Section Fivepractices and sound measures of firm performance. This
interest has been prompted in many cases by pressure from
senior management for solid evidence that their human
resource departments are making contributions to the firm’s
performance. This section will examine the impact of individual
human resource practices and systems of such practices by
reviewing some of the research on this subject. Most of the
research studies drawn on in this section are empirical and use
statistical techniques to control for other influences that may
affect organizational performance. A few nonempirical works
reporting findings from multiple observations also are
incorporated into the discussion.
This discussion will begin by examining the impact of
individual high-performance human resource practices, some of
which have been asserted to be almost universally applicable
best practices. It then addresses the limitations of individual
best practices in terms of their effect on performance and of
the evolution of individual practices to systems of practices.
The discussion then focuses on the effects of systems of high-
performance practices. The basis for expecting increased
performance with systems of such practices is examined,
followed by a consideration of the results of research studies
attempting to determine whether systems provide superior per-
formance to individual best practices. Finally, there is an
examination of the contingency view of strategic human