The link between e-HRM use and HRM effectiveness: an empirical study
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/PR-04-2015-0111 |
| Date | 05 September 2016 |
| Pages | 1281-1301 |
| Published date | 05 September 2016 |
| Author | Shatha M. Obeidat |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Global HRM |
The link between e-HRM
use and HRM effectiveness:
an empirical study
Shatha M. Obeidat
Department of Management and Marketing, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to present results from an empirical study at the a
Telecommunication company in Jordan on the impact of electronic-human resource management
(e-HRM) use on human resource management (HRM) effectiveness. Moreover, by applying the unified
theory of acceptance and use of technology, the study seeks to examine the mediating effect of the
intention to use e-HRM on the relationship between e-HRM determinants (i.e. performance expectancy,
effort expectancy, and social influence) and e-HRM use. This study adds a major contribution to the
e-HRM literature by empirically examining the effect of e-HRM use on HRM effectiveness at both
the policy and practice levels.
Design/methodology/approach –Data were collected from employees working in
Telecommunication company in Jordan about their perception towards the use of the e-HRM
system and HRM effectiveness of policies and practices.
Findings –The findings provide support for the positive contribution of the use of e-HRM on HRM
effectiveness at both the policy and practice levels. It also confirms mediating effects of user intention on
the link between e-HRM determinants (both performance expectancy and social influence) and e-HRM use.
Research limitations/implications –This study emphasises the relevance of e-HRM in increasing
HRM effectiveness. limitations of the study include cross-sectional data and the difficulty to form
generalisation from the research restricted to a single company.
Originality/value –This study represent a first attempt to examines the impact of e-HRM use on
HRM effectiveness at both levels: policy and practice. It also reveals that relationship between e-HRM
determinants and e-HRM use is mediated with e-HRM user intention.
Keywords Quantitative, E-HRM determinants, E-HRM use, HRM effectiveness
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
There have been significant changes in the way human resources (HR) has been
managed in recent years. Particularly, the way HR practices and functions are
delivered has broadened to include not only HR professionals, but also line managers
as well as with the use of information technology (Strohmeier, 2007). The intersection
between information technology and human resource management (HRM) in relation to
the so-called electronic-human resource management (e-HRM) shall be the main focus
of this study.
E-HRM can be defined as “a way of implementing HR strategies, policies and
practices in organisations through the conscious and directed support of web
technology-based channels in order to comply with the HR needs of the organization”
(Ruël et al., 2004, p. 281). The term implementation implies a way of employing HRM
within organisations (Ruël et al., 2004). In addition, the effective implementation of
e-HRM suggests its influence on both the effectiveness and efficiency of the HRM system
(Bissola and Imperatori, 2014). It has been argued that the implementation of e-HRM can be
extremely valuable to the organisation. In particular, it will increase efficiencies by
reducing HR transaction costs. It can also be used flexibly on an infinite number of
Personnel Review
Vol. 45 No. 6, 2016
pp. 1281-1301
©Emerald Group Publis hing Limited
0048-3486
DOI 10.1108/PR-04-2015-0111
Received 24 April 2015
Revised 28 September 2015
Accepted 21 December 2015
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0048-3486.htm
1281
E-HRM use
and HRM
effectiveness
occasions at little or no marginal cost. Lastly, the effective use of e-HRM can free up HR
professionals to provide strategic value to the organisation (Heikkilä and Smale, 2011).
Based on previous research on e-HRM, many scholars have used the technology
acceptance model (Huang et al., 2004) and the unified theory of acceptance and use of
technology (UTAUT) in order to frame the main determinants that impact an
individual’s reaction to and usage of e-HRM (Ruta, 2005). This conceptual
IT-framework is promising in the e-HRM field, since it has been proven to be a
necessary condition to structure the e-HRM impact on HRM effectiveness (Strohmeier,
2007). In particular, UTAUT has distilled the critical factors related to the intention to
use a technology, like e-HRM, in an organisational context (Venkatesh et al., 2012).
Previous e-HRM research has identified and examined employees’acceptance and use
of the system, but the findings have not been conclusive, due to a narrow focus on some
relationships and neglect of others.
The literature on e-HRM usage in organisations is growing (Ruel et al., 2007).
Moreover, there has been increased interest in the advantages of e-HRM usage and
implementation. However, although several benefits of e-HRM usage are anticipated,
researchers observe a lack of research on the contribution of e-HRM towards HRM
effectiveness (Strohmeier, 2007). To address this inadequacy and contribute to the
debate on the contributions of e-HRM in enhancing HRM effectiveness, this paper
empirically examines the full potential outcome of e-HRM usage in organisations. Such
an examination will add to our understanding of the usefulness of e-HRM usage.
Research on the use of e-HRM has several limitations. First, although much is now
known about the benefits of using e-HRM, the extant literature provides only limited
empirical findings for the link between e-HRM and HRM effectiveness. Few studies
have pointed out the strategic value of e-HRM (Bondarouk and Ruel, 2013) and of the
anticipated outcomes of introducing e-HRM within an organisation (Bondarouk and
Ruel, 2009). Also, existing studies lack the theoretical underpinning when
examining possible HRM outcomes. This study employs Guest and Peccei (1994)
terminology for categorising and examining HRM effectiveness at two levels: the policy
and practice levels.
Second, most research on technology acceptance looks at direct relationships
between determinants of e-HRM (performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and
social influence) and the actual use of the system. Several possible indirect relationships
have been generally ignored. This paper aims to extend the e-HRM literatur e by
employing the UTAUT model in order to examine further relationships between the
determinants of e-HRM and its actual use. It looks at the intention to use e-HRM as a
mediating mechanism through which e-HRM determinants influence e-HRM actual use.
Accordingly, the study objectives are to: first, investigate the relationship between
e-HRM usage and HRM effectiveness. In particular, it presents the results of an
empirical study that seeks to determine whether e-HRM contributes to HRM
effectiveness. Second, it examines e-HRM intentional use as possible mediating variable
on the relationship between e-HRM determinants and the actual use of the system.
Literature review
E-HRM system
The literature on e-HRM has expanded extensively since 2003 (Ruel and Kaap, 2012),
and academic interests in e-HRM have increased (Strohmeier, 2007). E-HRM has
become a common organisational practice in many organisations today, an d its
application has been said to have several positive consequences for the organisation,
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