HRM
HRM Practices - Academic Articles Summarised
Modes of Theorizing in Strategic HRM: Tests of Universalistic, Contingency, and
Configurational Performance Predictions - Delery & Doty (1996)
- The basic premise underlying Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) is that
organisations adopting a particular strategy require HR practices that are different from
those required by organisations adopting alternative strategies.
- The SHRM research has been criticised for lacking solid theoretical foundation. Why?
Because three different modes of theorising have been employed in the field, but the
differences among the alternative perspectives have not been explicitly acknowledged:
• Universalistic Perspective - argued for a best practices approach to SHRM
• Contingency Perspective - argue that in order to be effective, an organisation's HR
policies must be consistent with other aspects of the organisation
• Configurational Perspective - in order to be effective, an organisation must develop
an HR system that achieves both horizontal and vertical fit
- The article articulates that differences among the universalistic, contingency, and
configurational perspectives that are used in the literature and empirically test
hypotheses that are consistent with the logic of each of the three perspectives.
- The primary purpose of the article is to demonstrate that three different modes of
theorising are incorporated in SHRM literature: universalistic, contingency, and
configurational perspectives.
- Developing a Universalistic Perspective requires two steps:
→ Strategic HR Practices - those that are theoretically or empirically related to
organizational performance. These must be identified.
→ Universalistic Predictions - arguments that relate the individual practices to
organizational performance must be presented.
- A Contingency Perspective requires a researcher to select a theory of firm strategy and
then specify how the individual HR practices will interact with firm strategy to result in
organizational performance.
- A Configurational Perspective requires theoretically derived configurations of HR
practices, or employments systems, that maximise horizontal fit, that are linked to
employment systems to alternative strategic configurations to maximise vertical fit.
- SHRM literature → Employment systems should be designed to maximise performance in
the jobs that are most critical to an organisation's performance.
!1
, HRM
- The study tested the hypothesis using hierarchical regression analysis, where the tests
were based on changes in the level of explained variation before and after the variable of
interest was added to the set of control variables.
- The seven key strategic HR practices include:
1. Results-oriented Appraisals
2. Profit Sharing
3. Job Descriptions
4. Employment Security
5. Internal Career Opportunities
6. Training
7. Participation/Voice
- The study showed that three individual HR practices, profit sharing, results-oriented
appraisals, and employment security, had relatively strong universalistic relationships with
important accounting measures of performance.
- Also, contingency relationships between strategy and three HR practices - participation,
results-oriented appraisals, and internal career opportunities - explained a significant
portion of the variation in the same performance measures.
- Managing human resources as prescribed by each of the different perspective enhances
organizational performance.
- Organisations that adopt best HR practices can generate greater returns. Such practices
include profit sharing, results-oriented appraisals, and greater employment security. In
the short run, organisations that adopt a greater number of these practices are likely to
gain a short-term competitive advantage and enjoy superior performance. However, the
implementation of these practices seems to be severely difficult.
- Future SHRM research will increase the complexity of the HR manager's job. HR
managers should not only keep current with the most effective universalistic practice, but
should also be aware of the HR practices that work in concert with the greater goals of
the organisation's strategy.
- Some HR practices are more appropriate under certain strategic conditions and less
appropriate under others.
!2
HRM Practices - Academic Articles Summarised
Modes of Theorizing in Strategic HRM: Tests of Universalistic, Contingency, and
Configurational Performance Predictions - Delery & Doty (1996)
- The basic premise underlying Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) is that
organisations adopting a particular strategy require HR practices that are different from
those required by organisations adopting alternative strategies.
- The SHRM research has been criticised for lacking solid theoretical foundation. Why?
Because three different modes of theorising have been employed in the field, but the
differences among the alternative perspectives have not been explicitly acknowledged:
• Universalistic Perspective - argued for a best practices approach to SHRM
• Contingency Perspective - argue that in order to be effective, an organisation's HR
policies must be consistent with other aspects of the organisation
• Configurational Perspective - in order to be effective, an organisation must develop
an HR system that achieves both horizontal and vertical fit
- The article articulates that differences among the universalistic, contingency, and
configurational perspectives that are used in the literature and empirically test
hypotheses that are consistent with the logic of each of the three perspectives.
- The primary purpose of the article is to demonstrate that three different modes of
theorising are incorporated in SHRM literature: universalistic, contingency, and
configurational perspectives.
- Developing a Universalistic Perspective requires two steps:
→ Strategic HR Practices - those that are theoretically or empirically related to
organizational performance. These must be identified.
→ Universalistic Predictions - arguments that relate the individual practices to
organizational performance must be presented.
- A Contingency Perspective requires a researcher to select a theory of firm strategy and
then specify how the individual HR practices will interact with firm strategy to result in
organizational performance.
- A Configurational Perspective requires theoretically derived configurations of HR
practices, or employments systems, that maximise horizontal fit, that are linked to
employment systems to alternative strategic configurations to maximise vertical fit.
- SHRM literature → Employment systems should be designed to maximise performance in
the jobs that are most critical to an organisation's performance.
!1
, HRM
- The study tested the hypothesis using hierarchical regression analysis, where the tests
were based on changes in the level of explained variation before and after the variable of
interest was added to the set of control variables.
- The seven key strategic HR practices include:
1. Results-oriented Appraisals
2. Profit Sharing
3. Job Descriptions
4. Employment Security
5. Internal Career Opportunities
6. Training
7. Participation/Voice
- The study showed that three individual HR practices, profit sharing, results-oriented
appraisals, and employment security, had relatively strong universalistic relationships with
important accounting measures of performance.
- Also, contingency relationships between strategy and three HR practices - participation,
results-oriented appraisals, and internal career opportunities - explained a significant
portion of the variation in the same performance measures.
- Managing human resources as prescribed by each of the different perspective enhances
organizational performance.
- Organisations that adopt best HR practices can generate greater returns. Such practices
include profit sharing, results-oriented appraisals, and greater employment security. In
the short run, organisations that adopt a greater number of these practices are likely to
gain a short-term competitive advantage and enjoy superior performance. However, the
implementation of these practices seems to be severely difficult.
- Future SHRM research will increase the complexity of the HR manager's job. HR
managers should not only keep current with the most effective universalistic practice, but
should also be aware of the HR practices that work in concert with the greater goals of
the organisation's strategy.
- Some HR practices are more appropriate under certain strategic conditions and less
appropriate under others.
!2
