The Right Strategy? Examining the Business Partner Model's Functionality for Resolving Human Resource Management Tensions and Discussing Alternative Directions
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online August, 2015
The Right Strategy? Examining the Business Partner Model's Functionality for Resolving Human Resource Management Tensions and Discussing Alternative Directions
A large number of organizations restructured their Human Resource Management (HRM)
departments according to their interpretation of Ulrich's (1997) business partner model
into strategic business partners, centers of expertise and shared service centers. I argue
that this approach could gain widespread acceptance in organizational practice because of
its functionality in addressing tensions inherent in HRM. I relate to paradox research and
categorize contradictory HRM demands into tensions of (1) identity, (2) learning, (3)
performing and (4) organizing. The implementation of the business partner model resolves
these tensions in the short-term by addressing the opposing forces separately. Yet, these
resolution strategies are not sustainable and threaten the long-term impact of HRM. I
discuss the shortcomings of the business partner model and explore how organizational
actors can reframe HRM work to embrace the multifaceted nature of HRM.
AdlerP.
S. (2003). Making the HR
outsourcing decision. MIT Sloan Management Review,
45, 52–61.
2.
AgarwalaT.
(2003). Innovative human resource practices and
organizational commitment: An empirical investigation.
International Journal of Human Resource Management,
14, 175–197.
3.
AnanthramS.NankervisA.ChanC.
(2013). Strategic human asset management: Evidence from
North America. Personnel Review, 42,
281–299.
4.
AndriopoulosC.LewisM. W.
(2010). Managing innovation paradoxes: Ambidexterity lessons
from leading product design companies. Long Range
Planning, 43,
104–122.
5.
AppS.MerkJ.BüttgenM.
(2012). Employer branding: Sustainable HRM as a competitive
advantage in the market for high-quality employees. Management
Revue, 23, 262–278, doi:
10.1688/1861–9908_mrev_2012_03_App.
6.
ArmstrongM.
(2000). The name has changed but has the game remained the
same?Employee Relations, 22,
576–593.
7.
BairdL.MeshoulamI.
(1988). Managing two fits of strategic human resource
management. Academy of Management Review,
13, 116–128.
8.
BaronJ. N.BielbyW. T.
(1986). The proliferation of job titles in
organizations. Administrative Science Quarterly,
31, 561–586.
BeechN.BurnsH.de CaesteckerL.MacIntoshR.MacLeanD.
(2004). Paradox as invitation to act in problematic change
situations. Human Relations, 57,
1313–1332.
11.
BeerM.
(1997). The transformation of the human resource function:
Resolving the tension between a traditional administrative and a new strategic
role. Human Resource Management, 36,
49–56.
12.
BoglindA.HällsténF.ThilanderP.
(2011). HR transformation and shared services: Adoption and
adaptation in Swedish organisations. Personnel Review,
40, 570–588.
13.
BoselieP.BrewsterC.PaauweJ.
(2009). In search of balance – managing the dualities of
HRM: An overview of the issues. Personnel Review,
38, 461–471.
14.
BoveA.EmpsonE. M.
(2013). An irreconcilable crisis? The paradoxes of strategic
operational optimization and the antinomies of counter-crisis ethics.
Business Ethics: A European Review, 22,
68–85.
15.
BoxallP.
(1996). The strategic HRM debate and the resource-based view
of the firm. Human Resource Management Journal,
6, 59–75.
16.
BrinerR. B.DenyerD.RousseauD. M.
(2009). Evidence-based management: Concept cleanup
time?Academy of Management Perspectives, 23,
19–32.
17.
BrockbankW.UlrichD.
(2003). Competencies for the new HR. Ann
Arbor: University of
Michigan.
18.
ButlerM. G.CallahanC. M.
(2014). Human resource outsourcing: Market and operating
performance effects of administrative HR functions. Journal of
Business Research, 67,
218–224.
19.
BuyensD.De VosA.
(2001). Perceptions of the value of the HR
function. Human Resource Management Journal,
11, 53–89.
20.
CaldwellR.
(2002). A change of name or a change of
identity?Personnel Review, 31,
693–709.
21.
CaldwellR.
(2003). The changing roles of personnel managers: Old
ambiguities, new uncertainties. Journal of Management
Studies, 40,
983–1004.
22.
CaldwellR.
