Looking Back and Looking Forward: Thirty Years of Evidence on Strategic HRM Systems and Performance (1995–2025)

Xiaoxuan Eleanor Zhai; Jiuhua Cherrie Zhu; Mingqiong Zhang

doi:10.1002/hrm.70074

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Looking Back and Looking Forward: Thirty Years of Evidence on Strategic HRM Systems and Performance (1995–2025)

Xiaoxuan Eleanor Zhai, Jiuhua Cherrie Zhu and Mingqiong Zhang

Human Resource Management, Early View

2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/hrm.70074

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Abstract

algorithmic HRM

bibliometric review

high-performance work systems

human resource management

human resource management systems

mediators

moderators

organizational performance

Research on how to leverage high-performance work systems (HPWS) and other strategic human resource management (HRM) systems to improve performance outcomes has long been a cornerstone of the HRM discipline. This study offers a comprehensive mapping of the field through bibliometric analysis and a thematic synthesis of 3503 peer-reviewed articles published across 156 leading journals from 1995 to 2025. By revisiting the HRM-performance relationship and tracing the evolving trajectories of scholarly inquiry, the review identifies four major thematic domains: (1) configurational HRM architectures, (2) multilevel HRM-performance impacts, (3) “black box” mechanisms that mediate and moderate the HRM-performance link, and (4) emerging topics in HRM systems in responding to crises and socio-technological changes. The review finds evidence for complex transmitting patterns through which HRM systems improve performance, characterized by a horizontally interwoven and vertically multi-level nature. The study addresses longstanding conceptual fragmentation by clarifying the structure and theorization of HRM systems and contributes a synthesized framework to guide future research. It also highlights promising but underexplored avenues, such as the role of algorithmic HRM, methodological pluralism, and configurational logics, in advancing the understanding of HRM-performance dynamics. Practical implications are elaborated, translating theoretical findings into actionable guidance for practitioners.

Details

Title: Looking Back and Looking Forward: Thirty Years of Evidence on Strategic HRM Systems and Performance (1995–2025)
Authors/Creators: Xiaoxuan Eleanor Zhai - Murdoch University, Murdoch Business School
Jiuhua Cherrie Zhu - Monash University
Mingqiong Zhang - Monash University
Publication Details: Human Resource Management, Early View
Publisher: Wiley Periodicals LLC.
Number of pages: 23
Identifiers: 991005879654907891
Murdoch Affiliation: Murdoch Business School; College of Business
Resource Type: Journal article

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