Contributions to an economic theory of human resource management

Abstract

In this article, it is argued that the firm-specificity of employee competences and the measurability of their individual productivity require different human resource management practices with regard to planning and acquisition, compensation, and control of such resources. On this basis, elements that can be building blocks in a future normative economic theory of human resource management are presented in the form of empirically testable propositions about variations in firms' management of human resources, under the assumption that economic rationality is sought after. Finally, critical aspects of the logic of the presentation are discussed.