A theory of the firm's demand for HRM practices

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Author(s)
Kaufman, BE
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2010
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Empirical data are presented that reveal a large variation in the pattern of HRM practice adoption across firms. The paper then develops an economics-based theory that explains this pattern. The model broadens the HRM concept; models the linkage between HRM practices and firm performance (the 'black box'); generates an HRM input demand function and demand curve; formalizes the concept of strategic HRM; suggests a new empirical tool for HRM research; generates new hypotheses and insights on the nature of the HRM-firm performance relationship; suggests that existing theories of the HRM-firm performance relationship are seriously ...
View more >Empirical data are presented that reveal a large variation in the pattern of HRM practice adoption across firms. The paper then develops an economics-based theory that explains this pattern. The model broadens the HRM concept; models the linkage between HRM practices and firm performance (the 'black box'); generates an HRM input demand function and demand curve; formalizes the concept of strategic HRM; suggests a new empirical tool for HRM research; generates new hypotheses and insights on the nature of the HRM-firm performance relationship; suggests that existing theories of the HRM-firm performance relationship are seriously mis-specified; and posits that on theoretical grounds the effect of more HRM on firm performance in long-run competitive equilibrium is not positive but zero.
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View more >Empirical data are presented that reveal a large variation in the pattern of HRM practice adoption across firms. The paper then develops an economics-based theory that explains this pattern. The model broadens the HRM concept; models the linkage between HRM practices and firm performance (the 'black box'); generates an HRM input demand function and demand curve; formalizes the concept of strategic HRM; suggests a new empirical tool for HRM research; generates new hypotheses and insights on the nature of the HRM-firm performance relationship; suggests that existing theories of the HRM-firm performance relationship are seriously mis-specified; and posits that on theoretical grounds the effect of more HRM on firm performance in long-run competitive equilibrium is not positive but zero.
View less >
Journal Title
The International Journal of Human Resource Management
Volume
21
Issue
5
Copyright Statement
© 2010 Routledge. This is an electronic version of an article published in International Journal of Human Resource Management, Volume 21, Issue 5, 2010 , Pages 615-636. The International Journal of Human Resource Management is available online at: http://www.informaworld.com with the open URL of your article.
Subject
Business systems in context not elsewhere classified
Marketing
Policy and administration