What a difference a role makes. Occupational and organizational characteristics related to the HR strategic role among human resource managers
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-08-2016-0160 |
| Date | 06 November 2017 |
| Published date | 06 November 2017 |
| Pages | 1131-1147 |
| Author | Ronit Nadiv,Aviad Raz,Shani Kuna |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
What a difference a role makes
Occupational and organizational
characteristics related to the HR strategic
role among human resource managers
Ronit Nadiv
Department of Human Resource Management Studies,
Sapir College, Ashkelon, Israel
Aviad Raz
Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Faculty of Humanities and
Social Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer Sheva, Israel, and
Shani Kuna
Department of Human Resource Management Studies,
Sapir College, Ashkelon, Israel
Abstract
Purpose –Based on the human resources (HR) role framework (Conner and Ulrich, 1996), the purpose of this
paper is to empirically explore why HR practitioners differ in their strategic partner role positioning.
The present study suggests and tests a descriptive model regarding occupational and organizational
characteristics associated with strategic HR role positioning.
Design/methodology/approach –In all, 100 questionnaires were collected from Israeli HR practitioners.
Hierarchical regressions were used to test the association between occupational and organizational
characteristics and the strategic role perception among HR practitioners.
Findings –Although the findings only partially supported the suggested model, significant associations
between occupational and organizational characteristics and HR strategic positioning were found. HR
practitioners in volatile organizational environments adopt a strategic role perception. Moreover, years of
experience are also associated with an HR strategic role perception. Specifically, the major predictors
of attaining a strategic partner role amongst HR practitioners are location of organizational activities mainly
in the metropolitan area, and involvement in major organizational changes.
Research limitations/implications –The sample had a positive bias of respondents. Questionnaires were
delivered mainly to highly educated HR practitioners in notably professional HR departments. Data were
based on self-reported one-time questionnaires.
Practical implications –The research has implications for the processes of academic education and
professional training of HR practitioners and also their recruitment in organizations.
Originality/value –To the best of the authors’knowledge, recent studies aimed at exploring sources of
variance in the strategic role perception amongst HR practitioners are rather scarce. This research helps to
address this gap, while also broadening the literature regarding HR communities in the Middle East.
Keywords Human resource management, Strategic HR roles, HR performance, HR role framework,
Israeli strategic HRM
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
In the human resources (HR) community, there is continuous and unresolved debate whether
HR as strategic partner is myth or reality. As HR academics and practitioners, we constantly
hear managers make such remarks as “HR is doing, not thinking”as opposed to “HR is taking
a major role in our strategic decision-making process.”In this study, we explore why some HR
practitioners hold a strong strategic partner role, while other HR colleagues hold an
administrative role. Since the early 1990s, the strategic partner role has been emphasized as the
major role HR practitioners should hold and play (Conner and Ulrich, 1996; Pritchard, 2010;
Caldwell, 2011; Ulrich et al., 2012, 2013). HR strategic partners take an active part in running
Employee Relations
Vol. 39 No. 7, 2017
pp. 1131-1147
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-08-2016-0160
Received 11 August 2016
Revised 20 May 2017
Accepted 12 June 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
1131
What a
difference a
role makes
their businesses, develop and implement organizational strategy, consult with and to other
members of the organization in decision-making processes and are focused on finding ways to
improve their organizations and deliver better organizational results (Ulrich et al., 2012, 2013).
Moreover, prior research suggests that organizational abilities to transform, change and adapt
to the externalenvironment are highly correlated with the strategic role HR practitioners hold
(e.g. Caldwell, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2008; Alfes et al.,2010;Ulrichet al., 2012).
The concept of strategic partner is not exclusive to the HR arena (Ulrich et al., 2012, 2013).
All organizational units have undergone economic downturns, forcing them to become
proactiveand take a more strategic role in running their operations. Currently a buzzword in a
variety of organizational settings, the strategic partner role is hardly well-defined and
measured. Excluding few exceptions (e.g. Renwick, 2003; Watson et al., 2006; Harris, 2007;
Lemmergaard, 2009), thisclaim is valid in the HR arena as well.Most studies have focused on
measuring over time changes in the strategic partner role that HR practitioners hold
(e.g. Caldwell, 2001, 2003, 2011; Lawler and Mohrman, 2003; Lawler and Boudreau, 2009;
Lemmergaard, 2009) and developing models that relate between HR competencies and the
strategic partner role (Ulrich et al., 2012, 2013). However, to the best of our knowledge,
negligible attention has been paid to the sources of variance in the level and intensity of the
strategic partner role played by varied HR practitioners (Truss et al., 2002). For example, it is
not clear what causes a shift from a non-strategic to strategic partner role among HR
practitioners in a variety of organizational settings, or whataffects the intensityof functioning
as an HR strategic partner. The aim of this study is to fill this gap by exploring organizational
and occupational characteristics which are associated with the strategic partner role among
HR practitioners. Understanding this will enable us to identify the conditions in which HR
practitioners demonstrate a strong strategic partnerrole and thus have the abilityto “translate
the human resource initiatives intobusiness results”(Ulrich, 1997, p. 111). Furthermore, on the
assumption that strategic HR positioning is correlated with better business performance and
organizational ability to learn and change constantly, exploring the antecedents which promote
the strategic positioning of HR practitioners is crucially important.
This study addresses the following questions:
RQ1. Do HR practitioners play a strategic partner role?
RQ2. Which occupational and organizational characteristics are associated with a
strategic partner role among HR practitioners?
RQ3. Which HR practices are correlated with the strategic partner role?
HR practitioners as strategic partners: models of HR roles
During the last three decades, many theoretical models of HR practitioners as strategic
partners have emerged. Although each model defines its own unique terminology, there is a
strong consensus about the basic components of strategic HR roles (Bhatnagar and
Sharma, 2005; Pritchard, 2010). The most popular and highly cited model of strategic HR
roles was suggested by Ulrich’s (1997) pioneering work (Antila, 2006; Lemmergaard, 2009;
Pritchard, 2010; Caldwell, 2011). Ulrich’s model suggests that the role of HR as strategic
partner is the combination of four distinct roles: strategic partner, change agent, employee
champion and administrative expert. This model has both drawbacks and advantages
(see e.g. Lemmergaard, 2009). For the purpose of this study, we apply Ulrich’s strategic
HR roles framework (Conner and Ulrich, 1996; Ulrich, 1997) for two main reasons.
First, Ulrich’s model is one of the most frequently quoted models in the literature of strategic
HR roles (Pritchard, 2010). Second, his theoretical model is backed up by empirical findings
and methodological instruments which enable replication (Conner and Ulrich, 1996;
Bhatnagar and Sharma, 2005).
1132
ER
39,7
To continue reading
Request your trial