Alternatives to Generic Strategy Typologies in Strategic Human Resource Management
Alternatives to Generic Typologies in SHRM 1
ALTERNATIVES TO GENERIC STRATEGY TYPOLOGIES IN STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Clint Chadwick Peter Cappelli
Management Department The Wharton School University of Pennsylvania 3620 Locust Walk, Suite 2000 SH-DH Philadelphia, PA 19104 phone: (215) 898-6598 fax: (215) 898-0401
Forthcoming in Wright, Dyer, Boudreau, and Milkovich (eds.), Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
Alternatives to Generic Typologies in SHRM 2
RUNNING HEAD: Alternatives to Generic Typologies in SHRM
Alternatives to Generic Typologies in SHRM 3
ABSTRACT The common use of generic strategy typologies in strategic human resource management (SHRM), such as the typology proposed by Michael Porter (1980), is inaccurate and probably obsolete. SHRM research that examines the performance effects of human resource (HR) systems does not need to invoke the strategy construct in order to fulfill its goals. SHRM research that uses organizations' strategies to predict their HR practices or which explore the effects of fit between HR systems and strategies should use measures of strategic content which are well grounded in issues pertinent to their specific empirical contexts. Alternatively, SHRM research can embrace dynamic perspectives of strategy, which will shed light on how human resource systems become strategically valuable organizational capabilities.
Alternatives to Generic Typologies in SHRM 4
It is fashionable to raise questions about the viability of Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) as a research field because, while the topic is provocative, the research stream has had mixed results. One of the most common complaints is that empirical studies lag far behind SHRM's theoretic underpinnings (e.g., Dyer and Reeves 1995). Such situations are common for complex topics, of course, where it can be easier to craft models than to test them. However, the extent to which
ALTERNATIVES TO GENERIC STRATEGY TYPOLOGIES IN STRATEGIC HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Clint Chadwick Peter Cappelli
Management Department The Wharton School University of Pennsylvania 3620 Locust Walk, Suite 2000 SH-DH Philadelphia, PA 19104 phone: (215) 898-6598 fax: (215) 898-0401
Forthcoming in Wright, Dyer, Boudreau, and Milkovich (eds.), Research in Personnel and Human Resources Management, Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
Alternatives to Generic Typologies in SHRM 2
RUNNING HEAD: Alternatives to Generic Typologies in SHRM
Alternatives to Generic Typologies in SHRM 3
ABSTRACT The common use of generic strategy typologies in strategic human resource management (SHRM), such as the typology proposed by Michael Porter (1980), is inaccurate and probably obsolete. SHRM research that examines the performance effects of human resource (HR) systems does not need to invoke the strategy construct in order to fulfill its goals. SHRM research that uses organizations' strategies to predict their HR practices or which explore the effects of fit between HR systems and strategies should use measures of strategic content which are well grounded in issues pertinent to their specific empirical contexts. Alternatively, SHRM research can embrace dynamic perspectives of strategy, which will shed light on how human resource systems become strategically valuable organizational capabilities.
Alternatives to Generic Typologies in SHRM 4
It is fashionable to raise questions about the viability of Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM) as a research field because, while the topic is provocative, the research stream has had mixed results. One of the most common complaints is that empirical studies lag far behind SHRM's theoretic underpinnings (e.g., Dyer and Reeves 1995). Such situations are common for complex topics, of course, where it can be easier to craft models than to test them. However, the extent to which