A Theoretical Exploration of the Adoption and Design of Flexible Benefit Plans: A Case of Human Resource Innovation

Abstract

This article explores theoretical explanations of managers' decisions about flexible benefit plans. We (1) examine the adoption and design of flexible benefit plans through four theoretic lenses: institutional, resource dependence, agency, and transaction costs; (2) integrate the relevant insights gained from these theories into a more complete model and derive propositions for future research; and (3) generalize the insights gained from exploring a specific innovation to broader questions surrounding decisions about other human resource innovations.