(2008). HR business partner competency models:
Re-contextualising effectiveness. Human Resource Management
Journal, 18,
275–294.
CharanR.
(2014). It's time to split HR.
Harvard Business Review, 92(7/8),
34.
25.
ClevelandJ. N.ByrneZ. S.CavanaghT. M.
(2015). The future of HR is RH: Respect for humanity at
work. Human Resource Management Review,
25, 146–161.
26.
CohenD.
J. (2015). HR past,
present and future: A call for consistent practices and a focus on
competencies. Human Resource Management Review,
25, 205–215.
27.
CombsJ.LiuY.HallA.KetchenD.
(2006). How much do high-performance work practices matter?
A meta-analysis of their effects on organizational performance.
Personnel Psychology, 59,
501–528.
28.
CommonsJ.
(1919). Industrial goodwill. New
York: McGraw-Hill.
29.
ConklinD.
W. (2005). Risks and
rewards in HR business process outsourcing. Long Range
Planning, 38,
579–598.
30.
CookeF.
L. (2006). Modeling an
HR shared services center: Experience of an MNC in the United Kingdom.
Human Resource Management, 45,
211–227.
31.
CookeF. L.ShenJ.McBrideA.
(2005). Outsourcing HR as a competitive strategy? A
literature review and an assessment of implications. Human
Resource Management, 44,
413–432.
32.
Cranet (2012).
Cranet survey on comparative human resource management. International Executive
Report 2011. Cranfield:
Cranfield School of Management.
33.
CunninghamI.HymanJ.
(1995). Devolving human resource responsibilities down the
line: Beginning of the end or a new beginning of personnel?Personnel Review, 28(1/2),
9–27.
34.
DelbridgeR.KeenoyT.
(2010). Beyond managerialism?International Journal of Human Resource Management, 21,
799–817.
35.
Deloitte (2014).
Global human capital trends 2014. Engaging the 21st-century workforce.
London:
Deloitte.
36.
DeNisiA. S.WilsonM. S.BitemanJ.
(2014). Research and practice in HRM: A historical
perspective. Human Resource Management Review,
24, 219–231.
37.
De PrinsP.Van BeirendonckL.De VosA.SegersJ.
(2014). Sustainable HRM: Bridging theory and practice
through the ‘Respect Openness Continuity (ROC)’-model.
Management Revue, 25,
263–284, doi: 10.1688/mrev-2014-04-Prins.
38.
DGFP (2011).
DGFP Studie: Megatrends und HR Trends. Düsseldorf:
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Personalführung (DGFP).
39.
EdmondsonA. C.SingerS. J.
(2012). Confronting the tension between learning and
performance. Reflections, 11,
34–43.
40.
EhnertI.
(2009). Sustainable human resource management. A conceptual and
exploratory analysis from a paradox perspective.
Heidelberg: Physica Verlag
Springer.
41.
EhnertI.
(2014). Paradox as a lens for theorizing sustainable
HRM. In EhnertI.HarryW.ZinkK. J.
(Eds.), Sustainability and Human Resource Management (pp.
247–271). Berlin:
Springer.
42.
EhnertI.ParsaS.RoperI.WagnerM.Müller-CamenM.
(2015). Reporting on sustainability and HRM: A comparative
study of sustainability reporting practices by the world's largest
companies. International Journal of Human Resource
Management, doi:10.1080/09585192.2015.1024157.
43.
FerrisG. R.HochwarterW. A.BuckleyM. R.Harrell-CookG.FrinkD. D.
(1999). Human Resources Management: Some new
directions. Journal of Management, 25,
385–415.
44.
FestingM.
(2012). Strategic human resource management in Germany:
Evidence of convergence to the U.S. Model, the European model, or a distinctive national
model?Academy of Management Perspectives, 26,
37–54.
45.
FrancisH.KeeganA.
(2006). The changing face of HRM: In search of
balance. Human Resource Management Journal,
16, 231–249.
46.
FrancisH.ParkesC.ReddingtonM.
(2014). E-HR and international HRM: A critical perspective
on the discursive framing of e-HR. The International Journal of
Human Resource Management, 25,
1327–1350.
47.
GiardiniA.KabstR.Müller-CamenM.
(2005). HRM in the German business system: A
review. Management Revue, 16,
63–80.
48.
GillC.
(1999). Use of hard and soft models of HRM to illustrate the
gap between rhetoric and reality in workforce management.
