Presenting Sustainable HRM Model Based on Balanced Scorecard in Knowledge-based ICT Companies (The Case of Iran)

Abstract

IntroductionOrganizations, in the twenty-first century, are confronted with globalization, demographical changes, technological innovation, and high customer expectations that continuously reshape business landscape. To compete successfully, within complex and dynamic knowledge-based economy, companies require strategies to reach certain level of sustainability. Moreover, it is gradually accepted that traditional market models' strong focus on rather short-termed efficient and effective exploitation of natural, social, and human resources in organizations will not ensure organizational viability in the long run (Docherty et al., 2002, 2009; Hahn and Figge, 2011; Wilkinson, 2005). Ehnert et al. (2014a) asserted that besides the short-termism of performance, active engagement in renewal, regeneration and reproduction of organizations' resources for long-term survival is also neglected. Hence, rethinking resource management including current and potential (future) human resources is essential. Incorporation of sustainability in organizations' strategy helps the realization of corporate sustainability goals (Ehnert, 2009; Kellerman, 2010; Cohen, 2010; De Prins, 2011), particularly in the presence of increasingly challenging worldwide issues such as climate change, environmental problems, world population growth, escalation of social disparity and poverty. Ehnert (2009a) claims that these trends highlight the need for more sustainable HRM practices and regards sustainability as having a strategic potential for HRM. In this regard, Ehnert et al. (2014b) define sustainability as a concept for providing new solutions and for making economic systems and organizations more viable over the long term and less harmful to society and the world well-being. According to Losey, Meisinger, and Ulrich (2005), the way the world is changing puts HR in the spotlight. HR could guide organization's leaders on their way to sustainability as Boudreau and Ramstad (2005) assert that sustainability improves understanding organizational success by going beyond the traditional focus on financial results. Sustainability can be integrated in management of people in organizations and sustainable HRM can be considered as a design option for employment relationship, and a contribution to sustainable corporate development (Zaugg et al., 2001; Gollan, 2005; Ehnert, 2006; Ehnert, 2009a, Ehnert et al., 2014a). In this respect, Gollan and Xu (2014) argue that adopting sustainable principles, practices, and structures towards different organizational strategies and creating a climate for releasing employees' potential under a shared value of sustainability are the central challenges for the HR function. Therefore, HR policies and practices need to be designed based on sustainability goals to bring about sustainable business performance and positive employee outcomes for better equality, development and well-being (Gollan & Xu, 2014). This concern can be considered highly significant in knowledgeintensive companies like ICT companies regarding their soaring dependence on knowledge, skills, and experience of their most important assets which are human resources. In knowledge-intensive companies, sophisticated or exceptional knowledge of highly qualified employees is considered to be a specific form of economic capital (Grey and Sturdy, 2009) that is vital for achieving competitive advantages and organizational long-term survival. Additionally, ICT companies are confronted with rapidly changing environment including increasing competition, high complexity of products and work processes, changing customer demands, short-time innovation cycle, and overall uncertainty. Hence, it seems that sustainable way of maintaining, developing, creating and regenerating of HR are being of particular importance to ensure organizations' long-term survival and viability. Adopting sustainable strategies in HRM practices aims at balancing between efficient deployment of human resources and sustaining their long-term availability by two basic sets of sustainability strategy (Ehnert, 2009a): First, the reproduction of external sources of resources vital to ensure resource availability (Muller-Christ, 2001 cited by Ehnert, 2009a). …