2000 .

[7]  Size and HRM in the Spanish manufacturing industry , 2001 .

[8]  Michael Hay.  Strategies for survival in the war of talent , 2002 .

[9]  Mark A. Huselid,et al.  The Impact of Human Resource Management Practices on Perceptions of Organizational Performance , 1996 .

[10]  Eneka Albizu,et al.  Management training as a source of perceived competitive advantage: The Mondragon Cooperative Group case , 2011 .

[11]  Mercedes Úbeda García.  Training and business performance: the Spanish case , 2005 .

[12]  Abagail McWilliams,et al.  Human resources and sustained competitive advantage: a resource-based perspective , 1994 .

[13]  Frank Mueller,et al.  HUMAN RESOURCES AS STRATEGIC ASSETS: AN EVOLUTIONARY RESOURCE‐BASED THEORY* , 1996 .

[14]  T. C. Powell.  Organizational alignment as competitive advantage , 1992 .

[15]  P. Boxall,et al.  Strategy and Human Resource Management , 2002 .

[16]  Sharryn Kasmir.  The Myth of Mondragon: Cooperatives, Politics, and Working-Class Life in a Basque Town , 1996 .

[17]  Garry A. Gelade,et al.  The Impact of Human Resource Management and Work Climate on Organizational Performance , 2003 .

[18]  D. Ellerman.  Entrepreneurship in the Mondragon Cooperatives , 1984 .

[19]  P. Barron.  Education and talent management: implications for the hospitality industry , 2008 .

[20]  Mark A. Huselid.  The Impact of Human Resource Management Practices on Turnover, Productivity, and Corporate Financial Performance , 1995 .

[21]  I. Basterretxea,et al.  Impact of Management and Innovation Capabilities on Performance: Are Cooperatives Different? , 2012 .

[22]  A. Agirre.  Los principios cooperativos "atractores" de la gestión eficiente: su medición. Aplicación al caso de Mondragón Corporación Cooperativa , 2001 .

[23]  Cecilia Elena Rouse,et al.  The Effect of Workplace Education on Earnings, Turnover, and Job Performance , 1998, Journal of Labor Economics.

[24]  J. Hayes,et al.  Managing Customer Service , 1998 .

[25]  David P. Lepak,et al.  Human Resource Management, Manufacturing Strategy, and Firm Performance , 1996 .

[26]  Avner Ben-Ner,et al.  Values at Work: Employee Participation Meets Market Pressure at Mondragon , 2001 .

[27]  Christina Clamp.  The Internationalization of Mondragon , 2000 .

[28]  H. Thomas,et al.  Mondragon: An Economic Analysis , 1982 .

[29]  Rosemary L. Batt,et al.  MANAGING CUSTOMER SERVICES: HUMAN RESOURCE PRACTICES, QUIT RATES, AND SALES GROWTH , 2002 .

[30]  John Abando,et al.  The Quality of Management in Basque Companies: Differences Existing Between Cooperative and Non-Cooperative Companies , 2007 .

[31]  Derek C. Jones.  Advances in the Economic Analysis of Participatory and Labor-Managed Firms , 1987 .

[32]  J. Barney,et al.  On becoming a strategic partner: The role of human resources in gaining competitive advantage , 1998 .