Human Resource Reputation: Looking Good May Feel Good But Does It Add Value?

Abstract

[Excerpt] Examples of human resource signals, such as these, abound. The critical questions are,do signals like these help create an organization asset, a good HR reputation, and does a good reputation add value? In other words, is a company's HR reputation a valuable resource and source of competitive advantage (Barney, 1991)? Is it difficult to copy by its competitors? Does it favorably influence security analysts, stockholders’, applicants’, employees’, and customers’ views of the company? Or, is information about human resource activities discounted or dismissed altogether as nothing more than mere reflections of a facade having little impact on organizational success?