인사관리강도와 인사관리효과성의 관계에 관한 연구

The Relationship between HR System Strength and HR Effectiveness

전략적 인적자원관리에 대한 그동안의 연구는 인사제도의 효과에 초점을 둔 내용(content)연구 중심으로 진행되어 인사관리가 어떻게 실행되고 그 효과는 어떠한가에 관한 과정(process)중심 연구가 미흡하였다. 이에 본 연구는 과정중심 접근방식에 입각하여 인사관리강도가 인사제도풍토와 인사관리효과성에 미치는 영향을 분석하였다. 국내 72개 기업, 443명의 종업원을 대상으로 실증적 연구를 실시한 결과, 인사관리강도는 인사관리효과성에 긍정적인 영향을 미쳤으며, 이 과정에서 인사제도풍토가 매개역할을 하는 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 결과를 바탕으로 본 연구의 시사점, 한계점 및 향후 연구과제 등에 대해 논의하였다.

Theorists of strategic human resource management (HRM) who have been interested in clarifying the relationship and underlying processes between HRM and organizational performance tend to employ two different but related approaches: a contend-based approach and a process-based approach. First, The main concern of content-based approach is an effective HR system usually defined as a well designed set of HR practices necessary for achieving a firm’s strategy, such as high performance or high commitment work systems. Research in this area focuses on exploring the direct relationship between HR systems and firm performance or internal processes that how HRM practices can improve firm performance. Second, unlike a content-based approach, a process based approach highlights the way messages of HRM communicated to employees. The role of HRM practices is to send messages to employees that allow them to understand the desired and appropriate responses in order to achieve an organizational goal (Bowen & Ostroff, 2004). Research in this area focuses on the communication role of the HR practices that how they should be implemented in order to allow employees to clearly perceive what is needed. Given a desired content of the HRM system, the HRM system may still not elicit appropriate collective behaviors and attitudes needed for effectiveness, because individuals may interpret the HRM practices idiosyncratically, leading to variability in psychological climate perceptions (Bowen & Ostroff, 2004). Therefore, the manner in which HRM is implemented is very important. Despite the impotance of studies on the process of HRM system in the field of strategic human resource management research, however, most previous works have concentrated on the content of HRM system. Along this line of reasoning, Bowen & Ostroff (2004) proposed the concept of the strength of human resource management (HRM system strength) as comprising three features: distinctiveness, consistency, and consensus. which are required to allow employees to properly perceive what the HRM system is intended. Although the theoretical implication of Bowen & Ostroff (2004)’s HRM system strength have been supported by many researchers, there is very limited number of empirical studies on the processes and outcomes of it because of the absence of its appropriate measurement. In particular, few research on the HRM system strength has been performed in the context of Korea (Kang et al., 2011). In this regard, using process-based approach, we examined the effect of HRM system strength on HR effectiveness placing emphasis on the role of communication for improving the HR effectiveness. HR effectiveness, defined as a firm’s HR activities contribute to the achievement of a firm’s strategic goals, is an important antecedent of firm performance (Ryu & Kim, 2007; Wright et al., 2001). Despite its importance, a study on communication role of HR department to allow HRM to be implemented effectively have not been tried. This study fills this void. In addition, based on the work of Bowen and Ostroff (2004), we examined if HR climate, defined as employees’ shared perceptions of the HR system, has a mediating effect in the relationship between HRM system strength and HR effectiveness. HR climate seems to be predicted directly by HRM system strength, but the empirical findings suffer from a lack of agreement (ex: Li, Frenkel, & Sanders, 2011; Sanders, Dorenbosch, & Reuver, 2008). On basis of a literature review, the following hypotheses were postulated: Hypothesis 1: HRM system strength is positively related to HR effectiveness. Hypothesis 2: HRM system strength is positively related to HR climate. Hypothesis 3: Climate strength has a mediating effect in the relationship HRM system strength and HR effectiveness. We analyzed data through questionnaire instruments from 72 strategic planning function executives and 443 full-time employees from 72 Korean firms in several indust