Reconciling the Theory and Practice of Line Management Involvement in HR The Case of an Irish SemiState

The notion of line managers assuming an increased involvement in human resource management (HRM) is not a contemporary phenomenon, although the practice of devolving HRM responsibilities to line managers has received increased attention in the management and HRM literature in recent years (Guest, 1987; and Storey, 1992; Legge, 1995; Ulrich, 1998; Budwhar, 2000; Renwick, 2000; Brewster et al., 2004; Mesner-Andolsek and Stebe, 2005; IRS, 2006, Watson et al., 2007). Within the last decade, the issue of line management involvement in HR has maintained a significant focus by both academics and practitioners alike (Budwhar, 2000; Renwick, 2000; Holt Larsen and Brewster, 2003; Brewster et al., 2004; Mesner-Andolsek and Stebe, 2005; Papalexandris and Panaayotopoulou, 2005; IRS, 2006; Cascon Pereira et al., 2006; Maxwell et al., 2007). The consensus from this literature is that a partnership between HR and line management is increasingly being adopted for the process of HR delivery. The forming of this collaborative partnership impacts on the roles and responsibilities performed by both line management and HR specialists and in turn affects the organisational outcomes (Harris et al., 2002; Holden and Roberts, 2004). Utilising case methodology, within a large semi-state organisational environment, the findings draw on a series of interviews with senior HR specialists, a survey of line managers and the analysis of HR documentation at the research site.