IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pdn/dispap/47.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

HR Integration, HR Strategy, and HR Partnership - Comparing the "Strategic Partner" between the USA and Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Klaas Szierbowski-Seibel

    (Paderborn University)

  • Marius Claus Wehner

    (Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf)

  • Rüdiger Kabst

    (Paderborn University)

Abstract

Previous research in HRM has repeatedly advocated for a stronger involvement of the HR function in strategy formulation processes and better cooperation with line managers because both promise positive organizational outcomes and competitive advantages. However, empirical evidence of a positive influence of stronger strategic involvement is still limited, especially for the contextual influence of HR strategy and the institutional environment in organizational processes. This study examines whether stronger strategic HR integration in strategy formulation and sharing responsibilities is beneficial for organizations that are located in two diverse institutional environments. Using the responses of 849 German and US-based organizations from the Cranet survey in 2008/2009, the results show that early HR integration into business strategy formulation facilitates the existence of a formal HR strategy. In turn, a formal HR strategy enhances the positive outcomes of sharing responsibilities between the HR function and line management (i.e., HR partnership), whereas HR strategy and business strategy do not appear to be complements for decreasing turnover. Finally, we find differences in the existence of a formal HR strategy and the relationship between HR partnership and turnover among German and US-based organizations.

Suggested Citation

  • Klaas Szierbowski-Seibel & Marius Claus Wehner & Rüdiger Kabst, 2019. "HR Integration, HR Strategy, and HR Partnership - Comparing the "Strategic Partner" between the USA and Germany," Working Papers Dissertations 47, Paderborn University, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:pdn:dispap:47
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://groups.uni-paderborn.de/wp-wiwi/RePEc/pdf/dispap/DP47.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tony Edwards & Paul Edwards & Anthony Ferner & Paul Marginson & Olga Tregaskis, 2010. "Multinational Companies and the Diffusion of Employment Practices from Outside the Country of Origin," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 50(5), pages 613-634, October.
    2. David E. Guest & Jonathan Michie & Neil Conway & Maura Sheehan, 2003. "Human Resource Management and Corporate Performance in the UK," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 41(2), pages 291-314, June.
    3. Stephen Nickell, 1997. "Unemployment and Labor Market Rigidities: Europe versus North America," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 11(3), pages 55-74, Summer.
    4. Wright, P.M. & McMahan, G.C. & McCormick, B. & Sherman, W.S., 1997. "Strategy, Core Competence and HR Involvement as Determinants of HR Effectiveness and Refinery Performance," Papers 97-16, Cornell - Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies.
    5. Dan‐Shang Wang & Chi‐Lih Shyu, 2008. "Will the strategic fit between business and HRM strategy influence HRM effectiveness and organizational performance?," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 29(2), pages 92-110, May.
    6. Angelo Giardini & Ruediger Kabst & Michael Muller-Camen, 2005. "HRM in the German Business System: A Review," management revue. Socio-economic Studies, Rainer Hampp Verlag, vol. 16(1), pages 63-80.
    7. Marc Goergen & Chris Brewster & Geoffrey Wood & Adrian Wilkinson, 2012. "Varieties of Capitalism and Investments in Human Capital," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51, pages 501-527, April.
    8. Birgit Verworn & Doreen Schwarz & Cornelius Herstatt, 2009. "Changing workforce demographics: strategies derived from the resource-based view of HRM," International Journal of Human Resources Development and Management, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 9(2/3), pages 149-161.
    9. Ingmar Björkman & Carl F Fey & Hyeon Jeong Park, 2007. "Institutional theory and MNC subsidiary HRM practices: evidence from a three-country study," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 38(3), pages 430-446, May.
    10. Tamer Khalil Darwish & Satwinder Singh, 2013. "Does strategic human resource involvement and devolvement enhance organisational performance?," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 34(6), pages 674-692, September.
    11. Eleni T. Stavrou & Chris Brewster, 2005. "The Configurational Approach to Linking Strategic Human Resource Management Bundles with Business Performance: Myth or Reality?," management revue - Socio-Economic Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 16(2), pages 186-201.
    12. Allan Blrd & Schon Beechler, 1995. "Links Between Business Strategy and Human Resource Management Strategy in U.S.-Based Japanese Subsidiaries: An Empirical Investigation," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 26(1), pages 23-46, March.
    13. Chris Brewster & Wolfgang Mayrhofer & Michael Morley (ed.), 2000. "New Challenges for European Human Resource Management," Palgrave Macmillan Books, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-0-230-59795-2, December.
    14. Raymond Caldwell, 2003. "The Changing Roles of Personnel Managers: Old Ambiguities, New Uncertainties," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 40(4), pages 983-1004, June.
    15. Angelo Giardini & Ruediger Kabst & Michael Muller-Camen, 2005. "HRM in the German Business System: A Review," management revue - Socio-Economic Studies, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 16(1), pages 63-80.
