MODES OF THEORIZING IN STRATEGIC HUMAN-RESOURCE MANAGEMENT - TESTS OFUNIVERSALISTIC, CONTINGENCY, AND CONFIGURATIONAL PERFORMANCE PREDICTIONS

The field of strategic human resource management (SHRM) has been criti cized for lacking a solid theoretical foundation. This article documen ts that, contrary to this criticism, the SHRM literature draws on thre e dominant modes of theorizing: universalistic, contingency, and confi gurational perspectives, Seven key strategic human resource practices are identified and used to develop theoretical arguments consistent wi th each perspective, The results demonstrate that each perspective can be used to structure theoretical arguments that explain significant l evels of variation in financial performance.