Abstract:
In the strategic human resource (HR) management literature, over the past three decades, a
shared consensus has developed that the focus should be on HR systems rather than individual
HR practices because the effects of HR practices are likely to depend on the other practices
within the system. Despite this agreement, the extent to which the fundamental assumption in
the field of interactions and synergy in the system holds true is unclear. We present a systematic
review of 495 empirical studies on 516 HR systems in which we analyze the development of HR
systems research over time and identify important trends, explicitly linking conceptualization
and measurement of the HR system. Our findings suggest that the increasingly broad conceptu alization and measurement of HR systems and the lack of clarity on the HR systems construct at
different levels have hampered research progress. Much of the research to date does not align
with the fundamental assumption of synergies between HR practices in a system, the measures
have problems and increasingly confound HR systems with related concepts and outcomes, and
insufficient attention is paid to the HR system construct at different levels. Overall, we thus still
know little about the “systems” element and how synergies and interactions in an HR system
operate. We offer actionable suggestions on how to advance HR systems research towards con
