Public defence: Agneta Häll

About the thesis

In what ways has the HR occupation in Sweden developed in the wake of the management models for HR work that have swept across the organizational landscape over the past decades? This is one of the central questions that this dissertation seeks to answer. The dissertation examines how the introduction of HRM and HRT ideas, the strategic HR business partner (HRBP) role, and the growth of the HR consultancy industry have influenced the development, practice, and professional identity of the HR occupation.

Focusing on the tension between vision and everyday work, the analysis explores why gaps so often emerge between what HR leadership prescribes, what educational programs recommend, and what organizations actually demand. One of the most prominent findings is that the HR business partner model, despite its ambitions, has had a negative impact on knowledge development and knowledge sharing within HR functions. The model’s division into three distinct functions has also made collaboration between HR and line managers more difficult. The dissertation demonstrates that these tensions are not random but structural, and that they are deeply rooted in the historical formation of the HR role.

At the same time, the dissertation highlights the strengths of the HR occupation. The HR role emerges as dynamic and people-oriented, and the occupation is described as being shaped by an emerging form of hybrid professionalism in which HR expertise is combined with adaptation to shifting organizational contexts.