Sources of HR Department Power: Scale Development and Validation

Abstract

HR department power plays a significant role in increasing organizational

performance by influencing how intended HR strategies and practices are

actually embraced and utilized by organizational members. Referring to

French and Ravens (1959) taxonomy, we present four bases (sanction,

expert, referent, and legitimacy) of HR department power in the context of

intraorganizational dynamics and develop their measurement scales. Findings

indicate that the HR power bases represent an integrated framework

that helps to build a coherent classification standard, showing meaningful

relationships with HR department power, HRM strength, and organizational

performance.