Managing people in organizations is not an easy task since social systems as well as individuals and their interplay are not only complicated, but also complex, i.e. dynamic and changing in their relationship. Especially digital technologies, such as HR analytics, are changing the way how “human resources” are managed. Simultaneously, digitalization transforms the profession of Human Resources Management (HRM) itself and raises the potential for HRM to become more strategic and to gain strategic influence in the company.

In this course, students are introduced to the main concepts of strategic HRM and discuss the promises and paradoxes of digital technologies on the way to strategic HRM. Students learn how digital technologies are harnessed to support or substitute classical HRM functions and how this can lead to changes in strategic HRM. Reports and use cases for the application of digital technologies in HRM practice are used to further the understanding of digitalization and its impact on strategic HRM. Challenges and opportunities of digital HRM are discussed and critically reflected in order to explore strategic, digital, and responsible HRM. The course is interactive and students are expected to actively participate (course language: German).

After students have completed this course, they will be familiar with various topics of strategic HRM and digital HRM. They will be able to explain the areas of strategic as well as digital HRM along the classical HRM functions and apply them to empirical examples. In doing so, the students can clarify the relationship between the different concepts. They are able to combine the concepts learned and to design instruments for strategic HRM with the help of digital technologies and to critically evaluate their applicability.

Presence during the sessions is mandatory.

For reasons listed in the Prüfungsordnung der WU a maximum of 20% of the time may be missed. Possible reasons include illness, accidents et

The course will include theory inputs that will enable participants to analyze practices of strategic and digital HRM. Participants will apply their knowledge to empirical cases and work with case studies in groups. Beyond, inputs from HR professionals and trade unionists will offer opportunities to discuss theoretical insights with practitioners.

Positive Absolvierung der LV „Einführung in das Management“

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Interdisziplinäre Abteilung für Verhaltenswissenschaftlich Orientiertes Management

per E-Mail:
verena.bader@wu.ac.at

Course language

(Austrian) German; English for guest speakers if applicable

HRM in context

• Introduction
  • Kaufman, B. E. 2010. The development of HRM in historical and international perspective. In P. Boxall & J. Purcell & P. Wright (Eds.), Oxford Handbook of Human Resource Management: 19-47. New York: Oxford University Press. Available at CANVAS
• Key approaches
  • Rowley, C., Wei, Q. J., Warner, M., Harzing, A.-W., Reiche, B. S., et al. 2019. Approaches to international human resource management. International Human Resource Management: 119–156. Los Angeles, London: SAGE. Available at CANVAS
  • Brewster, C., & Mayrhofer, W. 2019. Comparative Human Resource Management. In B. S. Reiche, A.-W. Harzing, & H. Tenzer (Eds.), International Human Resource Management: 46–86. Los Angeles et al.: Sage. Available at CANVAS
  • Minbaeva, D. B. & De Cieri, H. 2014. Strategy and IHRM. In D. Gollings & G. Wood & P. Caligiuri (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to International Human Resource Management: 13-28. New York, NY: Routledge. Available at CANVAS
• Selected issues
  • Paauwe, J. & Boselie, P. 2007. HRM and Societal Embeddedness. In P. Boxall & J. Purcell & P. M. Wright (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Human Resource Management: 166-184. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Available at CANVAS
  • Budd, J. W. & Bhave, D. 2010. The Employment Relationship. In A. Wilkinson, T. Redman, S. Snell, & N. Bacon (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Human Resource Management: 51-70. Los Angeles. Available at CANVAS

Personnel selection and appraisal

• Morris, S. B., Daisley, R. L., Wheeler, M., & Boyer, P. 2015. A meta-analysis of the relationship between individual assessments and job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 100(1): 5-20. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0036938
• Peretz, H. and Fried, Y. (2012): National cultures, performance appraisal practices, and organizational absenteeism and turnover: A study across 21 countries. Journal of Applied Psychology, 97 (2): 448-459. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026011
• Biemann, Torsten, Wolfgang Mayrhofer, and Irmela Koch‐Bayram. 2023. Embedded in Context: How Time and Distance Affect the Convergence of Personnel Selection Practices. Human Resource Management Journal 33, no. 1 (): 47–68. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12339 .
• Sumelius, J., Björkman, I., Ehrnrooth, M., Mäkelä, K., & Smale, A. 2014. What Determines Employee Perceptions of HRM Process Features? The Case of Performance Appraisal in MNC Subsidiaries. Human Resource Management, 53(4): 569-592. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.21604
• Pernkopf, Katharina, Markus Latzke, und Wolfgang Mayrhofer. „Effects of Mixed Signals on Employer Attractiveness: A Mixed-Method Study Based on Signalling and Convention Theory“. Human Resource Management Journal, 29. Juli 2020. https://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12313.
• Williamson, I. O., King, J. E., Lepak, D., & Sarma, A. 2010. Firm reputation, recruitment web sites, and attracting applicants. Human Resource Management, 49(4): 669-687. https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.20379

Motivation and incentives

• Latham, G. P. & Locke, E. A. 1979. Goal setting-A motivational technique that works. Organizational Dynamics, 8(2): 68-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/0090-2616(79)90032-9
• Perkins, Stephen; White, Geoff (2011): Reward Management, Chartered Institute of Personnel & Development, 303-328 (Ch. 9: Non-financial rewards) Available at Learn@WU
• Hou, W., Priem, R. L., & Goranova, M. 2017. Does One Size Fit All? Investigating Pay–Future Performance Relationships Over the “Seasons” of CEO Tenure. Journal of Management, 43 (3): 864 -89. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206314544744
• Zwick, T. 2012. Consequences of seniority wages on the employment structure. Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 65(1): 108-125. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F001979391206500106
• Feys, M., Anseel, F., & Wille, B. 2013. Responses to co-workers receiving recognition at work. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 28(5): 492-510. https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-08-2011-0025
• Long, R. J. & Shields, J. L. 2010. From pay to praise? Non-cash employee recognition in Canadian and Australian firms. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 21(8): 1145-1172. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2010.483840

Future Challenges

• Baluch, Alina M., and Hans-Gerd Ridder. “Mapping the Research Landscape of Strategic Human Resource Management in Nonprofit Organizations: A Systematic Review and Avenues for Future Research.” Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 50, no. 3 (June 1, 2021): 598–625. https://doi.org/10.1177/0899764020939653.
• Cooke, Fang Lee, Randall Schuler, and Arup Varma. “Human Resource Management Research and Practice in Asia: Past, Present and Future.” Human Resource Management Review, 30, no. 4 (2020): 100778. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2020.100778.
• Edvardsson, Ingi Runar, and Susanne Durst. “Human Resource Management in Crisis Situations: A Systematic Literature Review.” Sustainability 13, no. 22 (2021): 12406. https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212406.
• Stone, Dianna L., and Diana L. Deadrick. “Challenges and Opportunities Affecting the Future of Human Resource Management.” Human Resource Management Review 25, no. 2 (2015): 139–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2015.01.003
• Vrontis, Demetris, Michael Christofi, Vijay Pereira, Shlomo Tarba, Anna Makrides, and Eleni Trichina. “Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Advanced Technologies and Human Resource Management: A Systematic Review.” The International Journal of Human Resource Management 33, no. 6 (March 26, 2022): 1237–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2020.1871398.
• Wright, Patrick M., and Michael D. Ulrich. “A Road Well Traveled: The Past, Present, and Future Journey of Strategic Human Resource Management.” Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior 4, no. 1 (2017): 45–65. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-032516-113052.