The impact of HRM practices on the effectiveness of SCM

Abstract

The challenges of human resource management (HRM) in supply chains are strongly influenced by complex contemporary business environments, which in turn are characterized by shorter product life-cycles, product proliferation, outsourcing, and the globalization of the supply base and markets (Bozarth, Warsing, Flynn & Flynn, 2009; Closs, Jacobs, Swink& Webb, 2008). To this day, researchers have paid little attention on how HRM practices can help organizations manage their supply chains (SC) more effectively. This paper provides a literature overview with the objective to highlight the most important studies. More specifically, the objective is to discuss the importance of using HRM strategies to help organizations improve their SCM performance. Finally, various potential applications of HRM in SC will be presented, with a special focus on customer service.

Keywords

• human resource management
• supply chain management
• customer service