The eHRM Value Proposition: Introduction to the Special Section

• Author: Janet H. Marler,Sandra L. Fisher
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/cjas.1388
• Published date: 01 June 2016
• Date: 01 June 2016

The eHRM Value Proposition: Introduction to the

Special Section

Janet H. Marler*

University at Albany, State University of New York

Sandra L. Fisher

Clarkson University

The study of electronic human resource management

(eHRM) has developed substantially over its relatively short

life. In the late 1990s, early work examining eHRM systems

focused on the process of implementation, the factors related

to adoption of the technology at the individual and organiza-

tional levels, and the eff‌icacy of adopting various software

applications in HRM such as e-learning and e-recruiting

(Marler & Dulebohn, 2005; Ruël, Bondarouk, & Looise,

2004; Stone & Dulebohn, 2013; Strohmeier, 2007).

Researchers have also consistently noted that in spite of

widespread use of eHRM in organizations, theory and

research on eHRM have been slow to develop (Bondarouk

& Ruël, 2009; Marler & Fisher, 2013; Stone & Dulebohn,

2013; Strohmeier, 2007).

To move the f‌ield forward, eHRM researchers have

edited numerous special issues in academic journals on

eHRM research. Recent special issues over the last f‌ive

years have shared a number of common themes. First, with

each special issue our understanding of the value of eHRM

has advanced. Second, the way in which we come to

understand the notion, antecedents, and consequences of

eHRM has been ref‌ined and enriched using interdisciplinary

perspectives and different research methodologies. Finally,

each special issue has concluded that there is still much more

research to be done by the academic community to provide

the professional HR practitioner community with

evidence-based research.

Evolving Understanding of the eHRM Value Proposition

In this special issue, we focus on the eHRM value

proposition. We did not specif‌ically def‌ine value in the call

for papers, preferring instead to take an evidence-based

approach and let the perception of value emerge from the

research. If we look back over the last several special journal

issues on eHRM, a pattern emerges suggesting that actual

perceptions of the value of eHRM are still unclear and

evolving in ways that are different from the value potential

suggested by technology vendors. In two special issues,

one edited by Bondarouk and Ruël in 2009 and another in

the following year by Laumer, Eckhardt, and Weitzel

(2010), there was little consensus concerning how eHRM

added value. Indeed, Bondarouk and Ruël (2009)

specif‌ically noted this as one of several yet-to-be-addressed

challenges remaining in academic discourse. They called

for clarifying the strategic nature of eHRM. Two papers in

that special issue, one by Marler (2009) and the other by

Strohmeier (2009), called into question the often assumed

strategic value of eHRM deployment. Bondarouk and Ruël

(2009) also noted the challenge of measuring value creation

in this context, particularly given the various stakeholders

(job applicants, employees, managers, retirees, former

employees) affected by eHRM. Two papers showed quite

divergent perceptions of the usefulness of eHRM across

different stakeholders (Bondarouk, Ruël, & van der Heijden,

2009; Farndale, Paauwe, & Hoeksema, 2009). Laumer,

Eckhardt, and Weitzel (2010) noted in their special issue that

HR executives in large German f‌irms, as well as subject

matter experts in HRM, failed to identify eHRM value

capture as an important trend or issue. Instead, these

executive and SMEs identif‌ied the arrival of a newer HR

innovation, social media and Web 2.0, as the most important

eHRM issue of the time. The practitioner community in

Germany was more concerned about their ability to use this

new technological innovation to improve their ability to

recruit talent, which could be def‌ined as a specif‌ic source

of value.

In a special issue in Zeitschrift fur Personalforschung

on eHRM, special issue editors Strohmeier, Bondarouk,

and Konradt (2012) asked whether with increasing diffusion

of eHRM within organizations there was the potential to

transform HRM from being primarily transaction-oriented

to more strategically-oriented. While three papers showed

how eHRM changed the practice of HRM in organizations,

We thank journal editor Vishwanath Baba for giving us the opportunity to

guest edit this special section of CJAS. We sincerely appreciate the time

and inputs of the many reviewers who helped evaluate and shape the papers.

Finally, we thank Managing Editor Melissa Corey for her patience and

assistance every step of the way.

*Please address correspondence to: Janet Marler, University at Albany,

State University of New York. Email: jmarler@albany.edu

Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences

Revue canadienne des sciences de l’administration

33:91–94 (2016)

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/CJAS.1388

Can J Adm Sci

33(2), 91–94 (2016)Copyright © 2016 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 91