HUMAN-RESOURCE BUNDLES AND MANUFACTURING PERFORMANCE - ORGANIZATIONALLOGIC AND FLEXIBLE PRODUCTION SYSTEMS IN THE WORLD AUTO INDUSTRY

Using a unique international data set from a 1989-90 survey of 62 auto motive assembly plants, the author tests two hypotheses: that innovati ve HR practices affect performance not individually but as interrelate d elements in an internally consistent HR ''bundle'' or system; and th at these HR bundles contribute most to assembly plant productivity and quality when they are integrated with manufacturing policies under th e ''organizational logic'' of a flexible production system. Analysis o f the survey data, which tests three indices representing distinct bun dles of human resource and manufacturing practices, supports both hypo theses. Flexible production plants with team-based work systems, ''hig h-commitment'' HR practices (such as contingent compensation and exten sive training), and low inventory and repair buffers consistently outp erformed mass production plants. Variables capturing two-way and three -way interactions among the bundles of practices are even better predi ctors of performance, supporting the integration hypothesis.