Supply Chain Integration in the HR-Service Industry

Abstract

Can the concept of supply chain (SC) integration be transferred from manufacturing to service industries? An action research design at a major German HR-service company was applied in order to explore SC integration in the context of the HR-service supply chains. It is found that the company acts as a mediating supply chain member between graduates (downstream), who look for jobs, and employers (upstream), who look for employees, and that it provides a multitude of integration mechanisms. After contrasting the results of the action research study with SC integration constructs in manufacturing industries derived from an intense literature review, a model of SC integration in the HR-service industry was developed. The model suggests that concepts of SC integration can indeed be transferred from manufacturing to service industries and offers testable propositions to path the way towards more generalizability. If the model receives empirical support this would have serious implications for managers who are assumed to face an increasing lack of qualified resources within the next decade.