The focus of this sub-theme at the 10th International Conference in Critical Management Studies 2017 (which will take place during July 3-5) is the question whether HRM is a powerful player or a powerless heretic. This sub-theme addresses pertinent questions with respect to the power of the HR department. The organizers are especially interested in the following three areas of questions:
- What role does the HR department play in the organisations’ ‘orchestra’? How powerful/powerless, dominating/dominated, or orthodox/heretic are HR departments vis-á-vis other functional departments?
- How do HR managers deal with their role ambiguity? Do they focus on the business case or do they concentrate on arguments derived from a socially-embedded perspective? What consequences arise for their relative power within the organisation?
- What are the consequences for the HR department arising from new forms of work and employment and HR specific trends? Do they lead to more or less power within the organisation?
These examples are not exhaustive, empirical papers based on novel or sound theoretical bases demonstrating a strong link between theory and empirical work on this theme are also welcomed.
Deadline for the submission of abstracts: 31.01.2017