Facing e-HRM: the consequences on employee attitude towards the organisation and the HR department in Italian SMEs

Adopting the employee-organisation relationship framework, our paper explores the consequences of e-HRM systems on employee attitude towards both the organisation and the HR department in Italian SMEs. Through a large-scale survey of 494 employees, data confirm that the consequences of e-HRM are not always entirely positive or negative. In detail, with reference to Italian SMEs, operational e-HRM practices seem to enhance the perceived internal efficiency of the HR department but have no impact on employee organisational commitment. On the other hand, relational and transformational e-HRM practices positively influence employee commitment as well as their perceptions of the competence of HR departments. Our evidence suggests several theoretical and managerial implications and would serve as a prelude to the growing body of theory and research seeking to explain the emergence of the e-HRM challenge in shaping the employee-organisation relationship and in influencing the role of the HR department in SMEs.