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A place in the boardroom is often considered a necessary if not sufficient condition for HR directors to exercise strategic influence on business decision‐making. The purpose of the paper is to explore the perceived importance of HR boardroom representation, both in a formal and symbolic sense, and to what extent HR directors can exercise strategic influence without it?

Evidence is explored from a survey of 1,188 UK HR practitioners, including 255 board members, and a series of follow‐up interviews with 16 HR directors.

Analysis of the survey findings suggests that boardroom versus non‐boardroom representation of HR appears to matter in four key areas: board members believe they have greater involvement and influence in business planning processes; they have more positive perceptions of the overall performance of HR; they give higher ratings of CEO perceptions of the HR function; and they believe they achieve greater integration of HR strategy with business strategy.

While there are increasingly other formal mechanisms and forums (e.g. executive committees, personal networks) outside the boardroom for HR directors to exercise their influence, it appears that the “symbolic capital” of boardroom recognition and esteem still retains enormous significance and rhetorical appeal for the HR profession.

The paper seeks to reframe the debates on the relative importance of HR boardroom versus executive committee representation as forums of strategic influence, by focusing on the continued symbolic significance of boardroom representation. It is concluded that a reworking of Bourdieu's concept of “symbolic capital” (i.e. professional esteem, recognition, status, or respect) as board capital may be useful in reframing future research on HR boardroom representation.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the status and functional responsibilities of female human resource (HR) directors vary cross‐nationally and how gender egalitarian cultural values affect role differences between female and male HR directors.

A cross‐country comparison of HR directors involving 22 countries based on the 2004 Cranet survey.

Consistent with the hypotheses, gender egalitarian values reduce sex‐role differences for strategic integration and for traditionally female‐stereotyped HR functions. However, there is no support for the notion that egalitarian values influence sex differences for male‐stereotyped HR functions. Since, the data indicate higher levels of involvement of female HR directors in male‐stereotyped HR functions in 12 out of 22 countries, unequal distribution of functional responsibility is interpreted as an indicator for sex differences in administrative workload.

Macro cultural factors matter for sex‐role differences in strategic integration and functional responsibilities of HR directors. The effects of gender egalitarian values have greater impact on reducing vertical differences than horizontal differences.

The purpose of the paper is to investigate the perceptions of senior managers in companies in the Sunday Times list of UK best employers on the practice of HRM in their organisations.

The approach taken was to conduct semi‐structured interviews with senior line and HR directors/ managers.

In the organisations investigated, HRM is afforded high‐level organisational support at chief executive, if not always senior operational manager, level. It is generally recognised by senior managers as contributing to business effectiveness when it centres on business needs. It is integrated with business strategy processes at both strategic and operational levels. Indeed HRM is elemental to business strategic planning processes, which has the effect of reducing the potential gap between strategic rhetoric on HRM and practical implementation of HRM. Leadership and performance management are current HR policy priorities.

The generative primary data represent senior managers' perceptions of how HRM operates in their organisation therefore cannot be generalised.

Senior manager support of HRM means focusing HRM efforts in organisations on business needs and integration between HRM and business strategy processes. The corollary is that HRM policy priorities are derived from the strategic business direction and that they are perceived to support business operations and, consequently, business performance.

Senior line managers and HR specialists inform the research which contributes to understanding of current, best practice HRM from an evidence base; a model of contemporary best practice is proposed.

The 1990s literature portrays the corporate personnel/HR function as in decline due to the decentralisation and delayering of large organisations. As a result personnel’s presence on boards of directors and participation in the formation of corporate business and HR strategies cannot survive. This paper challenges this view arguing that strategies do not originate at main board of director level but at the CEO executive group level in most cases. Research has shown the personnel/HR function’s involvement at this level to be higher than on main boards. Other recent evidence has accorded personnel a higher strategic role in MNCs, especially regarding the staffing and development of an international cadre of managers. This evidence however supports the view that personnel’s corporate presence declined from the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s before picking up, whereas the paper’s argument favours a steady growth thesis from the early 1970s. Additionally the dominant perspective contains an overly top down view of strategy formation whereas this paper argues for a counter‐balancing bottom up influence on strategy formation.

