Approaches to the measurement of organizational performance have been varied.
Researchers have used outcome variables such as productivity (Ichniowski et al.,
1997) and gross rate return on assets (GRATE) and Tobin’s q (Huselid, 1995) as
measures of corporate financial performance and market share (Becker and Gerhart,
1996). Further, there has been debate over the nature and causes of these
performance outcomes. Purcell (1999) has argued that empirical research has been
limited in regard to the causal path involved in the link between HRM and enhanced
performance, much of which is assumed rather than tested.