Multilevel theorizing in strategic human resource management research: A systematic and critical review

How do we further enrich our understanding of multilevel dynamics, particularly in strategic human resource management (HRM) research? Organizational policies and practices, such as strategic HRM practices, are subject to influence from internal organizational factors and external factors, affecting organizational outcomes at various levels, including individual, team, organizational, and societal levels of analysis. Therefore, the field of strategic HRM is inherently multilevel. However, how HRM systems are conceptualized in multilevel studies, and how such studies attempt to theoretically connect HRM systems to their antecedents and outcomes at different levels of analysis, is still unclear. The present paper poses the question: to what extent do multilevel HRM system studies provide a coherent theoretical justification for the HRM system conceptualization, and are the proposed HRM system multilevel linkages coherently explained with theoretical reasoning? This question is answered through a systematic review of 112 studies. The results reveal strong theoretical diversity in explaining the HRM system construct, primarily at the organizational level, and its predominantly multilevel situational mechanisms. Moreover, the analysis indicates great potential for enhancing the quality of multilevel theorizing in strategic HRM. This paper advances strategic HRM research by systematically mapping and advancing theoretical discourses on the multilevel nature of HRM systems.