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This study of 115 subsidiaries of Fortune 500 companies indicates that a majority had integrated HRM and strategic planning systems within their organizations. HRM issues were explicitly discussed in strategic plans; HRM executives were involved in the planning process as “strategic partners”; and HRM was generally recognized as playing an important role in implementing business strategies. The degree of integration present was not related to short‐run firm performance, however, time lags may be a factor. Implications of these findings are drawn. © 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

There is growing awareness of the importance and role of the top management team (TMT). Little is known about how this group of executives should be treated from a human resource management (HRM) perspective since most research and writing on human resource management practices have focused on lower level personnel. A unique study of top management teams in specific firms affiliated with Fortune 500 companies is described which examined the relationship of 18 Executive Human Resource Management (EHRM) practices to a measure of organizational performance. A number of those were found to be associated with higher firm performance. © 1995 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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In recent years, consultants and academics have encouraged managers to use Human Resource Management (HRM) practices to help implement their competitive strategies. In particular, there has been enthusiasm for tailoring HRM practices to fit innovation strategies since achieving a competitive advantage based on technological superiority is very much associated with the quality of the firm's human resources. Unfortunately, there is little empirical research that examines how HRM can best support innovation strategies, and even less that evaluates the effectiveness of HRM practices in encouraging innovation in various functional settings, such as R&D departments. This research is an attempt to bridge this gap. Data were gathered from 115 divisions (SBUs) in 89 Fortune 500 companies in the US, and analyzed to identify which HRM practices used with R&D managers were most strongly associated with innovation and SBU performance. This article, which also includes descriptive data on how R&D managers are selected, compensated and evaluated, concludes with the authors’ recommendations on how R&D managers should be treated from an HRM perspective.