Implementation of strategic human resource management practices: a review of the national scientific production and new research paths

Abstract

PurposeThe strategic human resource management (SHRM) emerged in the middle of the 1980s and is currently seen as a relevant research and practical field in the area of business administration (Kaufman, 2015). Its academic relevance has been receiving international attention due to the importance of the strategic performance of human resource management (HRM) (Jackson, Schuler, & Jiang, 2014). It is possible to define SHRM as a vertical connection between HRM practices and international strategy and horizontally as the congruence among the several human resource practices (Wright & McMahan, 1992).Design/methodology/approachTaking into consideration the emerging research gaps in the area, the necessity to bring to attention the implementation of policies and strategic practices of human resource management became prominent. Our study characterizes the national scenario regarding this specific research theme. For such, we developed a bibliometric review of national journals in the area of business administration with level Qualis B2 [1] or above, described the institutionalization of the research in Brazil and established a sociogram with research relationship networks in the country.FindingsBetween 1997 and 2017, only 19 articles on the implementation of SHRM were published in the 32 journals researched. The characterization of the studies indicates a predominance of qualitative articles, which adopt as methodological approach the case study, and most of them use interviews and content analysis as techniques of data collection and analysis, respectively. The use of such investigation tools is in line with the nature of the phenomenon studied. The scenario indicates that the implementation of SHRM is still a developing theme in Brazil.Research limitations/implicationsThere is a lack of studies that combine the use of qualitative and quantitative approaches and focus on public organizations. Besides, the results indicate the need to diversify the methodological approaches used. Regarding the institutionalization of research in Brazil, it is possible to notice the growth of research groups investigating SHRM, even though their only focus does not rely on implementation. The academic production regarding the theme is regionally located in the state of São Paulo, even though academic production is also to be found in a decentralized way in the country, with rare networks.Practical implicationsThis way, the main contribution of this article is the accomplishment of the first bibliometric review regarding the implementation of SHRM in Brazil, showing the scientific community that the theme still presents a gap to be explored in national studies and showing human resource professionals and the society that the transformational switch of human management to organizational outcomes – despite prolific in the academia – still has not been realized in practice.Social implicationsIn the articles analyzed, the most common finding was that the effective implementation of SHRM and strategic practices of HR, such as the competency management, still deserves attention of the academia through the accomplishment of deeper qualitative studies that exhibit not only interfering factors but also the initiatives that must be adopted by the organization to favor the implementation process.Originality/valueThe interventions occurred in an organization can or cannot stem from an articulated HR strategy. Some policies can be implemented without a previous explicit planning, and other planned strategies may never even be effectively implemented (Truss & Gratton, 1994). As reported by Kaufman (2015), some critical success factors to a large-scale organizational change – which is necessary for the effective adoption of strategic HR models – are the commitment of leaderships and a carefully planned and managed implementation. For such, it is necessary to manage programmed organizational changes properly and to act promptly on the cultural pressure perceived by all levels of the organization (Guest, 1987). Such premises are associated with the SHRM perspective proposed by Wright and Snell (1998), in which the authors claim that the main role of HR is to implement organizational strategies. Lengnick-Hall et al. (2009) present a research agenda that highlights the need to give more emphasis on issues related to the implementation of strategic human resource management, specifically regarding the vertical and horizontal alignment of HR systems.

How Are Leadership, Virtues, HRM Practices, and Citizenship Related in Organizations? Testing of Mediation Models in the Light of Positive Organizational Studies

“…Regardless of the small explanatory power (5.6%), leadership is also positively associated with organizational citizenship behaviors, revealing that strong and inspiring leadership stimulates extra-role behaviors, such as organizational citizenship [56][57][58]. The greatest predictive effect found was in the relationship between organizational virtues and practices (39.5%), possibly because both are elements of organizational culture.…”

“…Thus, leaders must be committed to practices focused on the workers' development while meeting the organizational performance goals [47,56]. Castro et al [58] reinforce the fundamental role of a committed leadership in the adoption and implementation of practices in the strategic HRM perspective.…”

Afinal, Quem Faz Acontecer? Habilidades de Líderes como Fator Para Implementação de Políticas de Gestão de Pessoas

“…À medida que a produção científica da GEP evoluiu, a análise da execução das práticas estratégicas e dos resultados alcançados ganharam espaço na agenda de pesquisa, demonstrando que a implementação da GEP nas organizações consiste em um processo formativo e adaptativo (Castro, Araújo, Ribeiro, Demo & Meneses, 2020;Legge, 1995;Lengnick-Hall, Lengnick-Hall, Andrade, Drake, 2009). Nesta seara, pesquisas recentes com foco na GP no setor público brasileiro têm indicado poucos resultados positivos na implementação de políticas e práticas de GEP (e.g.…”

A Moderated Model for the Effect of Human Resource Management Strategy on Organizational Outcomes

“…Whereas HR practices are those activities or actions that complement one another to achieve specific HRM objectives (Abdul-Halim et al, 2016; Mamoun et al, 2018). In fact, HR practices would flow from HR strategies and organizational success might be dependent upon the alignment of HR policies and practices with an organization’s strategic standing (Castro et al, 2020). Much of the research in past has focused on HR practices and policies.…”