Human resource (HR) disclosures are voluntary in nature in most countries including India. The voluntary nature of HR disclosures results in discrepancy in the HR disclosure practices across companies and industries. The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent of HR disclosures in annual reports of Indian listed companies and to identify their determinants in a three stage analysis.

In the first stage a 16 item human resource disclosure index (HRDI) has been constructed for the set of CNX 200 companies listed on National Stock Exchange. Thereafter the effect of various independent variables on HRDI is analysed descriptively. Finally in the third stage HRDI has been regressed against the independent variables using regression analysis technique to identify key determinants of HRDI.

The research reveals that there is high variation among sample companies as regard HRDI. The results of descriptive analysis, correlation analysis and multivariate regression analysis establish that government’s participation in ownership and market capitalisation has positive significant effect on HRDI at 1 per cent, presence of separate HR directors committee, presence of more independent directors on board at 5 per cent and cross-list America and profit after tax at 10 per cent level. Implicitly HRDI is positively affected by size of company as measured by market capitalisation. Though contrary to expectations, other variables leverage, number of employees, assets, ownership concentration, type of auditor, age, complexity of business structure, employee expense to total operating expense ratio, industry affiliation, foreign investment and proportion of non-executive directors on board are found to have moderate though insignificant influence on HRDI.

Cross-sectional design, dependence on annual reports as a primary document for disclosure and subjectivity in HRDI construction are the main limitations of the research. A longitudinal study may be carried to study the pattern of HR disclosures in future. Weighted ranking of different items of disclosures may be studied to improve the understanding of extent of disclosures.

The HRDI as constructed in the research may be used as a benchmark by companies to improve their HR disclosures. It can also be used by accounting bodies and company regulators while deciding about standards regarding HR disclosures. Investors can also use HR disclosures made by a company as a basis to understand its financial standing and future potentials.

The study adds to the existing literature by developing 16 item HRDI to measure the extent of disclosures by listed companies in India and thereafter by including some new propositions in the determinants of HRDI have never been tested in the existing studies. These propositions are government’s participation in ownership, separate HR committee of directors, board composition and foreign activity. These propositions have been empirically validated in this research except for foreign activity.

The purpose of this paper is to explore and describe how the decision to outsource human resources was made by 12 large and five small organisations.

Desk research and key informant interviews with senior HR staff who lead the decision to outsource human resources in a purposive sample of organisations identified through an initial search of the professional literature and nomination by an expert panel.

The research identifies a number of drivers that lead organisations to consider outsourcing their HR. In large organisations cost considerations are dominant, but other factors arise out of the organisational history and context, and very often, senior managers from outside the HR function are very influential. For most organisations, paradoxically, the decision to outsource appears not to be made on the basis of a thorough analysis of costs, with consequences for the quality of HR service offered to line managers, and also for the career paths and skill sets required from HR staff.

This study focuses upon the perceptions and experiences of senior HR managers, but excludes the perceptions and experiences of all staff employed in the HR function. Also, while the use of a qualitative research design makes it possible to uncover the individual perceptions and motivations of the key informants in the sample, there are obvious limitations in respect of statistical generalisation.

The findings relate mainly to the future shape of the HR function in organisations where HR activity is outsourced, with consequent implications for the skill sets and career paths for HR professionals.

The views of HR directors and senior managers have provided a valuable insight into the strategic decision to outsource HR activity and will be of interest to those involved in the same field.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the implicit beliefs both high potentials and HR directors hold about the terms of the exchange relationship between high potential employees and their organizations. The paper positions the study within the framework of the psychological contract, exploring specifically whether strategic ambiguity and information asymmetries in high potential programs create a heightened risk of psychological contract breach.

