Is there more than one way to manage human resources in companies?

Purpose – Most works on human resource (HR) practices assume that companies use them in the same way for the entire workforce. The objective of this work is to check whether the application of HR practices varies within organizations. To be specific, HR practices can vary depending on the importance that companies attach to the job. Design/methodology/approach – Based on the concepts of strategic value and uniqueness, four hypotheses are developed and tested by means of a survey of a sample of 735 companies. Findings – The results of our work confirm that the internal variations in HR practices consist of the use of a more or less sophisticated approach, or more or less close to high commitment practices perspective. Research limitations/implications – This study does not include external variables with potential influence, such as trade union power and labor regulations, which may affect determined HR practices. Practical implications – These results may be useful in developing a realistic design of the function of HR in companies. Originality/value – The variations that we have encountered, rather than being different configurations of practices, seem a question of positioning in a dimension in which high commitment practices and control practices are complete opposites. Results show that HR practices are not the same for all workers. There are differences, which questions the HRM proposals that do not consider possible variations in the practices within companies.