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Based on the human resources (HR) role framework (Conner and Ulrich, 1996), the purpose of this paper is to empirically explore why HR practitioners differ in their strategic partner role positioning. The present study suggests and tests a descriptive model regarding occupational and organizational characteristics associated with strategic HR role positioning.

In all, 100 questionnaires were collected from Israeli HR practitioners. Hierarchical regressions were used to test the association between occupational and organizational characteristics and the strategic role perception among HR practitioners.

Although the findings only partially supported the suggested model, significant associations between occupational and organizational characteristics and HR strategic positioning were found. HR practitioners in volatile organizational environments adopt a strategic role perception. Moreover, years of experience are also associated with an HR strategic role perception. Specifically, the major predictors of attaining a strategic partner role amongst HR practitioners are location of organizational activities mainly in the metropolitan area, and involvement in major organizational changes.

The sample had a positive bias of respondents. Questionnaires were delivered mainly to highly educated HR practitioners in notably professional HR departments. Data were based on self-reported one-time questionnaires.

The research has implications for the processes of academic education and professional training of HR practitioners and also their recruitment in organizations.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, recent studies aimed at exploring sources of variance in the strategic role perception amongst HR practitioners are rather scarce. This research helps to address this gap, while also broadening the literature regarding HR communities in the Middle East.

The purpose of this paper is to present a research project on attitude towards electronic human resource management (E‐HRM). A research model was formulated, based on two theories from complementary research areas: Davis' technology acceptance model and Ulrich's model on HR roles.

The study used an online questionnaire, in which 99 managers and 257 employees within Philips (Electronics) Netherlands participated. Managers and employees answered questions as to their previous experiences with regard to IT systems in general, their preferred HR roles, and their attitude towards E‐HRM systems.

Differences in perceived usability of current IT systems, as well as the preferred HR roles strategic partner (high preference) and employee champion (low preference), were related to a positive attitude towards E‐HRM systems. For managers, user support was also found to be a predictor of a positive attitude towards E‐HRM.

This research suggests a multi‐factorial framework that can help organizations in understanding and solving difficulties of implementation with E‐HRM systems, as far as attitude towards these systems is concerned.

Replicating Ulrich's model, this study aims to investigate empirically the HR role performance of a case organisation. Despite the popularity of the model, both theoretical discussions and empirical research that build on the model are scarce.

The present study investigates HR professionals' and line managers' perceptions of HR roles in a regional full‐service bank based on a combination of interviews and a questionnaire survey distributed to the HR executive and line managers.

The case study evidence reported suggests that not only are all four roles strongly represented, they are also equally shared between the HR executive and line managers.

This study is limited by the usual problem of a wider application of findings provided by a small‐scale single‐case study. The generalisability of the findings would be improved by conducting more comparable cases within the field.

HR professionals are struggling to make top executives and colleagues recognise the value of their operations and initiatives. It is therefore increasingly important to demonstrate the value of the HR function, and a first step towards demonstrating its value is to define and clarify the roles and role expectations of the HR function in the organisation. This study demonstrates how an organisation can get a clear picture of the roles that are performed or perceived as performed by the HR function by using Ulrich's relatively simple model, and thereby create a good basis for further discussion and clarification.

The purpose of this research is to analyze differences between the roles of HR managers at the corporate and unit level in the specific context of the hospitality industry.

Semi‐structured interviews with 12 HR managers in three countries, complemented by a short questionnaire, yielded quantitative data on Ulrich's HR roles, work time spent in various roles and various degrees of involvement in decision making. Respondents also provided qualitative accounts of their roles.

Distinct differences exist between HR work at the corporate and unit level. Whereas unit level managers tend to focus on their role as “administrative experts” and “employee champions”, corporate level managers stressed their role as “strategic partners” and “change agents”. Corporate level managers benefit from earlier involvement in organizational decisions than those at unit level.

A comparatively small convenience sample of 12 HR managers was used. This limitation is mitigated, however, by the inclusion of managers from three different countries and a good balance of corporate and unit level managers in the sample.

The research provides clear evidence of a lack of strategic HR orientation at both the unit and the corporate levels. These results should help corporate decision‐makers rethink and reorient the activities of HRM in their organizations and strengthen its role in organizational decision making.

Despite the popularity of the Ulrich model, there is hardly any empirical research on differences in HR management across organizational levels. The present study explores this topic with a particular focus on the hospitality industry.

