Traveling through HR strategization with the HR triad: A case study in a Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Abstract

Since the 1990s, practitioners and scholars have increasingly focused on “HR strategization”, defined as the “process by which organizations modernize their HRM approach with a focus on SHRM, which has implications for their HR function”. SHRM links HRM to organizational strategy and value creation. Its emergence has promoted the professionalization of the HR department as a strategic business partner and the sharing of HR responsibilities among HR practitioners, line managers, and employees: the so-called HR triad. In line with this development, ministries of foreign affairs (MFAs) also made the strategic choice to opt for HR strategization. This dissertation seeks to understand HR strategization and its manifestation in the HR triad of the Dutch MFA, using it as a case study. More specifically, the study explores the process and examines how the changes resulting from HR strategization are reflected in the roles, responsibilities, and interactions of the triad actors. This dissertation answers the question “How does HR strategization manifest in the HR triad of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs?”. This was investigated through a mixed-method case study with an analytical HRM approach, combining interviews, vignette experiments, and surveys among HR practitioners, managers, and employees. Two distinct research steps are taken. The first step involves understanding the perceptions of the three actors regarding HR strategization in the MFA context. The second step empirically addresses the dynamics between the actors in the HR triad of the Dutch MFA by focusing on role performance. Two conclusions are drawn that contribute to answering the central research question. First, we concluded that HR strategization manifests itself within the HR triad as a context-dependent, interactive, multi-layered and dynamic time-consuming process through which HR practice has evolved and gained a more strategic orientation. Practice and scholarship mutually influence each other. Second, the relational and dynamic aspects of the partnership between the three HR triad actors are essential: HR strategization is a collective effort. The dissertation also highlights the pivotal role that line managers play within the HR triad, illustrating their dual identity as both professionals and managers. The dissertation formulates three directions for future SHRM research in the public sector: (1) to study SHRM through alternative theoretical lenses that acknowledge the complexity of public organizations, by incorporating perspectives such as requisite variety, loose coupling, and time alongside best-fit, while employing an analytical framework that for instance, examines SHRM from a multi-stakeholder perspective, utilizes diverse methodologies for analysis, and consistently maintains a focus on context; (2) to advance the new “wave” of SHRM scholarship by further integrating the relational perspective by analyzing partnerships in terms of relationship quality (including mutual expectations), contextual embeddedness, and dynamics; and (3) to investigate and deepen understanding of line managers’ HR role at the intersection of institutions, professional identities, and HR role behavior. Finally, the dissertation offers a practical TRAVEL framework (Tailor, Reinstitute, Align, Value, Evaluate Long-term) that provides public organizations with guidance on how to advance their HR strategization journey.