The HR ecosystem framework: Examining strategic HRM tensions in knowledge‐intensive organizations with boundary‐crossing professionals

Abstract

In this article, we use Snell & Morris' (2021) new HR ecosystem framework to empirically examine strategic fit and alignment tensions for knowledge‐intensive organizations and professional knowledge workers. Rich data were collected through in‐depth interviews with 75 members of faculty engaged in knowledge‐intensive work for Business and Management Schools (B&M), and the analysis of strategy documents. The application of the framework enables us to contribute to dynamic capabilities theory and SHRM in four ways. Firstly, drawing on the findings, we propose an adapted HR Ecosystem framework for analyzing knowledge‐intensive organizations, which incorporates tensions across the four subsystems of an HR ecosystem (strategy, capabilities, composition, and cultures). These tensions are shaped by interactions within and between levels (meso, macro and micro) and ecosystems. Secondly, our findings underscore the need for knowledge‐intensive organizations to engage with a plurality of collaborative and competing internal and external stakeholder interests, including those of knowledge workers who constitute key organizational stakeholders. Thirdly, our analysis shows how the views and behaviors of internal organizational stakeholders are affected by ecosystem dynamics within and beyond the physical boundaries of an organization. Fourthly, we reveal how conflicting organizational cultures connect with other HR ecosystem subsystems to constrain collegialism and cohesion. By evidencing how knowledge‐intensive organizations are in a constant flux of alignment and misalignment, the article demonstrates the value of the HR ecosystem framework in examining and informing SHRM in organizations in other industries.

The HR ecosystem: Emerging trends and a future research agenda

“…Similarly, Donnelly and Hughes (2023) found that when top‐level managers engage with mid‐level managers to refine and develop strategy, members of the organization are more likely to contribute to the development of bottom‐up strategies. Even though this creates constant tension within the work ecosystem, it allows for strategies to evolve.…”