Accounting

Human Resource Management Review 25 (2015) 352–367

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Human Resource Management Review

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/humres

The influence of internal HRM activity fit on the dynamics

within the “black box”☆

George C. Banks ⁎, Sven Kepes

a

b

Longwood University, United States

Virginia Commonwealth University, United States

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Keywords:

Strategic human resource management

Internal fit

“Black box” of SHRM

Human capital

Human capital resources

a b s t r a c t

Research has often called for studies to explain the complex causal chain known as the “black box”

between human resource management (HRM) activities and individual-, unit-, and firm-level

outcomes. To explore the dynamics within the “black box,” this article describes the influence of

HRM activities (e.g., HRM policies, practices, and processes) on individual-, unit-, and firm-level

outcomes, taking into consideration important mediating phenomena within the “black box,”

such as human capital resources, motivation, and opportunities. Yet, we suggest that this basic

understanding is insufficient to understand the dynamics within the “black box.” To fully

comprehend how HRM activities affect outcomes across levels of analysis through the “black

box,” one must consider how HRM activities interrelate to create positive (negative) synergistic

effects. This research contributes to the literature of strategic HRM research by describing how

and why aligned and interrelated HRM activities can create synergistic effects that may influence

individual-, unit-, and firm-level outcomes through the “black box.” The described theoretical

framework leads to the development of propositions to guide future research.

© 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Over the past few decades, research has indicated that human resource management (HRM) activities (i.e., HRM policies, practices,

and processes;...