Stickiness Impediments in Digital HRM

Abstract

Realizing optimal value from digital HRM is a major challenge for most firms. This research adopts a practice lens to investigate how traditional HRM practice elements can constrain digital HRM practices. Findings from an interpretive case study suggest that constrained digital HRM practices emerge because employees and managers are embedded in sticky traditional work practices and not primarily because they are unwilling to adopt digital technologies. Conventional wisdom suggests that the quality of the digital HRM, meeting end-user performance expectations, and managing resistance to change can improve suboptimal digital practices. We propose that digital HRM transformation efforts should also change outdated routines rather than focusing only on technology improvements and individual behavioral change. The authors propose a model that explains stickiness in digital HRM practices and offers recommendations for HR practitioners to reduce stickiness.