Strategic human resource management practices and organizational resilience

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between strategic human resource management (SHRM) practices and organizational resilience in a Tunisian democratic transition context. It is hypothesized that five SHRM practices influence three organizational resilience dimensions.

Design/methodology/approach

The research design is based on a deductive approach. The relations were checked over two periods by using quantitative methods. Questionnaires were addressed to top managers of resilient Tunisian companies. The hypotheses were verified after.

Findings

Results showed that SHRM practices affect the resilience dimensions. Analysis showed that SHRM practices enhance the robustness of firms, especially in the second period, and significantly influence agility and integrity.

Practical implications

Managers can use these findings to develop targeted actions in HRM to enhance a specific resilience dimension. They can make better decisions based on knowledge surrounding the precise effects of SHRM practices on resilience dimensions.

Originality/value

The authors highlighted the role of SHRM in developing organizational resilience. Gaps were noticed in the organizational resilience literature. This research is among the rare studies that have investigated the linkage between SHRM practices and organizational resilience. By using quantitative methods and adopting a longitudinal perspective for analyzing data, it leads to better identify the evolution of the influence of SHRM practices on each resilience dimension over time.

Citation

Bouaziz, F. and Smaoui Hachicha, Z. (2018), "Strategic human resource management practices and organizational resilience", Journal of Management Development, Vol. 37 No. 7, pp. 537-551. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMD-11-2017-0358