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Chief human resources officers on top management teams: an empirical analysis of contingency, institutional, and homophily antecedents

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  • Magdalena Abt

    (Technische Universität Berlin, Faculty VII, H92)

  • Dodo zu Knyphausen-Aufseß

    (Technische Universität Berlin, Faculty VII, H92)

Abstract

Having the director of human resources (HR) as a member of the top management team (TMT) and giving him/her the title of chief human resources officer (CHRO) indicates an important strategic and symbolic choice. Such decisions not only determine who participates in controlling an organization and setting its strategic direction, but also reflect the organizational structure. In this paper, we examine the antecedents of CHRO presence according to the contingency, institutional, and homophily theories. Based on a multi-industry sample of 215 firms that considers a 10-year period, we find that the presence of a CHRO is influenced by the rates of unionization, rapid declines or increases in numbers of employees, the employment of a new or outsider chief executive officer (CEO), and the institutionalization of the CHRO position in the industry or firm. However, we find no evidence of the presumed influence of knowledge intensity or the CEO or TMT human resource management (HRM) experience. Overall, we find that the institutional theory has the highest explanatory power regarding the existence of CHRO positions.

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  • Magdalena Abt & Dodo zu Knyphausen-Aufseß, 2017. "Chief human resources officers on top management teams: an empirical analysis of contingency, institutional, and homophily antecedents," Business Research, Springer;German Academic Association for Business Research, vol. 10(1), pages 49-77, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:busres:v:10:y:2017:i:1:d:10.1007_s40685-016-0039-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s40685-016-0039-2
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    2. Olivia Fachrunnisa & Ardian Adhiatma & Heru Kurnianto Tjahjono, 2020. "Cognitive Collective Engagement: Relating Knowledge-Based Practices and Innovation Performance," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 11(2), pages 743-765, June.
    3. Stefan Schmid & Simon Mitterreiter, 2020. "International Top Managers on Corporate Boards: Dissimilarity and Tenure," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 60(5), pages 787-825, October.
    4. Nina Engels & Denise Fischer-Kreer & Malte Brettel, 2022. "CHRO firm dinosaur versus CHRO role gorilla: the effect of CHRO company and role tenure on firms’ social performance," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 92(6), pages 929-954, August.

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