A Shared Human Resources Change Initiative: What Influences (in)Effectiveness?

ABSTRACT The study employs a mixed-method approach utilizing interview and survey data to discern what influences the effectiveness of an inter-organizational initiative wherein two distinct organizations share a human resource executive (HRE). Initial efficiencies of the initiative resulted in both agencies. Over time, however, the data emerged to reveal differing outcomes, such that the agency who shared the HRE reported a decreased HR service climate, while HR service gains and increased job engagement appeared at the other agency. Rather than one agency benefitting at the other’s expense, relational and structural organizational boundary conditions emerged to explain the divergent views of the collaborative’s (in)effectiveness. The analysis extends flexible leadership theory to depict how an HRE’s relational role, trust, and organizational architectures are boundary conditions for effectiveness in an HR collaboration. The findings provide practical implications for organizations considering collaborative initiatives and identify conditions that may contribute to success following the change.