A total of 20 high potentials and 11 HR directors from nine different organizations were interviewed. Open and axial coding of the qualitative data was performed by three raters.

Information asymmetry in high potential programs, indeed, poses a potential risk for psychological contract breach. Although strategic ambiguity can be an effective communication strategy in that it creates a power imbalance in favor of the organization, at all times a delicate balance must be maintained between leaving room for flexibility and intuitive decision making, and creating perceived promises in high potential employees that are subsequently broken. In fact, through information asymmetry organizations run the risk of achieving the exact opposite of the goals they had for their high potential programs in the first place.

Hardly any research has been done on the psychological effects of identifying a very small proportion of an organization's workforce as high potentials. In addition, research contrasting employee and employer beliefs about psychological contract terms is scarce.

The main thrust behind strategic human resources (HR) includes strengthening the impact of HR on the organization. In other words, strategic HR attempts to place the HR department on equal footing with other functional areas of business. HR professionals who understand both operational indicators and their decisions on various financial metrics have greater focus and clarity when making decisions. HR professionals with such knowledge are also more likely to be viewed favorably by their counterparts in other departments and have a greater voice in the executive suite and boardroom.

Interviews with board of director(s).

There has been a significant shift in the role of HR over the past several decades. The HR department has evolved from a role focused primarily on dealing with administrative issues, litigation and unions, to a department that drives strategy and adds value throughout the company. To continue this transition, HR professionals should have a solid knowledge of critical financial information, including financial and operational metrics and ratios. By combining this information with a strategic mindset, HR professionals are better prepared to add value to the firm, and they participate more fully with other members of management in determining the strategic direction of a firm.

A competent, strategically minded HR professional who understands not only people-related issues but also financial issues can “elevate strategic discussions” in the executive suite and boardroom. Just as financial statements serve to direct attention to operational issues and to spur responsive management decisions among line managers, so too can financial statements direct the attention of HR professionals to line items specifically impacted by HR policies and processes. When HR professionals consider the impact of their decisions on the financial statements and financial metrics, they become key players in helping the firm achieve organizational goals.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the strategic integration of HRM practices with business/corporate strategy in the context of its applications and processes in two Japanese multinational companies in Malaysia.

The research used mixed‐methodology via case studies and questionnaire surveys. Overall 29 questionnaires, 15 from Company A and 14 from Company B were returned and analyzed for a response rate of 58 per cent. In addition, 15 respondents were interviewed, including Executive Director, Head of HR and line managers.

Analysis of questionnaire responses and interview findings shows strategic integration of HRM practices has been adopted by both organizations, though their approaches vary slightly. Importantly, the involvement of HR at board level, direct reporting of HR to the CEOs and the organization's supportive culture symbolize the integrative approach to HRM. Additionally, the findings indicate that although company strategies are in place, other factors such as business credibility of the HR manager and the level of commitment and support from CEOs and line management commitment are important determinants of strategic integration of HRM practices.

The influence of Japanese management practices which has similar characteristics of high performance work system (HPWS) and resource‐based view (RBV) approach that emphasizes participatory decision making and construe employees and HR function not as cost burdens but as sources of competitive advantage are important predictors of higher and effective strategic integration.

The paper provides some insights into approaches to strategic integration of HRM practices in two Japanese multinational companies in Malaysia.

The UK Government has frequently referred to the importance of strategic human resource management (HRM) to the success of the National Health Service (NHS). However, relatively little is known about whether HR departments within individual NHS Trusts play a strategic role and, if so, how this has been achieved. Reports on the findings of a unique study into HRM at the Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust over the period 1994‐2000. In particular, focuses on the factors that have enabled or constrained the development of a strategic role over time. Whilst it was found that the NHS context often served as a constraining factor, also shows that much can be done at the level of the individual Trust to foster a strategic role for the HR function. Of particular importance were the HR director role, the attitudes of senior management towards HRM and the way in which HR interventions were implemented.