EXPLORING THE LINK BETWEEN ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY AND THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP - THE ROLE OF HUMAN-RESOURCES POLICIES

Links between organizational strategy, human resources (HR) policies, and the employment relationship are investigated through surveys of US executives and HR managers. Human resources policies are measured as both an overall philosophy (an internal to an external focus) and a series of items. The items factor into four dimensions: retention, staffing, performance and compensation. Results indicate that staffing policies are associated with organizational strategy. Retention policies are related to the employment relationship. However, the overall HR philosophy is not related to either organizational strategy or the employment relationship. The findings indicate that relationships between organizational strategy, HR and the employment relationship are more complex than previous models had indicated.