Occasioning change through HR sourcing

This article describes how structuration theory can be used to analyze changes as invoked by two HR Sourcing arrangements: HR Shared Service Centers and HR Outsourcing. This approach allows us to under-stand changing responsibilities, altered HR processes, and the adaptation of web-based tools for HRM, through the eyes of organizational agents. More-over structuration theory allows that their perspectives can be utilized to explicate the emergence of adversities and advantages that are commonly identified with HR Sourcing, but which often lack interpretation. In order to create a more solid understanding of those perspectives, the notion of an HR Ensemble is developed, which signifies the mental constructs that orga-nizational agents can carry about HRM. By highlighting these constructs before and during the occurrence of HR Sourcing at six organizations, sev-eral well-known, but ill expound phenomena are illuminated. This is grounded in the comparison of the two HR sourcing arrangements, which gives the opportunity to explain several differences. The article concludes with three recommendations to make HR Sourcing more viable.