Pre-Digital Inertial Forces in a Digital HRM Transformation: A Case Study of a South African Government Organisation

Purpose: This study examines how pre-digital inertial forces constrain the transformation of digital human resource management (HRM) in a South African government organisation. It explores the persistence of legacy paper-based routines and their interaction with digital systems, highlighting why digitalisation often fails to achieve its full potential in the public sector.Design/methodology/approach: An interpretive case study was conducted, utilising 30 semi-structured interviews with senior, middle, and operational staff. Thematic analysis, guided by Besson and Rowe’s (2012) multidimensional framework, identified eight categories of inertia.Findings: Despite the widespread acceptance of digital HRM technologies and recognition of their benefits, entrenched pre-digital practices continue to coexist with the system. Eight inertial forces (cognitive, behavioural, psychological, affective, socio-cognitive, socio-technical, economic, and political) limited integration and sustained reliance on paper-based processes.Research limitations/implications: The findings are specific to one public sector organisation. Future studies could investigate inertial forces in other sectors or track how they evolve with advances in automation and AI-enabled HRM.Practical implications: Reducing inertia requires reconfiguring the relationship between legacy and digital practices, strengthening system integration, clarifying human resources policies, and building trust through training and change management.Originality/value: This study applies a multidimensional inertia framework to digital HRM for the first time. It extends information systems and HRM scholarship by demonstrating how entrenched pre-digital practices and bureaucratic routines constrain digital transformation and by offering new insights into the specific challenges of digital reform in the public sector.