    16. Anthony Ferner & Phil Almond & Trevor Colling, 2005. "Institutional theory and the cross-national transfer of employment policy: the case of ‘workforce diversity’ in US multinationals," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 36(3), pages 304-321, May.
    17. Paul N Gooderham & Michael J Morley & Emma Parry & Eleni Stavrou, 2015. "National and firm-level drivers of the devolution of HRM decision making to line managers," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 46(6), pages 715-723, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Elaine Farndale & Chris Brewster & Paul Ligthart & Erik Poutsma, 2017. "The effects of market economy type and foreign MNE subsidiaries on the convergence and divergence of HRM," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 48(9), pages 1065-1086, December.
    2. Schröter, Oliver & Davoine, Eric, 2013. "Unterschiede in der institutionellen Einbettung der Arbeitsbeziehungen und Human Resource Management Praktiken zwischen Deutschland und der Schweiz: eine explorative Untersuchung in Schweizer Tochterg," Die Unternehmung - Swiss Journal of Business Research and Practice, Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, vol. 67(4), pages 364-390.
    3. Diep Thi Ngoc Nguyen & Stephen T. T. Teo & Marcus Ho, 2018. "Development of human resource management in Vietnam: A semantic analysis," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 35(1), pages 241-284, March.
    4. Kuipers, Ben S. & Giurge, Laura M., 2017. "Does alignment matter? The performance implications of HR roles connected to organizational strategy," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 115318, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    5. Anne Stevenot & Loris Guery & Geoffrey Wood & Chris Brewster, 2018. "Country of Origin Effects and New Financial Actors: Private Equity Investment and Work and Employment Practices of French Firms," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 56(4), pages 859-881, December.
    6. Lazarova, Mila & Peretz, Hilla & Fried, Yitzhak, 2017. "Locals know best? Subsidiary HR autonomy and subsidiary performance," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 52(1), pages 83-96.
    7. Fortwengel, Johann & Gutierrez Huerter O, Gabriela & Kostova, Tatiana, 2023. "Three decades of research on practice transfer in multinational firms: Past contributions and future opportunities," Journal of World Business, Elsevier, vol. 58(3).
    8. Johannes Meuer & Marlies Kluike & Uschi Backes-Gellner & Kerstin Pull, 2018. "Using expatriates for adapting subsidiaries' employment modes to different market economies: a comparative analysis of US subsidiaries in Germany, the UK and Switzerland," Working Papers 372, University of Zurich, Department of Business Administration (IBW).
    9. Song, Ji-Won, 2021. "How MNE subsidiaries transfer HRM practices in distant environments: A tale of two IKEA subsidiaries," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(2).
    10. Ananthram, Subramaniam & Chan, Christopher, 2013. "Challenges and strategies for global human resource executives: Perspectives from Canada and the United States," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(3), pages 223-233.
    11. Ihar Sahakiants, 2015. "DeSimone, R. L., Werner, J. M., Human Resource Development (6th International Edition), South-Western, Cengage Learning, 2012," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 55(3), pages 453-456, June.
    12. Stavrou, Eleni T. & Charalambous, Christakis & Spiliotis, Stelios, 2007. "Human resource management and performance: A neural network analysis," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 181(1), pages 453-467, August.
    13. Gammelgaard, Jens & McDonald, Frank & Stephan, Andreas & Tüselmann, Heinz & Dörrenbächer, Christoph, 2012. "The impact of increases in subsidiary autonomy and network relationships on performance," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 21(6), pages 1158-1172.
    14. Chul Chung & Masayuki Furusawa, 2015. "The HRM of Foreign MNCs Operating in Europe," John H Dunning Centre for International Business Discussion Papers jhd-dp2015-04, Henley Business School, University of Reading.
    15. Outila, Virpi & Fey, Carl F., 2022. "“We have performance appraisal every day and every hour”: Transferring performance management to Russia," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(2).
    16. Querbach, Stephanie & Waldkirch, Matthias & Kammerlander, Nadine, 2022. "Benefitting from benefits—A comparison of employee satisfaction in family and non-family firms," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 13(2).
    17. Festing, Marion & Sahakiants, Ihar, 2013. "Path-dependent evolution of compensation systems in Central and Eastern Europe: A case study of multinational corporation subsidiaries in the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(4), pages 373-389.
    18. Kassinis, George I. & Stavrou, Eleni T., 2013. "Non-standard work arrangements and national context," European Management Journal, Elsevier, vol. 31(5), pages 464-477.
    19. Bader, Anna Katharina & Froese, Fabian Jintae & Cooke, Fang Lee & Schuster, Tassilo, 2022. "Gender diversity management in foreign subsidiaries: A comparative study in Germany and Japan," Journal of International Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(3).
    20. Klaas Szierbowski-Seibel & Marius Claus Wehner & Rüdiger Kabst, 2019. "Outsourcing and Excellence of Core HR Practices: Comparing institutional mechanisms among market economies," Working Papers Dissertations 48, Paderborn University, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    HR partnership; strategic partner; HR strategy; HR integration; employee turnover; new institutionalism (keywords);
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pdn:dispap:47. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: WP-WiWi-Info (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/fwpadde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.