Working Paper Series. Retrieved April 20, 2015, from http://mams.rmit.edu.au/d4lhtsmk45c.pdf.
49.
GrantA. M.BergJ. M.CableD. M.
(2014). Job titles as identity badges: How self-reflective
titles can reduce emotional exhaustion. Academy of Management
Journal, 57,
1201–1225.
50.
GreerC. R.YoungbloodS. A.GrayD. A.
(1999). Human Resource Management outsourcing: The make or
buy decision. Academy of Management Executive,
13, 85–96.
51.
GuestD.
(1987). Human resource management and industrial
relations. Journal of Management Studies,
24, 503–521.
52.
GuestD.ConwayN.
(2011). The impact of HR practices, HR effectiveness and a
‘strong HR system’ on organisational outcomes: A stakeholder
perspective. International Journal of Human Resource
Management, 22,
1686–1702.
53.
HaileyV. H.FarndaleE.TrussC.
(2006). The HR department's role in organisational
performance. Human Resource Management Journal,
15, 49–66.
54.
HallL.TorringtonD.
(1998). Letting go or holding on – The devolution of
operational personnel activities. Human Resource Management
Journal, 8,
41–55.
55.
HammondsK.
(2005). Why we hate HR. Fast
Company, 97,
40–47.
56.
Hay Group (2013).
Die Zukunft von HR [The future of HR]. Frankfurt a.
M.: Hay Group.
57.
HirdM.SparrowP.R.MarshC.
(2010). HR structures: Are they working? In
SparrowP.R.HirdM.HeskethA.CooperC.
(Eds.), Leading HR (pp. 23–45).
London: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Institute for Employment Studies
(2007). Human resources, organisational development and workforce
development in the NHS: A review of recent research. Retrieved April 20, 2015,
from http://chain.ulcc.ac.uk/chain/documents/NHSI_HR_REPORT.pdf.
60.
JanssenM.JohaA.
(2006). Motives for establishing shared service centers in
public administrations. International Journal of Information
Management, 26,
102–115.
61.
JarzabkowskiP.LêJ.Van de VenA.
H. (2013). Responding to
competing strategic demands: How organizing, belonging, and performing paradoxes
coevolve. Strategic Organization, 0,
1–36.
62.
JayJ.
(2013). Navigating paradox as a mechanism of change and
innovation in hybrid organizations. Academy of Management
Journal, 56,
137–159.
63.
JohnsonC.
(1999). Changing shapes: Trends in human resource
reorganizations. HR Magazine,
44(3),
40–48.
64.
JorgensenF.BeckerK. L.MatthewsJ. H.
(2011). The HRM practices of innovative knowledge-intensive
firms. International Journal of Technology Management,
56, 123–137.
65.
KaifengJ.LepakD. P.JiaJ.BaerJ. C.
(2012). How does human resource management influence
organizational outcomes? A meta-analytic investigation of mediating
mechanisms. Academy of Management Journal,
55, 1264–1294.
66.
KeeganA.BoselieP.
(2006). The lack of impact of dissensus inspired analysis on
developments in the field of human resource management. Journal
of Management Studies, 43,
1491–1511.
67.
KeeganA.FrancisH.
(2010). Practitioner talk: The changing textscape of HRM and
emergence of HR business partnership. International Journal of
Human Resource Management, 21,
873–898.
KlaasB. S.McClendonJ.GaineyT. W.
(2006). HR outsourcing and its impact: The role of
transaction costs. Personnel Psychology,
52, 113–136.
70.
KozicaA.BrandlJ.
(2015). Handling paradoxical tensions through conventions:
The case of performance appraisal. Zeitschrift für
Personalforschung (German Journal of Research in Human Resource Management),
29, 49–68, doi:
10.1688/ZfP-2015-01-Kozica.
71.
KramarR.
(2014). Beyond strategic human resource management: Is
sustainable human resource management the next approach?International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25,
1069–1089.
72.
KulikC. T.PerryE. L.
(2008). When less is more: The effect of devolution on HR's
strategic role and construed image. Human Resource
Management, 47,
541–558.
73.
LambertA.
(2009). The effective HR business partner.
London: Corporate Research
Forum.
74.
LaursenK.FossN.
(2003). New Human Resource Management practices,
complementarities, and impact on innovation performance.
