An expanded conceptualization of line managers’ involvement in human resource management.

Abstract

Recent research provides evidence that, contrary to implicit assumptions in much of the strategic human resource management (SHRM) literature, human resource (HR) systems and practices are in fact enacted with substantial variation across units even within organizations, with such variation largely a function of the line managers involved in implementing HR practices in the units under their supervision. While instrumental in demonstrating the critical role that line managers play in facilitating the causal chain linking organizations' HR practices with intended employee and organizational outcomes, we contend that the focus of this research on HR practice implementation as a singular and unidimensional characterization of line managers' involvement in human resource management (HRM) represents an oversimplification on several counts. Broadly, we propose that this focus fails to account for the varied nature of line managers' downward influences in the context of HRM. Thus, we integrate insights from research on HR practice implementation, workforce differentiation, and autonomous strategic behavior to develop a more complete understanding of line managers' downward involvement in HRM. Based on our synthesis of relevant insights from these literatures, we propose a research agenda focusing on questions spanning four broad areas with the aim of fostering and guiding future SHRM scholarship to further our understanding of the antecedents, processes, and consequences associated with line managers' influences on HR system content and process in organizations.

Human capital resource emergence and leadership

“…We believe our paper also has important implications for two related literatures. First, our focus on leaders as orchestrators of the HCRE process connects well with and has implications for recent work exploring the impact of managers on the implementation of human resource management (HRM) practices (e.g., Kehoe & Han, 2020; Sikora, Ferris, & Van Iddekinge, 2015). Specifically, our emphasis on leadership's multilevel (individual, dyad, and group) and multifaceted (task and relational influences) impact on the emergence of human capital resources may provide additional theoretical perspectives to explore managers and their actions and behaviors when implementing HRM practices and engaging in workforce differentiation (Kehoe & Han, 2020).…”

Facilitating the Implementation Process of High-Performance Work Systems: The Role of Authentic Leadership

“…In this vein, recent studies have considered line managers’ involvement in the HR implementation process to account for that variance ( Pak and Kim, 2018 ). However, most of them predominately focused on the antecedents and consequences of line managers’ HR implementation behavior ( Kehoe and Han, 2020 ); for instance, organizational culture ( Dewettinck and Vroonen, 2017 ), implementation-focused organizational climate ( Sikora and Ferris, 2014 ), and perceived HR support ( Dewettinck and Vroonen, 2017 ) have been positively linked to line managers’ HR implementation behaviors. Little attention has been paid to line managers’ leadership that may function as a medium through which these managers would better enable employees to understand HR practices in the direct influential process.…”

“…In this vein, Liao et al (2009), through empirical testing, found that there was a divergence between managers' perspective on HPWS and employee-perceived HPWS. However, the variance between implemented HPWS and employees' perceptions has been underexplained, and the pivotal role of line managers in predicting it has been overlooked (Nishii and Paluch, 2018;Kehoe and Han, 2020). Given that line managers often act as the intermediate linkage between intended HR function and employees and the proximal and direct resources for employees to gain information about HR practices, our primary purpose is to explore how line managers influence the alignment of HPWS.…”

From Intended to Actual and Beyond: A Cross‐Disciplinary View of (Human Resource Management) Implementation

“…2010; Van Mierlo et al . 2018), whereas others distinguish a set of beginning and end stages (Guest and Bos‐Nehles 2013); some see implementation as performed mainly by line managers (Kehoe and Han 2019; Sikora and Ferris 2014), whereas others include a wider variety of actors (Trullen et al . 2016).…”

“…Yet, such an approach does not take into consideration the possibility that HRM practices may change during implementation, as employees and line managers use them and try to integrate them into existing systems (Bos‐Nehles et al . 2017; Kehoe and Han 2019; Van Mierlo et al. 2018).…”