From administrative expert to strategic partner

Replicating Ulrich's model, this study aims to investigate empirically the HR role performance of a case organisation. Despite the popularity of the model, both theoretical discussions and empirical research that build on the model are scarce.

The present study investigates HR professionals' and line managers' perceptions of HR roles in a regional full‐service bank based on a combination of interviews and a questionnaire survey distributed to the HR executive and line managers.

The case study evidence reported suggests that not only are all four roles strongly represented, they are also equally shared between the HR executive and line managers.

This study is limited by the usual problem of a wider application of findings provided by a small‐scale single‐case study. The generalisability of the findings would be improved by conducting more comparable cases within the field.

HR professionals are struggling to make top executives and colleagues recognise the value of their operations and initiatives. It is therefore increasingly important to demonstrate the value of the HR function, and a first step towards demonstrating its value is to define and clarify the roles and role expectations of the HR function in the organisation. This study demonstrates how an organisation can get a clear picture of the roles that are performed or perceived as performed by the HR function by using Ulrich's relatively simple model, and thereby create a good basis for further discussion and clarification.