Is it finally HR’s turn? A rhetorical discourse analysis on the legitimation strategies of HR analytics adoption in online HR communities

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Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

School of Business | Master's thesis

Authors

Date

2019

Department

Johtamisen laitos

Major/Subject

Mcode

Degree programme

Strategy

Language

en

Pages

125

Series

Abstract

The HR function is increasingly shifting from an administrative role to a strategic role in organizations. This shift combined with the development of technology and increasing amounts of data, has led to the development of HR analytics. To some, HR analytics holds the promise of making better people-related decisions to improve organizational performance. There is wide debate among practitioners and academics on the benefits and drawbacks of using HR analytics, and the legitimation of the practice is ongoing. Looking at the ongoing debate around HR analytics, the objective of this thesis is to explore the legitimation and delegitimation strategies concerning the adoption of HR analytics. An explorative study was conducted with data collected from established online HR communities. Based on predetermined keywords, 302 blog posts and comments were collected from 2010 to 2016. The data was analyzed qualitatively through rhetorical discourse analysis aimed at uncovering rhetorical strategies of legitimation and delegitimation. Eight themes were found that are used for the legitimation and delegitimation of HR analytics adoption. Departmental role, financial value, superior decision-making and analytics inevitability are arguments used to support the adoption of HR analytics. Data ethics, dehumanization, value questioning and skills gap are claims used in the delegimation of the practice’s adoption. The themes used for legitimation and delegitimation reveal the perceived benefits and limitations of HR analytics and its adoption. These findings can help HR practitioners and managers assess the future potential and possible pitfalls of HR analytics adoption both for the HR department and the wider organization. The themes can also aid practitioners and managers alike in building their case for or against HR analytics adoption. Seven rhetorical legitimation strategies were uncovered that are used for persuasion in the legitimation and delegitimation of HR analytics adoption: logos, pathos, ethos, autopoesis, cosmos, ontological arguments and historical arguments. These strategies largely mirror previous literature on rhetorical legitimation strategies. However, in this thesis it is common that more than one rhetorical legitimation strategy is used to support a single theme. Data ethics and value questioning were the only two themes that used one type of rhetoric. As such, this finding indicates that rhetorical legitimation is more complex than prior studies have indicated. Multiple rhetorical legitimation strategies can be used to support a single argument. These rhetorical strategies can present themselves to a varying degree where one rhetorical strategy is often more present than another.

Description

Thesis advisor

Cepa, Katharina

Keywords

legitimacy, rhetorical legitimation strategies, HR analytics, rhetorical discourse analysis, HR professionals, online HR communities, blogs

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Citation

Permanent link to this item

https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:aalto-201905263216

Collections

[gradu] Kauppakorkeakoulu / BIZ