TY - JOUR
T1 - Surviving Covid-19
T2 - The role of human resource managers in shaping organizational responses to societal paradox
AU - Branicki, Layla
AU - Kalfa, Senia
AU - Brammer, Stephen
PY - 2022/1
Y1 - 2022/1
N2 - This study examines the role played by Australian human resource (HR) managers in shaping organizational responses to the Covid-19 pandemic from the perspective of paradox theory. We argue that the Covid-19 crisis triggered a ‘societal paradox’ – protecting lives and the economy – that cascaded to organizations of all types. While studies suggest paradoxes cross levels of analysis, little is known regarding organizational responses to a societal paradox entailing interdependent and yet contradictory demands between socially significant objectives. We focus on HR managers because of their key role in providing Covid-19 advice and support. Using a combination of cross-sectional survey data (n = 680) and detailed semi-structured interviews (n = 43), we examine variations in HR managers’ experience of, and responses to, organizational tensions generated by societal paradox. We find that HR managers play a key role in shaping whether organizational responses ‘replicate’ the initial societal paradox, or ‘magnify’ existing latent paradoxical tensions in the organization. We show how applying a societal lens adds insight to paradox theory, elucidate the HR-related mechanisms that underpin variations in organizational experiences/responses and produce an inductive model to guide future studies.
AB - This study examines the role played by Australian human resource (HR) managers in shaping organizational responses to the Covid-19 pandemic from the perspective of paradox theory. We argue that the Covid-19 crisis triggered a ‘societal paradox’ – protecting lives and the economy – that cascaded to organizations of all types. While studies suggest paradoxes cross levels of analysis, little is known regarding organizational responses to a societal paradox entailing interdependent and yet contradictory demands between socially significant objectives. We focus on HR managers because of their key role in providing Covid-19 advice and support. Using a combination of cross-sectional survey data (n = 680) and detailed semi-structured interviews (n = 43), we examine variations in HR managers’ experience of, and responses to, organizational tensions generated by societal paradox. We find that HR managers play a key role in shaping whether organizational responses ‘replicate’ the initial societal paradox, or ‘magnify’ existing latent paradoxical tensions in the organization. We show how applying a societal lens adds insight to paradox theory, elucidate the HR-related mechanisms that underpin variations in organizational experiences/responses and produce an inductive model to guide future studies.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85120904930&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/1467-8551.12570
DO - 10.1111/1467-8551.12570
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85120904930
SN - 1045-3172
VL - 33
SP - 410
EP - 434
JO - British Journal of Management
JF - British Journal of Management
IS - 1
ER -