Theorizing the links between e-HR and strategic HRM: a model, case illustration and reflections

In this paper we develop a model of e-human resources (e-HR) focusing on the relationship between HR strategy, e-HR goals and architectures, and positive and negative e-HR outcomes. This relationship is moderated by a number of key factors, including the organization and resources of the HR function, the absorptive capacity of HR, the skills and preferred styles of HR professionals, the levels of technology acceptance among employees and line managers and the models of change used in implementing e-HR programs. We illustrate certain features of this model using data from a case study of a leading international oilfield services provider. These data provide a partial confirmation of the model's validity but show the need for a more dynamic understanding of the links between e-HR variables and the importance of context in explaining differences between line managers' acceptance of e-HR.

[1]  Martin Reddington,et al.  Transforming Hr Creating Value Through People , 2005 .

[2]  Tony Dundon,et al.  The meanings and purpose of employee voice , 2004 .

[3]  Fred D. Davis,et al.  User Acceptance of Computer Technology: A Comparison of Two Theoretical Models , 1989 .

[4]  D. Teece,et al.  DYNAMIC CAPABILITIES AND STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT , 1997 .

[5]  B. Greenwald,et al.  Competition Demystified: A Radically Simplified Approach to Business Strategy , 2005 .

[6]  J. Brown,et al.  The Only Sustainable Edge: Why Business Strategy Depends On Productive Friction And Dynamic Specialization , 2005 .

[7]  Rafael Gomez,et al.  The Sound of Silence: Which Employers Choose No Employee Voice and Why? , 2006 .

[8]  Mohan Subramaniam,et al.  The Influence of Intellectual Capital on the Types of Innovative Capabilities , 2005 .

[9]  Graeme Martin,et al.  When absorptive capacity meets institutions and (e)learners , 2003 .

[10]  John J. Sviokla,et al.  Exploiting the virtual value chain , 1999 .

[11]  David Ulrich,et al.  The HR Value Proposition , 2005 .

[12]  H. Ruel,et al.  E-HRM: INNOVATION OR IRRITATION? , 2005 .

[13]  Majken Schultz,et al.  The Cycles of Corporate Branding: The Case of the LEGO Company , 2003 .

[14]  J. Kay.  The truth about markets : why some nations are rich but most remain poor , 2004 .

[15]  Mark L. Lengnick-Hall,et al.  Human Resource Management in the Knowledge Economy: New Challenges, New Roles, New Capabilities , 2002 .

[16]  Eric Kong,et al.  The Development of Strategic Management in the Non-Profit Context: Intellectual Capital in Social Service Non-Profit Organizations , 2008 .

[17]  Jeff Ericksen,et al.  Dynamic Organizations: Achieving Marketplace Agility Through Workforce Scalability , 2006 .

[18]  Julian Birkinshaw,et al.  Book Review , 2001 .

[19]  Fang Lee Cooke,et al.  Modeling an HR shared services center: Experience of an MNC in the United Kingdom , 2006 .

[20]  Anthony Di Benedetto,et al.  Extending the Miles and Snow Strategic Framework: Strategic Types, Capabilities, Environmental Uncertainty, and Firm Performance , 2006 .

[21]  Michael E. Holmes,et al.  Organizational Change and Innovation Processes: Theory and Methods for Research , 2000 .

[22]  C. Lengnick-Hall,et al.  HR, ERP, and knowledge for competitive advantage , 2006 .

[23]  P. Adler,et al.  Social Capital: Prospects for a New Concept , 2002 .

[24]  Amy Shuen,et al.  Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide , 2008 .

[25]  Stefan Strohmeier,et al.  Research in e-HRM: Review and implications , 2007 .

[26]  G. Johns.  The Essential Impact of Context on Organizational Behavior , 2006 .

[27]  Miguel R. Olivas-Luján,et al.  The diffusion of human‐resource information‐technology innovations in US and non‐US firms , 2006 .

[28]  Bruce Greenwald,et al.  All strategy is local. , 2005, Harvard business review.

[29]  Chris Brewster,et al.  Globalizing human resource management , 2004 .

[30]  Boris Groysberg,et al.  The risky business of hiring stars. , 2004, Harvard business review.

[31]  David P. Lepak,et al.  Examining the Human Resource Architecture: The Relationships Among Human Capital, Employment, and Human Resource Configurations , 2002 .

[32]  Susan Albers Mohrman,et al.  HR as a Strategic Partner: What Does It Take to Make It Happen? , 2003 .

[33]  A. Pettigrew.  Longitudinal Field Research on Change: Theory and Practice , 1990 .

[34]  B. Kogut,et al.  Knowledge of the Firm, Combinative Capabilities, and the Replication of Technology , 1992 .

[35]  Bradford S. Bell,et al.  The impact of e-HR on professional competence in HRM: Implications for the development of HR professionals , 2006 .

[36]  Martin Reddington,et al.  Chapter 1 – Technology, Outsourcing, and HR Transformation: an Introduction , 2008 .

[37]  Tatiana Bondarouk,et al.  E-HRM: innovation or irritation? : an exploration of web-based human resource management in large companies , 2004 .

[38]  Thompson S. H. Teo,et al.  The adoption and diffusion of human resources information systems in Singapore , 2007 .

[39]  Brian E. Becker,et al.  The Workforce Scorecard: Managing Human Capital To Execute Strategy , 2005 .

[40]  Scott A. Snell,et al.  Virtual HR Departments: Getting Out of the Middle , 2001 .

[41]  Paul Sparrow,et al.  Globalization of HR at function level: four UK-based case studies of the international recruitment and selection process , 2007 .

[42]  Sandra L. Fisher,et al.  Beyond user acceptance: An examination of employee reactions to information technology systems , 2004 .

[43]  Hal G. Gueutal.  2. The brave new world of eHR , 2003 .

[44]  Hubertus Johannes Maria Ruel,et al.  The contribution of e-HRM to HRM effectiveness. Results from a quantitative study in a Dutch Ministry. , 2007 .

[45]  S. Zahra,et al.  Absorptive Capacity: A Review, Reconceptualization, and Extension , 2002 .

[46]  Samir Shrivastava,et al.  Liberating HR through technology , 2003 .

[47]  Augustine A. Lado,et al.  Paradox And Theorizing Within The Resource-Based View , 2006 .

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

[49]  G. Martin,et al.  Transforming multinational enterprises: towards a process model of strategic human resource management change , 2001 .

[50]  David P. Lepak,et al.  The Human Resource Architecture: Toward a Theory of Human Capital Allocation and Development , 1999 .

[51]  M. Veldhoven,et al.  Attitude towards E‐HRM: an empirical study at Philips , 2007 .

[52]  W. DeSarbo,et al.  Revisiting the Miles and Snow Strategic Framework: Uncovering Interrelationships between Strategic Types, Capabilities, Environmental Uncertainty, and Firm Performance , 2005 .