People Analytics Adoption: Institutional Logics Perspective
Kangasmiaki, Mariia (2020)
Kangasmiaki, Mariia
2020
Master's Degree Programme in Leadership for Change
Johtamisen ja talouden tiedekunta - Faculty of Management and Business
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2020-05-11
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202004274009
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202004274009
Tiivistelmä
Although people analytics (PA) draws attention and interest of the broad audience, it is still a stranger in a human resource (HR) management discipline. A literature review of academic and professional studies on PA revealed that there is a substantial gap between declared interest in PA among HR professionals and business and its actual use in decision-making. This gap was specified as a research problem.
This study applies macro-view of institutional logics perspective to explore what types of logics underlie PA adoption and how institutional logics can explain low diffusion of data-driven practices within the HR field. By examining practices, experience, and insights of PA direct participants, this study reveals what values and basic assumptions (institutional logics) shape PA practice and how institutional logics complexity affects the PA implementation.
Data were collected from December 2019 until March 2020 by interviewing 11 PA stakeholders (HR professionals, data analysts, HR partners, consultants, a researcher, and a software provider) from Europe and the European part of Russia. All participants were familiar with the PA practice and the research topic. Qualitative research methodology was used to gather and analyse data. Semi-structured interviews were conducted face-to-face and online, then transcribed, coded with Atlas.ti software and analysed to identify the themes signalling the institutional logics.
The study explored that PA practice is constructed and shaped by HR professional logic, business, scientific, service, and compliance logics. Tensions between business and HR professional logics; HR professional and scientific logics; scientific and business logics; business and compliance logics, and internal complexity of the emergent PA field are the factors slowing down PA adoption. Compliance logic was observed by Finnish respondents only that displays diversity in the European institutional landscape.
To scrutinize the change processes in HR practices towards digitalization and ‘datafication’, future research could be conducted as a longitude case study in a specific context (organizational culture, cultural, historical or industry contexts) through the lens of institutional work, institutional entrepreneurship or institutional complexity.
This research contributes to existing knowledge concerning PA with a better understanding of what underlies people analytics adoption, what types of logics guide the stakeholders’ actions, and what issues are associated with the specific logics. Beyond that, the study proposes interpretations of low and slow PA implementation based on revealed conflicting and cooperative institutional logics.
This study applies macro-view of institutional logics perspective to explore what types of logics underlie PA adoption and how institutional logics can explain low diffusion of data-driven practices within the HR field. By examining practices, experience, and insights of PA direct participants, this study reveals what values and basic assumptions (institutional logics) shape PA practice and how institutional logics complexity affects the PA implementation.
Data were collected from December 2019 until March 2020 by interviewing 11 PA stakeholders (HR professionals, data analysts, HR partners, consultants, a researcher, and a software provider) from Europe and the European part of Russia. All participants were familiar with the PA practice and the research topic. Qualitative research methodology was used to gather and analyse data. Semi-structured interviews were conducted face-to-face and online, then transcribed, coded with Atlas.ti software and analysed to identify the themes signalling the institutional logics.
The study explored that PA practice is constructed and shaped by HR professional logic, business, scientific, service, and compliance logics. Tensions between business and HR professional logics; HR professional and scientific logics; scientific and business logics; business and compliance logics, and internal complexity of the emergent PA field are the factors slowing down PA adoption. Compliance logic was observed by Finnish respondents only that displays diversity in the European institutional landscape.
To scrutinize the change processes in HR practices towards digitalization and ‘datafication’, future research could be conducted as a longitude case study in a specific context (organizational culture, cultural, historical or industry contexts) through the lens of institutional work, institutional entrepreneurship or institutional complexity.
This research contributes to existing knowledge concerning PA with a better understanding of what underlies people analytics adoption, what types of logics guide the stakeholders’ actions, and what issues are associated with the specific logics. Beyond that, the study proposes interpretations of low and slow PA implementation based on revealed conflicting and cooperative institutional logics.