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JournalofManagement200228(4)517–543ExaminingtheHumanResourceArchitecture:TheRelationshipsAmongHumanCapital,Employment,andHumanResourceConfigurationsDavidP.Lepak∗DepartmentofManagementandOrganization,RobertH.SmithSchoolofBusiness,UniversityofMaryland,3341VanMunchingHall,CollegePark,MD20742-1815,USAScottA.SnellDepartmentofManagementandOrganization,SmealCollegeofBusinessAdministration,ThePennsylvaniaStateUniversity,417BeamB.A.B.,UniversityPark,PA16802,USAReceived8May2000;receivedinrevisedform16May2001;accepted14August2001Inthisstudyweexaminedthecharacteristicsofhumancapitalaswellasthehumanresource(HR)configurationsusedforemployeesinfourdifferentemploymentmodes(knowledge-basedemployment,job-basedemployment,contractwork,andalliance/partnership).Resultsfrom148firmsshowthatthestrategicvalueanduniquenessofhumancapitaldiffersacrossthesefouremploymentmodes.Inaddition,eachemploymentmodeisassociatedwithaparticu-lartypeofHRconfiguration(commitment-based,productivity-based,compliance-based,andcollaborative).©2002ElsevierScienceInc.Allrightsreserved.Researchinstrategichumanresourcemanagement(SHRM)hasbeencentralinshiftingourattentiontowardfirm-levelissuesrelatedtomanagingpeople.Ratherthanfocusingonindividualjobsandtheemployeesthatoccupythem,SHRMresearchershaveestablishedabroaderperspectivethatisorientedtowardmanagingtheworkforceasawhole.Andinsteadoffocusingonparticularhumanresource(HR)practicesthatareusedindependentlyorinisolation,SHRMresearcherslookmorebroadlyatbundlesofHRpracticesthatareimplementedincombination.∗Correspondingauthor.Tel.:[phone];fax:[phone].E-mailaddress:[e-mail](D.P.Lepak).0149-2063/02/$–seefrontmatter©2002ElsevierScienceInc.Allrightsreserved.PII:S0149-2063(02)00142-3518D.P.Lepak,S.A.Snell/JournalofManagement200228(4)517–543InordertostudystrategicHRatanorganizationallevel,however,researchershavetendedtoaggregate—bothconceptuallyandempirically—allemployeesasthoughtheyweremanagedwithasingle(oratleastdominant)HRconfiguration.SnellandDean,forexample,originallyanalyzedtheHRpracticesofdifferentemployeegroupsinadvancedmanufacturingenvironments,butlatercombinedthedataintoasingleprofile(Snell&Dean,1992,1994;Youndt,Snell,Dean&Lepak,1996).Similarly,Huselid(1995)originallycollectedseparateHRdataonexemptandnon-exemptemployees,butcombineditusingweightedaveragesinordertoportrayoneprofile.Whilesuchaggregationaidsparsimony,wewouldarguethatdoingsomaskspotentiallyimportantaspectsofhowdifferentemployeegroupsaremanagedstrategically.InoneoftheearliestpapersonstrategicHR,MilesandSnow(1984)notedthatwhilecertainHRpracticesmightbecentralizedorstandardizedforallemployees,othersmightbecustomizedtomatchthespecificrequirementsofparticularemployeegroups.Thesedifferencesarenolessimportant;theyare,infact,crucialaspectsofafirm’sstrategicapproachtoHR.Twostreamsofresearchareparticularlysalienthere.Inthecontextofinternalvs.externalemployment,Davis-BlakeandUzzi(1993),MatusikandHill(1998),Mangum,MayallandNelson(1985),Osterman(1987),andothershavefoundthatfirmsusedifferentmodesofemploymentforstrategicreasons.Similarly,inthecontextofpsychologicalcontracts,Rousseau(1995),Tsui,Pearceandothershaveshownthatfirmsestablishdifferentemploymentrelationshipswithemployees—andmodifythescopeofHRinvestments—dependingontheirexpectedcontributiontothefirm.Buildingonthis,LepakandSnell(1999)arguedthat,“...itmaybeinappropriatetosimplifythenatureofhumancapitalinvestmentsandsuggestthatthereexistsasingleopti-malHRarchitectureformanagingallemployees”(p.32).Asdifferentgroupsofemployeespossessskillsthatvaryinimportancetoafirm’scompetitiveness,theHRpracticesusedtomanagethemarelikelytovary(Jackson,Schuler&Rivero,1989).Althoughweknowthatdifferentemploymentmodesexist,empiricalexaminationofHRsystemsatthisemploy-mentgrouplevelofanalysisremainslimited.ThepurposeofthisstudyistoaddresstheseissuesbyfocusingonHRsystemsusedforemployeesindifferentemploymentmodes.FollowingLepakandSnell(1999),weframeourinvestigationbydistinguishingamongfourtypesofemployment:knowledgework,job-basedemployment,contractwork,andalliance/partnerships.WethendifferentiateamongtheseemploymentmodesbyexaminingthestrategicvalueanduniquenessofhumancapitalembodiedwithineachaswellastheHRconfigurationsusedtomanagethem.TheoryandHypothesesWebeginourdiscussionbyrecognizingthatfirmsrelyuponavarietyofdifferentmodesofemployment.Osterman(1987),forexample,examineddifferencesamongindustrial,salaried,craft,andsecondaryemploymentsubsystemsinfirms.Morerecently,researcherssuchasMatusikandHill(1998),Rousseau(1995),Tsuietal.(1995)havestudieddifferencesinemploymentrelationshipsthatrangefromlong-termrelationshipswithcoreemployeestoshort-termexchangeswithexternalworkersandotherformsofcontractlabor.D.P.Lepak,S.A.Snell/JournalofManagement200228(4)517–543519Related,thereisafairamountofresearchthatfocusesonthechoicebetweeninternal-izationandexternalizationofemployment.Forexample,Baron,Davis-BlakeandBielby(1986)foundthatchoicesaboutemploymentmodesarefrequentlydrivenbydifferencesinemployeeskills(e.g.,firm-specificity),occupational