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A distinguishing feature of strategic human resource management research is an emphasis on human resource (HR) systems, rather than individual HR practices as a driver of individual and organizational performance. Yet, there remains a lack of agreement regarding what these systems are, which practices comprise these systems, how these systems operate, and how they should be studied. Our goal in this paper is to take a step toward identifying and addressing several conceptual and methodological issues regarding HR systems. Conceptually, we argue that HR systems should be targeted toward some strategic objective and operate by influencing (1) employee knowledge, skills, and abilities, (2) employee motivation and effort, and (3) opportunities for employees to contribute. Methodologically, we explore issues related to the relationships among policies and practices, sampling issues, identifying the appropriate referent group(s), and who should serve as key informants for HR system studies.

The purpose of this study was to develop and empirically examine a model of cloud-based human resource information systems (HRIS) adoption by small businesses based on the technology–organization–environment model (Tornatzky & Fleischer, 1990).

This study utilized a survey of 41 small- to medium-sized enterprises in the northeastern United States to examine what HR functions were being supported by cloud-based HRIS and the relationship between three technology factors, three organizational factors, and three environmental factors, and their relationship with the adoption of cloud-based HRIS.

Findings indicated that small businesses are most likely to implement cloud-based HRIS to support day-to-day HR operations. In addition, the findings indicated that top management support (positive), vendor support (positive), and anticipated growth (negative) were each related to organizational adoption of cloud-based HRIS.

The study illustrates how the adoption of a cloud-based HRIS is motivated by different factors than those underlying the adoption of other types of information systems. Executives and small business owners will need to adapt their strategy when considering cloud-based HRIS compared to other types of systems.

Given that small- to medium-sized organizations are the backbone of most global economies, findings from this study can help support society by helping these businesses better understand how to best consider the factors that will support the implementation of cloud-based HRIS.

This chapter represents one of the first to empirically validate a model of the factors affecting adoption of cloud-based HRIS by small businesses.

Three decades of academic and professional discourse on HR technologies (HRTs) have produced continued disagreement over construct definitions and research streams that are highly fragmented. These realities suggest that greater consistency in meanings is sorely needed if we are to integrate and upgrade knowledge in this area. This chapter draws on the findings of a systematic research review to properly define the content domains of human resource information systems (HRIS), virtual human resources (virtual HR), electronic human resource management (e-HRM), and business-to-employee (B2E) systems. An integrative synthesis was performed on 242 system-level writings that appeared in the literature from 1983 to 2017. The weight of the evidence strongly supports treating HRIS, virtual HR, e-HRM, and B2E systems as independent, complimentary constructs. While the first three comprise a firm’s HRT system, the fourth construct is more appropriately positioned in the business-collaborative system. The sample was further evaluated with an analytic framework to detect patterns of practice in research designs. This revealed that much more attention has been focused on system actions and outcomes than on attitudes and system characteristics. Different units of analysis were well represented aside from trans-organizational studies. Finally, a case is made for better contextualizing HRT research by recognizing differences in assimilation stage, functional penetration, and collective proficiency. These factors are rarely mentioned, let alone studied, raising additional concerns about measurement error. Detailed suggestions are offered on ways to incorporate them. Together, these materials should promote more sophisticated and generalizable assessments of technology, improving our ability to understand its impacts.

The traditional Confucian management system is considered distinctly different from Western-based management. This study draws data from indigenous Taiwanese firms listed on its public stock market and examines the associations among various human resource (HR) systems and organizational performance. First, factor analysis is used to explore a wide range of HR practices. Then, cluster analysis is used to classify indigenous Taiwanese firms with regard to their HR practices. Indigenous Taiwanese firms were found to use various HR systems, ranging from traditional Confucian HR to high-involvement HR practices. Companies that used high-involvement HR systems were found to perform better than those using a traditional Confucian HR system.

Human resource (HR) process research emerged as a response to questions about how (bundles of) HR practices related to organizational outcomes. The goal of HR process research is to explain variability in employee and organization outcomes by focusing on how HR practices are intended (adopted) by senior managers, the way that these HR practices are implemented and communicated by line managers, and how employees perceive, understand, and attribute these HR practices. In the first part of this chapter, we present a review of 20 years of HR process research from the start, to how it developed, and is now maturing. Within the body of HR process research, several different research theoretical streams have emerged, which are largely studied in isolation without benefiting from each other. Therefore, in the second part of this chapter, we draw on previous work to propose a staged process model in which we integrate the different research streams of HR process research, recognizing contingencies in the model. This leads us to an agenda for future research and practical implications in the final part of the chapter.

This chapter develops a theoretical model using the equifinality perspective to connect multiple systems of HR practices to alternative organizational structure types. We argue that firms following an exploitation strategy maintain competitive advantage through high levels of efficiency and reliability in production and delivery of existing products or services. Firms following an exploration strategy maintain a competitive advantage through continuous innovation and knowledge exchange and combination. Hence, organizations are more likely to successfully execute either strategy by implementing an HR system that would create the organizational structural characteristics that support the workforce requirements of the chosen strategy.

