Situating human resource management in the political economy: Multilevel theorising and opportunities for kaleidoscopic imagination

• Published date: 01 November 2020
• Author: Jo Grady,Steve Vincent,Rick Delbridge,Greg J. Bamber,Irena Grugulis,Virginia Doellgast
• Date: 01 November 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12328

Received: 5 May 2020

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Revised: 15 October 2020

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Accepted: 16 October 2020

DOI: 10.1111/1748-8583.12328

SPECIAL ISSUE

Situating human resource management in the

political economy: Multilevel theorising and

opportunities for kaleidoscopic imagination

Steve Vincent

1

|Greg J. Bamber

1,2,3

|Rick Delbridge

4

|

Virginia Doellgast

5

|Jo Grady

6

|Irena Grugulis

7

1

Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK

2

Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria,

Australia

3

Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham,

UK

4

Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

5

Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA

6

UCU, London, UK

7

Leeds University, Leeds, UK

Correspondence

Steve Vincent, Newcastle University,

Newcastle, UK.

Email: steve.vincent@newcastle.ac.uk

Abstract

This article introduces a special issue on Situating Human

Resource Management (HRM) Practices in their Political and

Economic Contexts. We develop a novel multilevel framework

for exploring the political economy of HRM and use this to

position the articles in this special issue. We argue that the

study of HRM is often too narrowly constructed within a

psychological, positivistic paradigm and at an organisation‐

level, and that situating HRM in its political and economic

context requires a more inclusive, interdisciplinary

approach that includes the use of kaleidoscopic imagination

and meta‐theoretical bricolage. By embracing a theoretically

pluralist approach to studying HRM, researchers are better

able to analyse how different levels of the political economy

interact with specific HRM practices to impact value

creation. We conclude by discussing the contribution of

this article and the special issue, as well as highlighting

avenues for future research.

KEYWORDS

HRM, political economy, theoretical realism, multilevel theory,

kaleidoscopic imagination

1

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INTRODUCTION

This article introduces the special issue Situating Human Resource Management (HRM) Practices in their Political and

Economic Contexts. We argue that HRM research can be fruitfully developed by applying a political economy

perspective. We identify the political economy in terms of the material, social and economic relations of production,

Hum Resour Manag J. 2020;30:461–477. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hrmj © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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reproduction and (re)distribution, which we argue requires multilevel theorisation. We combine interdisciplinary

research bridging the sociology of work, comparative employment relations and HRM, and comparative political

economy, which has developed a range of theoretically sophisticated and useful insights. These help to explain

how and why HRM practices and outcomes are embedded in and shaped by the broader political economy

(e.g. Marchington & Grugulis, 2000; J. L. Morris et al., 2018; Thompson, 2003). Building on Thompson and

Vincent (2010), we develop a multilevel framework to situate HRM in such a context, which is constituted of

natural and abstract resources; cultural knowledge systems; employment relations; employing organisations; inter‐

organisational relations; and financial, regulatory and governance systems.

We also make the case for practising a kaleidoscopic imagination when theorising such complex issues. Political

and economic contexts of HRM are highly variable, and so researchers should consider multiple theories and

perspectives when seeking to explain variation in HRM practices, their internal dynamics, and associated perfor-

mance and distributional outcomes. We highlight how combinations of theories are often needed to shed light on

more granular data about the relations between institutions, power relations in the political economy, and HRM

decisions in employing organisations. This implies a commitment to reflexive social science and theoretical

pluralism, where researchers seek to integrate and reconcile multiple theoretical lenses to develop novel insights. In

these circumstances, the task of researchers becomes meta‐theoretical bricolage or synthesis (Pawson, 2013;

Brannan et al., 2017), which requires the use of diverse theoretical resources, heuristically, intuitively, and

abductively, to seek better insights and explanations.

We start our article by contrasting our approach with positivist or telescopic approaches that dominate

“mainstream” HRM. In doing so, we identify tensions in this literature, as well as in practitioner experiences

and discourses, which are best explained with reference to the political economy. Following this critique, we

outline our theoretical framework and introduce the articles in this special issue. Our discussion then con-

siders the kaleidoscopic imagination metaphor, its implications for research practice, and avenues for future

research.

Practitioner notes

What is currently known?

�Despite empirical evidence that “sophisticated” approaches to Human Resource Management (HRM)

can improve performance, such practices are not widely adopted and when adopted are rarely sus-

tained over time.

�HRM practices and outcomes are influenced by various political and economic conditions, but these are

usually not examined systematically in “mainstream” research on HRM.

What this paper adds?

�We develop new ways of theorising multilevel relationships between HRM outcomes and broader

political and economic conditions.

�We advance the concept of “kaleidoscopic imagination” for theorising such multilevel relationships.

The implications for practitioners

�We argue that value creation processes are multilevel. Those who recognise this can better understand

how HRM adds value (e.g. to enterprises, employees, and societies) in relation to other elements of the

political economy.

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