Tipping the scales: ambidexterity practices on e-HRM projects

Purpose: We examine and conceptualise the ways in which a balance can be achieved between optimising the efficiency and effectiveness of electronic HRM (e-HRM) systems for human resource management (HRM) and enabling innovation to occur during the system implementation. Design/methodology/approach: An intepretive case study of a UK local authority e-HRM system implementation is examined using the notion of ambidexterity as an analytical device. Ambidexterity relates to how an organisation develops the ability to operate efficiently in the now, while at the same time being able to adapt to environmental changes around and ahead of them in order to grow into the future. Findings: As an intra-organisational capability, ambidexterity is found to derive from the simultaneous interplay and balancing of dual capabilities: exploitation and exploration.. E-HRM exploitation concerned the capability to generate new knowledge with innovatory effects, created through the everyday practices performed by practitioners at all levels in the organisation. E-HRM exploration, rather than being a purposeful act, was found to be an accidental consequence of engaging in exploitation to maintain the status quo. Originality/value: There is a lack of detailed investigation of how organisations actually achieve ambidexterity, particularly in three under-researched areas: ambidexterity in the public sector, at HR functional level and e-HRM systems implementation. Bundling these three areas into an integrated examination allows us to both identify how exploitation and exploration play out in the ambidextrous practices of an e-HRM project and also to identify the dimensions of ambidexterity in balancing e-HRM work

The Unexpected Side Of Relational E-Hrm: Developing Trust in the Hr Department

Purpose - This paper examines whether the organizational redesign opportunities currently offered by web-based technological innovations contribute to rebuilding and strengthening the employee-HR department relationship, rendering personnel management policy criteria more transparent, increasing perceived fairness and thus helping to instil trust in the HR department, albeit in a diverse virtual context. Design/methodology/approach - We designed a survey involving 526 Gen Y employees and tested our hypotheses using structural equation modelling analyses. Findings - The results confirm a positive relationship between relational e-HRM system adoption, procedural justice and trust in the HR department. Research limitations/implications - The results provide evidence that technology can support the development of institutional trust in virtual environments and thus contribute to the growing e-HRM literature, to the more consolidated Strategic HRM research domain and to the debate on trust in technology-mediated relationships. Practical implications - The paper provides valuable and at times unexpected results on the new potential role of the HR department in the current fluid and insecure labour market, thereby forming the basis for defining some useful guidelines to design and implement the e-HRM architecture. Originality/value - The paper focuses on understanding how relational e-HRM could impact on the direct employee-HR department relationship, from the Gen Y employees perspective, that is almost neglected in the growing literature. Moreover it suggests some unexpected insights on the role of technology innovativeness in moderating the impact of e-HRM on trust in the HR department