Corporate human resources and “bottom line” financial performance

This paper reports on a case study of an internationalized‐industry Engineering Process Plant Contracting (EPPC). The study examines how a leading engineering contracting project management firm has responded to heightened competitive pressures through a process or organizational change. A key aspect of this focused on the contribution of the corporate human resource function to “bottom line” performance. “Exbeck” made its corporate function a full business partner in project management. The paper suggests two conclusions. First, the human resource function can become a full business partner without losing integrity to line managers. Second, examining competitive conditions faced by a particular firm can reveal how unresearched competitive practices may inform and challenge well rehearsed academic positions. Moreover, in particular sectors practitioner perceptions on “best practice” and competitiveness may be ahead of those presented by the academic community.