Human resource management innovations: Determinants of their adoption and implementation

The impact of high-performance work systems on firm performance: The moderating effects of the human resource function’s influence

With data collected from 632 manufacturing firms in South Korea, we investigated (1) the relationship between high-performance work systems (HPWSs) and firm performance, and (2) the moderating effect of the human resource (HR) function’s influence on the relationship between HPWSs and firm performance. Our findings showed the existence of both the main effect of HPWSs, supporting the universalistic perspective, and the moderating effect of the HR function’s influence, supporting the contingency perspective. Based on the findings, we concluded that HPWSs can be regarded as universal or best practices; at the same time, the presence of an influential HR function may intensify the effect of HPWSs on firm performance. This study contributes to the debate over the respective merits of the universalistic and contingency perspectives by showing that the two perspectives are not necessarily incompatible; rather, they can be complementary.

The Right Strategy? Examining the Business Partner Model's Functionality for Resolving Human Resource Management Tensions and Discussing Alternative Directions

A large number of organizations restructured their Human Resource Management (HRM) departments according to their interpretation of Ulrich's (1997) business partner model into strategic business partners, centers of expertise and shared service centers. I argue that this approach could gain widespread acceptance in organizational practice because of its functionality in addressing tensions inherent in HRM. I relate to paradox research and categorize contradictory HRM demands into tensions of (1) identity, (2) learning, (3) performing and (4) organizing. The implementation of the business partner model resolves these tensions in the short-term by addressing the opposing forces separately. Yet, these resolution strategies are not sustainable and threaten the long-term impact of HRM. I discuss the shortcomings of the business partner model and explore how organizational actors can reframe HRM work to embrace the multifaceted nature of HRM.

The Role of External Involvement in the Creation of Management Innovations

There has recently been renewed scholarly interest in management innovating, the creation of new organizational practices, structures, processes and techniques. We suggest that external involvement in the process of management innovating can transpire in three different ways: direct input from external change agents; prior external experience of internal change agents; and the use of external knowledge sources by internal change agents. We ask whether the type of innovation created (radical or not; systemic or not) depends on the use of these three forms of involvement and whether the forms are substitutes or complements. We empirically investigate this through an archival study of 23 major historical innovations, using in-depth data from a large number of sources in the academic literature. We use three complementary methods of analysis: unstructured qualitative observations, correlational analysis and crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis. We find that the presence of external change agents is associated with systemic and incremental innovations; that the absence of external experience is associated with systemic and radical innovations; and that the presence of external sources of knowledge has no clear effect. Furthermore the three forms of involvement act to a large degree as substitutes. We contribute new theoretical arguments for the facilitators of management innovation, demonstrate the usefulness of an open innovation lens to the study of management innovation, show that management innovating is a relatively complex form of strategic process and highlight how the creation of management innovations is similar to and different from the genesis of other types of innovation.

Information processing model of information technology adaptation

Appropriate information technology (IT) diffusion facilitates the achievement of expected return on IT investments. The purpose of this study is to advance IT diffusion research by employing information processing theory as a lens with which to examine the adaptation (design, development, and installation) process. This is in contrast to much of the IT diffusion research, which focuses on factors affecting usage of an IT by members of an organization. We link information processing theory to the innovation diffusion literature by considering attributes of the IT and those of the adopting organization in order to determine what information processing media characteristics will lead to effective adaptation. An IT adaptation case study is also employed to build on and extend elements of information processing and innovation diffusion theories. These exercises result in an information processing model of IT adaptation.The model suggests that appropriately matching information processing volume and richness to uncertainty and equivocality reduction requirements of an IT innovation contributes to successful IT adaptation. Propositions are offered that provide guidance for achieving this match by outlining relationships among IT and organization attributes, as well as indicating how those attributes determine levels of uncertainty and equivocality. Further, the propositions suggest how organizations can appropriately manage uncertainty and equivocality during IT adaptation.