Journal of Engineering, Project, and Production Management, 2026, 16(1), 2025-150
Contextualizing HRM Practices and Socioemotional Climate: Evidence from Jordanian Pharmaceutical Sector
Assistant professor, Human Resource Department, College of business, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia, E-mail: nalhourani@kau.edu.sa
Project Management
Received August 6, 2025; revised September 14, 2025; accepted September 14, 2025
Available online December 24, 2025
Abstract: This study examines the impact of Human Resource Management (HRM) practices on shaping the socioemotional climate in culturally conservative organizations, with a focus on Tabuk Pharmaceutical Company in Jordan for the year 2023. Drawing on Organizational Support Theory (OST) and Institutional Theory, the research investigates how four HRM practices (i.e., leadership support, career development, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), and work-life balance) impact job satisfaction, emotional support, and employee engagement in a hierarchical, collectivist setting. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was employed. Data was collected from 250 employees across five departments through a validated Likert-scale and adapted for cultural relevance. The survey achieved an 83.3% response rate, with stratified sampling ensuring representation by gender and role. Statistical analysis revealed weak and non-significant correlations between HRM practices and socioemotional outcomes. For example, leadership support showed no significant association with job satisfaction (r = -0.03) or engagement (r = -0.08). These findings highlight a disjunction between formally structured HRM practices and their emotional resonance in high power-distance cultures. This disjunction is conceptualized as “support without resonance”, where technically sound Human Resources (HR) strategies fail to foster commitment due to cultural misalignment. The study contributes to theoretical debates on High Performance Work Systems (HPWS) by challenging their universality and advocating for culturally grounded HR models. The research holds practical value for HR leaders in the MENA region by encouraging adaptations rooted in moral authority, collective justice, and relational norms. Its originality lies in clarifying how emotional legitimacy, not procedural design, determines HRM success in non-Western institutional landscapes.
Keywords: Career Development, Employee Engagement, Diversity and Inclusion, Leadership Support, Work-life Balance.
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Citation: Hourani, N. (2026). Contextualizing HRM Practices and Socioemotional Climate: Evidence from Jordanian Pharmaceutical Sector. Journal of Engineering, Project, and Production Management, 16(1), 2025-150.
DOI:
10.32738/JEPPM-2025-150
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