To share or not to share: thats the question! When does sharing of HR services maximize perceived HR service value?

Nowadays, organizations can rely on a variety of delivery channels for offering HR services to employees, such as HR shared service centres, embedded HR professionals or electronic HRM. However, when should organizations opt for one of the many HR delivery channels that are at their disposal to secure a high-quality and/or low-cost delivery of a specific HR service? This paper gives an answer to this question by applying concepts from the field of operations management to HR service delivery within organizations. We empirically validate the assumption that the selection of an HR delivery channel for respective HR services should be based on the homogeneity of customer needs, or the commonality potential of an HR service. As such, this paper contributes by stressing the importance of taking a contingency view on the design of HR service delivery in organizations, using operations management concepts and the commonality potential framework.