ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the key HR management (HRM) practices that support exploration and exploitation opportunities. This led to a model of human capital development for supporting changes to a firm's business model. In the main the Indian IT industry can be broadly classified into two sub-sectors: the ITSS and business process outsourcing (BPO) services market and IT product development and research design and development. Leadership approach and a firm's strategic orientation play a role in shaping the nature and extent of HRM policy choices. HRM practices are classified into two groups: those that support an organisations pursuit to engage in exploitation of existing knowledge and resources, and those that support an organisations ability to pursue exploration and experimentation to develop new knowledge and learning. Since organisations operate in different strategic milieus, they need to align and fit their competitive strategy and HRM policy choices on a continuum of approaches that support the need for control orientation to empowerment orientation.
