Changing Roles of Customers : Consequences for HRM

The research topics HRM and customer involvement are usually investigated separately.On the one hand, research shows that the spectrum of roles and functions ofcustomers as key company stakeholders has changed dramatically in the last fewyears. In service companies, now more than ever, customers becoming active players,which can exert significant influence especially on customer contact employees.On the other hand, HRM research concentrates so far primarily on the relationshipsand configurations within organizations that lead to optimal human resourcearchitecture, and not beyond organizational boundaries. The analysis of the interrelatednessof this two research topics shows that customers can actually significantlyinfluence the success of a company’s HRM. If the objective of the HRMfunction is to adapt and add value to the organization, it has to rethink its conceptsto include new factors relevant to the organization. Corresponding implications andfuture directions for practice and research are outlined.