Linking Digital HRM Practices with HRM Effectiveness: The Moderate Role of HRM Capability Maturity from the Adaptive Structuration Perspective

Abstract

In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to digital human resource management (HRM) practices. Nonetheless, the impact of digital HRM practices is not yet fully understood by practitioners and researchers. Drawing from adaptive structuration theory (AST), we suggest that HRM capability maturity is a key boundary condition for understanding the effectiveness of digital HRM practices. By employing a path analysis approach on a sample of 1770 enterprises in China, this study found that the use of digital HRM practices impacts HRM effectiveness through the internal consistency of HR practices and external social networking of HR managers with line managers. The positive or negative effects of digital HRM practices depend on the enterprise’s HRM capability maturity. While the majority of previous studies have explored the impact of digital HRM on organizations, including the effects on cost reduction and organizational performance, our study expanded the focus on the outcomes of digital HRM to include employees’ perceptions of HRM effectiveness, which can further influence employees’ attitudes and organizational behaviors. The implications of our findings for research and practice are discussed.