Let us look first at the chain of cause and effect along the darker (bold) arrows. With
this marking I want to emphasise that these connections are studied more intensely
than others. There is first of all the focus on the question of how HR practices affect
the composition of staff on the one hand and their behaviour on the other. Both the
individual level as well as the social aggregation “workforce” can be the subject of
analysis. Normally HRM research is not interested in the effects on individuals but in
the effects on staff in general. The analysis of effects on individuals is rather a means
to an end. Second, there is the question of how HR practices (via the impacts on behaviour)
influence the behaviour of businesses. Third – I am returning to the beginning
of the cause-effect chain – one could ask for the determinants of HR practices
and clarify whether and why businesses exhibit differences in this respect. Fourth,