Human Resource Management and Performance: Still Searching for Some Answers David E. Guest,

doi: 10.1111/j.1748-8583.2010.00164.x

Human resource management and performance: still searching for some answers
David E. Guest, King’s College, London
Human Resource Management Journal, Vol 21, no 1, 2011, pages 3–13

Over the past 20 years, there has been a considerable expansion in theory and research about human resource management and performance. This paper reviews progress by identifying a series of phases in the development of relevant theory and research. It then sets out a number of challenges for the future on issues of theory, management processes and research methodology. The main conclusion from the review is that after over two decades of extensive research, we are still unable to answer core questions about the relationship between human resource management and performance. This is largely attributed to the limited amount of research that is longitudinal and has been able to address the linkages between HRM and performance and to study the management of HR implementation. Contact: David E. Guest, Department of Management, King’s College, London, 150 Stamford
Street, London SE1 9NH, UK. Email: [e-mail] hrmj_164 3..13

INTRODUCTION

W

hen the Human Resource Management Journal was launched in 1990, it was able to capture a rising wave of interest in human resource management and in particular the relationship between human resource management (HRM) and performance. The following decade provided the initial sound evidence about a positive association between HRM and firm performance (see, e.g. Arthur, 1994; Huselid, 1995;
Delery and Doty, 1996). A decade later, the number of studies had grown to such an extent that two major reviews of the research (Boselie et al., 2005; Combs et al., 2006) confirmed that the large majority of published studies demonstrated an association between HRM and performance; but both also emphasised that their analysis provided evidence of an association rather than causation.

References: Albrecht, S. (ed.) (2010). Handbook of Employee Engagement, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. Appelbaum, E., Bailey, T., Berg, P. and Kalleberg, A. (2000). Manufacturing Advantage: Why High Performance Work Systems Pay Off, Ithaca, NY: ILR Press. Arthur, J.B. (1994). ‘Effects of human resource systems on manufacturing performance and turnover’. Atkinson, A. (2005). Measurement of UK Government Output and Productivity for National Accounts, London: Palgrave Macmillan. Balogun, J. and Johnson, G. (2005). ‘From intended strategies to unintended outcomes: the impact of change recipient sensemaking’ Barney, J. (1991). ‘Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage’. Journal of Management, 17: 1, 99–120. Becker, B. and Gerhart, B. (1996). ‘The impact of human resource management on organizational performance: progress and prospects’ Becker, B., Huselid, M., Pickus, P. and Spratt, M. (1997). ‘HR as a source of shareholder value: research and recommendations’ Beer, M., Spector, B., Lawrence, P., Mills, D.Q. and Walton, R. (1984). Managing Human Assets, New York: Free Press. Birdi, K., Clegg, C., Patterson, M., Robinson, A., Stride, C., Wall, T. and Wood, S. (2008). ‘The impact of human resource and operational management practices on company productivity: a Blyton, P. and Turnbull, P. (eds) (1992). Reassessing Human Resource Management, London: Sage. Boselie, P., Dietz, G. and Boon, C. (2005). ‘Commonalities and contradictions in HRM and performance’ Bos-Nehles, A. (2010). The Line Makes the Difference: Line Managers as Effective HR Partners. PhD Thesis. Bowen, D. and Ostroff, C. (2004). ‘Understanding HRM – firm performance linkages: the role of the ‘strength’ of the HRM system’ Cappelli, P. and Neumark, D. (2001). ‘Do high performance work systems improve establishment level outcomes?’ Combs, C., Liu, Y., Hall, A. and Ketchen, D. (2006). ‘How much do high-performance work systems matter? A meta-analysis of their effects on organizational performance’ Delery, J. and Doty, D. (1996). ‘Modes of theorizing in strategic human resource management: tests of universalistic, contingency and configurational performance predictions’ Dyer, L. and Reeves, T. (1995). ‘Human resource strategies and firm performance: what do we know and where do we need to go?’ Fombrun, C., Tichy, N. and Devanna, M. (1984). Strategic Human Resource Management, New York: John Wiley and Sons. HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, VOL 21 NO 1, 2011 © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Foulkes, F. (1980). Personnel Policies in Large Non-Union Companies, Englewood Cliffs, NJ: PrenticeHall. Gerhart, B. (2007). ‘Modeling HRM and performance linkages’, in P. Boxall, J. Purcell and P. Wright (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Human Resource Management, Oxford: Oxford University Press, Gerhart, B., Wright, P., McMahan, G. and Snell, S. (2000). ‘Measurement error in research on human resources and firm performance: how much error is there and does it influence effect size Godard, J. (2004). ‘A critical assessment of the high performance paradigm’. British Journal of Industrial Relations, 42: 2, 439–478. Grinyer, P., Mayes, D. and McKiernan, P. (1988). Sharpbenders, Oxford: Blackwell. Guest, D. (1987). ‘Human resource management and industrial relations’. Journal of Management Studies, 24: 5, 503–521. Guest, D. (1997). ‘Human resource management and performance: a review and research agenda’. Guest, D. and Bryson, A. (2009). ‘From industrial relations to human resource management: the changing role of the personnel function’, in W Guest, D. and Hoque, K. (1996). ‘National ownership and HR practices in UK greenfield sites’. Human Resource Management Journal, 6: 4, 50–74. Guest, D., Michie, J., Sheehan, M. and Conway, N. (2003). ‘A UK study of the relationship between human resource management and corporate performance’ Guest, D., Paauwe, J. and Wright, P. (2011). Human Resource Management and Performance: What’s Next?, Chichester: Wiley (forthcoming). Hesketh, A. and Fleetwood, S. (2006). ‘Beyond measuring the human resource management – organizational performance link: applying critical realist meta-theory’ Hewlett, S., Sherbin, L. and Sumberg, K. (2009). ‘How Gen Y and boomers will reshape your agenda’. Huselid, M. (1995). ‘The impact of human resource management practices on turnover, productivity, and corporate financial performance’ Ichniowski, C., Shaw, K. and Prennushi, G. (1997). ‘The effects of human resource management practices on productivity: a study of steel finishing lines’ Keenoy, T. (1997). ‘Review article: HRMism and the languages of re-presentation’. Journal of Management Studies, 34: 5, 825–841. Khilji, S. and Wang, X. (2006). ‘ “Intended” and “implemented” HRM: The missing linchpin in strategic human resource management research’ Management, 17: 7, 1171–1189. Kooij, D., Jansen, P., Dickers, J. and De Lange, A. (2010). ‘The influence of age on the associations between HR practices and both affective commitment and job satisfaction: A meta-analysis’. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31: 8, 1111–1136. Lawler, E. (1971). Pay and Organizational Effectiveness, New York: McGraw-Hill. Legge, K. (1995). Human Resource Management: Rhetorics and Realities (2nd edn, 2005), Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Lepak, D. and Snell, S. (1999). ‘The human resource architecture: toward a theory of human capital allocation and development’ Lepak, D. and Snell, S. (2002). ‘Examining the human resource architecture: the relationships among human capital, employment and resource configurations’ Liao, H., Toya, K., Lepak, D. and Hong, Y. (2009). ‘Do they see eye to eye? Management and employee perspectives of high-performance work systems and influence processes on service