Shedding New Light on Strategic Human Resource Management: The Impact of Human Resource Management Practices and Human Resources on the Perception of Federal Agency Mission Accomplishment

Abstract

We assess the resource-based view in the study of strategic human resource management in public agencies. We mainly examine the impact of both human resource management (HRM) practices and actual human resources on the perception of federal agency mission accomplishment. We show that all types of goal-aligned and performance-based HRM practices (including rewards, training, appraisal, and recruitment) positively affect perceived agency mission accomplishment. In addition, certain types of human resources (including the percentage of career senior executive service members and organizational size) contribute to perceived agency mission accomplishment although others (including the percentage of professionals and noncareer senior executive service members) make negative contributions. Strategic knowledge, regarding an organization’s valuable, rare, inimitable, and nontradable resources—in both HRM practices and human resources—can help improve perceived federal agency mission accomplishment.