Cambridge Journal of Economics, 27,
243–263.
75.
LeggeK.
(1978). Power, innovation and problem-solving in personnel
management. London:
McGraw-Hill.
76.
LeggeK.ExleyM.
(1975). Authority, ambiguity and adaptation: The personnel
specialist's dilemma. Industrial Relations Journal,
6, 51–65.
77.
LewisM.
(2000). Exploring paradox: Toward a more comprehensive
guide. Academy of Management Review,
25, 760–776.
78.
LewisM. W.AndriopoulosC.SmithW. K.
(2014). Paradoxical leadership to enable strategic
agility. California Management Review,
56(3),
58–77.
79.
LuscherL.LewisM.
(2008). Organizational change and managerial sensemaking:
Working through paradox. Academy of Management Journal,
51, 221–240.
80.
MaraveliasC.
(2009). Make your presence known! Post-bureaucracy, HRM and
the fear of being unseen. Personnel Review,
8, 349–365.
81.
MarchJ.
G. (1991). Exploration
and exploitation in organizational learning. Organization
Science, 2,
71–87.
82.
MarchingtonM.
(2015). Human resource management (HRM): Too busy looking up
to see where it is going longer term?Human Resource Management Review, doi:
10.1016/j.hrmr.2015.01.007.
83.
MarchingtonM.RuberyJ.GrimshawD.
(2011). Alignment, integration and consistency in HRM across
organisational boundaries. Human Resource Management,
50, 313–339.
84.
MariappanadarS.
(2003). Sustainable human resource management: The
sustainable and unsustainable dilemmas of downsizing.
International Journal of Social Economics, 30,
906–923.
85.
McConvilleT.
(2006). Devolved HRM responsibilities, middle-managers and
role dissonance. Personnel Review, 35,
637–653.
86.
MitchellR.ObeidatS.BrayM.
(2013). The effect of strategic human resource management on
organizational performance: The mediating role of high-performance human resource
practices. Human Resource Management,
52, 899–921.
87.
NienhueserW.
(2011). Empirical research on human resource management as a
production of ideology. Management Revue,
22, 367–393, doi:
10.1688/1861–9908_mrev_2011_04_Nienhueser.
88.
PaceD.
(2006). Commentary on “Radical HRM innovation and
competitive advantage: The Moneyball story”. Human Resource
Management, 45,
140–142.
89.
PeacockL.
(2007). Coca-Cola business partner plan is hailed as ‘next
generation’ HR. Personnel Today, 5, 2.
90.
PooleM.Van de VenA.
H. (1989). Using paradox
to build management and organization theories. Academy of
Management Review, 14,
562–578.
91.
PricewaterhouseCoopers
(2012). Baustelle HR-Businesspartner-Organisation [Construction
site HR Businesspartner Organisation]. Frankfurt a.
M.:
PricewaterhouseCoopers.
92.
PritchardK.
(2010). Becoming an HR strategic partner: Tales of
transition. Human Resource Management Journal,
20, 175–188.
93.
PutnamL. L.MyersK. K.GailliardB. M.
(2014). Examining the tensions in workplace flexibility and
exploring options for new directions. Human Relations,
67, 413–440.
94.
RedmanT.SnapeE.WassJ.HamiltonP.
(2007). Evaluating the human resource shared services model:
Evidence from the NHS. International Journal of Human Resource
Management, 18,
1486–1506.
95.
ReichelA.LazarovaM.
(2013). The effects of outsourcing and devolvement on the
strategic position of HR departments. Human Resource
Management, 52,
923–946.
96.
ReillyP.TamkinP.BroughtonA.
(2007). The changing HR function: Transforming HR research into
practice?London: Chartered Institute of Personnel
and Development.
97.
RenwickD.
(2003). Line manager involvement in HRM: An inside
view. Employee Relations, 25,
262–280.
SantangeloG. D.PiniP.
(2011). New HRM practices and exploitative innovation: A
shopfloor level analysis. Industry & Innovation,
18, 611–630.
100.
SavanevicieneA.StankeviciuteZ.
(2013). Relabeling or new approach: Theoretical insights
regarding personnel management and human resource management.
Engineering Economics, 24,
234–243.
101.
SchrankV.
(2015). Das Ulrich-HR-Modell in Deutschland [The Ulrich-HR-Model in
Germany]. Wiesbaden:
Springer.
102.
