Human resource management systems - a structured review of research contributions and open questions

Against the backdrop of a long standing research tradition on the topic of HRM
systems, several prominent lines of research have been developed that offer central contributions to different aspects, questions and levels of HRM systems. Due to the fact that the established conceptual and empirical approaches to HRM systems differ with respect to their levels of analysis, questions posed and methods used, the field is characterized by more or less heterogeneous
contributions and no clear overall structure. However, two central perspectives in the field of HRM systems research can be identified: A content-oriented approach and a process-oriented approach. In order to connect these perspectives, we develop a set of criteria to analyze and compare systematically content-oriented research contributions in HRM systems research in terms of content-oriented as well as process-oriented aspects. On the one hand, we
contribute a structured overview and systematic comparison of many different theoretical and conceptual approaches to HRM systems research, thus making it easier to access this dynamic field of research for scholars, practitioners and students. On the other hand, we derive implications for the better foundation and design of empirical studies, and thus we contribute to the fostering of empirical research about HRM systems.