Although, electronic human resources management (e-HRM) and social media technologies appear to be increasingly used by companies to design and deliver their human resources management (HRM) practices in order to face the demands of knowledge based economies, there is little empirical evidence concerning whether the absorption of these technologies leads to HRM innovation. To address this gap, this thesis examines the relationships between the absorptive capacity (ACAP) of organisations, e-HRM and social media technologies, and HRM innovation. Drawing mainly on the ACAP theory when paralleled with the innovation diffusion theory, a conceptual model was created from which a range of research hypotheses were deductively developed. These hypotheses were tested by surveying a sample of two hundred large companies that operate in Greece using varied statistical techniques such as parallel analysis, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), mediation analysis with bootstrapping, moderation analysis and Pearson’s correlation. To examine the reasons and the ways firms have absorbed e-HRM and social media in Greece, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the human resources (HR) directors of eight companies that had participated in the survey and had demonstrated high information communication technology (ICT) adoption. The results suggested that the ACAP of firms for e-HRM and social media has a significant effect on HRM innovation. The factors that determine ACAP and HRM innovation are: (1) the e-HRM and social media technologies, (2) the characteristics of these technologies, (3) prior knowledge and experience of firms, and (4) national culture. The adoption reasons included improvements in: data management, information security, confidentiality of data, HR service delivery, organisational culture, institutional isomorphism, and environmentally friendly e-HRM. In the case of multinational companies (MNCs): need for control by the headquarters, transparency and standardisation. Based on these findings, this thesis contributes a new framework of HRM innovation from organisational ACAP for e-HRM and social media and an alternative operationalisation of ACAP for technological knowledge around HRM. Implications for HRM, e-HRM and ACAP academics as well as HR practitioners and their companies are concluded along with the limitations of this thesis and future research suggestions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:637654 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Sotiropoulos, Panagiotis |
| Publisher | University of Glasgow |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://theses.gla.ac.uk/5869/ |
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