Guest editor's note: human resource management and the line

Authors

Chris Brewster, University of Reading
Paul J. Gollan, Macquarie UniversityFollow
Patrick M. Wright, University of South Carolina

RIS ID

113217

Publication Details

Brewster, C., Gollan, P. J. & Wright, P. M. (2013). Guest editor's note: human resource management and the line. Human Resource Management, 52 (6), 829-838.

Abstract

It has been argued that studies of human resource management have been too focused on policies that are set in the HRM department, and have underplayed the importance of the way those policies are translated into practice by line managers and perceived by the employees who are the targets of those policies (Nishii, Lepak, & Schneider, 2008; Wright & Nishii, 2013). Much of the current research in the HRM-performance realm, for example, implicitly assumes the primacy of the HRM function in all these realms, while ignoring the role of the line manager (Currie & Procter, 2001; Gollan, 2012). We have designed this special issue on "HRM and the Line" to rectify this through focusing attention on the critical role that line managers play in HRM practices and, thus, the relationship between those practices and important outcomes for both employees and organizations.