Human resource management and customer value in the digital economy: advancing a value co-creation perspective

For many years, human resource management (HRM) researchers examined the black box between HRM systems and customer value by examining employee behavior as a key mediating mechanism. This, however, overlooks the mediating role played by customers, which warrants further conceptual exploration. In fact, developments in the digital economy require a study of value co-creation between employees and customers more than ever before. This chapter provides a conceptual turn towards a co-creation perspective for HRM research by advancing a conceptual framework that links HRM with customer value through the mediating roles of both employee and customer attributes, and the contingent role of digitized services that bring about these mediating effects. This offers a refined conceptual perspective for HRM research, which moves away from viewing HRM as a means for employees to act upon customers towards one that views HRM as an enabler for value co-creation with customers.