Public sector HRM: the case of no central human resource strategy

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to outline and analyse the limitations and opportunities of decentralised human resource management (HRM) in the public sector. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is based on a case study of the Estonian Central Government. Findings – It is demonstrated that the absence of a central human resource strategy, combined with fragmentation, insufficient coordination and a lack of common values throughout the public service as well as with other limitations related to the country's post‐communist legacy has hindered a systematic approach to public service HRM. However, the paper also reveals that a decentralised setup of HRM has enabled Estonia to flexibly conduct major reforms on the organisational level during the transition of the 1990s and in the following Europeanisation period. Research limitations/implications – Although the case study method limits the extent to which findings of the study may be generalised to other countries and settings, there are still several lessons to be learned from the Estonian case of no central HR strategy. Practical implications – The practical recommendations are related to the applicability of the strategic HRM model, path dependency of the development of HRM and the strategic fit between a country's HRM model and the wider context in which it is applied. Originality/value – The paper provides a new look to the macro‐level HR policies and to the institutional setup of central HR coordination in the context of fast reforms.