This study aims to explore the emergence of the human resource (HR) analyst role. The job posts on LinkedIn display the industry demand and skills required by the organizations. This study identifies the different knowledge, skills and abilities (KSA) required for an HR analyst role in different stages of professional growth (i.e. entry-level, middle-senior level and top-level) across different industries/sectors as applicable to the crisis.

A total of 80 job posts were extracted from LinkedIn. Details such as industry, job levels, qualifications, job experience, job functions, job descriptions (JDs) and job skills (JS) were collected. Further, 30 videos were extracted from YouTube and converted into text. Text analysis was conducted using NVivo software to analyze JDs, JS and job functions. Using NVivo, word frequency, word cloud, word tree and treemap were created to visualize the data. Finally, ten in-depth interviews were conducted with senior HRA managers based in India to understand the essential competencies required for the HR analyst role and the strategies to develop them.

The findings indicate that not only technical skills are needed, but business and communication skills are particularly important for all job levels during a crisis. The JD word cloud showed words, such as data, business, support and management, and the word tree depicted HR data and change agents as important words with many related sentences as branches. General JS included analytical, communication, problem-solving and management. Technical JS were the most widely used and included structure query language, system applications & products in data processing, human capital management, TABLEAU, management information system and PYTHON. Strategies to develop these competencies included case studies, live projects, internships on HR analytics (HRAs) assignments and mentoring by senior HRA professionals.

The sample used was small, as the study included 80 job posts available on LinkedIn restricted to India. The study was restricted to qualitative approach and text analytics was used. Survey methods and a quantitative approach can be used to collect data from HR recruiters, job holders and senior leaders to understand the role of HRAs in the job market and then these variables can be tested empirically.

Based on the McCartney et al.’s (2020) competency model for the HR Analyst role, this study has explored the KSA framework using data visualization techniques and used text analytics to analyze LinkedIn job posts for different levels, videos from YouTube and in-depth interviews. It also mapped the KSA for the HR analyst role to the various stages of crisis system management given by Mitroff (2005). The use of social media analytics, such as analyzing LinkedIn data and YouTube videos, are highlighted.

Project risk management (PRM) and human resource management (HRM) are the two critical success factors (CSFs) for international project management. This paper aims to correlate these two CSFs, identify the human resource (HR) barriers, develop a hybrid model for risk management and develop strategies to overcome the HR barriers to effective risk management in international projects.

In total, 20 key HR barriers have been identified through a literature survey and verified by project professionals. These HR barriers are ranked according to their ability to trigger other barriers by analysing their interactions using the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) method. Based on Ulrich’s revised model for HR functions, a hybrid framework for international PRM has been proposed.

DEMATEL analysis categorized nine barriers as cause barriers and 11 as affected barriers. The “PROJECTS” model proposed for HR strategy development suggests eight strategies to overcome these nine cause barriers. The hybrid PRM framework developed includes the effect of the HR dimension.

This paper presents the generalized prioritization of HR barriers to international PRM. For a specific international project, the HR barriers and their prioritization may change slightly. The hybrid framework for PRM and the strategy development model suggested are yet to be validated.

Correlating two CSFs in international project management, i.e. HRM and PRM and ranking the HR barriers using the DEMATEL method is the uniqueness of this research paper. The hybrid framework developed for PRM based on HR functions in Ulrich’s revised model and the proposed new HR strategy development model “PROJECTS” are unique contributions of this paper.

Prior research in the area of organizational change highlights the critical role played by HR practices during organizational change as it may require altering employee behavior to support the change direction. human resource (HR) function is considered to be well positioned to influence employee behavior by institutionalizing HR practices that support change. Further there is a significant body of literature that suggests that employee behavior is significantly influenced by the perceptions of HR practices during change. HR practices which create positive employee perceptions increase employee commitment to change. The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework that identifies critical HR practices that support organizational change and examines their impact on employee perception and commitment to change.

First, an extensive literature review on organizational change at macro level has been done to identify critical practices desired from key organizational members during organizational change. Second, a case for importance of HR function as a key organizational member during change is presented. Further literature on effectiveness of HR practices adopted by HR professionals during organizational change is examined to find out the gap areas. Third, literature on employee perception and commitment to change is examined to find out possible linkages to HR practices during organizational change. Finally, eight propositions are presented to build an integrated conceptual framework identifying critical HR practices during organizational change and their impact on employee perception and commitment to change.

