Strategic human resource management: The evolution of the field

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t This review takes an evolutionary and chronological perspective on the development of strategic human resource management (SHRM) literature. We divide this body of work into seven themes that reflect the directions and trends researchers have taken over approximately thirty years of research. During this time the field took shape, developed rich conceptual foundations, and matured into a domain that has substantial influence on research activities in HR and related management disciplines. We trace how the field has evolved to its current state, articulate many of the major findings and contributions, and discuss how we believe it will evolve in the future. This approach contributes to the field of SHRM by synthesizing work in this domain and by highlighting areas of research focus that have received perhaps enough attention, as well as areas of research focus that, while promising, have remained largely unexamined. 1. Introduction Boxall, Purcell, and Wright (2007) distinguish among three major subfields of human resource management (HRM): micro HRM (MHRM), strategic HRM (SHRM), and international HRM (IHRM). Micro HRM covers the subfunctions of HR policy and practice and consists of two main categories: one with managing individuals and small groups (e.g., recruitment, selection, induction, training and development, performance management, and remuneration) and the other with managing work organization and employee voice systems (including union-management relations). Strategic HRM covers the overall HR strategies adopted by business units and companies and tries to measure their impacts on performance. Within this domain both design and execution issues are examined. International HRM covers HRM in companies operating across national boundaries. Since strategic HRM often covers the international context, we will include those international HRM articles that have a strategic focus. While most of the academic literature on SHRM has been published in the last 30 years, the intellectual roots of the field can be traced back to the 1920s in the U.S. (Kaufman, 2001). The concept of labor as a human resource and the strategic view of HRM policy and practice were described and discussed by labor economists and industrial relations scholars of that period, such as John Commons. Progressive companies in the 1920s intentionally formulated and adopted innovative HR practices that represented a strategic approach to the management of labor. A small, but visibly elite group of employers in this time period …