Human Resource Management as a Determining Factor in Organizational Learning

Abstract The role of human resource management in learning organizations has been discussed by a number of researchers. It is suggested that some of the more traditional personnel functions of HR practitioners may be tailored to encourage a focus on learning and thus to help achieve organizational goals. However, there is a lack of empirical studies that explore the relationship between human resource management and organizational learning. This article aims to address this shortcoming. More specifically, the purpose of this article is to analyse the relation between four human resources practices (hiring, training, compensation and decision-making) and organizational learning. The hypoth-eses proposed were tested on a sample of 195 Spanish companies using the structural equation modelling technique. The results support that selective hiring, strategic training and employee participation in decision-making positively influence organizational learn-ing. Key Words: contingent compensation; employee participation in decision-making; human resource management; organizational learning; selective hiring; strategic training At present we find ourselves in a competitive environment characterized by market globalization, greater complexity and increasing changes, which reinforces the need for flexibility and differentiation in firms. Consequently, traditional sources of competitive advantage such as subsidized markets, physical and financial assets and even technology have been pushed into the background in favour of knowledge, since they tend to be increasingly easily available to everyone on equal terms, in open markets. In order to survive and obtain advantages in this environment, companies need to be able to innovate and assimilate new knowledge, allowing them to take a different approach. Learning and creativity become necessary in order to guarantee the sustainability of competitive advantage (Ulrich et al., 1993). Being aware of this