CANCELLED: Advances in Strategic Human Resource Management (21-23 September, 2010)

Faculty
Dana Minbaeva, Associate Professor in Strategic Human Resource Management, Center for Strategic Management and Globalization, CBS. Email: dm.smg@cbs.dk. Lisa Nishii, Assistant Professor, Department of Human Resource Studies, ILR School, Cornell University. Email: lhn5@cornell.edu.

Course Coordinator
Dana Minbaeva

Prerequisite/progression of the course

Participants should have basic knowledge about HRM and strategy. Possible prerequisite courses include macro HRM, strategic HRM, and/or micro HRM.

Aim of the course

The aim of this course is to offer advanced insights related to the recent developments in the area of Strategic HRM, with a specific focus on multi-level and micro-foundations in SHRM research.

Course content, structure and teaching

The widespread popularity of the strategic human resource management (SHRM) field rests in large part on the idea that when properly designed and implemented, a system of HRM practices can support business strategy and thereby create value for the firm (Wright, Dunford and Snell, 2001). This notion, that resources internal to the firm impact a firm’s competitive advantage (i.e., the resource-based view), represented an important departure from traditional strategy literature which was primarily focused on the impact of external factors on a firm’s competitive advantage. The allure of SHRM research has been in its ability to link systems for managing people and organizational performance. Nonetheless, the field has recently been criticized for lacking sufficient theoretical perspectives for explicating the role that individuals actually play in this relationship (Wright & Sherman, 1999). The field has been limited in its understanding of the process through which HRM creates value for organizations – the proverbial “black box” of SHRM research (Becker & Gerhart, 1996; Becker & Huselid, 2006) – and it is this lack of understanding that accounts for disagreement about which HRM practices matter and how, and about how practices should be bundled to optimally impact value performance.

Scholars have suggested that new ways of thinking about SHRM are necessary in order to move the field forward, and a number of prescriptions for how to go about expanding SHRM theory have been offered. Some have suggested that the accurate conceptualization of HR practices and organizational effectiveness should be the starting point of such an endeavor (Becker & Gerhart, 1996; Guest, 1997; Rogers & Wright, 1998; Wright & Gardner, 2003). Others have argued in favor of taking a broader contextual, multiple stakeholder or open-systems perspectives to SHRM research (e.g., Schuler & Jackson, 1999; Paauwe, 2004). Another line of research proposed that considering intra-firm variability of HR systems for managing specific groups of employees according to the strategic value and uniqueness of their human capital is important for understanding how HRM creates value (Lepak & Snell, 1999, 2002). Wright and Boswell (2002) argued for the need to integrate micro and macro HRM research. As they describe it, micro HRM research focuses on the impact of HR practices on individuals, while macro HRM research focuses on the impact of HR practices on organizational-level outcomes while assuming uniformity in the effects of HRM practices within organizations. Unfortunately, these two streams of research have remained largely distinct to the detriment of both. A key to advancing our understanding of the theoretical mechanisms linking HRM systems and organizational performance is to integrate the micro and macro traditions. Their mandate has been echoed by others (e.g., Becker & Huselid, 2006; Gerhart, 2005; Kang, Morris, & Snell, 2007; Lee, Gerhart, Weller, & Trevor, 2008; Nishii, Lepak & Schneider, 2008; Nishii & Wright, 2008; Wright & Haggerty, 2005; Wright & Nishii, 2004) who similarly discuss the need to explicitly examine variation within organizations based on individual differences.

During this course, participants will be exposed to a multitude of ways in which the SHRM field needs to reexamine its assumptions, and in particular will focus on models that explicate how individual action and interaction with others influence the way HRM impacts individual, unit, and organizational outcomes. In doing so, we will build upon theories and methods from other fields (e.g., sociology, psychology, social networks, and economics). We will spend one session as a “research incubator” by having students present original ideas about how to incorporate multi-level issues in their SHRM research; as a group, we will then brainstorm about and refine the ideas so that they become actionable research ideas. We will conclude with a tutorial on how to develop and validate original scales to assess new constructs that can contribute to the SHRM field in needed ways.

Day 1, Tuesday, September 28

Introduction. DM&LN
Session 1. HRM and Performance: (how many) black boxes? DM
- Overview of studies on HRM and performance
- Research challenges. Table-talk and follow up
Session 2. The Need for Micro-Foundations in SHRM Research. DM
- Why micro-foundations?
- Bridging macro and micro in SHRM

Day 2, Wednesday, September 29

Session 3. Multi-level SHRM research (LN)
- Sources of variability at the individual and unit levels of analysis: A process model for SHRM research
- Examples of research incorporating micro-foundations
Session 4. Research Incubator (LN)
- Student presentation of original research ideas & group critique and brainstorming

Day 3, Thursday, September 30

Session 5. Doing Research that Bridges Levels and/or Disciplinary Divides. LN
- Tutorial on developing and validating original scales
- Key considerations in conducting multi-level research
Session 6. Pushing HR out of its “natural comfort zone”. DM
- Practitioner perspective (Guest lecture)
- Observations, learnings, and questions
Closing and evaluation. DM&LN

Type of examination, exam aids and assessment

There is no exam at the end of the course. However, to obtain the course certificates the participants are expected to show high level of preparation and class participation. Minimum 80% attendance is required.

