This study shows how presumed “HR-trends,” such as the recent promotion of Employee Experience (EX) design, are never value-free ideas of a presumably objective “best practice”, but rather a vehicle for legitimizing HR in the organization, and investigate the implications.,This study is rooted in critical HRM studies. Our methodology is the critical discourse analysis (CDA) of online job postings concerning “EX-positions.”,EX is a new vehicle for HR's ongoing struggle for legitimacy. By repositioning HR managers as “EX-designers,” it promises to integrate the previously conflicting roles of HR as advocate of the individual employee and as strategic partner on the organizational level. Yet, it also raises the question of what is at stake for HR and might even decrease the organizational involvement of HR.,This study highlights the relevance of a critical HRM perspective for moving beyond disciplinary blind spots. It shows the value of CDA for gathering insights into the hidden assumptions underlying HRM theory and practice.,EX design has been put forward as a new best-practice HR trend, promoting the relevance of HR in the organization. This paper shows that this trend is associated with potential gains as well as with potential losses. Practitioners need to be aware of these risks in order to increase the likelihood for a positive impact when implementing EX design.,The authors show how HR trends, such as EX, are manifestations of HR's ongoing struggle for legitimacy. Specifically, the authors uncover the legitimization agenda underlying EX, its implications for HR roles and responsibilities and the knowledge claims associated with it.

中文翻译：

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人力资源管理是合法性的持续斗争

这项研究表明，诸如最近推广的员工体验（EX）设计之类的假定“人力资源趋势”从来都不是假定客观的“最佳实践”的无价值观念，而是使组织中的人力资源合法化的工具，并研究其含义。本研究扎根于关键的HRM研究。我们的方法是对涉及“ EX职位”的在线职位发布进行批判性话语分析（CDA）。EX是HR不断争取合法性的新工具。通过将人力资源经理重新定位为“ EX-designers”，它有望整合以前相互矛盾的人力资源角色，即个人雇员的拥护者和组织层面的战略合作伙伴。但是，这也提出了一个问题，那就是人力资源有哪些风险，甚至可能减少人力资源的组织参与度。这项研究强调了关键的人力资源管理观点对于超越学科盲点的重要性。它显示了CDA的价值，可用于收集对HRM理论和实践基础的隐含假设的见解。EX设计已作为一种新的最佳实践HR趋势而提出，从而促进了HR在组织中的相关性。本文表明，这种趋势与潜在收益以及潜在损失相关。从业者需要意识到这些风险，以增加实施EX设计时产生积极影响的可能性。作者展示了HR趋势（例如EX）如何体现了HR正在进行的合法性斗争。特别是，作者发现了EX背后的合法化议程，它对人力资源角色和职责的影响以及与之相关的知识主张。