Why organizations adopt some human resource management practices and reject others: An exploration of rationales

Abstract

This article explores reasons why organizations adopt or reject human resource practices. Four theoretical approaches are brought to bear on this issue. According to the economic approach, organizations adopt HR practices that are economically beneficial to them. Similarly, the alignment approach views firms as adopting HR practices if these practices are aligned with strategic objectives. In contrast, the decision‐making approach invokes a constrained‐ra‐tionality model of managerial judgment, and the diffusion approach attributes the adoption/rejection decision to institutional pressures that encourage imitation. Literature in these areas is reviewed and the implications for HR research and practice are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Translating stakeholder pressures into environmental performance – the mediating role of green HRM practices

“…Finally, for HRM education, our findings emphasize the need for a broader explanation of the external pressures that lead companies to implement specific HRM practices and their effectiveness (Subramony, 2006;Kaufman, 2010). In particular, our results might be helpful for HR educators in providing their students with a broad understanding of the reasons why companies implement HR practices, which -instead of being always seen as the result of a one-sided managerial choice -are sometimes implemented for responding to the expectations of a wide set of actors, placed within and without the organization.…”

Psychological testing for selection purposes: a guide to evidence-based practice for human resource professionals

“…In summary these are: (1) conducting a job analysis prior to selection or using validity generalization research to determine the constructs assessed by psychological tests; (2) it is not advisable to report numeric ability test scores to managers nor should full personality profiles be reported; (3) psychological test information should not be previewed prior to an interview; (4) psychological test data should be numerically combined with interview data; and (5) hiring managers should be encouraged to make their own decision about the suitability of an applicant. For a variety of reasons managers do not readily adopt evidence based selection practices (Johns 1993;Dipboye 1994;Terpstra and Rozell 1997;Subramony 2006). On the other hand, there is some evidence to indicate that line managers are keen to improve their selection skills and are receptive to evidence (Wright, McMahan, Snell and Gerhart 2001;Nowicki and Rosse 2002;Carless 2009).…”

The Impact of Human Resource Practices and Organizational Citizenship Behaviors on Firm Performance

“…For example, according to the economic approach, organizations adopt HRP that are economically beneficial to them, or based on the alignment approach view, organizations adopt these practices only when the practices are in line with the organizations' strategic objectives (Subramony, 2006).…”