Concepts of e-HRM consequences: a categorisation, review and suggestion

Electronic Human Resource Management (e-HRM) constitutes a commonly adopted management practice in the interim. This is obviously founded on the expectation of diverse positive consequences of e-HRM, such as reducing costs, speeding up processes, improving quality, and even gaining a more strategic role for HR within the organisation. Given the crucial importance of actual consequences for practice, research is asked to provide a general understanding of e-HRM consequences that supports practice in its decisions. This paper therefore addresses the question of how to adequately conceptualise e-HRM consequences. To do so, first a categorisation scheme is presented that allows a systematic categorisation of consequence concepts. Second, based on the categorisation the paper aims to identify the often implicit concepts in previous research. Third, a specific concept of consequences, as used information system potentials, is suggested and the implications for practice and research of e-HRM are discussed.