HRM policies and practices need to cope with the dual responsibilities of providing a firm with the best employees to deliver improved financial performance, and a moral duty to these employees to provide a working environment that is equitable and encourages personal development. Many writers have emphasized the connection between sophisticated HRM techniques and business performance, but has this been at the expense of concepts such as fairness and legitimacy? This book adopts a broader perspective that takes into account not only the strategic dimension of HRM, but also the professional and societal dimension. It begins by examining the interaction of HRM, strategy and performance, before putting this into an institutional context, where it is argued that successful HRM practice will be unique for each context in which it operates. It then develops a contextually-based human resource theory, able to examine and analyze HRM at an institutional, industry, national and international level. This theory is then applied to a number of cases of leading firms in both the USA and Europe. The book concludes by combining the empirical evidence of the case studies with the theoretical work of earlier chapters to develop a practical approach linking the different roles of HR to specific aspects of performance. Combining academic research with a focus on practical conclusions and recommendations, HRM and Performance will be challenging and innovative reading for all involved in HRM: Academics, Researchers, MBA and graduate students, practitioners and consultants.