Although a need for innovative approaches to the strategic management of human resources (HR) has been identified, many firms continue to rely solely on their HR information systems instead of adapting to the digital consumer with innovative tools and digital HR management (d-HRM). This research aims to evaluate critically the degree of digital innovation of HR practices in the Irish hotel industry.

For this qualitative study, a total of 10 semi-structured interviews were conducted with key personnel at both corporate and property level HR in the two largest Irish hotel groups.

Findings show an overall lack of technological innovation and most of the principal HR activities are digitalised to a very limited extent. In addition, the perception of the degree of digitalisation varies significantly between the managers in both organisations.

In order to attract digital natives and to increase their competitiveness within the sector, Irish hotel corporations will need to invest significantly in innovation within their HR departments to capitalise on the strategic and operational advantages of d-HRM. Thus, a more strategic approach towards HR innovation is needed.

This chapter operationalises the concept of HR innovation in the context of the hotel industry; it analyses the key HR activities in hotel operations with regard to the extent to which they are digitalised; and it develops a model of HR digitalisation that can be applied to the hotel and other industries. This research, therefore, contributes to the existing body of knowledge on HR innovation with a specific focus on the hotel industry.

When a firm implements certain HR practices, different employees attribute different motives and intentions to the firm with regard to those HR practices. Research on HR attributions has made progress toward understanding the relationship between HR practices and employee outcomes from a process perspective. However, this research is still fragmented and lacks a systematic typology of the different types of HR attributions and a compelling organizing research framework. Furthermore, a number of research gaps and opportunities have emerged regarding the nomological net of employee HR attributions. To address the gaps and capitalize on the opportunities, the authors propose an overarching theory-driven multi-level framework that guides the choice of the antecedents and outcomes of employee HR attributions and explains their relationships along with both mediating and moderating mechanisms. Drawing on signaling theory embedded in the proposed framework, the authors identify and categorize various antecedents of employee HR attributions to explain their relationships. The authors also use several additional theories such as social exchange and the job demands–resources model included in their review to identify and categorize various outcomes of employee HR attributions across levels of analysis (i.e., individual, collective [team/group/unit], organization) and explain their relationships. In addition, the proposed framework explains how individual-level employee HR attributions emerge at the collective level and influence collective processes and outcomes. The authors end their review by pinpointing future research needs and discussing related future research directions.

This paper investigates effective human-robot collaboration (HRC) and presents implications for Human Resource Management (HRM). A brief review of current literature on HRM in the smart industry context showed that there is limited research on HRC in hybrid teams and even less on effective management of these teams. This book chapter addresses this issue by investigating factors affecting intention to collaborate with a robot by conducting a vignette study. We hypothesized that six technology acceptance factors, performance expectancy, trust, effort expectancy, social support, organizational support and computer anxiety would significantly affect a users' intention to collaborate with a robot. Furthermore, we hypothesized a moderating effect of a particular HR system, either productivity-based or collaborative. Using a sample of 96 participants, this study tested the effect of the aforementioned factors on a users' intention to collaborate with the robot. Findings show that performance expectancy, organizational support and computer anxiety significantly affect the intention to collaborate with a robot. A significant moderating effect of a particular HR system was not found. Our findings expand the current technology acceptance models in the context of HRC. HRM can support effective HRC by a combination of comprehensive training and education, empowerment and incentives supported by an appropriate HR system.

Organizational behavior scholars have long recognized the importance of a variety of emotion-related phenomena in everyday work life. Indeed, after three decades, the span of research on emotions in the workplace encompasses a wide variety of affective variables such as emotional climate, emotional labor, emotion regulation, positive and negative affect, empathy, and more recently, specific emotions. Emotions operate in complex ways across multiple levels of analysis (i.e., within-person, between-person, interpersonal, group, and organizational) to exert influence on work behavior and outcomes, but their linkages to human resource management (HRM) policies and practices have not always been explicit or well understood. This chapter offers a review and integration of the bourgeoning research on discrete positive and negative emotions, offering insights about why these emotions are relevant to HRM policies and practices. We review some of the dominant theories that have emerged out of functionalist perspectives on emotions, connecting these to a strategic HRM framework. We then define and describe four discrete positive and negative emotions (fear, pride, guilt, and interest) highlighting how they relate to five HRM practices: (1) selection, (2) training/learning, (3) performance management, (4) incentives/rewards, and (5) employee voice. Following this, we discuss the emotion perception and regulation implications of these and other discrete emotions for leaders and HRM managers. We conclude with some challenges associated with understanding discrete emotions in organizations as well as some opportunities and future directions for improving our appreciation and understanding of the role of discrete emotional experiences in HRM.