Bracing for MNC Competition through innovative HRM practices: The way ahead for Indian firms

Thunderbird International Business Review

Volumn 48, Issue 2, 2006, Pages 207-237

  Som, Ashok ^a,b  

^a ESSEC BUSINESS SCHOOL   (France)

^b Academy of Management   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 33845634275     PISSN: 10964762     EISSN: 15206874     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1002/tie.20093     Document Type: Article

References (31)

1. For a detailed discussion, see Kossek, E. (1987). Human resources management innovation. Human Resource Management, 26, 71-92;
2. Som. A., & Bouchikhi, H. (2003, April). What drives the adoption of SHRM in Indian companies? ESSEC Working Paper, DR-03009.
3. For a detailed review of the growing proactive nature of the HRM function, see Lengnick-Hall, C. A., & Lengnick-Hall, M. L. (1988). Strategic human resource management: A review of literature and proposed typology. Academy of Management Review, 13, 454-170;
4. Schuler, R., & Jackson. S. (1999). Strategic human resource management. London: Blackwell.
5. Although the field of strategic HRM has been discussed and debated in great detail in Western literature, it seems from existing Indian HRM literature that there is a time lag of about 8-10 years regarding development of personnel functions. For example, the shift from person nel management (industrial relations, administrative role of personnel function) to a more proactive strategic role of HRM function started in the West in the mid-1980s, while in India, the debate started in the 1990s with the adoption of the concept of human resource development (HRD). Only as a response to the liberalization of the Indian economy did both academicians and practitioners start to notice the direct implications of strategic HRM as a tool to bring about large-scale structural changes in organizations in order to cope with the challenges brought by the structural adjustments. The difference between personnel management and HRM strategies have been discussed from mid-1990s. Recently the discussion on creation of creative and innovative HRM processes and the role of HR in managing the change process have taken the center stage. In Budhwar, P. (2000). Indian and British personnel specialists' understanding of the dynamics of their function: An empirical study. International Business Review, 9, 727-753,
6. the author has reported that 70.80% respondents agreed that because of liberalization of the Indian economy, there is increased competition, and therefore there is a need to make employees more creative and innovative and keep them motivated. Also, 29.16% of the respondents said that there is a gradual shift toward taking care of people and emphasizing behavioral skills and group activities (i.e., realization of importance of HRs; p. 735). For more detailed discussion, see Budhwar. P., & Sparrow. P. (1997). Evaluating levels of strategic integration and development of human resource management in India. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 8, 476-494;
7. Budhwar. P., & Sparrow. P. (2002). Strategic HRM through the cultural looking glass: Mapping the cognition of British and Indian managers. Organization Studies, 23, 599-638.
8. For a detailed discussion of liberalization, redesigning, and restructuring of organizations, sec Som, A. (2002). Role of human resource management in organizational redesign. Unpublished doctoral thesis, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India;
9. Som, A. (2003). Building sustainable organizations through restructuring: Role of organizational character in France and India. International Journal of Human Resource Development and Management, 3(1), 2-16;
10. Som, A. (2003). Redesigning the human resource function at Lafarge. Human Resource Management, 42, 271-288;
11. Som, A. (2005). Mahut Group: A failed case of organizational restructuring, Asia Case Research Journal, 9(1), 1-23;
12. Som, A. (2004). Strategic organizational response of an Indo-Japanese joint venture to India's economic liberalization. Keio Business Forum, 22(1), 1-14.
13. For a discussion, see Prahalad, C. K., & Liberthal, K. (1998). The end of corporate imperialism. Harvard Business Review 76, 68-79;
14. Prahalad, C. K., & Hart, S. L. (2002). The fortune at the bottom of the pyramid. Strategy + Business, 26, 1-14.
15. For a detailed discussion, see Khandwalla, P. (2002). Effective organizational response by corporates to India's liberalization and globalization. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 19, 423-448;
16. Virmani, A. (1999, October). Potential growth stars of the 21st century: India, China and the Asian century. Chintan Occasional Paper. There have also been various business press articles from Indian business journals such as Business Today, Business India, Business World, India Today, Fortune India, and Outlook, as well as articles by Arun Shourie, Minister of Divestment, Government of India.
17. See Randall, S. S. (1992). Linking the people with the strategic needs of the business. Organizational Dynamics, 21(1), 18-32;
18. Randall, S. S., & James, W. W. (1990). Human resource strategy: Focusing on issues and actions. Organizational Dynamics, 19(1), 5-19;
19. Pfeffer, J. (1994, Winter). Competitive advantage through people. California Management Review, pp. 9-28;
20. Ulrich. D. (1997). Human resource champions: The next agenda for adding value and delivering results. Boston: Harvard University School Press.
21. For a richer discussion, see Ulrich. D. (1998). A new mandate for human resources. Harvard Business Review, 76(1), 124-134.
22. Cappelli, P., & Crocker-Hefter. A. (1996). Distinctive human resources are firms' core competencies. Organizational Dynamics, 24(3), 7-22.
23. For example, see Bartlett, C., & Ghoshal. S. (2002, Winter). Building competitive advantage through people. MIT Sloan Management Review, pp. 34-41.
24. For example, see Bartlett, C. A., & Ghoshal, S. (2000). Going global: Lessons from late movers? Harvard Business Review, 70(5), 132-142;
25. Khanna, T., & Palepu, K. (1997, July-August). Why focused strategics may be wrong for emerging markets. Harvard Business Review, pp. 3-10.
26. Gooderham. P. N., Nordhaug, O., & Ringdal, K. (1999). Institutional and rational determinants of organizational practices: Human resource management in European firms. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44, 507-532.
27. The causality whether innovative HR best practices yield performance excellence or otherwise have been debated and discussed by scholars in the last decade. For further detailed discussions, see Arthur, J. B. (1991). Effects of human resource systems on manufacturing performance and turnover. Academy of Management Journal, 37, 670-687;
28. Cutcher-Gershenfeld, J. (1991). The impact on economic performance of a transformation in industrial relations. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 44, 241-260;
29. Huselid, M. A. (1995). The impact of human resource management practices on turnover, productivity, and corporate financial performance. Academy of Management Journal, 38, 635-672;
30. Delantey, J. T., & Huselid, M. A. (1996). The impact of human resource management practices on perceptions of organizational performance. Academy of Management Journal, 39, 949-969;
31. Huselid, M. A., Jackson, S. E., & Schuler, R. S. (1997). Technical and strategic human resources management effectiveness as determinants of firm performance. Academy of Management Journal, 40, 171-188.