Framing e-HRM in a cross-national context

Guest editorial Preface i Truly international comparative e-HRM research is scarce. The comparative studies available are basically non-theoretical and do not refer to cultural or national contextual aspects as an explanatory factor. Most of the e-HRM research originates from the US and from Europe. All the studies on e-HRM so far have not been suitable to conclude anything on whether e-HRM in Western countries and non-Western countries looks similar or is developing similarly or not. We propose a research framework for cross-national or cross-cultural e-HRM research that is based on a constructivist view of the relationship between technology and organization, adopting the lines of thought of Orlikowski (1992, 2000) and DeSanctis and Poole (1994). It can be used as a framework for international comparative e-HRM research. It is suitable for this purpose as it tries to be all-encompassing, including the main focus areas of e-HRM research so far (goals, implementation, adoption, outcomes, HRM transformation), and therefore allows comparison of these areas and variables across borders in a multinational context. It supports the convergence-divergence debate is the relevant debate where international comparative e-HRM research should be positioned as it offers a relevant and rich explanatory ground for differences and similarities across national and cultural boundaries. Nowadays, IT and HRM are indissolubly connected. Human resource information systems (HRIS), often integrated as a HRM module of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system like SAP or Oracle, are used to improve HRM in terms of administrative and analytical purposes (Kanthawongs, 2004). The greatest benefits of implementation of HRIS' are the quick response and access to information, and the greatest barrier is insufficient financial support (Ngai & Wat, 2006). Since the middle of the 1990s, the influence of the internet has become noticeable in the field of human resource management (HRM) (Bondarouk & Ruël, 2009). Human resource information systems (HRIS) started to become more of an internet-based technology. The focus changed from mainly supporting the HRM department to targeting the effectiveness of managers and employees. The term e-HRM, which stands for electronic HRM, is used for labelling HRM services provided through the use of internet technology. The term ESS, employee self-service, is also used to refer to web-based HRM technology. That e-HRM is not a temporary phenomenon is illustrated by a recent study which examined the adoption of e-HRM in Europe. The results show national adoption rates varying from less than 20 to almost 90 …