Research on Strategic Human Resource Management and Organizational Performance

Dear Colleagues,

In 2012, Jaap Paauwe, David Guest and Patrick Wright published their book HRM and Performance: Achievements and Challenges [1]. It contained an excellent overview of the state-of-the-art in the research field linking human resource management (HRM) to organizational performance, by an outstanding cast of internationally renowned authors. While there is consensus that HRM is important for ensuring employee well-being, high organizational performance and organizational survival, there is less consistency in empirical evidence for the proposed relationships between strategic HRM, the use of HR practices, employee outcomes and organizational performance indicators. Challenges in this research area center around theoretical ambiguity and empirical invalidity [1]. There are no universally agreed upon theories regarding HRM, performance and the linkage between them. Although the AMO (ability, motivation, opportunity) framework [2] has become the most accepted framework for studying HRM practices [3], there is no consensus about which HRM practices should be taken into account, or what particular outcomes to study. Accordingly, in empirical research, there is a large variety of measures and methods for determining the relationships between the use of HRM practices and performance indicators.

Moreover, while it is widely acknowledged that HRM practices do not work in isolation (i.e., the effects of HRM practices depend on other practices within the HRM system), there is a lack of clarity on the HRM systems construct [4]. As a result, there are still many questions regarding the way in which HRM practices need to be combined into systems (enabling synergies between HRM practices) in order to increase organizational performance. The frequently applied variance-based (i.e., regression-based) methods for determining the relationship between HRM and performance are not well-suited for addressing the configurational complexity of how various HR practices interact and affect organizational performance indicators [5].

Finally, most academic research in this area is being conducted in WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic) societies. However, there is growing consensus that theories developed in these societies do not apply in other parts of the world [6]. HR practices that work well to motivate employees or enable them to perform well in a WEIRD context may not work, or may work differently, in non-WEIRD contexts. Cultural and institutional differences affect the effects of HRM practices. As a result, there is a need for more empirical studies linking HRM and performance in non-WEIRD societies and comparing those results to the existing body of knowledge.

The aim of this Special Issue is to establish an updated overview of developments in the research area of linking HRM to organizational performance since the publication of the book by Paauwe, Guest and Wright [1]. For this, we invite scholarly contributions (original research articles and reviews) that address one or more of (but not limited to) the following themes:

• Structured literature reviews or meta-analytic studies mapping (empirical) research in the past decade on linking strategic human resource management and organizational performance;
• Empirical work focusing on sustainable HRM and/or including sustainability or corporate social responsibility as organizational performance indicators;
• Empirical work focusing on the mediating and moderating factors explaining the relationship between HRM and performance;
• Theoretical and/or empirical work on the systems element of HRM systems;
• Empirical work that uses alternative (case-based) methods, such as NCA or (fs)QCA, enabling testing for synergy and equifinality;
• Empirical studies or theoretical contributions on the link between HRM and performance in non-WEIRD contexts.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

References

1. Paauwe, J.; Guest, D.E.; Wright, P.M.; Eds. HRM and Performance: Achievements and Challenges. John Wiley & Sons: Chichester, 2012.
2. Appelbaum, E.; Bailey, T.; Berg, P.; Kalleberg, A.L. Manufacturing advantage: Why high-performance work systems pay off. Cornell University Press: Ithaca, 2000.
3. Jiang, K.; Lepak, D.P.; Hu, J.; Baer, J.C. How does human resource management influence organizational outcomes? A meta-analytic investigation of mediating mechanisms. Academy of Management Journal 2012, 55, 1264-1294. doi: 10.5465/amj.2011.0088
4. Boon, C.; Den Hartog, D.N.; Lepak, D.P. A systematic review of human resource management systems and their measurement. Journal of Management 2019, 45, 2498-2537. doi: 10.1177/0149206318818718
5. Hauff, S.; Guerci, M.; Dul, J.; Van Rhee, H. Exploring necessary conditions in HRM research: Fundamental issues and methodological implications. Human Resource Management Journal 2021, 31, 18-36. doi: 10.1111/1748-8583.12231
6. Henrich, J.; Heine, S.J.; Norenzayan, A. The weirdest people in the world? Behavioral and Brain Sciences 2010, 33, 61-83. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X0999152X

Dr. Roel Leonardus Joseph Schouteten
Guest Editor

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