Overview

Abstract (English)

Research in Human Resource Management (HRM) has helped scholars understand the value of systems of people practices for organizations, but the discipline faces a number of challenges in moving its agenda forward. In particular, understanding and specifying how those systems translate into improved organizational performance has proved elusive. The studies in this thesis examine some of these challenges in dimensions of time, theory linkage and process. The first study, an event history analysis of longitudinal practice data of Canadian companies, finds that HRM practices associated with the strategic agenda are abandoned at a surprising rate over time. The second study, a bibliometric network analysis of HRM and strategy literature, finds that the theoretical links to strategy are not developing in the direction that HRM scholars predicted. The third study, a case study of apprenticeship practices in the industrial construction industry, finds consensus between supervisors and senior management on the ends, but not the means by which those practices are implemented. Each study provides findings that diverge from the expectations found in HRM literature. Taken together, they offer a novel perspective and fruitful paths forward on the challenges facing the field.

Abstract (French)

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