Strategic HRM: evidence from the Irish food industry

One of the main features of human resource management (HRM) is the emphasis on aligning the organization’s employee management practice with its strategy. It is argued that the strategy pursued by an organization needs to be supported by a compatible form of HRM practices. Each strategy has to be supported by a specific form of HRM practice. The attainment of a strategy‐HRM fit is crucial in ensuring the effective utilization of the organization’s human resources engendered by this fit which are supposed to lead to improved performance. In spite of the relative popularity of the HRM concept and the strategy‐HRM fit thesis, there is little empirical evidence to show its presence in organizational practice. Seeks to examine this relationship in the Irish food industry. Finds that there was no evidence to support the proposition that strategy is the imperative in shaping HRM practice. The examination of the data showed that when other contingencies were taken into consideration the initial findings, showing an association between HRM practice and a competitive strategy, no longer holds. Instead, contingencies such as the presence of a HRM department and employment size are more important predictors of HRM practice.