SheehanC.CooperB. K.
(2011). HRM outsourcing: The impact of organisational size
and HRM strategic involvement. Personnel Review,
40, 742–760.
103.
SheehanC.De CieriH.GreenwoodM.Van BurenH. J.
(2014). HR professional role tensions: Perceptions and
responses of the top management team. Human Resource
Management, 53,
115–130.
104.
ShiptonH.WestM. A.DawsonJ.BirdiK.PattersonM.
(2006). HRM as a predictor of innovation.
Human Resource Management Journal, 16,
3–27.
105.
ShivakumarR.
(2014). How to tell which decisions are
strategic. California Management Review,
56, 78–97.
106.
SingerS. J.EdmondsonA. C.
(2008). When learning and performance are at odds:
Confronting the tension. In KumarP.RamseyP.
(Eds.), Learning and performance matter (pp.
33–61). Hackensack, NJ:
World Scientific Books.
107.
SmithK. K.BergD. N.
(1987). Paradoxes of group life. San
Francisco: Josey-Bass.
108.
SmithW. K.LewisM. W.
(2011). Toward a theory of paradox: A dynamic equilibrium
model of organizing. Academy of Management Review,
36, 381–403.
109.
SmithW. K.TushmanM. L.
(2005). Managing strategic contradictions: A top management
model for managing innovation streams. Organization
Science, 16,
522–536.
110.
SomA.
(2012). Organizational response through innovative HRM and
re-design: A comparative study from France and India.
International Journal of Human Resource Management,
23, 952–976.
111.
StawB. M.EpsteinL. D.
(2000). What bandwagons bring: Effects of popular management
techniques on corporate performance, reputation, and CEO pay.
Administrative Science Quarterly, 45,
523–556.
112.
SteersI.
(2008). HR fables: Schizophrenia, selling your soul in
dystopia, fuck the employees, and sleepless nights. Business
Ethics: A European Review, 17,
391–404.
113.
StoreyJ.
(1992). Developments in the management of human resources.
Oxford:
Blackwell.
114.
StrangD.MacyM. W.
(1999). “In search of excellence”: Fads, success stories,
and communication bias. Academy of Management Proceedings &
Membership Directory, F1–F6.
115.
StrohL. K.TreehuboffD.
(2003). Outsourcing HR functions: When – and when not – to
go outside. Journal of Leadership & Organizational
Studies, 10,
19–28.
116.
SvobodaM.SchröderS.
(2001). Transforming human resources in the new economy:
Developing the next generation of global HR managers at Deutsche Bank
AG. Human Resource Management, 40,
261–273.
117.
TorringtonD.HallL.TaylorS.
(2005). Ethics and corporate social
responsibility. In TorringtonD.HallL.TaylorS.
(Eds.), Human resource management. 6th edition (pp.
715–734). Upper Saddle River,
NJ: Prentice Hall.
118.
Towers Watson (2011).
Achieving a successful HR-Business Partnership: A Towers Watson and Rabobank
case study. Melbourne: Towers
Watson.
119.
TrussC.GrattonL.Hope-HaileyV.McGovernP.StilesP.
(1997). Soft and hard models of human resource management: A
reappraisal. Journal of Management Studies,
34, 53–73.
120.
TurnerR.
(1990). Role change. Annual review
of sociology, 16,
87–110.
121.
UlrichD.
(1997). Human resource champions. Boston,
MA: Harvard Business School
Press.
122.
UlrichD.
(1998). Delivering results: A new mandate for human resource
professionals. Boston, MA:
Harvard Business School Press.
Van BurenH. J.GreenwoodM.SheehanC.
(2011). Strategic human resource management and the decline
of employee focus. Human Resource Management Review,
21, 209–219.
130.
VosburghR.
M. (2007). The evolution
of HR: Developing HR as an internal consulting organization.
Human Resource Planning, 10,
11–23.
WolfeR.
A. (1995). Human
resource management innovations: Determinants of their adoption and
implementation. Human Resource Management,
34, 313–327.
133.
WolfeR.WrightP. M.SmartD. L.
(2006). Radical HRM innovation and competitive advantage:
The Moneyball story. Human Resource Management,
45, 111–126.
134.
WootenK. C.EldenM.
(2001). Cogenerating a competency based HRM degree: A model
and some lessons from experience. Journal of Management
Education, 25,
231–257.
