An Aspirational Framework for Strategic Human Resource Management

Abstract

The field of strategic human resource management (HRM) has a long and rich tradition. As a prelude to our description of the field's history, we provide an expansive definition of strategic HRM scholarship and offer an aspirational framework for strategic HRM scholarship that captures the multidisciplinary nature of the field. We then systematically review and critique three decades of strategic HRM theory and research, paying particular attention to the value of HRM systems as management tools for influencing a wide variety of outcomes of concern to internal (employees and their managers) and external (owners, customers, society, other organizations) stakeholders. In support of continued advancement of the empirical knowledge base of strategic HRM, we encourage new research that embraces systems thinking, more fully addresses the concerns of multiple stakeholders, and strives for greater

Translating stakeholder pressures into environmental performance – the mediating role of green HRM practices

“…In the particular field of green HRM, we argue that customer pressures on environmental issues represent external forces connected to the market context in which the company is embedded, whereas regulatory pressures on environmental issues represent external forces connected to the institutional context faced by the company. More in general, this result broadens the scope of HRM research by studying antecedents and consequences of the HRM practices combining constructs placed in and out the organizational boundaries, which is in line with recent calls in HRM literature (Delbridge et al, 2011;Jackson et al, 2014;Townsend and Wilkinson, 2014).…”

“…This assumption is in line with the limited set of recent theoretical (e.g., Paawue and Boselie, 2008;Delbridge, Hauptmeier, & Sengupta, 2011;Jackson, Schuler, & Jiang, 2014) and empirical contributions (e.g., Boon, Paauwe, Boselie, & Hartog, 2009;Guerci and Shani, 2013) which have broadened the scope of HRM research, moving beyond organizational boundaries to explore external pressures that shape the HRM system of the firm. In the specific field of green HRM, Jackson and Seo (2010) called for empirical HRM studies to understand the relationship between stakeholder pressures and HRM practices.…”

“…The implementation of a HRM system aimed at satisfying customers is a general objective that many companies share, with variable emphasis depending on factors like the industry or the strategy of the organization. In addition, following the idea of a strategically targeted HRM system (Jackson et al, 2014), some companies are even implementing HRM systems with the specific aim to improve customer service (Chuang & Liao, 2010). As a result, we expect that a firm perceiving customer pressure for environmental sustainability is more likely to implement green HRM practices, and that such practices positively influence environmental performance.…”

Conceptualising the future of HRM and technology research

“…The role of government and regulations, mentioned by Beer, Spector, Lawrence, Mills, and Walton (1984), and elaborated through further examples by Jackson, Schuler, and Jiang in their aspirational model (Jackson, Schuler, & Jiang, 2014), has been little explored empirically (Looise, 2015;Rodriguez & Johnstone, 2015). Looise (2015) raises the question of whether HRM scholars should address the role of government, regulations, or both?…”

Career Mobility in a Global Era: Advances in Managing Expatriation and Repatriation

“…With the advent of strategic HRM as a central concern of the discipline (Schuler & Jackson, 2008) it has become accepted wisdom that an organization's strategy should be accompanied with a matching HRM strategy (Baird & Meshoulam, 1988;Holbeche, 2009) and by the 2000s E&R researchers attention has been drawn to strategic HR (Jackson, Schuler, & Jiang, 2014).…”