2009/09/08 by Katrina Pritchard · 1 citation
Business, Management and Accounting · Social Sciences · #Emotional Labor in Professions #Gender Diversity and Inequality #Management and Organizational Studies
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1748-8583.2009.00107.x
openalex publication_date 2009/09/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
This article aims to bridge the gap between previous examinations of HR strategic partnership from a role perspective and an emerging interest in the social construction of identity. I consider ‘strategic partner’ as a local, flexible social construction framed by the broader occupational context. Based on a year‐long ethnographic study, I examine the experiences of HR practitioners ‘becoming’ strategic partners, considering the themes of becoming strategic, becoming a partner and remaining a generalist. Practitioners depict becoming strategic as a ‘release’ from previous constraints, with becoming a partner positioned as filling a gap created by clients' deficiencies in people management. Meanwhile, tensions develop as strategic partners attempt to retain a say in transactional issues. I reflect on the resulting practical issues while also considering the role of HR practitioners in, in the words of Helen Francis, ‘the dynamic and socially complex nature of HRM’.