Limits of HRM’s Impact: How Age Dilutes the Effects of Selective HR Practices on Work Outcomes

This paper conceptually develops two distinct bundles of growth and maintenance-enhancing HR practices guided by tenets of lifespan developmental psychology. Combining macro and micro perspectives of strategic human resource management and applied psychology, we draw on social exchange theory and emotion regulation processes to hypothesize (a) a main effect of growth-enhancing practices on affective organizational commitment, (b) main effects of both bundles of HR practices on in-role behavior, and (c) moderating effects of age and maintenance-enhancing practices on work outcomes such that increasing employees’ age attenuates the HR practices’ positive impact. The results of a multilevel study comprising 600 employees and their direct supervisors of 59 business units provide evidence for the hypothesized main effects on affective commitment and the interaction between age and maintenance-enhancing practices on work outcomes. We discuss the results, theoretical contributions, future research directions, and practical implications.