From Static Fit to Dynamic Alignment: The Emergence and Evolution of HR Ecosystems in Fragmented Workplaces

ABSTRACT Fragmented work arrangements increasingly challenge conventional firm‐centric approaches to human resource management (HRM), as HR activities become distributed across multiple actors. The concept of HR ecosystem offers a powerful lens for understanding this shift, yet we know little about how such ecosystems emerge and evolve over time. Drawing on 178 in‐depth qualitative interviews from China's online food delivery sector, we find that HR ecosystems evolve through four stages: pre‐emergence static alignment, misalignment, realignment, and dynamic alignment. A defining feature of this process is the emergence of functional shared governance, in which HR responsibilities are distributed out of operational necessity rather than consensual power sharing. As this diffusion disrupts previously established static alignment, organizations respond through maintenance and adaptation strategies, with digital technologies enabling coordination and responsiveness across dispersed participants. These efforts produce dynamic alignment—an ongoing process through which HRM is continually recalibrated to maintain coherence while accommodating variation and change. Our findings contribute to the literature by theorizing how HR ecosystems emerge, how functional shared governance develops, and how dynamic alignment is achieved over time.