A Pattern for Top Management Influence on Human Resource Management Practices: A Meta-Synthesis Approach

In today's world, appropriate, qualified and sustainable human resources along with competent leadership are the only resources that can create sustainable innovation and competitive advantage in organizations. Thus, it is important to put the development of human resources at the top priority of any organizations. In Iranian studies, despite identifying and explaining some of the effective factors related to human resource management systems and practices, researchers seem to have neglected to examine the role of top management influence in the implementation of these practices. In foreign studies, research on leadership and human resource management (HRM) have largely progressed on parallel trajectories and other key factors such as cultural adaptation, integration, multilevel and multi-factorial items have been neglected. The purpose of this research was to develop a comprehensive pattern of the top management influences in implementation of HRM practices.

In this research, over 501 articles were evaluated through authenticate scientific database sources from 1993 to 2023. By using the seven-step model of Sandelowski and Barroso, content analysis and meta-synthesis qualitative approach, 85 articles were selected for further detailed study.

A total of two categories, eight concepts, and 42 indicators were identified and put into a comprehensive pattern. The pattern includes the internal organizational factors such as top management influential factors, organizational influence factors, and influence components. Furthermore, the external organizational factors, institutional and contextual factors of influence were identified.

The results of all these factors were sum-up as positive and negative outcomes which could be experienced by any organization. By identifying and focusing on these factors, organizations could prevent the negative effect of top management influence in the poor implementation of human resources management practices to obtain maximum productivity and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage.