The Moderating Effects of Organizational Structure and Human Resource Strategy on the Relationship between Business Strategy and Firm Performance

Abstract

Although a number of speculative and controversial articles have been written on strategic human resource management (SHRM) practices during the past decades, very little evidence is available regarding the effects of strategic management approach to the relationship between business strategy and firm performance. While most articles have identified two major streams of research in the strategic human resource management literature, including: (a) the link between business strategy and human resource (HR) practices and (b) the link between HR practices and firm performance, this paper has identified, (i) the major link between the business strategy and firm performance, (ii) the moderating effects of the HR strategy and organizational structure on the link between the business strategy and firm performance, (iii) the link between business strategy and HR strategy and (iv) the link between HR strategy and firm performance. Drawing on the Resource-Based View (RBV) of the firm, I posit that both internal and external organizational factors affects the way businesses strategically manage human resources information for competitive firm performance in a dynamic business environment. This paper would review and evaluate recent management articles on strategic human resource management to built on the conceptual framework/concept model and further enhance on the theoretical underpinning of the research problem. In the methodology section, the researcher would apply the survey research design because it is best suited for this study. Based on the data analysis and presentation towards validity and reliability in research, the researcher would be able to objectively state the findings, provide recommendations and suggest areas for further research.