HRM Configurations In Project Based Organizations

Abstract

The dominant conceptualization of SHRM is unitarist and assumes intra organizational homogeneity of practices. It has been argued that HRM implementation is likely to differ in parts of the same organization. We use four projects within a single organization in the software services industry in India as case studies to test our arguments. The findings indicate that HRM configurations at the project level are emergent, often opportunistic and are shaped by both the HRM systems of the firm, the project contingencies and managerial behaviours of the project managers. The co-existence of different configurations within an organization challenges the dominant paradigm and raises questions on how organizations manage the divergence within.