HR and IT capabilities and complementarities in knowledge-intensive services

Author(s) Name: Naresh Khatri, Alok Baveja, Narendra M Agrawal & Gordon D Brown
Journal Name : The International Journal of Human Resource Management
Volume : Vol. 21, No. 15, PP 2889-2909, 15 December 2010
Year of Publication : 2010
Abstract :

The main premise of this article is that human resources (HR) and information technologies (IT) are central rather than support functions in knowledge-intensive services. By building management capabilities in both HR and IT, knowledge-intensive services can transform their business processes that, in turn, enable them to provide exemplary services to the customers. Our arguments are grounded in the three related theoretical frameworks of the resource-based view, organizational capabilities, and the theory of complementarities. We suggest that the research and practice in HR and IT fields may have to focus on HR and IT capabilities rather thanHR practices or IT investments as the sources of sustainable competitive advantage sincecapabilities better fit the definition of a 'resource' than HR practices or IT investments. Further, organizational capabilities in both HR and IT may enable knowledge-intensive services to transcend the inherent tradeoff between cost and responsiveness. We also discuss the role of HRand IT in knowledge management.