Social Resource Management: Integrating Social Network Theory and Human Resource Management

Abstract

While social network analysis has become a staple of research in organizational behavior, organizational theory, and strategic management, integration and utilization of this perspective has been much slower in the area of human resource management. We attempt to nudge the study of human resources management toward Social Resource Management - adding the social network perspective to research and practice. We discuss how a social network perspective informs managing employee competencies (recruitment, selection, training, and development), managing employee behaviors and attitudes (performance management, compensation, turnover, and retention), and managing employees for competitive advantage (strategic human resource management and strategic human capital). Our goals are twofold: provide a summary of existing research relevant to human resource management that employs a social network perspective, and stimulate future work in social resource management. We provide guidance to ensure that work in this area does not simply apply the label of a social network perspective, but rather meaningfully integrates the two fields.