Teaching methods

Lectures, group brainstorming, student presentations, case discussions, literature critiques

Course literature

Abell, P., Felin, T & Foss, N. 2008. Building microfoundations for the routines, capabilities, and performance links. Managerial and Decision Economics, XXXX.
Becker, B. & Huselid, M. 2006. Strategic Human Resource Management: Where do we go from here? Journal of Management, 32(6): 898-925.
Bowen, D. E. & Ostroff, C. 2004. Understanding HRM-firm performance linkages: The role of the “strength” of the HRM system. Academy of Management Review, 29(2): 203-221.
Coleman, J. S. 1990. Foundations of social theory. Cambridge/London: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Chapter 1.
Felin, T. & Foss, N. J. 2005. Strategic organization: A field in search of micro-foundations. Strategic Organization, 3: 441- 455.
Felin, T. & Hesterly, W.S. 2007. The Knowledge-based view, heterogeneity, and the individual: Philosophical considerations on the locus of knowledge. Academy of Management Review, 32: 195-218.
Gerhart, B. 2005. Human resources and business performance: Findings, unanswered questions, and an alternative approach. Management Review, 16(2): 175-185.
Guest, D., Michie, J., Conway, N., & Sheehan, M. 2003. Human resource management and corporate performance in the UK. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 41: 291-314.
Kang, S. C., Morris, S. & Snell, S.A. 2007. Relational archetypes, organizational learning, and value creation: Extending the human resource architecture. Academy of Management Review, 32: 236-256.
Lepak, D., & Snell, S. 2002. Examining the human resource architecture: The relationships among human capital, employment, and human resource configurations. Journal of Management, 28: 517-543.
Nishii, L.H., Lepak, D.P., Schneider, B. (2008). Employee attributions of HR practices: Their effect on employee attitudes and behaviors, and customer satisfaction. Personnel Psychology, 61, 503-545.
Nishii, L.H., & Wright, P. (2008). Variability at multiple levels of analysis: Implications for strategic human resource management. In D.B. Smith (Ed.), The people make the place (pp.225-248). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Paauwe, J. and Farndale, E. 2006. International Human Resource Management and Firm Performance. In Stahl, G. and Bjorkman, I. (eds) Handbook of Research in International Human Resource Management. Edward Elgar, Chapter 6 (Sitescape)
Wright, P.M. & Boswell, W. (2002) Desegregating HRM: A review and synthesis of micro and macro human resource management research. Journal of Management, 28(3), 247-276.
Wright, P., & Nishii, L. 2006. Strategic HRM and organizational behavior: Integrating multiple levels of analysis. Working Paper 06-05. CAHRS Working Paper Series, Cornell University, NY.
Wright, P., Dunford, B., & Snell, S. 2001. Human resources and the resource based view of the firm. Journal of Management, 27: 701-721.
Wright, P., Gardner, T., Moynihan, L., & Allen, M. 2005. The relationship between HR practices and firm performance: Examining causal order. Personnel Psychology, 58: 409-446.
Wright, P. & Haggerty, J. 2005. Missing variables in theories of strategic human resource management: Time, case and individuals. Management Review, 16(2): 164-173.

Recommended literature

If not familiar, please consider reading:

Arthur, J.B. (1994). Effects of human resource systems on manufacturing performance and turnover. Academy of Management Journal, 37, 670-687.
Becker, B., Huselid, M., Pickus, P., & Spratt, M. 1997. HR as a source of shareholder value: Research and recommendations. Human Resource Management, 36(1): 39-47.
Delaney, J., & Huselid, M. 1996. The impact of human resource management practices on perceptions of organizational performance. Academy of Management Journal, 39(4): 949-969.
Delery, J., & Doty, H. 1996. Modes of theorizing in strategic human resource management: Tests of universalistic, contingency, and configurational performance predictions. Academy of Management Journal, 39(4): 802-835.
Guest, D. 1997. Human resource management and performance: A review and research agenda. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 8(3): 263-276.
Huselid, M. 1995. The impact of human resource management practices on turnover, productivity, and corporate financial performance. Academy of Management Journal, 38(3): 635-672.
Huselid, M. Jackson, S., & Schuler, R. 1997. Technical and strategic human resource management effectiveness as determinants of firm performance. Academy of Management Journal, 40(1): 171-188.
Ichniowski, C., Shaw, K., & Prennushi, G. 1997. The effects of human resource management practices on productivity: A study of steel finishing lines. The American Economic Review, June: 291-313.
Jackson, S.E., & Schuler, R.S. (1995). Understanding human resource management in the context of organizations and their environments. Annual Review of Psychology, 46, 237-264.
Jackson, S.E., Schuler, R.S., & Rivero, J.C. (1989). Organizational characteristics as predictors of personnel practices. Personnel Psychology, 42, 727-786.
Lepak, D. & Snell, S. 1999. The strategic management of human capital: Determinants and implications of different relationships. Academy of Management Review, 24(1):1-18.
MacDuffie, J. 1995. Human resource bundles and manufacturing performance: Flexible production systems in the world auto industry. Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 48(2): 197-221.
Pfeffer, J. 1994. Competitive advantage through people: Unleashing the power of the work force. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Tsui, Pearce, Porter, & Tripoli (1997). Alternative approaches to the employee-organization relationship: Does investment in employees pay off? Academy of Management Journal, 40(5), 1089-1121.
Whetten, D. 1989. What constitutes a theoretical contribution? Academy of Management Review, 14(4): 490-495.
Youndt, M., Snell, S., Dean, J., & Lepak, D. 1996. Human resource management, manufacturing strategy, and firm performance. Academy of Management Journal, 39(4): 836-866.