Options-based HRM, intellectual capital, and exploratory and exploitative learning in law firms' practice groups

Abstract

The current study intends to uncover the strategic contribution of human resource management by introducing a unique construct of options-based (vis-à-vis project-based) HRM and examining its links to intellectual capital and exploratory and exploitative learning in the context of law firms' practice groups. Empirical results show that options-based HRM is positively related to the practice group's explorative and exploitative learning. The intellectual capital mediates the relationships between options-based HRM and the practice group's learning for exploration and exploitation. This study makes a valuable contribution to the HRM literature by establishing the mechanisms by which HRM enables organizational learning and extending the scope of HRM research to professional service firms. Our findings also provide valuable implications for the literature of organizational learning. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.