Disappearing Between the Cracks: HRM in Permeable Organisations.

This paper is concerned with examining the implications of inter-organisational relationships

for human resource management (HRM). To date much of the literature on

human resource management has been inwardly focussed on the organisation and its

employees. Yet increasingly complex organisational forms and more permeable

boundaries may mean that employees working for one organisation are influenced by

the HR policies and practices of another. This paper presents evidence from two such

case studies, representing different forms of inter-organisational relationship. The implications

for the HR function are discussed and it is argued that traditional conceptions

of HRM are inadequate to encompass these developments.