Can company restructuring create a healthier work environment, promote corporate entrepreneurship, and improve productivity? ☆ Jesús Ruiz a,c, ⁎, Alicia Coduras b,c,1 a University of Valencia, Spain b Nebrija University, Spain c EDEM, Spain abstract article info Article history: Received 15 February 2014 Received in revised form 15 December 2014 Accepted 15 January 2015 Available online 11 March 2015 Keywords: Best practices Human resources Production Workplace This study explores relationships between best practices in human resource (HR) management and the human- ization of production processes. The study analyzes how best practices in HR management affect organizational health, productivity, and competitiveness in 4 workplaces with 480 employees. These workplaces implement a 3-year program of 20 practices in a sector specializing in fresh cut IV gamma products. Results show that these practices yield significant improvements in productivity indicators, risk prevention, corporate entrepreneurship, and work environment. © 2015 Published by Elsevier Inc. 1. Introduction and theoretical background The global economic crisis forces companies to increase productivity and competitiveness. Companies are aware they must align employee views with such strategies (Chuang, Chen, & Chuang, 2013). To do so, companies strive to humanize labor relations and redesign HR manage- ment practices. Hence, many management models treat people's strate- gic value as a competitive advantage and a driver of economic growth. Numerous studies indicate that companies' HR practices relate to the achievement of company objectives (Boselie, Hesselink, Paauwe, & van der Wiele, 2001; Delery & Doty, 1996; West, 1997). Three theoretical perspectives on HR practices exist: the universalistic perspective, the contingency perspective, and the best fit or configurative perspective. Building on the theory of human capital, human resources, and human capabilities, the universalistic model refers to the existence of HR practices whose effect on performance is always positive, regardless of other internal or external elements (Pfeffer, 1994). The universalistic model is the most human approach of the three theories. The contin- gency perspective posits that company strategy influences how HR practices affect performance. Finally, the configurative perspective suggests that company variables, including HR practices, often interact, leading to configurations that affect performance. Both the universalistic and configurative perspectives posit that HR practices' overall effect is positive (Pfeffer, 1994). According to the universalistic perspective, the effect is independent of other practices. Conversely, under the configurative perspective, effects depend on other practices (Bassett-Jones, 2005). In the contingency perspective, the effect can be positive or negative depending on the company's strat- egy. Studies in this field show a negative relationship between high performance and turnover. Conversely, studies show positive relation- ships between type of supervisor and high performance and training (Kalleberg & Moody, 1994); between performance-based remuneration and employee motivation (Dowling & Richardson, 1997); and between participation in decision-making and employees' commitment to the company (Wallace, 1995). 2. Method 2.1. Test instruments The model comprised 20 good practices in HR management: communicating last year's performance and next year's objectives, designing a host plan, designing a set-up plan, establishing employee responsibilities, publishing a bulletin, gathering suggestions, conducting interviews, providing an employee assistance program, presenting re- sults, producing a daily results table, conducting campaigns, holding troubleshooting groups, creating a happy-birthday program, scheduling breakfasts with managers, holding open days, studying the work Journal of Business Research 68 (2015) 1466–1467 ☆ The authors are grateful to Domingo Ribeiro, University of Valencia, and José Manuel Saiz-Álvarez, Nebrija University, for offering comments and suggestions to improve this manuscript. ⁎ Corresponding author at: EDEM Business School, Poeta Quintana 1, 46004 Valencia, Spain. E-mail addresses: jruiz@edem.es (J. Ruiz), acoduras@edem.es (A. Coduras). 1 EDEM Business School, Poeta Quintana 1, 46004 Valencia, Spain. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2015.01.035 0148-2963/© 2015 Published by Elsevier Inc. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Business Research