Measuring HR-Line Relationship Quality : A Construct and Its Validation

Despite wide recognition of the importance of relationship between HR professionals and line managers (HR-line relationship) in strategic HRM literature, no measurement construct is available that could grasp the complicated concept. We introduce a variable, HR-line relationship quality and propose a measurement construct for the variable. The first dimension of the variable covers the traditional elements - often measured in psychology and marketing. The second and third dimension covers HR specific elements based on the attitudes of HR professionals towards the line managers and vice versa. The proposed construct is validated through an empirical survey from a sample of HRM specialists and line managers. The paper concludes that HR-line relationship quality can be measured from a 34 item construct. This construct can be used to quantify HR-line relationship quality, which would be helpful to understand and manage the relationship for the success of strategic HRM