The Effect of Aligning Business Strategy and Human Resource Management Practices on Organizational Outcomes
Open Access
Author:
Krone, Samantha A
Area of Honors:
Labor and Employment Relations
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Xiangmin Liu, Thesis Supervisor Alan V Derickson, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
strategic human resource management contingency theory training job discretion customer satisfaction employee turnover
Abstract:
This research explores the relationship between business strategy, human resource
management (HRM) practices, and organizational outcomes through two studies. The first study
provides a practitioner’s perspective into the relationship between the business strategy and
HRM practices and the challenges and opportunities managers face when aligning the two. The
practitioner’s perspective was captured through short interviews with human resource (HR)
managers and other business leaders. This portion of the research shows common patterns that
help HR leaders in alignment, such as fostering good relationships with key business leaders,
having an understanding of the business, and taking part in strategic planning. The second study
tests the contingency theory of strategic human resource management to understand if the
relationship between HRM practices and organizational outcomes is contingent on business
strategy. Data were collected through an online questionnaire completed by call center general
managers in China. The results indicate that price leadership strategy has a significant
moderating effect on the relationship between job discretion and employee turnover.