The study suggests that HR practices undertaken in the area of culture, leadership, cross functional integration, training, communication and technology if introduced and implemented will positively influence employee perception reducing resistance and increasing commitment to change. Therefore assessing employee perception about critical HR practices at different stages of change initiation, implementation and consolidation can enable understanding about employee commitment to change. This would also help HR professionals understand how effective the HR practices implemented during change have been.

This framework can be used by the researchers and practitioners to study, guide, frame and model empirical research into the area of studying critical HR practices during organizational change. So far literature provides a generic view of desired organizational practices during change. Moreover there are few studies available on employee perception about HR practices implemented during organizational change and its impact on employee commitment to change. The framework presented in this paper would help explore the effectiveness of specific HR practices implemented during change by evaluating its impact on employee perception and commitment to change.

Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV) theory, the purpose of this paper is mainly to show how electronic human resource management (HRM), green employee empowerment, and human resource (HR) business partner role may influence green HRM practices.

A conceptual framework was proposed to test the direct effect of the three independent variables – and key HR factors – on green HRM. Self-administered questionnaire was adopted in a systematic collection of data from manufacturing and service organizations in Malaysia. The partial least squares method was used to test the conceptual framework of the study.

The empirical results demonstrate that green employee empowerment has a significant positive relationship with all dimensions of green HRM practices; the added value of HR business partner role is an important aspect in ensuring the successful implementation of green HRM practices; and surprisingly, electronic HRM was not significantly related with all dimensions of green HRM practices.

As revealed by searches of ISI Web of Knowledge and Scopus, there is no similar work which tested a similar framework based on evidence from an emerging economy. Based on RBV, it is possible to suggest that green employee empowerment and the role of HR as a Business Partner constitute unique resources when adopting green HRM practices.

This paper aims to operationalise a modified strategic human resource development (SHRD) framework to examine managerial perceptions of the strategic embeddedness of human resource development (HRD) in organisations in times of business and economic uncertainty.

The paper draws on qualitative research data, following a case-study research design and semi-structured interviews with 44 participants to enable an in-depth investigation of managerial perspectives.

Research findings outline complexities in both understanding and operationalising SHRD in times of crisis which flow from managerial differing viewpoints.

Research findings and conclusions are subject to “respondent bias” as events occurred several years ago, thus participants may not fully recall how SHRD has changed over time. Focussing on a unique industrial sector, as well as to a specific national context, limits the generalisation of the findings in comparative contexts.

Owing to the ongoing business and economic uncertainty, this study could serve as a powerful tool at the hands of HRD professionals to effectively assess the nature of their HRD interventions in their organisations.

Having a modified SHRD framework assessed in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous contexts, the reality of SHRD in organisations is examined. In addition, focussing on a single sector overcomes the “one-size fits all” proposition of prominent SHRD models. Finally, the paper expands SHRD literature by examining managerial perspectives on SHRD into understudied national and industrial contexts.

Within the search of the key factors that explain knowledge management (KM) effectiveness, this paper aims to advance a simultaneously conceptual and practical framework that links human resource management (HRM) and KM.

A literature‐based preliminary framework assumes that a number of critical KM characteristics and KM‐related human resource (HR) practices impact on KM effectiveness. Qualitative methods are used for data collection and analysis. Three knowledge‐intensive Spanish business units of multinational companies are the target case‐study settings.

Systematic patterns are found regarding the impact of critical KM characteristics and KM‐related HR practices on KM effectiveness. An induced framework, encompassing a number of specific variables and propositions, is developed.

The lack of a longitudinal study demands caution in the results interpretation. Also, similar studies in cultural contexts other than Spain could produce differing results. Moreover, further qualitative methods would be helpful for explanatory framework refinement, whereas quantitative surveys would test propositions, thus assessing the statistical generalisability of the results.

KM‐enhancing recommendations for practitioners are discussed. Special emphasis is placed on the great complexity that social and cultural issues pose on KM, and on senior managers' key actions aimed at involving the HR function more in KM strategy development.

This paper tackles KM‐related social and cultural issues through a broad but practical HRM perspective. It helps to advance a better understanding of the causes of KM success or failure, useful both to academics seeking theory building and to practitioners interested in insightful advice.