Organizational environment and business strategy: Parallel versus conflicting influences on human resource strategy in the pharmaceutical industry

Abstract

While much attention in recent years has been focused on the issue of human resource strategy, little research has been conducted on the degree to which the various forces helping to shape human resource strategy exert parallel or conflicting influences. In this article, business environment and strategy influences on corporate human resource strategies in the pharmaceutical industry are examined. In particular, data derived from corporate annual reports are used to generate a grounded theory of where, when, and why environmental influences on human resource strategy may be more or less consistent with business strategy influences across a number of human resource strategy dimensions.