Putting the “Management” Back in Human Resource Management: A Review and Agenda for Future Research

Abstract

Although much research has examined human resource management (HRM), managers’ roles in HRM seem to have been ancillary to this area of research. That is, HRM theory and research largely has advanced with a focus on policies, practices, systems, and their implementation and effectiveness, with less attention focused on the managers responsible for the design, adoption, enactment, and implementation of HRM strategy and practice. The purpose of this review is to examine extant research to determine the state of knowledge of the role of managers across organizational hierarchy in HRM. Thus, we review empirical literature for studies that include aspects of the impact lower-to-middle managers, human resource managers, top management teams, CEOs, and boards of directors have on HRM content, process, and outcomes. On the basis of the findings of this systematic, multilevel review, we discuss avenues for future research at each specific manager’s level, as well as general opportunities and challenges for research on managers’ roles in HRM across all hierarchical levels.

How Ethical Leadership Shapes Employees’ Readiness to Change: The Mediating Role of an Organizational Culture of Effectiveness

“…Thus, organizational culture of effectiveness becomes an important mechanism by which ethical leadership, of both upper– and middle–lower echelons, is likely to influence employees’ readiness to change. In effect, while upper echelons exert a significant influence on the content of the organizational policies and practices, and therefore in the set of values that are required to be spread in the organization, middle–lower echelons play an important role in the extent to which employees internalize these values (Steffensen et al, 2019). Managers in middle–lower echelons create more meaningful relationships with their employees, and their support regarding the set of values taught as the correct way to think and feel in the organization (i.e., organizational culture) turns them into strong influences of the employees’ acceptance of and commitment to such a set of values (Steffensen et al, 2019).…”

“…In effect, while upper echelons exert a significant influence on the content of the organizational policies and practices, and therefore in the set of values that are required to be spread in the organization, middle–lower echelons play an important role in the extent to which employees internalize these values (Steffensen et al, 2019). Managers in middle–lower echelons create more meaningful relationships with their employees, and their support regarding the set of values taught as the correct way to think and feel in the organization (i.e., organizational culture) turns them into strong influences of the employees’ acceptance of and commitment to such a set of values (Steffensen et al, 2019). Furthermore, in line with Schaubroeck et al (2012) findings about the important role of middle–lower echelons in shaping the organizational ethical culture, it is of no surprise that these managers can play an important role in shaping an organizational culture of effectiveness.…”

The role of leadership in human resource management: perspectives and evidence from Asia Pacific

“…HRM practices within a single or cross-border context can be formulated and analysed at any single level or multiple levels including firm, department/unit, team, and individual levels (Nishii and Wright 2007). Correspondingly, leadership theory can be applied to the roles of any single leader or multiple leaders including boards of directors, CEOs, top management team (TMT), HR managers, and lower-to-middle managers (LTMMs) (Steffensen et al 2019). However, there is a lack of a clear picture as to how HRM practices interact with leadership at each of these different levels (firm, unit, team, and individual) and in different types of context in the existing literature.…”

Human resource management in project-based organizations: revisiting the permanency assumption

“…Research shows that project members can have different roles in several projects simultaneously (Tyssen et al, 2013) and often participate in team decisions such as staffing or work organization (Hanisch & Wald, 2014;Nuhn et al, 2018). Nevertheless, projects and project managers are not mentioned in a recent review of the role of managers across all hierarchical levels in HRM, from board to bottom; nor are they even included among the 28 search terms that span five categories of managers (Steffensen et al, 2019). In the case of PBOs as temporal hybrids, support functions such as HRM usually remain in the permanent part because of the limited duration of projects and are hence not dissolved after the completion of projects (Nuhn et al, 2018).…”